# These natural dog food commercials really grind my gears **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 24, 2012, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-natural-dog-food-commercials-really-grind-my-gears/629209 "2012-07-24T04:29:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![PSXer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/48db29/32.png) [@PSXer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PSXer)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-natural-dog-food-commercials-really-grind-my-gears/629209/1 "2012-07-24T04:29:29Z")
I only use this fancy dog food made from real meat. I looked at these cheaper brands and the first ingredient was _ **corn!!!** _ did corn suddenly become poison or something? ---
**Author:** ![AtomicDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@AtomicDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AtomicDog)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-natural-dog-food-commercials-really-grind-my-gears/629209/2 "2012-07-24T05:55:32Z")
[spooky voice]Gluuutennn,ooooooh…[/spooky voice] ---
**Author:** ![Alpha\_Twit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alpha_twit/32/265_2.png) [@Alpha\_Twit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alpha_Twit)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-natural-dog-food-commercials-really-grind-my-gears/629209/3 "2012-07-24T06:33:14Z")
> [@AtomicDog](#): > > [spooky voice]Gluuutennn,ooooooh…[/spooky voice] What does gluten have to do with corn? ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-natural-dog-food-commercials-really-grind-my-gears/629209/4 "2012-07-24T11:45:00Z")
Oh, I just want to smack that little blonde! And then she makes that asinine comment about being shocked at all the 'good stuff" that’s in the fancy overpriced pet food that isn’t in the regular stuff…big whoop! That’s like saying one vegetable soup is far better than another simply because this one adds green beans and corn to the peas and carrots found in the other soup. You can throw in all sorts of extras that don’t really mean a thing. And please…cold formed “Life Source Bits” ? Really? Her smug looks at her classmates are really annoying! ---
**Author:** ![Acid\_Lamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Acid\_Lamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acid_Lamp)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-natural-dog-food-commercials-really-grind-my-gears/629209/5 "2012-07-24T13:02:15Z")
> [@PSXer](#): > > did corn suddenly become poison or something? Nope, but it really isn’t very good for a meat-centered omnivore like canines. While they can, and do enjoy certain plant materials; in a natural diet, they focus primarily on meat. Before the dog food companies were purchased by the big cereal producers, all commercial dog food was produced as a by product from butchers and slaughterhouses. Additionally, many dogs are legitimately allergic to certain grains, soy being the first on the list. Those animals usually benefit from a low plant percentage diet in general. Most champion dogs are fed fresh, meat- centered diets. The cool thing about testing dietary changes on dogs, is that the results have to be measured in ways we can actually observe. We don’t have the problem of individual perception feeding back into the results. Among my three dogs, I have two who are absolutely allergic to soy, and once I moved them to a fish-based, no grain diet, their skin conditions cleared right up, they have normal firm stools, maintain healthy muscle and weight condition, and noticeably smell a lot less then on the other diets. They occasionally get a corn on the cob as a treat, but I’ve noticed it goes right through them, so I try to eliminate as much grain as possible in their kibble. When they do get grains it is in the form of rice or leftover pasta or oatmeal, all of which seem to be fine for them. ---
**Author:** ![ministryman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@ministryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ministryman)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-natural-dog-food-commercials-really-grind-my-gears/629209/6 "2012-07-24T13:12:05Z")
They’re frickin animals! They lick their own balls and eat their own (and other dog’s) feces. Do you really think they’re going to turn their noses up at Ken-L-Ration? ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-natural-dog-food-commercials-really-grind-my-gears/629209/7 "2012-07-24T13:58:47Z")
