💔Heartbroken: Open Farm dry dog kibble review

[@knitswithdirt]

I owe you an apology. On an older video-I want to say it was for Purina-I had commented about how you don't know anything and that corn was a filler, blah, blah, blah. I (bold and underlined!) was the one who didn't know anything. I did discover I had fallen into the marketing tricks and the singular voices of Dr. Judy and Dr. Becker (and similar). I have changed my dog's food SO.MANY.TIMES trying to find the best for her. From expensive "high end" kibble, raw (which oddly, she won't even eat anymore, go figure!) and freeze dried foods. She was on Open Farm rotating the proteins every 3rd bag for about 18 months. She is now on Science Diet Pollock & Insect (because I'm a HUGE supporter of soldier fly larva as protein for animals). A brand I would have talked S*** about about 2 months ago and would have said I would NEVER (although I still DO hate how almost all of their adult dog foods are chicken) feed. I have learned a lot from you and the Pet Food Puzzle Guy since my previous comment (which I have deleted) and I am TRULY sorry.

[@AnimalDocRea]

That’s ok, you were just doing Your best with the information you were given at the time. Where you the one that I was trying to teach about food hypersensitivity model in dogs? If anything it was a good reminder for me to make sure the literature hadn’t changed and re-research the matter. I’m glad you got it sorted out now. If you haven’t yet, check out my soldier fly larvae video, I’m also a fan!

[@knitswithdirt]

@@AnimalDocRea no it wasn't me. I was saying how X brands have so many recalls and this is partbof them being bad and you schooled me on that. 😁

[@AnimalDocRea]

@knitswithdirt you see, no hard feelings. I don’t even remember. 😹

[@PetFoodPuzzleGuy]

Hey, we all should be so humble and willing to admit we are wrong. Great lesson for all of us. Grateful to be part of it. We sure love our furry friends!

[@katiehitt7270]

I fell onto the "holistic" marketing too constantly switching between brands of raw freezebdried or expensive kibble. I got sick of it and switched to PPP sensitive lamb and oat and no issues. I decided I'd rather spend my money on doing things with my dogs rather than going broke feeding them

[@SenateKT-uc2id]

Can you do open farms "good bowl" line?

[@soupdumpling2]

Hi Dr. Rea, I feed open farm but I want to stay on the safer side and try something WSAVA compliant, could you possibly in the future make a review on Purina pro plan sensitive skin and stomach? Thank you for always shedding light on dog foods.

[@AnimalDocRea]

Yes I can

[@nz4fun]

@@AnimalDocRea I would be interested in that review as well, specifically the Salmon one. My plan was to switch to the Farmina N&D Tropical Selection line but for some reason their large size bags have been unavailable and after speaking with Farmina, they can not tell me when it will be in stock again 🤔 Having 2 large dogs, 4lb bags will not work for me lol, so I might have to look for a different option since I will need to be able to purchase a bag about every 3-4 weeks.

[@tigertalks1567]

@@nz4fun I don't care what anyone says Purina Pro Plan raised one of the best dogs I ever had she was very sensitive German shepherd with her stomach and her skin and I raised her on the salmon Sensitive Formula

[@brookesalas2936]

I would love to see Fromm next! Seems like protein and fat are in the right zone, but fiber is a touch high? Curious what you think!

[@AnimalDocRea]

Dissecting the Marketing from Nutrition of Fromm Family Pet foods kzbin.info/www/bejne/jIqao3qmiZ15ac0

[@brookesalas2936]

Oh perfect! Thank you

[@griffinodie]

Interesting … because everyone I go into a “ speciality dog food “ store they’re constantly pushing this food as the “ best high quality “ . I read the labels and know based on your chart , that it’s not . People are buying into the marketing hype of “ trace your ingredients “ .. thank you for clarifying these foods .

[@AnimalDocRea]

Tracing is fine, but only when the food has a good foundation

[@AnimalDocRea]

Would be interested to know…is it also the most expensive. I think many pet boutique employees unknowingly recommend a food as being best because it’s the most expensive they have

[@carlosmontes384]

So which is the best brand?

[@Fabhuntress]

So, if you had to choose a Fancy Feast pate for an adult cat would the adult version be better or the "all life stages " because it might have more nutrients, because it's also sustainable for kittens? ( just thinking out loud )

[@AnimalDocRea]

I’d have to run the specific numbers and know the specific case to say for sure. I’d likely go with whichever numbers best fit my pets life stage.

