# New Dog Food Grandma Mae's Country Naturals



## Jacksons Dad (Dec 5, 2008)

Here's the scoop. So I'm at a local pet shop looking over the quality pet foods and struck up a conversation with the shop owner. After asking him about a good quality food for my puppy, he insisted I give Grandma Mae's Country Naturals a try. He said that this food is fairly new and hard to find. After looking over the ingredients, it appeared to be a fairly good food but I'd like others opinions on the ingredients. My 2 year old Shih Tzu loved the sample food the owner let me try at home. Here's the info as stated on the product website for both the adult and puppy formula:


Grandma Mae's Country Naturals Adult Formula
Ingredients:

Chicken, Chicken Meal, Brown Rice, Oats, Barley, Brewer's Rice, Menhaden Fish Meal, Chicken Fat (stabilized with mixed tocopherols), Natural Chicken Flavors, Flaxseed, Dried Egg Product, Apples, Carrots, Sweet Potatoes, Herring Oil, Dried Kelp Meal, Potassium Chloride, Dicalcium Phosphate, Salt, Garlic, Vitamin E supplement, Lactobacillus acidophilus Fermentation Product Dehydrated, Bacillus subtilis Fermentation Product Dehydrated, Bifidobacterium thermophilum Fermentation Product Dehydrated, Bifidobacterium pseudolongum Fermentation Product Dehydrated, Enterococcus faecium Fermentation Product Dehydrated, Calcium Carbonate, Choline Chloride, Zinc Sulfate, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Iron Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Manganese Sulfate, Niacin, Pantothenic Acid, Vitamin B-12, Folic Acid, Riboflavin, Sodium Selenite, Pyridoxine HCL, Calcium Iodate, Thiamine, Biotin, Cobalt Sulfate, Rosemary Extract. 

Guaranteed Analysis:
Protein: 24% min
Fat: 14% min.
Fiber: 4.5% max.
Moisture: 10% max
Vitamine E: 150 IU/kg min. 
Omega-3 Fatty Acids*: 0.8% min. 
Omega-6 Fatty Acids*: 2.4% min. 

*Not recognized as an essential nutrient by the AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profiles

Grandma Mae's Country Naturals Puppy Formula
Ingredients:

Chicken, Chicken Meal, Brown Rice, Oats, Menhaden Fish Meal, Barley, Brewer’s Rice, Beet Pulp, Chicken Fat (stabilized with mixed tocopherols), Natural Chicken Flavors, Dried Egg Product, Apples, Carrots, Sweet Potatoes, Flaxseed, Potassium Chloride, Brewers Yeast, Herring Oil, Dried Kelp Meal, Salt, Vitamin E Supplement, Garlic, Ascorbic Acid (source of Vitamin C), Lactobacillus acidophilus Fermentation Product Dehydrated, Bacillus subtilis Fermentation Product Dehydrated, Bifidobacterium thermophilum Fermentation Product Dehydrated, Bifidobacterium pseudolongum Fermentation Product Dehydrated, Enterococcus faecium Fermentation Product Dehydrated, Calcium Carbonate, Choline Chloride, Zinc Sulfate, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Iron Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Manganese Sulfate, Niacin, Pantothenic Acid, Vitamin B-12, Folic Acid, Riboflavin, Sodium Selenite, Pyridoxine HCL, Calcium Iodate, Thiamine, Biotin, Cobalt Sulfate, Rosemary Extract.

Guaranteed Analysis:
Protein 26% min
Fat 12% min
Fiber 4.5% max
Moisture 10% max
Vitamine E: 160 IU/kg min. 
Omega-3 Fatty Acids*: 0.7% min. 
Omega-6 Fatty Acids*: 5.0% min. 

*Not recognized as an essential nutrient by the AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profiles 


The website is http://grandmamaes.com/index.htm

Could some of you that are more experienced in puppy/dog food please offer me your opinion? I'm interested in both the adult and puppy product as I have another 10 week old Shih Tzu pup as well. I've read good things about TOTW and the Chicken Soup foods but this product is readily available to me here local. Thanks


----------



## Pai (Apr 23, 2008)

Only issue I'd have with it is the Beet Pulp (binding agent with no nutritional value) and Brewer's Rice (which is actually a waste product from distilleries, not a real 'type' of rice), as those do no good for a dog. 

However, they're fairly low on the 'main ingredients' list (which is the stuff that comes before the fat/oil ingredient), and they also have some good stuff in them as well.


