That I thought I would share.

My family runs our own business...and I was talking to one of my customers today. She spoke to me in tears because she just had to put down her....24 year old Lab, "Jodi".

Yes....24 YEARS OLD! :eek:

I have never, ever heard of any dog living that long? She told me that she rescued her from a shelter when she was around a year old. She was badly mistreated and took her some time to come out of her shell.

She told me that she was never sick a day in her life...always happy and healthy...and that she loved her dearly.

I then had to ask....what is your secret? What did you feed her?

Her reply was "Kibbles and Bits"! She also told me that they would feed her everything and anything along with her dog food...lots and lots of table scraps too...but she just loved her Kibble and Bits!

I just had to share this story...I even went to the Kibbles and Bits website to check out the ingredients...it honestly has to win the prize for the worst possible ingredients in a dry dog food...it is even preserved with BHA!!

Shocking to say the least....so I am wondering, does it really matter what we feed our dogs or is good health and longevity just in the genes???

WOW, 24!!!! My Bailey, 1/2 lab 1/2 golden - looked like a golden, lived until nearly 16. Yes, she ate Kibbles and Bits and was healthy up until the end.

Amazing story...My Sam, a short hair domestic Black cat lived to be 22..She lived outside and in....hunted for fresh food..birds and mice ate the feathers in all..just would leave the head..She dodged trains, cars and still survived that..She too ate a low end food Meow Mix her first 12 yrs...but I started her on good stuff...It improved her coat....Genetics let her live as long as she did...Canned food the last few years because of kidney issues...

I really feel for this lady...when a pet lives that long they are a part of your day to day routine.......she will have a big void in her life...

My G-ma's dog lived a very long time too, eating kibblesnbitts, but only a part of the time. He ate 90% homecooked.

With that I think this lady's dog probably had such a wonderful life cause it sounds like it ate more homecooked foods rather then the dry dog food, which was probably only used as a filler, not as actual meals.

For what ever reason though, that's amazing, and sad at the same time.

I do know though, that owners, irregardless what dry food they're feeding, as long as there's plenty of fresh foods available to the animal, it's amazing how well they do.

Goes to say too, that humans that eat a daily diet of eating out at fast foods, could also be quite healthy....just never know.

Forgot to mention, there was a border collie that lived to be somewhere between 20-25yrs, don't remember now exactly.....that died a few years back. The dog had been a strict vegetarian, eating only homemade meals.....so it's not unheard of.

I personally would like to hear of a dog eating *solely* generic supermarket foods and living that long though; fresh foods can go a LONG way to encouraging good health as does genetics, which we are all aware of.

Another reason why I like my mixed breeds, they tend to be somewhat healthier cause they don't receive the entire genetic of one breed.

I remember a thread here on the board about a 20 yr old golden who was fed Ole Roy.

That is amazing! Remember that genetics have a huge impact on life expectancy... I completely agree with Woofie about diet as well. :)

I remember a thread here on the board about a 20 yr old golden who was fed Ole Roy.

Really....that's cool...seriously I didn't know...just found this forum a few months back.

I really do wonder why though, that more people don't feed these foods...or I should say why you don't hear of members feeding these foods. I know there's tons of people I see at Walmart all the time buying Ole Roy, don't have a clue how their dogs are doing.

I can say that I do locates for utilities and I"m constantly in people's yards, 90% of the homes I go to, the owners are either feeding Beneful, Iams, Kibblesnbitts, and occasionally I'll see a bag of ole roy.....lots of owners leave their huge bags of food right out the back door.

I can tell you the dogs stools horribly stink, and for the most part, besides 80% of the dogs I see being grossly overweight, riddled with arthritis, and overwhelming lack of energy, on the older guys anyways. The younger pups seem to have all the energy in the world.

So obviously these foods are doing something for the millions upon millions of dogs in the world....which leads me to still wonder why members here are bound to feed Purina, TOTW, Kirklands, Eagle Pack, Canidae, etc.....why are so many here so determined to feed these so called higher quality foods if thousands of animals do just fine on good ole Kibblesnbitts and Ole roy....

Seriously...I'd like to know...I'm not trying to be a smarta$$

I know I mainly feed homecooked foods, for one, it's just as easy for me to cook for 3 humans as it is to include 3 4-legged mouths when 2 of the fur-babies are tiny dogs; and it gives them constant variety. I also throw them a lot of raw meaty bones cause it keeps their teeth clean; I, on average, spend less on their food by homecooking then if I were to feed dry food solely.

I like this too cause then I know where their food is coming from, and if an allergy arises, it's easy to pin-point it.

I can't tell you how many stories I've heard of dogs living for a very long time and eating stuff like Kibbles and Bits, Gravy Train etc. . . I bet that dog did live that long though because of all the table scraps. My mom's dog lived to be 17 and she ate Alpo - I don' t think my mom fed her table scraps.