[@Fabhuntress]

perfect 👍 I'm a pro at converting to a dry matter basis. (Your channel was very helpful with that!) My angel baby kitten will be an adult in 4 months, so I am getting a head start on his adult diet! Thanks for the input. I will use the chart that you always reference and make sure the numbers are as optimal as possible!​@@AnimalDocRea

[@Fabhuntress]

I think that would make for a great video idea because fancy feast pate is such a great budget option, that so many people use and recommend. It would be interesting and so helpful to see which pates are the *best* for adult cats. The 'all life stages' or the 'adult'.

[@Line-i9m]

What is your take on dry dog food, that has kibble + freeze dried morsels?

[@AnimalDocRea]

As long as the freeze dried isn’t raw it should be fine. If it’s raw then it’s raw and has the same food safety concerns

[@onlineservicesolutionsunil]

Such a heartfelt review!

[@AnimalDocRea]

I just want everyone to be happy and get along!

[@onlineservicesolutionsunil]

@@AnimalDocRea ❤

[@Paigensadie]

Hi, this is my first time watching your videos. I found them from researching on my own better foods to feed my dogs. My dog is on Open Farm Raw Mix fish dry food mixed and N&D wet food because she is picky. I watched your other videos about N&D and feel it is better with its nutrition content. The protein content in Open Farm is high even with it’s listed minimum crude protein percentage. Not including the calcium and phosphate, etc. Plus, my dog loves the N&D wet food. My questions is, do you think switching over to N&D dry food can be more beneficial than the open farm? I know switching over food can do more harm than good. She has a very sensitive stomach so I’m wondering if switching over would be a good decision Thank you for your videos. I’m learning a lot from you and appreciate your knowledge on all these topics

[@AnimalDocRea]

You can try a slow transition over 2 -4 weeks if you like.

[@Paigensadie]

@@AnimalDocRea thank you so much for your input. I appreciate it. Take care!!

[@cam6790]

Loved the video and I appreciate the information! I did notice that there wasn’t anything mentioned about any of the “Open Farm Raw Mix”. Any thoughts on this line?

[@AnimalDocRea]

Anything that requires mixing or raw would have significant nutritional concerns and would score poorly therefore I don’t review them

[@ClaudiaGoodwin]

@@AnimalDocRea Can you explain what this means?

[@AnimalDocRea]

You can’t know the nutritional content of a food when you mix it because you don’t know the nutrient values of the beginning or the end and you don’t know how the nutrients may interact and affect bioavailability there I do not recommend or review mix diets, it is nearly impossible to do a proper nutrition analysis. With that said they are not recommended.

[@ClaudiaGoodwin]

@@AnimalDocRea Isn't it already mixed though? Or do you mean that we have to mix it?

[@AnimalDocRea]

@ClaudiaGoodwin it’s just a base so you add stuff to it is my understanding

[@JeffpRRR666]

Hi (Again) Dr. Rea! Should I NOT being putting frozen peas into my Pups home cooked recipe?

[@AnimalDocRea]

Do you have the recipe balanced by a nutritionist or banaceit.com?

[@kimmiekreuzberger9224]

Hi Dr Rea - I would be really interested to see a video with your thoughts and ratings on Carna4. I feel like that brand has a lot of discussion right now and would love to hear your opinion. Thank you and appreciate your work!

[@AnimalDocRea]

I’ve tried to contact them this week and they will only Provide me as fed numbers. I requested again dry matter basis but as of right now it’s not available for me to review. I have one review on them, but I wanted to Give them a second chance. I’m not really pleased when a company can’t provide the information and honestly it’s an instant disqualification. Customer service even went so far as telling me I could calculate the numbers myself and when I explained I wanted more than just “minimums” I never got a response back (do date)

[@AnimalDocRea]

Carna4 dog and cat food review: How does it score against competitors? kzbin.info/www/bejne/hl69iJZ5ZauAjck

[@mikestevenson4101]

Thank you for this, I have spent alot of time looking at adult foods and had used your charts to help, what I am finding is that Phosphorous and Calcium and usually a bit higher than recommended but I also know you say just a bit over can make a big difference. I also noticed they use Min amounts so it's difficult to figure out actual protein amounts. Thank you for providing us with the tools to make better choices :)

[@AnimalDocRea]

Sounds like you have learned a lot, great job! You can always call a company for a typical analysis on a dry matter basis, they should be able to tell you and if not….probably best to move on.

[@peteriwanec3472]

I've noticed more and more dog food is labeled as All Life Stages/Adult. Recently, I did a count and found, by brand that 7 out of 10 all were leaning to All Life Stage - ( Lucy, ANP, Blue Buffalo, Open Farm, Nutrisource, Fromm, Victor., to name a few... which is very frustrating. I want my levels of calcium, and Phosphorus to be low but within the Ca-to-P ratio limits of 1.2 to 1.4., with a good dose of Vitamin D to aid in calcium absorption. So annoyed.