----------



## lulusmom (Nov 12, 2008)

I'm certainly not an expert but Grandma puts an awful lot of grain in her Country Naturals food. On a dry matter basis, it's about 47% carbs. TOTW is grainless which I prefer. My dogs have been on grainless for over a year and I'm amazed at the improvement in health, appearance and activity level. I think you can find a better choice. Try checking out www.dogfoodanalysis.com so see if you can find another brand locally that is better.


----------



## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

It's not top-of-the-line, but it's not bad, either. Other than the issues Pai pointed out, I don't like to see salt added to dog food. But you could certainly do worse than this food. I feed my dogs Chicken Soup, and they're doing terrific. TOTW is a great food, too.


----------



## Jacksons Dad (Dec 5, 2008)

Thanks for the replies. After doing some online research, I found that I can get the Chicken Soup and TOTW both here locally as well. I did not see a puppy formula for the TOTW, any thoughts? Between TOTW and Chicken Soup, which of the two is better for a 10 week old pup? What is the major difference between the two foods?


----------



## myminpins (Dec 20, 2008)

I would say TOTW is the better of the two. Chicken Soup isn't bad but still has a lot of grain in it. If you can afford TOTW, my advice would be to go with that.

All things said, though, this Grandma's food sure beats the heck out of grocery store crap and Purina, etc.


----------



## shets114 (Sep 10, 2008)

First Brewers rice isn't waste from a Distiller. It is simply fractured rice that is not utilized as a human food due to apperance. 
Beet pulp is a useful ingredient used as a fiber source. Unless your dog has issues with Beet pulp as with any other ingredient there is no reason to avoid it. 
Most of the bad press about beet pulp comes from studies that were actually done on horses not dogs. They found that with a very large content of beet pulp in the diet the animal would bind up. Sugar is removed so that is not an issue. 
I'm sure if a dog was to eat to much of any fiber source there would be issues. 
Sure their are those that will dispute it but some read way to much into things they have read on other websites but actually have no experience in the manufacturing or testing of food. 
My only concern about the food would be like many others that don't manufacture there own food. Same as TOTW, Solid Gold, Petcurean, Wellness etc. If a company doesn't manufacture it's own food than it is no more than a marketing company with a formula. They have very little control over the product and it can lead to inconsistencies and less then steller quality control. As we have seen in the past years of recalls.


----------



## myminpins (Dec 20, 2008)

Shets, do you work for a dog food company? You sure sound like you do.

Some information for you:



> *Brewers Rice *
> Also appears in ingredient lists as ground Brewers Rice.
> 
> AAFCO: The small milled fragments of rice kernels that have been separated from the larger kernels of milled rice.
> ...


You are quite correct about beet pulp not being bad:



> Beet Pulp, the isolated fibrous material from sugar beets, is another ingredient that has an undeservedly bad reputation. It is a very gentle, beneficial source of fiber that is not only generally very well tolerated, but also has specific properties that make it suitable as a source of nutrition for the beneficial bacteria that reside in the intestinal tract. The sugar is almost completely removed, what is left in the pulp is only about 1/5 the amount of sugar that you would find in a serving of carrots of equal size. It is also colorless and does not turn a dog's coat turn red, like urban legends claim. The argument that beet pulp is an "unnatural" ingredient is often brought up, but people who present this complaint seem to forget that it is also not natural for dogs to eat highly processed commercial products with a carb content of generally 40% and more, and a moisture content of only around 10% as opposed to a more natural 60-70%. Added fiber is required to make such formulations work for the pets who eat a dry diet.


----------



## shets114 (Sep 10, 2008)

Is brewers rice less expensive than whole rice? yes 

The additional quote is again a person opinion not a AAFCO standard. 

That is why it is used. It still offers benefits but at a lower cost so you don't have to pay $60.00 a bag for your food. 
Why are there so many formulas on the market. If it were all about what is best for the dog we would all be feeding raw or feed food for $70 + a bag.
Everyone has an idea of what they can afford and an ingredient list is out there that will fill that need. 
Like I said before though, to me manufacturing is as much importance to me as a fancy ingredient list.

Call or email your food manufacturer and ask them who makes their food. I would be willing to bet half out there don't manufacture there own food. Another quater won't release who does. Those would be the ones I would not do business with.


----------



## myminpins (Dec 20, 2008)

Well, to me, a GOOD ingredient list is MUCH more important than the manufacturing of the food. It's not a FANCY list - it's a NUTRITIOUS list. Brewer's rice is not just less expensive, it's less NUTRITIOUS. 

