Just Food For Dogs is making some pretty slick claims - the biggest is that their food boosts the immune system of dogs. Watch the video to find out if that is a good thing!
this was SOOOO HELPFUL! i been feeding my jack Russell this food for almost a year and have noticed she has light allergies like mild licking and scratching. so it makes sense. although I'm sure that it could be other causes, but at least this narrows it down. thanks!
Thanks for this video, the dog food space is very confusing. It seems everything I read is contradicting something else. I suppose this is to be expected since even with human diet there is even more confusion on what is considered healthy.
Yup. That is one reason why diet fads can be so prolific. The science is really hard to get right and to correctly interpret. We are making no recommendation for or against JFFD, just pointing out that they are not correctly interpreting the science/making claims that aren't supported by the science.
Animal diets are way more contradicting then human diets,it’s guys like this,they break down why dog food companies are not beneficial and then never give you information on better diets,corrective animal diets for pets.
Can you cover subscription foods like “The Farmers Dog”, “Ollie”, and “nomnom”. Influencers are pushing The Farmers Dog like crazy because they’re getting paid for it however, it’s so expensive especially for those who have more than one furbaby. What’s a good option for people like me with 4 babies? I want to feed healthy and fresh to my picky eaters who like a change in their diet every few months. They like fresh warm food they’ll refuse to eat any cold meat they’re very hard to feed.
Can you please review the Farmer's Dog as well? Or do you have a list of food/brands that you do recommend for healthy, and maybe slightly overweight 4 yr old dogs?
Hi Dr. 👋 what about the farmers dog food ? Is it better and healthier than just food for dogs? I have 3 doggies and I'm just looking for a better health and diet . My oldest is 11 years old and i want the best for him for all of my babies
I used to feed spot & tango. My dogs stopped liking it after trying the intro pack (bout 1mo time. They wouldn’t touch their unkibble either.) I’m looking into nom nom but it’s pricey. I’m probably gonna go w/ Yumwoof. I came across something today that compared all the brands you asked bout and the order of healthy to least healthy was: farmers dog, Ollie, pet plate, s&t. Can’t remember where I saw it though
1 page of results?!? As a fellow researcher that’s insulting lol. If 1 page was enough to show compelling evidence Ph.Ds would be so much more easier to come by haha. I advise others to do their homework and let the data speak for itself. If marketing companies are only showing 1 page of evidence, I would advise to seek alternatives.
JFFD also partner with a lot of rescues, giving adopters a pack of free food hoping they’ll continue their new family members on JFFD. They kinda guilt you. It’s super expensive, but they play on your emotions to feed your dogs the “best food”. Our dog came to us underweight and did terrible on JFFD and always had horrible diarrhea. Switching his food fixed the problem almost instantly.
So what is your recommendation as to Fresh Pet Food? I respect your knowledge, and expertise. However, as medical professional. Give us the answer as to the science and what you KNOW is healthy. You shared whats not good but for all us pet families we need to know what is good or best. To date no one has done that
Honestly, JFFD is probably fine. I am not saying their food isn't good, I just want them to be more honest. I have not evaluated all of the different pet food companies - that may be a future blog post though.
Interesting. I see what your saying although this “diet” is probably fine and all they shouldn’t be saying these claims. I’ve been wanting to start cooking for my dog. Because for one I’ve tried 6-7 different brands of dog food and my dog just isn’t interested in it. And for two there’s recalls left and right with every company out there idk why these companies can’t get a handle on this stuff it’s insane. From fixing bugs to metal shards to E. coli. Like you said though it seems recalls have started to slow down but not completely. I’ve been thinking of doing this just for dogs kit. But here we are again in a vicious cycle saying even this might be “bad” I guess everything and anything a dog eats is bad even fresh cooked food it’s the most confusing thing ever
Yeah, nothing is certain in life, right?! Let me throw one more wrench in to the mix. Even home made diets have been shown to cause problem in dogs because a high majority of them do not actually meet all of the nutritional requirements of a dog or cat. So even making your pets their food isn't a sure thing. Try out the JFFD and see how it goes. I don't think it is actually causing problems, so hopefully your pup will do well on it.
