My local petstore owner recommended this food for my female when I was having weight issues - she just wasn't eating. I know on the review site it is rated as a 4.5 and I know it is high fat, high protein. My dogs are active, but not super active, so I'm wondering if I should continue to feed just it, if I should mix it with something else or what. I don't want to over develope them. Anybody familiar with or have experience with this food?

Really all depends on weight considerations. If your dog is getting 1 gram of protein per lb of body weight with the amount you are feeding and the dog's weight is ok, then great.

These types of foods are meant for high activity but if she is doing ok I see no reason to change. A 20% fat food has a lot of advantages.

That is a top food....all the Red Paws are. Dr. Tim's and Red Paw dominate the long distance sport right now. Smart guys at Red Paw..too bad Fromm (where Red Paw is made) doesn't learn from Red Paw.

I too have a dog that was hard to manage weight wise, the one thing to remember is not all huskies are supposed to be 'husky'...there are lean builds as well. Though after switching my kennel to Taste of the Wild I do not have weight issues any more-

As far as the rest, I was not impressed at all with RedPaw products, even though the musher I got my main lead dog from insisted I switch....I stayed with Taste Of The Wild and honestly the coat on that dog has improved, his weight is much better, and it has not impacted his in harness performance at all. There is, in my opinion, far too many low quality fillers, salts, and way too much fat in that food to safely feed most dogs. In fact one of my friend's team dogs developed acute pancreatitis shortly after switching to the food.

HuskyMom09 wrote:

I too have a dog that was hard to manage weight wise, the one thing to remember is not all huskies are supposed to be 'husky'...there are lean builds as well. Though after switching my kennel to Taste of the Wild I do not have weight issues any more-

As far as the rest, I was not impressed at all with RedPaw products, even though the musher I got my main lead dog from insisted I switch....I stayed with Taste Of The Wild and honestly the coat on that dog has improved, his weight is much better, and it has not impacted his in harness performance at all. There is, in my opinion, far too many low quality fillers, salts, and way too much fat in that food to safely feed most dogs. In fact one of my friend's team dogs developed acute pancreatitis shortly after switching to the food.

Well there are quite a few real experts that wouldn't agree with what you are saying. Comparing the ingredient quality of Red Paw to Taste of the Wild is futile. Red Paw is made from the best stuff, TOTW whatever they can find at the right price. Most TOTW foods have 18% fat compared to that Red Paw at 20%. There is no way that could cause pancreatitis in a normal healthy dog. Beside the grams of fat consumed is more important not the %.

There are no fillers, in fact Red Paw is lower in carbohydrates than TOTW despite being "grain-free".

Curious how do you know Red Paw has more salt than TOTW? TOTW has about 10% ash while Red Paw is about 8% if I recall. So it would appear Red Paw has lower mineral content.

I'm sure finding a food that she will eat period will solve your weight problems. No special food required. Honestly I wouldn't feed Redpaw, I don't like the ingredients or the sheer amount of corn in it. As Lani said, it does contain a lot of unnecessary fillers. You can feed a much better food for the same amount of money.

But if you are happy with how your dogs are doing on the food and the results you've gotten then by all means feed what you prefer.

There are many 'experts' out there that will also tell you Science Diet is the best diet your pet can be on. Does that mean they are correct? I can speak to the fact there has been a significant improvement and no hindrance in performance in a dog that has been on RedPaw his entire life to TOTW- gasp!

Though 'guaranteed' analysis states "20% fat" the calculated Energy Basis is over 40% fat. So given the dog is otherwise healthy, had been prior to the food switch, of quality breeding, and active in harness and developed acute pancreatitis after the singular change of which the vets that worked on him linked to the food I'll draw my conclusion there-

Lets talk ingredients shall we-
Menhaden Fish Meal, Ground Corn, Poultry Fat (Preserved with Natural Mixed Tocopherols and Rosemary Extract), Chicken Meal, Pork Meat and Bone Meal, Pearled Barley, Pork Blood Meal, Dried Beet Pulp, Chicken Liver, Brewer's Rice, Fish Oil, Brewer's Dried Yeast, Flaxseed, Salt, Potasium Chloride, Lactobacillus Acidophilis, Bifidobacterium Longum, Lactobacillus Plantarum, Lactobacillus Salivarius, Enterococcus Faecium, Vitamin A, D3, E, B12 Supplements, Niacin, Pantothenic Acid, Ascorbic Acid, Riboflavin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Folic Acid, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Biotin, Zinc Oxide, Iron Carbonate, Manganous Oxide, Copper Oxide, Cobalt Carbonate, Calcium Iodate, Sorbic Acid, Sodium Selenite.