> [@Acid\_Lamp](#): > > Nope, but it really isn’t very good for a meat-centered omnivore like canines. While they can, and do enjoy certain plant materials; in a natural diet, they focus primarily on meat. Before the dog food companies were purchased by the big cereal producers, all commercial dog food was produced as a by product from butchers and slaughterhouses. Corn is not appropriate food for dogs, as this poster says. There’s a reason why corn is used in feed lots: TO FATTEN CATTLE. It’s not a question of whether dogs will turn their noses up at a food. Just like kids, they’d probably be happy on a diet of oreos and mac & cheese. But since they are domesticated and they do rely on us for food, we should be responsible about what we feed them. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-natural-dog-food-commercials-really-grind-my-gears/629209/8 "2012-07-24T14:08:26Z")
I bought a cheap bag of food for my dog once, because I forgot to get a bag of her good stuff. It made her smell like Fritos. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-natural-dog-food-commercials-really-grind-my-gears/629209/9 "2012-07-24T14:11:36Z")
Um… they also smell like Fritos when they need a bath. I feed my dogs the top of the line food (NO CORN) and they will start smelling like Fritos after a while. If unwashed people smelled like Fritos, we wouldn’t need deodorant… There’s an episode of _Will & Grace_ where Will falls in love with a puppy and remarks while nuzzling him that he smells like corn chips. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-natural-dog-food-commercials-really-grind-my-gears/629209/10 "2012-07-24T14:16:00Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Um… they also smell like Fritos when they need a bath. I feed my dogs the top of the line food (NO CORN) and they will start smelling like Fritos after a while. If unwashed people smelled like Fritos, we wouldn’t need deodorant… > > There’s an episode of _Will & Grace_ where Will falls in love with a puppy and remarks while nuzzling him that he smells like corn chips. Bizarre…I had never made that connection before. That’s the only time I have noticed it on her. I don’t have to bathe her much because she’s not oily and usually just has a nice animal-y smell. ---
**Author:** ![Acid\_Lamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Acid\_Lamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acid_Lamp)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-natural-dog-food-commercials-really-grind-my-gears/629209/11 "2012-07-24T14:58:09Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Um… they also smell like Fritos when they need a bath. I feed my dogs the top of the line food (NO CORN) and they will start smelling like Fritos after a while. If unwashed people smelled like Fritos, we wouldn’t need deodorant… > > There’s an episode of _Will & Grace_ where Will falls in love with a puppy and remarks while nuzzling him that he smells like corn chips. Yep. Most dogs will have a frito-ish scent in certain areas at most times (toes, ears, skin folds). If they smell of Fritos generally however, they need a bath. All of our dogs have Frito-feet, but since their dietary changes, they don’t smell of corn chips anywhere else. Just Mane and Tail shampoo and baby powder. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-natural-dog-food-commercials-really-grind-my-gears/629209/12 "2012-07-24T15:08:36Z")
> [@Acid\_Lamp](#): > > Yep. Most dogs will have a frito-ish scent in certain areas at most times (toes, ears, skin folds). Wow, I’ve nuzzled millions (maybe billions) of dogs and never noticed it. However, I do have a notoriously poor smeller. ---
**Author:** ![Acid\_Lamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Acid\_Lamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acid_Lamp)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-natural-dog-food-commercials-really-grind-my-gears/629209/13 "2012-07-24T15:15:34Z")
> [@Sicks\_Ate](#): > > Wow, I’ve nuzzled millions (maybe billions) of dogs and never noticed it. However, I do have a notoriously poor smeller. It’s more prevalent in short-haired breeds where the oils are more concentrated. In longer haired breeds the skin oils lubricate the fur/hair and are dispersed. Also, the scent is usually confined to portions of the dog we don’t enjoy stuffing our noses into! 😃 Not many people love to take a big whiff of the bottom of their foot pads, their armpits, or skin folds on wrinkly dogs. Since our dogs were rescues and had skin issues, I noticed it more through the process of cleaning them than through casual cuddles. Additionally I have one dog who thinks it is hilarious to sick her paws in your face while you are cuddling her. The same one also doesn’t understand personal space well and will rest her face on your chest/neck about 1/4 inch from yours and snore. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-natural-dog-food-commercials-really-grind-my-gears/629209/14 "2012-07-24T15:19:22Z")
It’s OK. After this summer meat will be cheaper than corn. ---