Thanks! My dog is rather picky. And loves these raw diet foods so I gave this one a shot. But, I think I'll be looking for other options over this one given these results. Also, it's expensive even for a raw diet.
Hey Dr. Evans, I have a very picky eater with allergies, I tried all dry dog foods to no avail; however, the fresh food option was the best for us. We were hoping to switch to JustForDogs from a previous Fresh Food option and wanted to know if you have any updates on the white blood cell issues? Is this a safe food for my dogs to eat?
Dr. What do you feed your dog? This isn't a loaded question. What do you feed your dog? Because that is what I will my dog too. Truly, if you reply with answer, that would be awesome!
That is a great question! JFFD is very likely a healthy diet, we are just calling out their questionable claims that aren't supported by the research they performed. The good news is since the pet food industry has become more regulated over the decades, most foods are healthy and complete and balanced nutrition, so almost any will work. The only diet we know consistently poses a health risk are raw diets - by their nature of being raw meat. Even freeze dried raw can have dangerous levels of bacteria. So - fresh cooked or kibble diets that are complete and balanced are what we recommend to our clients.
Is this a keto or low carb food? I have a tripaw 84lbs 9 year old goldenddodle with osteosarcoma. His front leg got amputated may 28th and he will start chemo tomorrow. He is been eating dr harveys paradigm but is $300 a month cause I still have to add fresh protein of choice to it. So looking for something cheaper and healthy. I have never feed raw to my dog. I cook his protein when I add it to paradigm food.
@Henry Zuniga Hernandez I can't tell you via this thread, but I do like to be able to feel and partially see ribs on dogs. Look up body condition scores for dogs as a reference
I don't think he will actually say. It's probably Purina or Hills. My dog is in his latter years of life and is on Hills K/D, and he beat kidney disease. Now he's beat it, there is better food to be giving him. He won't tell you that though.
I don't have any recipes that I ascribe to. However, this website is a great resource to make your own food and ensure it is complete and balanced: balanceit.com
Ha. You are not alone. There is a ton of information out there. But just because there is a lot, doesn't mean its any good! If you want to home cook, I recommend balanceit.com to help you formulate a complete and balanced diet. I am no way affiliated with the company, but have sent other clients there with good success.
Dr. Evans, i'd like to ask you a question. I get what you're saying about their food, but what about their Renal Food? I've tried to give my dog Royal Canin, Hills KD and a few other brands, my dog will not eat them. What do you think about their Renal food?
I can't give specific advice about your pet here, but in general, their renal diet should be fine. We just want pets to eat. If JFFD is what works, I wouldn't worry about it.
My well respected internal Med Ver recommended their renal diet as eell as RC and Hills. And my other dog goes to a very well respected orthopedic clinic and JFFD is on their recommended list as well.
Hi my dog was diagnosed with early kidney disease 6 weeks ago. She hated the Hills as well. Loves the Royal Canin wet food. But ever since I've been feeding it to her she hasn't been acting like herself. I was going to ask my Vet for a prescription for the Just food for Dogs. Did you ever try the renal variety with your dog?
Hey! I started feeding my dog fish and sweet potatoes from just food for dogs, but I worry because cruide protein for this brand is only about 9% while premium cable brands are usually around 23% crude protein. What do you think is better?
This is where comparing pet foods can be very difficult. To compare apples to apples, you need to compare the ingredients "on a dry matter basis" which means how much of it is actually there when you remove all of the water. From what I can tell from JFFD materials is that their fish and sweet potato diet is actually 27% protein on a dry matter basis, so it is equivalent to kibble in that regard.
Rachael Ray's Nutrish and most other pet food includes feed-grade food. This food has been rejected and is not safe for human consumption. What is allowed into pet food is alarming!
There is nothing to say that this is better than kibble. Right now it is all marketing and opinion. Remember that there are probably a billion dogs on kibble and the vast majority of them do great. While some dogs may improve on this diet, I have also treated dogs that do worse on it. So if a dog is on kibble, has a good coat, healthy poops, and seems happy, I wouldn't change anything.