Nancy

Woofie, I feed TOTW because I have a picky eater who also seems to have gotten allergies and was not doing well on other brands.

I think these larger dogs living this long have to have something in their genetic make-up. I know that since my dogs have been on the better quality foods, their weight has also gone down and their coats are looking awesome! We do have health issues with all of them, but one is hereditary (we think) and my Hannah was from a BYB. Oh yeah, mine are 8, 7.5 and 7.5 yrs old.

I agree that good genes helped this dog live as long as it did. I also think table scraps are GOOD for dogs. My grandma always told me how "stupid" (not her exact word.. but she tip toes around it) I am for buying kibble for Maxwell. She says her dogs growing up ate nothing but "left overs" and always lived long and healthy lives. I think a lot of that also has to do with the fact that air and water quality was better back then and that they grew/raised everything they ate without pesticides, hormones or antibiotics.

Wow... 24! I am so very sorry to hear of this woman's loss. May her sweet girl rest in peace. :hug:

Woofie, I feed TOTW because I have a picky eater who also seems to have gotten allergies and was not doing well on other brands.

.

Hey...no need to explain...seriously, I was just making a simple comment. I too feed what I feed cause it works when nothing else has, so I understand why people feed what they do when the dogs actually have issues.

But, believe me, I am NOT against feeding good foods, that's not what I meant. I just meant that it is true dogs can go on forever with what we believe are bad diets.

My other G-ma was a whole heartid believer that the dog ate solely what they ate for dinner, she never bought a bag of dog food in her life. All of her aussies, mixed mutts, cats, etc lived well into their early 20's, she never did vaccines either.

Hey...no need to explain...seriously, I was just making a simple comment. I too feed what I feed cause it works when nothing else has, so I understand why people feed what they do when the dogs actually have issues.

But, believe me, I am NOT against feeding good foods, that's not what I meant. I just meant that it is true dogs can go on forever with what we believe are bad diets.

My other G-ma was a whole heartid believer that the dog ate solely what they ate for dinner, she never bought a bag of dog food in her life. All of her aussies, mixed mutts, cats, etc lived well into their early 20's, she never did vaccines either.

I wasn't taking offense at all! ;) I know growing up my friends dogs all ate table scrapes as well and lived long lives. I guess that's how it was back then.

Throwing out my bag of Innova tonight, and tomorrow morning first thing buying a huge bag of Kibble n' Bits...I am convinced...

Throwing out my bag of Innova tonight, and tomorrow morning first thing buying a huge bag of Kibble n' Bits...I am convinced...

LOL

Throwing out my bag of Innova tonight, and tomorrow morning first thing buying a huge bag of Kibble n' Bits...I am convinced...

:brow:

Yeah.....like I believe you in heartbeat....take a pic of that bag after you buy it will you?

Seriously though...that's superb quality of living; bet you anything though, there's more to it. Meaning that dog probably had free range to roam, lived outside city limits away from all the smog and had an easy going life..which is the way it should be for all human and animal kind.

I think dogs that live a more stressful life succomb to illnesses too that probably had nothing at all to do with diets.

Now that it's been mentioned...I don't ever recall the health issues like torn ligaments, FMCP or stuff like that with my friends dogs while growing up. For those of you who have had dogs all your lives, did you have these problems way back when?

Throwing out my bag of Innova tonight, and tomorrow morning first thing buying a huge bag of Kibble n' Bits...I am convinced...


LOL! :floor:floor Too funny!

I am agreeing with most here...that Kibbles was not her dog's sole diet...and she was fed a lot of table scraps.

I also feel healthy scraps are fine for a dog...why not?

I can only hope and pray that my Toby will make it that long...wouldn't it be nice if all of our companions lived to be 20 or so?

Now that it's been mentioned...I don't ever recall the health issues like torn ligaments, FMCP or stuff like that with my friends dogs while growing up. For those of you who have had dogs all your lives, did you have these problems way back when?

No....and thank my lucky stars, none of my dogs in the last 15-20yrs have had any of these issues either.

Now that it's been mentioned...I don't ever recall the health issues like torn ligaments, FMCP or stuff like that with my friends dogs while growing up. For those of you who have had dogs all your lives, did you have these problems way back when?


Ive never heard of half the issues that dogs today have, maybe we just didnt have the knowledge back then? i dont know, i could give myself one hell of a headache thinking about this one

My parents bred and raised german shepards through out my childhood and they ate nothing dog chow and every table scrap known to man that 3 kids could give them, healthy and unhealthy table scraps

Our female lived to be 16 without a single health issue, male was 15 and again no health issues, both were 80 plus pound dogs

my pom the one in my sig pic ate pedigree and tons of table scraps her entire life up until the last 6 months and she is as healthy as she was at age 5, very slim, still full of that pom energy, gorgeous skin and coat and is showing no signs of slowing down yet, she is 11, she just survived 2 major surgeries 5 months ago that were done 1 week apart and pulled through without a single complication, vet said she did so well because of her remarkable health

I think genetic play the biggest role when looking at the big picture, thats my opinion.