I will never promote low quality ingredients or crappy dog food just because it's cheaper. That's like feeding my kids junk food 24/7, never feeding veggies, etc. If you have a dog, why can't you feed it a good quality diet? It's only fair to the dog to do so. 

Trying to gloss over crappy ingredients by calling them less expensive doesn't wash at all.

A personal opinion? Well, so is yours. My vet thinks peanut hulls are a good source of protein. Pfft! When it comes to nutrition, a lot of people are very misinformed and brainwashed by the large companies who make zillions of dollars off crappy quality food. Common sense works much better for me.

EDIT: Whatever, I'm done arguing with you. You obviously work for a dog food company or something similar and I'm finished arguing with you. It's obviously a complete waste of time.


----------



## shets114 (Sep 10, 2008)

A ingredient list tells you what is in there but does very little to tell you exactly how much. 
As long as the dog does well on a food is reason enough for me to consider it a good food. 
I have fed high dollar foods and my dogs couldn't perform to the standards for which I want them to. I'm not going to spend more money for less. 
Take a look at some of the higher dollar foods on the market. Spending extra money on a fancy ingredient list and only getting 400 + k/cals a cup is rediculous. If you are spending more than a dollar a pound for a food that doesn't offer more than 500 k/cals per cup than you are wasting your money on marketing. There is simply not the amount of meat in the bag they are trying to sell you on.


----------



## Pai (Apr 23, 2008)

I find it odd that you'd consider an product that uses whole, nutritious parts of a grain rather than fragmented hulls as 'fancy'. I'd consider it basic logic for a product that's marketed as something to _eat._

Dogs already get a reduced benefit from grain protein, reducing that benefit even more by using stuff that is basically sawdust instead of using whole grain is not 'elitest' or expensive... I don't spend 70$ a bag for decent dog food, either. 

If you really think high caloric content is the sole arbiter of good quality food, you've never eaten at McDonald's.


----------



## Wynpyp (Sep 19, 2008)

Jacksons Dad said:


> Thanks for the replies. After doing some online research, I found that I can get the Chicken Soup and TOTW both here locally as well. I did not see a puppy formula for the TOTW, any thoughts? Between TOTW and Chicken Soup, which of the two is better for a 10 week old pup? What is the major difference between the two foods?


TOTW is an all life stages kibble. Puppies all the way up through to senior dogs can eat it 

I personally use TOTW Pacific Stream and love it. Both my puppy and adult dog love it and do very well on it. I haven't used Chicken Soup so I can't really comment other than to say I've heard it's really good. As for the difference between the 2, I think it's pretty much that TOTW is grain free and CS has grains. There could be more of a difference though... the grain thing is the only thing really sticking out to me right now.


----------



## Estes Kefauver (Sep 2, 2015)

I only joined up today, and I don't know anyone, so I'm not taking sides. _"Brewers Rice"_ is no big deal. I'll give you a definition that even though comes from a sometimes questioned source, is still very well true and accepted. 


> _from: Association of American Feed Control Officials
> - Brewer’s rice can also be called chipped rice or broken rice since it is simply smaller fragments of white rice that have been separated from the larger, whole kernels through sifting. Brewer’s rice is no different from white rice, except that the grain is broken into pieces. As such, it offers the same nutritional value as white rice. It was shown that both cats and dogs are capable of digesting greater than 98% of brewers rice present within a formula.
> 
> Brewers rice is sold for pet food and dairy feed exclusively. ... Since it is not considered aesthetically pleasing enough for human consumption. However, it offers the same nutritional value as white rice. ... Brewers' rice can also be a brewery waste product, but is unlikely to find its way into quality pet food._


*** Kinda think of brewers rice as the ugly corn kernels that go into creamed corn or corn muffin mix.

_"Beet Pulp"_ is just fine too. It's an ingredient included as a _fiber_, for solidifying stool. Hello? Who wants loose stool? I saw the stuff at a pet-food plant. A bowl of it looks like shredded coconut, but has a texture of talc or powdered sugar when you touch it. It's not red. It's sorta ash-grey like cigarette ash. I used to like ripping reps when they would claim that beet pulp would turn coats a reddish color. If you want to rag on fiber products, go after ground corn _(bad)_ or peanut hulls _(worst)_.

_Grandma Mae's_ is not at all a bad company or food. The only problem I ever saw was production and supply. It was always backordered and out of stock. That pretty much aggravates customers a bit. 


Estes​


----------