**Author:** ![Sister\_Vigilante](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@Sister\_Vigilante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sister_Vigilante)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-natural-dog-food-commercials-really-grind-my-gears/629209/15 "2012-07-24T15:34:42Z")
> [@Sicks\_Ate](#): > > Wow, I’ve nuzzled millions (maybe billions) of dogs and never noticed it. However, I do have a notoriously poor smeller. All my dogs have had frito feet. But the smell is just on their feet and trust me I’ve done a lot of nuzzling. We have also made the joke when our dog doesn’t eat, is to go for the “Big Mac” dog foods like Beneful. Once we bought the greatest stuff on earth; smelled so good we almost wanted to try it (almost). Dogs wouldn’t touch it. So we stay about mid range in the quality of our dog’s food. Pedigree has corn first, Rachel Ray’s Nutrish has meat first. Our dog shows no preference. ---
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-natural-dog-food-commercials-really-grind-my-gears/629209/16 "2012-07-24T16:05:57Z")
My cat has frito feet. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-natural-dog-food-commercials-really-grind-my-gears/629209/17 "2012-07-24T17:40:34Z")
I don’t think of Purina One as being particularly fancy dog food, but the lamb & rice variety that I feed my dog lists “lamb” as the first ingredient. Rice is second, and corn is third. Anyway, Bailey is healthy and happy (and not smelly), and the vet has never said anything negative about that food (part of her annual exam is “what are you feeding her?”). When Bailey gets stubborn about eating dry food, I mix a spoonful of wet Beneful in with the kibble (interestingly, that doesn’t list “lamb” until the sixth ingredient; **Sister Vigilante** , I love the idea of calling Beneful a “Big Mac” food!). Bailey’s paws totally smell like Fritos. I grew up with two cats, and they had Fritos paws, too. I’ve never met a dog whose paws didn’t smell like Fritos. I agree, though, that if the _entire_ dog starts to smell like Fritos it’s time for a bath! ---
**Author:** ![AtomicDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@AtomicDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AtomicDog)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-natural-dog-food-commercials-really-grind-my-gears/629209/18 "2012-07-25T13:25:43Z")
> [@Alpha\_Twit](#): > > What does gluten have to do with corn? Nothing. It’s just another food product that people consider poison for some reason. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-natural-dog-food-commercials-really-grind-my-gears/629209/19 "2012-07-25T16:50:54Z")
> [@AtomicDog](#): > > Nothing. It’s just another food product that people consider poison for some reason. It’s not a question of it being poison. It’s that when a grain product is the first (and therefore the largest) ingredient in dog food, it means your dog is not getting a balanced diet. It would be like if you ate mostly bread, crackers, corn chips, and cereal. As omnivores (like dogs) humans will not thrive on a diet of mostly grains (and refined grains at that). Since we have domesticated dogs and forced them as a species to be dependent on us for their food, we have a responsibility to give some consideration to a good diet for them. A good diet is NOT going to be composed primarily of corn. ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2012, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-natural-dog-food-commercials-really-grind-my-gears/629209/20 "2012-07-25T17:20:39Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Corn is not appropriate food for dogs, as this poster says. There’s a reason why corn is used in feed lots: TO FATTEN CATTLE. > > It’s not a question of whether dogs will turn their noses up at a food. Just like kids, they’d probably be happy on a diet of oreos and mac & cheese. But since they are domesticated and they do rely on us for food, we should be responsible about what we feed them. This. My vet also told me that if you buy nicer food, your dog actually eats less to feel full, so you go through the bag slower. He was right, of course- I mean, it works the same for humans. I free feed my dogs and one half full bowl will last 'em all day with some left overs for the next day. The few times I’ve forgotten to buy better food (the rule of thumb vet told me is that corn or rice shouldn’t be the first or second ingredient) and instead picked up a small bag of the corn-o-rama stuff, my dogs inhale a huge bowl, then in an hour are whining that they are hungry. I have a theory that cheap dog food is the chinese food of the dog world-- delicious, but you’re starving an hour later. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-natural-dog-food-commercials-really-grind-my-gears/629209.md?page=2)