I certainly don't want to give you a headache thinking about it! LOL

I didn't have dogs growing up, just kitties but I had a lot of relatives and friends with dogs and I just never remember hearing of the health issues you hear of now.

All the dogs I remember lived relatively normal to long lives too!

My dog gowing up, Rusty, lived to be 18. He was half corgi and half German shepherd. He ate Gravy Train ( eewww) his whole life, the one where you would add water to make gravy but really it made mush. I don't ever ever remember taking him to the vet for health issues. Man oh Man, he was scared to death of my dad ( the guy with the newspaper) had no training, ran amock if he got outside and was spoiled rotten by me and my siblings.
Now that I am older and wiser and mom to Hamish, I hope he has 15 + yrs in him. He is on Natural Balance, all kinds of vitamins and he still has loose poops. Sigh.....

I don't think it matters what we feed. I don't think it matters how long they stay. It's never long enough and they always leave too soon.

24?! I would love if Marley lived that long! We are absolutely in love with her, and DH always mentions how he never knew a dog could become such a big part of your life. That's amazing...and so sad. I can't imagine losing a dog after that long amount of time either...

So obviously these foods are doing something for the millions upon millions of dogs in the world....which leads me to still wonder why members here are bound to feed Purina, TOTW, Kirklands, Eagle Pack, Canidae, etc.....why are so many here so determined to feed these so called higher quality foods if thousands of animals do just fine on good ole Kibblesnbitts and Ole roy....

Seriously...I'd like to know...I'm not trying to be a smarta$$



Because many here actually eat the food themselves. They don't want to end up with scratchy ears, large stinky poops, scaly skin, and stinky breath.;)

Because many here actually eat the food themselves. They don't want to end up with scratchy ears, large stinky poops, scaly skin, and stinky breath.;)

That's too cute and truly funny....my nephew really does eat the Honest Kitchen food I make for the dogs; he also will sit there and eat a bowl of Cal Natural....I'm not kidding! He's 10yrs old, so it's not like he's unaware of what it is...but he loves it and says it tastes great.

His Mom just shakes her head and laughs....can't hurt him and he's literally become my taste testor for the dogs...except I won't let him eat the raw eggs and raw meats they get obviously; but I have literally caught him in the kitchen eating out of a can of Wellness Core :eek:

Ate the entire 12oz can, he knew exactly what it was, said it tasted great! Whenever we go camping, we pack little snacks in our fishing sacks for when we're sitting by the river, he will seriously fill his own snacks with either Cal Natural, Evo, or the Acana I was feeding for a while.

His own dog eats Blue buffalo, I've caught him eating that too. It's actually a hoot, it really is....for a while we thought he was doing it just to get kicks from us, but he's been doing this now for over 5yrs.

Must say, kid looks great :p:

That's too cute and truly funny....my nephew really does eat the Honest Kitchen food I make for the dogs; he also will sit there and eat a bowl of Cal Natural....I'm not kidding! He's 10yrs old, so it's not like he's unaware of what it is...but he loves it and says it tastes great.

His Mom just shakes her head and laughs....can't hurt him and he's literally become my taste testor for the dogs...except I won't let him eat the raw eggs and raw meats they get obviously; but I have literally caught him in the kitchen eating out of a can of Wellness Core :eek:

Ate the entire 12oz can, he knew exactly what it was, said it tasted great! Whenever we go camping, we pack little snacks in our fishing sacks for when we're sitting by the river, he will seriously fill his own snacks with either Cal Natural, Evo, or the Acana I was feeding for a while.

His own dog eats Blue buffalo, I've caught him eating that too. It's actually a hoot, it really is....for a while we thought he was doing it just to get kicks from us, but he's been doing this now for over 5yrs.

Must say, kid looks great :p:


OMG THAT'S HILARIOUS! I need a picture of him getting caught:floor eating some canned food.

My grandparents mini schnauzers lived well into their mid 20's. I know that isn't so unheard of for small dogs, but they were fed pretty much the leftovers from dinner which in an Italian household means a lot of pasta and butter. :)

I fed my previous two Science Diet which I know everyone says is junk on here. They lived until around 15. One went through a lot of medical issues that would have killed any other dog. But, to the vet's surprise always managed to come bouncing out of them with flying colors.--things like adrenal tumors for which we did 3 weeks of radiation.