[@AnimalDocRea]

It’s the easy and obviously more profitable way…but you know the pet food companies love pets and vets are just selling pet food for money 🫣

[@Ikea9292101]

Thanks for this!

[@Aussiedog2023]

Hi Dr. Rea - couple of quick questions! 1. In the beginning you mentioned you’d be reviewing the OF Good bowls too - are those listed in the comparison? 2. Is the ancient grains harvest chicken listed twice? #4 and #10 on comp chart? I feed my 1 1/2 year old Aussie OF ancient grains harvest chicken and never caught the all stages - so bummed! I tried a couple Science Diet flavors when she turned 1 and unfortunately my girl just didn’t like it ( she’d leave it in the bowl for hours until she was starving which made me feel bad) where she’s excited for the OF food during both meal times and eats it immediately. Looks like I’m back to the drawing board - looking at your 7-10s now 😅

[@AnimalDocRea]

I think I did forget to do good bowl….

[@cleorobyn]

Do novel protein diets still work for pets with allergies? Or is it better to use a hydrolyzed protein diet? I’m just curious as I am considering getting one for my cat as he’s suffering from allergies.

[@AnimalDocRea]

Only the prescription ones diagnostic for food trial but they are less successful than the hydrolyzed so most vet donr use them anymore. Plus to many pet food companies use all the novel Proteins so most pets have already been exposed also ruining the food trial

[@cleorobyn]

@@AnimalDocRea Would you ever consider doing a video on hydrolyzed diets? There’s not much information on them and I’d like to learn more about how they work. I know it’s sort of a niche video as these diets are only available from our Vet. But so many pets suffer from allergies and skin conditions and it might be helpful for others.

[@AnimalDocRea]

@cleorobyn yes I can do that

[@AshleyKarys]

Dr. Rea, I’d love to learn about these diets as I have an itchy kitty with allergies. The next steps with my Vet is a feeding trial for 8-12 weeks on a hydrolyzed protein diet. But to be fair I don’t know much about them and I’d love to learn more about how they work.

[@khristvnx]

Can you please do an in depth review on Blue Buffalo Life protection formulas particularly the small breed kibble There are so many wishie washy videos out there and would love an actual non biased input

[@StarkK9Academy]

Have you reviewed Katherine K’s dog food?

[@AnimalDocRea]

I have not

[@DanielSwain-oj4rr]

When I first got my dog he was on NutriSource Performance, switched to Carna4, then Open Farm, tried switching to Royal Canin Golden Retriever based on your vids and some others, within days my dog was itching like crazy transitioned him back to Open Farm and the itching has all but stopped, any thoughts on this? I want to give him the best but I couldn’t believe how fast he started itching and how fast he stopped

[@AnimalDocRea]

Not sure, all products are OTC so not processed in a way that would constitute a food trial or elimination diet. A true food allergy would take 8 weeks minimum to see any itch resolve. With that in mind, IF it was a food allergy it would have been to whatever food you were feeding 8-12 weeks prior. That’s assuming you were giving nothing else by mouth including treats or even preventions. When doing a food trial for allergies it’s best to have this done in conjunction with a vet so they can make sure the focal is done properly or else the results are not diagnostic. Foods cannot be changed any sooner than 8 weeks and then after a suspect is confirmed a challenge is then performed. There is a very specific pattern that must be followed. Statistically it’s more likely your pet suffered a FAD, Atopy, or contact dermatitis, mild skin infection that self resolved ( example, was contracting/inhaling a blooming plant that was no longer blooming).Food allergy is

[@DanielSwain-oj4rr]

I don’t doubt you at all, but it was like a one week transition into mega scratching, ears, sides by elbows, paw licking, biting hind quarters, and one week transition back and by like the 4th day it decreased and now completely back to normal…I feel like I’ve done hundreds of hours of research on dog nutrition and still don’t know anything confidently besides longevity is best indicated by keeping dogs lean, maintaining good dental health and minimizing stress, otherwise it’s a crap shoot…I def would like to just trust the science behind hills, royal and purina, I know they invest a lot of money, but my brain can’t help but liken it to the science behind corn fructose syrup being as safe as sugar, if that makes any sense to anyone besides me haha

[@AnimalDocRea]

@DanielSwain-oj4rr glad he’s good now, you can figure it out later if it recurs now that you know the proper algorithm

[@aiylacarson]

All life stage food is a colossal disappointment. It’s not worth your money. Feed age appropriate food especially if you have a senior pet.

