what can we do to get these dog food companies to upgrade their products

[swagger]

>.< we as dog owners have to have some means of getting these dog food companies to uphold what they advertiste as being their product. They put all this fancy information on their product and claim all this good nurtrition. however in realilty they are selling us crude with no real nutritional value for our beloved pets. we as owners pay good money for these brands of dog food based on the information thats given to fine out that we are not getting what we pay for. We need away to hold these companies accountable for what they sell the same way we would do with any other company or brand name.

 

[bfletch13]

IMO just buy the ones you know are good.
If there product stops selling they will
get the picture. But there are more pet
owners than not that don't do the research
to realize that what they are feed is bad for
the dog.

 

[bullmama]

Educating pet owners is the number one thing you can do. Unfortunately it is no different with human food. Examples are TV dinners, pre-boxed dinners, fast food, ect. You can buy your kid a kid's meal that claims it is a good source of balanced nutrition, but it contains all artificial vitamins, and tons of salt! The chicken nuggets are made of processed chicken parts, ect. Geez, think about it. Hot Dogs. Canned veggies. Canned fruit. Even not fresh baby carrots are processed!! They are just a whole carrot, bleached, dyed, cut to size, and then sold as baby carrots. You can tell them because they usually have a white film on them.

Just as in humans, fresh fruits and veggies, fresh potatoes, and raw meats is the best thing to feed your family. Everything is processed! But knowledge is power.

 

[bullmama]

I also want to note that choosing the right kibble is like choosing to feed your family fresh. Good kibble uses human grade meats, fresh veggies and fruits, and do not put synthetic vitamins in their food. So these nibbles are more expensive because they are not using junk in the food. Also why they cannot spend a fortune on advertising, and you won't see them on TV, or at your local supermarket or pet retailer.

 

[Gertie's Mom]

It is interesting to me that we don't ever see an ad for the good quality foods. On TV we see Purina, Iams and garbage like that. How are people to know what to feed their dogs if these better foods aren't out there being advertised, or are available where most people go for food? If you look at Petsmart or Petco they have a couple aisles of dog foods, that are NOT cheap. They are about the same as I pay for Nature's Variety. Why aren't "our foods" available at these stores where most people go for their pet foods? If it weren't for this site, I'd be at Petsmart buying food that isn't as good for Gertie and Ida. I'd probably never even know these better brands are out there.

 

[kazzy220]

Stop buying the bad products ... hitting any company in it's wallet is usually the only way you can ever make them sit up and take notice!!!

[MENTION=881]Gertie's Mom[/MENTION] I'm assuming the companies like Fromm do not advertise on TV etc because they put all their money into good products instead of spending it on TV and magazine spaces.

 

[bullmama]

[MENTION=881]Gertie's Mom[/MENTION]

I have been personally working with some of the better foods, and the fact of the matter is, they just don't have tons of money for advertising. They are usually small family owned companies, who rely on word of mouth advertising. Otherwise, they would have to charge more for their food in order to pay for television ads, and make it more 'worth it' for pet retailers to carry their food.

I have looked into being a retailer of Fromm, and if I gave free shipping, at a price that was compatible with petflow, I would actually be paying money to get you food. Since petflow has thousands of customers I am sure they get bulk shipping, and even still they do not make a huge amount per bag.

Many of the better and smaller pet food companies DO get customers who, are so in love with their products, will tell everyone about it. Like me, for example! LOL

So that is what they depend on. The happy customers. Otherwise, my $60 bag of food would probably be $75. Although I would pay it! But would most?

 

[TessaAndSamson]

Talking about advertising, I always thought Blue Buffalo was a good food (some of their formulas are rated at 6 stars) but I recently saw a TV commercial for Blue Buffalo. Makes me wonder if they are going down hill????