How to Launch a Website and then Disappear....

Hi, folks, and sooo sorry for the disappearing act! I have good reasons....

As you know, I adopted a senior bloodhound!

Ray's Gotcha Day: http://picasaweb.google.com/MissyABrown/RaySGotchaDay?feat=directlink

And then just a few days later, our house flooded: http://picasaweb.google.com/MissyABrown/Flood?feat=directlink

And then my father was sick, etc.

Anyway, Ray is settling in well, the house is in shambles, I'm still mostly sane, and I've made a nice little corner to work in. I've got about 100 or so samples and brochures sitting here, taunting me, daring me to get to work on the website.

Thanks for your patience! We'll be working on the site the next few days while we wait for construction guys to get to work on the house.

The Kibble xoxo

Happy 4th from your pets!

We'd like to remind everyone that while today is exciting for us and full of festivities, our pets don't always feel the same way! Here are a few things they'd like to remind you of:

1. The safest place for us to be during fireworks is inside the home! If you do let us out during fireworks, stay with us and keep us leashed until we've done our business. Sudden, loud noises can scare us and make us run off or try worse things!

2. Some of us may feel anxiety at the loud noises so it might help us if you would turn on the tv or radio to drown out some of the fireworks noise.

3. We'd also love a keep-us-busy treat like a Kong filled with goodies. If we focus on getting the treats out, we might not think about the scary noises as much!

4. Although we think that your leftovers would be a GREAT treat, you know that people food isn't always good for us. Be strong and don't give in to our begging and pleading eyes. (If you give us leftover baked beans, you WILL pay for it later. We have built in wafters.)

5. Have a wonderful holiday and remember that we love you! Thanks for taking such good care of us!

Tail Wags and Purrs,
Your Pets

Few Changes...

I'm making a few changes to the basic layout of The Kibble to make it easier for you, and then will be adding more food reviews. I can't wait to see how this will look within a week or so. Woot!!! Please feel free to send suggestions.

Blue Buffalo vs. Eukanuba

I was asked by someone who has a puppy that's on Eukanuba to compare the two foods. I thought I'd share my response here.

The exact formulas I compared are Eukanuba's Small Breed Puppy Formula and Blue Buffalo's Chicken & Rice Puppy Formula.

Before I make any suggestions, I want you to know where I stand on pet foods and current trends. There is a very real focus on ingredient quality and labeling instead of on actually balanced nutrients. For instance, I fed a top of the line food for a long time and chose it because of the holistic claims, the veggies, etc. What I didn't take into account was the high calorie content and now am working on slimming down a pudgy pooch. The bandwagon for holistic, organic, etc is good, but has its drawbacks as well. Plus, if you give treats or people food, you can "unbalance" the food you choose.

Also, in considering the two foods, I take into account the research and studies and feed trials. Did you know that in order for a pet food to meet AAFCO standards for feed trials, they only have to use 8 dogs and feed them the food for 6 months. The unbelievable part is that only 6 of the 8 dogs have to survive in order for the food to pass. Wow.

The Blue Buffalo product looks excellent from an ingredient standpoint. It is, however, a fairly new product. Eukanuba has been around a long time and is a solid food, though the ingredients might be of a lower quality.

Blue Buffalo Chicken & Rice for Puppies has 456 kcals per cup and Eukanuba's Small Breed Puppy has 502.

Eukanuba's Guaranteed Analysis:
Crude Protein not less than 32.00 %

Crude Fat not less than 21.00 %

Crude Fiber not more than 4.00 %

Moisture not more than 10.00 %

Blue's Guaranteed Analysis:
Crude Protein 27.0% min
Crude Fat 16.0% min
Crude Fiber 4.0% max
Moisture 10.0% max

The decision is really yours, but here are a few things to consider:

1. You can feed less Eukanuba with higher calories.

2. I don't really like the corn in Eukanuba. Dogs don't digest it. It's filler.

3. The ingredients in Blue are a better quality.

4. Eukanuba has a proven track record in pet health.

5. Blue has chelated minerals which the body absorbs better since they are attached to proteins/amino acids.

6. Blue has probiotics to aid in digestion.

7. Eukanuba has chicken by-product meal and Blue has chicken meal. There's a difference.

Meat By-Products - clean parts of slaughtered animals, not including meat; can include lungs, spleen, kidneys, brain, liver, blood, bone, partially defatted low-temperature fatty tissue, and stomach and intestines freed of their contents. It does not include hair, horns, teeth and hooves.

Meat Meal - the rendered product from mammal tissues, exclusive of blood, hair, hoof, horn, hide trimmings, manure, stomach and rumen contents except in such amounts as may occur unavoidably in good processing practices

If it were my puppy and these were my two choices, I would stick with the tried and true Eukanuba you're already feeding until it's time to switch to an adult formula. No sense switching now, and then again in a month or two when your pup is ready for adult food. At that point, I'd do more research, get some samples for my dog to taste, and choose the best one I could out of those my dog really liked. I hope that's helpful.

Your thoughts, please...

...on the following statement:

Nutrients in balance are more important than ingredients and label claims.

For instance, Jane Consumer goes into a pet supply store and buys a bag of holistic weight reduction food that's human grade and was recommended by someone. Jane Consumer's dog, however, is largely obese and this weight reduction formula isn't low in calories. Let's also assume Jane Consumer's dog is older and has problems with the kidneys.

Thoughts? How much do we really KNOW about pet nutrition, foods, labeling, etc?

Can I be a bit unpopular for a moment?

While I do understand that this Nutro cat food recall has been quite a scare for many pet owners, can we take a step back and look at the big picture here?

Have you ever gotten a notice in the mail that there is a safety concern with your vehicle and you need to bring it in right away for a repair?

Have you ever eaten beef after or during the BSE (mad cow) scare?

How about when spinach was scary? Swine flu? (Insert other recall or epidemic here).

Maybe I'm just not educated enough, but it seems to me that if it doesn't really affect you, you don't need to shout "Down with Nutro!" on the street corners of the internet world.

I don't personally feed Nutro to my cat. However, I'd rather feed her Nutro than something like Meow Mix or Fancy Feast.

Ok, you can all give me a nice e-slap now.

xoxo The Kibble

Who Ya Gonna Call?

Well, the manufacturers, of course. I had a few interesting phone calls today. I'm getting some samples, some brochures, some coupons, and even a t-shirt. Woot!

I'm trying to make actual contact with all the pet food makers for two reasons:

1) I want to know my information is accurate.
2) We're on the same side! I want companies to work with me and not think I'm after money or recognition. I hope to find certain people within the companies and network.

Of course the pet food industry is confusing. To me, that's all the more reason to make love, not war. My only agenda is to educate and inform. Oh, and maybe get free stuff. You know, to test it out for you. :o)

I'll totally take a pic of me in my t-shirt, btw.

xoxo The Kibble

Here we go!

So, I'm doing it. I'm creating the site. I'm on facebook, twitter, and now here with it. Go on with my bad self, huh?

Not likely. I'm just an average consumer who has a deep passion for pets and pet foods and I want to be able to help those who get confused by it all. It is, after all, overwhelming!

I'm also a bit reticent about going "full steam ahead" because I don't like competing and there are similar websites out there.

Anyway, off we go in neutrality and peace.

xoxo The Kibble