[@AnimalDocRea]

I agree

[@JeffpRRR666]

Hi Dr. Rea! These food videos are really helpful, so I wanted to thank you! Both of my pups are very picky eaters and I also cook some of their food in an Instant Pot so I am trying to find a good kibble that can be one of their daily meals. Anyways, they are just finishing a bag of Open Farm "Rawmix" per your review I will stop buying that, I just went to their website and the "Fresh & Gently Cooked" is $12.99 per lb (or $10.81 per lb if I buy 16lbs at a time) and per the feeding chart I would need to spend $43.24 per day to feed both dogs! If only I could afford that!

[@AnimalDocRea]

I wouldn’t recommend feeding different t foods like you suggest. Just pick a balanced diet and stay simple without variation. The picky eater is a learned trait. Also make sure you are having g any home cooked meals formulated by a nutritious specifically for your pet or visit balanceit.com otherwise you most likely are doing more damage than good. Just had a client this week I’ve been councilin g for years this very thing and now I’m having to deal with a “picky eater” that is in kidney failure and she has no clue what nutrient levels she is feeding in her home cooked diet

[@katiehitt7270]

Can you do PPP sensitive skin and stomach lamb in oat in both puppy and adult?

[@stevem8685]

I had my dog on Open Farm Salmon, Ancient Grains formula, he immediately had soft, mushy poops and terrible smelling gas..i then tried him on Open Farm, Beef, same problem.. I now have him on Hills Science, 1-6 and with some added probiotics..he seems to be doing better now, his poops are firming up again 🙂

[@jayden1996b]

Great video! Could you do a video on the myth that non-holistic GP vets know nothing about nutrition? So many pet influencers are encouraging people to not trust their vet/be dishonest to their vet.

[@AnimalDocRea]

I don’t think I can take that topic emotionally. It so absurd and I can’t even enter that space with a clear head. I’ll work toward it

[@csmerced]

I don’t understand why the all life stages issue when they have a puppy recipe and you graded based on adult

[@AnimalDocRea]

All lifestage is a puppy food, but misleadingly marked as an adult.

[@JC-hr6mh]

Can you please review Lifetime (Canadian brand)? Specifically the dog, fish meal and oatmeal. Thank you!

[@samanthaparraz3059]

Can you please do a review of square pet dog foods? I believe they have 5 different formulas but I am curious on the nutrition of this food.

[@AnimalDocRea]

Yes I’ve been interested in this one too

[@debbiebooth7899]

@@AnimalDocRea the puzzle fellow really liked their open and informative approach. My almost 2 yr old Springer has terrible digestion. Been on a hydrolized diet vegetarian…now going to integrate with the Square Pet. They are great with information on what can trigger digestive issues. Hoping this will go well. Thanks for these reviews and all the fantastic information

[@jayati.design]

can you review Diamond Maintenance Formula pleaseeee!

[@sylviaramirez840]

Can you please review limited ingredients venison?

[@RobinFoster-z7z]

Good to find more info. I feed Open Farm for the humane treatment of animals aspect. I eat *mostly* vegan myself and hate animal abuse and torture. I'm glad to hear about the quality aspect. It's also interesting to hear about the grain-free aspect - I always thought that that was a requirement for working dog breeds (I have a mix ACD/Border Collie/Bullie/Aussie. I mix her food with Science Diet as that is what her previous owners were feeding her.

[@AnimalDocRea]

Thanks for watching, I appreciate you sharing your thought process.

[@weplaytowin]

Could you please do a food review on Orijen Six Fish? I saw you already have the cat food but would really like to see your thoughts on the dog version. Thank you for providing such helpful information! All dogs in my household eat Royal Canin or Purina products.

[@AnimalDocRea]

I will check it out

[@itsbutters69]

As always, great video! I was browsing Walmart and saw that the "famous" Dr. Pol has jumped on the bandwagon and created his own dog food. It would be very interesting to see where that falls into nutrient content. Of course, it could have been out for a while and I'm just now seeing it LOL!

[@AnimalDocRea]

I’ve not heard of it! I suppose I will have to look at it, I need a vet to make a food that is actually good.

[@StarkK9Academy]

@@AnimalDocReayes plz review that brand

[@AnimalDocRea]

Uh…just did a peak and it’s all life stages so we all know what that means. Likley the food was made and formulated and they got Dr. Poll to just put his name on it. I will take a deeper look but I’m skeptical

[@StarkK9Academy]

@@AnimalDocRea yikes! So what ages would an “All Age” food be good for? My Pups are turning 1yr.