Not sure how much it all makes a difference. But, I do hope to believe that it doesn't make it worse, so I am happy giving them what I think is best for them and they are thriving on it.

Deb

That's too cute and truly funny....my nephew really does eat the Honest Kitchen food I make for the dogs; he also will sit there and eat a bowl of Cal Natural....I'm not kidding! He's 10yrs old, so it's not like he's unaware of what it is...but he loves it and says it tastes great.

His Mom just shakes her head and laughs....can't hurt him and he's literally become my taste testor for the dogs...except I won't let him eat the raw eggs and raw meats they get obviously; but I have literally caught him in the kitchen eating out of a can of Wellness Core :eek:

Ate the entire 12oz can, he knew exactly what it was, said it tasted great! Whenever we go camping, we pack little snacks in our fishing sacks for when we're sitting by the river, he will seriously fill his own snacks with either Cal Natural, Evo, or the Acana I was feeding for a while.

His own dog eats Blue buffalo, I've caught him eating that too. It's actually a hoot, it really is....for a while we thought he was doing it just to get kicks from us, but he's been doing this now for over 5yrs.

Must say, kid looks great :p:


:throwup: I would die if I saw that! :eek: That just sounds gross in all ways. LOL

Now that it's been mentioned...I don't ever recall the health issues like torn ligaments, FMCP or stuff like that with my friends dogs while growing up. For those of you who have had dogs all your lives, did you have these problems way back when?

Nope

Our dogs ate table scraps, Alpo and Gravy Train. They were outside dogs so they probably added other delicacies to their diet too :smile. No medical problems and the only time we called a vet was for the horses and other working animals. The dogs never needed one.

:throwup: I would die if I saw that! :eek: That just sounds gross in all ways. LOL

First couple times it got to us...I must admit. But...upon knowing that I trust the company foods that I feed, it doesn't bother me anymore....there's nothing in the food that's going to hurt the child anymore then it would the dog.

Obviously, this is not the child's diet, nor is it balanced for human consumption, but definitely not any worse for him then grease-filled french fries from Burger king....probably healthier, in fact. Just doesn't look *pretty*!

You know though I bet these foods like Pedigree, Kibbles and Bits, Gravy Train were better years ago. Even Nutro used to be a lot better than it is now.

Nancy

man...24 yrs old, and with KNB!
I still think it matters what we feed our dogs, just like it matters what we feed ourselves. However, every once in a while you'll find that person who ate chocolate and fried foods everyday and lived to be 90 yrs old.

This 'interesting story' really makes me wonder if the ingredients in the supposedly 'good' foods makes a difference. I've read some other stories, on this message board, of how people have had great success with so called 'low' quality foods.

It's kind of interesting that you hear stories about how long some pets have lived on these so called 'low' quality foods, but you don't hear nearly as many with 'high' quality foods. Does anyone have an reasons why they think this may be?

This 'interesting story' really makes me wonder if the ingredients in the supposedly 'good' foods makes a difference. I've read some other stories, on this message board, of how people have had great success with so called 'low' quality foods.


Not to go off on a tandem, but did you ever smell a dog who ate "low quality" dog food? Like KNB, Purina Dog Chow, Ol' Roy? Makes a difference to me. Maybe those who have had success with "low quality" food don't mind the smell.;)

Not to go off on a tandem, but did you ever smell a dog who ate "low quality" dog food? Like KNB, Purina Dog Chow, Ol' Roy? Makes a difference to me. Maybe those who have had success with "low quality" food don't mind the smell.;)

Agreed! Same with the size/smell of the poop

I am also not quite sure I believe a 24 yr old lab would be happy and healthy...or that their was a 24 yr old lab...maybe :confused:

WOW, Thats amazing! The longest one of our dogs lived was a German Shepard that lived to be almost 17!

This 'interesting story' really makes me wonder if the ingredients in the supposedly 'good' foods makes a difference. I've read some other stories, on this message board, of how people have had great success with so called 'low' quality foods.

It's kind of interesting that you hear stories about how long some pets have lived on these so called 'low' quality foods, but you don't hear nearly as many with 'high' quality foods. Does anyone have an reasons why they think this may be?

For one, good quality foods haven't been around as long as most of the lower quality foods....for another, the low quality foods *used* to be half-way decent in their time.

Also...how many of these longevity story dogs SOLELY ate the low quality kibble; I bet you a good 90% of them also ate quite a bit of fresh foods from the table too.

That's like saying yes a homecooked meal for us is good, but we can survive just fine on Mcdonalds everyday for every meal....don't think so.

I'm talking the pit of all foods though, i.e. kibblesnbitts, Pedigree, ole roy, etc. these would be like us eating fast food every day.....I do believe some dogs have eatin them forever, and survived a long time, but were those dogs honestly healthy?? Or were they riddled with arthritis, skin issues, grody teeth?