@@mwb7029 You are correct, a life of doritos would be terrible. However, where human processed food tends to be high in fats and salt, kibble is complete and balanced nutrition and nothing like Doritos. That is where the marketing comes in to play trying to equate human processed junk food with kibble. Realize that they are two separate things.
Anything is better than kibble that is extruded at 400° plus. there is no benefit to anything cooked at that temp. Look into gently baked kibbles such as YumWoof which is baked at 170° - it’s natural human grade ingredients with no fillers no junk only 15 ingredients in it and it’s gently baked and nutritious
@@coastalanimalhospital2459 I feel like I can just cook them food and make sure I add in some supplements. my yorkie don't have many teeth and he's struggling with kibble, yet wet upsets his stomach to much
You are saying that fresh diet is not good for dogs?????? - dogs come from woofs and they are suppose to eat off the nature - raw food and fresh food. I don't think kibble is really healthy to our dogs - can you eat tortilla every day until the rest of your life? My dog tested negative to all parasites and is on fresh food and he doesn't want to eat kibble and all types of processed treats. Kibble of course is a type of food you give to someone who cannot say No.
That's not what I am saying - I hope you watched the video to get the point I am trying to make - which is don't tout research which says the opposite of what you are claiming. I applaud their efforts at research, but just want them to not misrepresent what they found - which they did. Now - you bring up other issues - the first is that there is a problem with tortillas - which there isn't. They are a perfect food and should be revered. The second is that dogs are supposed to eat raw diets because they descend from wolfs and therefore that is the healthiest choice for them - which it isn't. Dogs have evolved from wolfs and have different nutritional needs and capabilities. While they can eat raw diets - there is a mountain of research showing there are potentially negative consequences to that - specifically with infectious organisms such as salmonella, E.coli, listeria, etc. as well as the potential to get parasites from the uncooked meat - which I have diagnosed in my own patients. JFFD is a better choice than raw because they take fresh ingredients and minimize the potential for an infection - in the pets and in the people who love them. And that is great that your dog does great on fresh food. That isn't an option for everyone though and I know thousands of dogs who are completely happy and healthy on their kibble.
@@coastalanimalhospital2459 doc.... i really like their treats like the chicken jerkey or the venison etc....you think that is better than their food instead and also how about supplementation for your pups....vitamis etc....is that necessary?
@@hotmail305 I don't have any experience with their treats, but likely they are fine. If the diet states that it is "complete and balanced nutrition" for your pets life stage (puppy v. adult v. pregnant v. lactating, etc), then vitamins are not necessary.
@@coastalanimalhospital2459 thanks!! Oh btw....south koreans are now closing their dogs....so all this stuff wont be that important if we gonna clone dogs in the future.....imo.....dogs will be replaced like plastic forks due to cloning in the next 20-50 years.
Nicolina York, I agree. I get the feeling that these huge dog food companies (and some vets who promote kibble/dry food) are afraid of many pet owners discovering how much healthier a raw/fresh food diet is for their dogs.
Good question. JFFD is very likely a fine diet, we are just calling out their questionable claims that aren't supported by the research they performed. The good news is since the pet food industry has become more regulated over the decades, most foods are healthy and complete and balanced nutrition, so almost any will work. The only diets we know consistently poses a health risk are raw diets - by their nature of being raw meat. Even freeze dried raw can have dangerous levels of bacteria. So - fresh cooked or kibble diets that are complete and balanced are what we recommend to our clients.
I found this video and information to be highly confusing and not helpful. While you refuted the companies claims to a test study they did, you didn’t offer up any facts as to weather this diet is ok for your dog or not. You also didn’t offer resolutions of wether you could help to make this diet healthier for your dog, i.e “their recipes would be better if they included a,b or c ingredients”. What im getting from this video is that you refuted one claim on their website, the end. You make it seem that no diet will he sufficient enough for a dog no matter what we feed them?
Hi Erika, The whole point of this video was to highlight that you should be skeptical of marketing claims and to point out that the "study" they touted actually showed the opposite of what they were trying to prove. It was a call out for them to do better. In reality, their food is probably fine, but so is kibble. I just want to call out shady marketing claims.