[@AnimalDocRea]

@StarkK9Academy it’s a puppy food. If you need more explanation check out this video. All life stages is a big 🚩 What the Pet Food Industry Doesn't Want You To Know (All Life Stages) kzbin.info/www/bejne/g5PTgYGnd9-Dg6M

[@SandiGoessinger-kp3ky]

Hi dr Rea. Love your education. Learning lots ! You did a video on a new zeland food ((ziwi…I think ) it scored high on your rating system…because it was feeding trialed/ not raw/grain +…but the calcium and phosphorus were in excess ++. Would it not make sense to eliminate the feeding trial/ not raw (as you don’t evaluate raw foods anyways)and then include the vitamin E levels which I feel is an important criteria in choosing a dog food. I was disappointed that this particular food rated high…despite having excess minerals for an adult dog. Just a thought..

[@AnimalDocRea]

I certainly may take that into consideration.

[@ThatBlueAndYellowGuy]

Can you make a review about CARNILOVE true fresh series?

[@fengwei4164]

Openfarm dry food are ALL fishmeal-heavy. Dry fishmeal is always 2nd main ingredient which makes up the most of it's protein/fat profile because of 1st is fresh wet meat. Avoid them if your pet doesn't do well with fish. I failed to switch to the OF puppy food (8/10 highest score in this video) and went back to his old food. I suspect the high fish content caused my puppy's upset stomach.

[@AnimalDocRea]

Thanks for sharing that.

[@LittleMissSarahQ]

She’s selling pedigree on her Amazon account🤔

[@AnimalDocRea]

I link any food that scores high on my amazon account because people ask me for an easy access list, so yes it there for you if you want it. Not all foods are sold through amazon so the list is not exhaustive, you have to check the playlists for an exhaustive list of the foods I review and how they score.

[@peteriwanec3472]

I wish you would talk more about 1) calcium-to -phosphorus ratio 2) Vitamin D. Adhering without compromise to absolute numbers of calcium is in error since calcium is....."The amount of true calcium absorption may range from 25 to 90%, depending upon calcium status, calcium form or intake (Nap and Hazewinkel,1994). SO a little extra won't hurt. THe Merck Manual and the NRC do allow for a tolerance of 30%. Example, a low number of calcium and Ph let's say .95 and .50 give us a ratio of 1.9, very high ratio causing an imbalance of the two minerals working together. Additionally, Vitamin D from the , Small Animal Clinical Nutrition, page 113.,"No matter where absorption takes place, vitamin D is the most important regulator of calcium absorption (Birge and Avioli, 1990). Renal handling of calcium is also modulated by PTH and calcitonin but not as much as by vitamin D." I find it funny that you talk about calcium and phosphorus but never talk about Vitamin D which is extremely important in calcium regulation, whether that calcium is low or high. Calcium-to-Phosphorus ratio..."For all practical purposes, however, if a food were formulated to meet or slightly exceed an animal’s requirement for calcium and phosphorus, it would by default provide an optimal calcium-phosphorus ratio. Also you never discuss the bioavailability of the calcium or phosphorus. As a doctor you know that not 100% of these minerals are absorbed into an animal's system depending from what source they come....."Furthermore, the ratio can differ markedly with the form and availability of the calcium and phosphorus supplied in the diet." ( SACN, p.114.) I understand you want to keep within the guidelines and there is no argument from me. Lower calcium and phosphorus is good for the kidneys but also keeping that within the optimal ratio is a total win. Hard to do, yes, balancing act, very much so.

[@AnimalDocRea]

It’s because this is an introductory level educational channel. I have linked the text for those that wish for more detail but it’s just not the focus here. I want to teach the basics to a population of people that have a varied and unknown (to me) knowledge base so I’ve chosen to keep it simple.

[@petarkatalinic1387]

Hi,could you review a TROVET veterinary dog fod ,the brand is from Europe, mybe, thank you

[@lunayang9438]

On OF website, they say the protein for wild caught salmon is 26%😂 I wonder how did you measure that it is over 30%?

[@AnimalDocRea]

You have to use dry matter basis for this evaluation. Never use the guaranteed analysis. If you aren’t sure what j mean by that, please watch the videos on my foundations to pet food playlist. Without understanding the basics you won’t be able to follow the review videos. But to answer your question you need to selected extended nutrient profile link and use the DMB column.

[@AmericanHuskyCash]

Very well done video.

[@AnimalDocRea]

Thank you.

[@brendahipp8287]

Please review science diet senior 11 plus

[@AnimalDocRea]

Yes I’ll have to, I got several requests for thatbone

[@csmerced]

They have ancient grains recipes

[@AnimalDocRea]

Yes

[@edschulhof6303]

Panda likes to watch your videos. I posted a picture on IG. Happy Purrsday!

[@ngarci8040]

👍