Since food ingredient lists are broken down into weight lets start with #1- Menhaden Fish Meal, meals are known to be undesirable as far as quality of ingredients go- cannot verify ethoxyquin-free which is a known carcinogen, #2 Ground Corn- it's a known fact that corn is hard to digest if it's beneficial at all, very common allergen in dog foods, and a cheap filler protein. The next poultry fat- impossible to determine source or quality. Unidentified ingredients are usually very low quality. Should also note this ingredient through research at Purdue University has identified fat in the top four ingredients of dry food as a factor increasing the risk of bloat in large breed dogs and since our breed is subjected to risk of bloat not worth the risk IMO. The next series of ingredients are bi-products Chicken By-Product Meal is defined as ground, rendered, clean parts of the carcass of slaughtered chicken, such as necks, feet, undeveloped eggs and intestines, exclusive of feathers, except in such amounts as might occur unavoidable in good processing practice. Pork Meat and Bone Meal used as fertilizers not as food product typically. Beet Pulp yet another highly controversial ingredient, though I have fed my horses Beet Pulp is linked to more allergies, ear infections, and though it is described as a 'quality source of fiber' it is primarily added to slow down the transition of rancid animal fats and causing stress to kidney and liver in the process. The next ingredients lets take a trip back to Chemistry lab- First you have listed SALT, then Potassium Chloride which is Salt metal halide salt to be precise, next Lactobacillus Acidophilus meaning acid-loving milk-bacterium which use is primarily for lactose intolerant people to avoid stomach discomfort what is in this food causing gastro upset they'd have to add this to the food? Menadione Sodium Bisulfate (sulfate/sulfides are salts) a highly controversial synthetic version of vitamin K and not proven to be safe for consumption, and yet another substance linked to skin related issues, when natural sources are readily available and proven more effective (and safe) why choose a synthetic? Price of course. Iron Carbonate and Colbalt Carbonate more salt, Copper Oxide is red dye, Calcium Iodate dough conditioner (can also be found in lotions), salt preservative Sorbic Acid, Sodium Selenite another salt.

So lets add it up- at least 6 different elemental sources of salt- Reading the ingredients list I think anyone can break it down to see that the "best stuff" is actually second rate cheap quality stuff-

The proof lies in the actual health of the dog, and I have seen first hand the benefits-

I kind of wish we had a like button..CAUSE I WOULD LIKE THE HECK OUT OF YOUR POST LANI!

You can't tote around a brand as #1 with no hard evidence.

Huskymom, it is so sad how ignorant and misinformed you are. I will leave it at that. You don't know a thing about nutrition. It would be in your best interests to listen more than talk. When you talk you sound just like a zombie for other websites, just plain stupid.

Moron is probably the best word to decribe you.

Thank you for the educational response- Perhaps try again when you have grown up and can have a logical fact based debate.

TooManyHuskies wrote:

Huskymom, it is so sad how ignorant and misinformed you are. I will leave it at that. You don't know a thing about nutrition. It would be in your best interests to listen more than talk. When you talk you sound just like a zombie for other websites, just plain stupid.

Moron is probably the best word to decribe you.

This is a public warning. If you have something to add to the conversation you will do so without name calling and putting people down. Support your arguments or do not post. This is serious, I am done with this childish behavior and attitude.

Lani, I thought that was a great post.

Since a friend of yours really did experience and pancreatitis issue, linked to food...I'd trust you on this one.

But, he always discredits me anyway, because I feed raw :p

Hhhhmmmm, sorry about that, appears I hit a nerve which was not my intention at all.

Lani, Val, and TMH thank you for the input and the information. I do know that RedPaw is the current preferred brand amongst mushers, at least around here, and it wouldn't surprise me to find it so on a larger scale. In fact the LFS owner is the wife of a musher who runs Seppalas and it is what they use and have used for many years. Lani and Val thank you for the information on potential health issues and the questionable fillers. Price wise around here, once you account for the extra poundage in a bag of RedPaw, it actually comes out to about the same cost as TOTW. What I do like about the TOTW over the RedPaw is the flavor varieties that are available. My female is a very picky eater, I think I mentioned that we have had to add raw mixed in to keep her eating. Prior to that, once she got tired of a food, she would simply stop eating it all together. She started from the breeder on Eukanuba brand, but she quit eating that after about three weeks. Since then I've gone through BB (she is allergic to chicken) and NB (loose stools). After that I got her on the RedPaw and mixed with the raw and TOTW (so I can change flavors up), she has done ok, but not great. She is having a few issues with a dry coat as well, so the LFS owner recommended Salmon oil, which she hates.

RedPaw is a favorite amongst the mushers here as well, but the thing there is they get huge price cuts for bulk purchases and RedPaw offers a ton of sponsorship opportunities which equates to free food. A number of mushers I know use the food, but I don't feel any of them have really looked at the ingredients or have backgrounds in nutrition. Some just use it because it was formulated based on musher's inputs nothing more-

I know that Karen Ramstead and many other professional mushers are using Eagle Pack instead of RedPaw for what it's worth-

Thanks Lani,

Like you, I know that many mushers don't necessarily look at ingredients or nutrition. As I said, my dogs are active, but not super active, so nitrition for me is a far greater concern than fat content, as I want good developement and healthy dogs, but not over development. Eagle Pack isn't something that is available around here. I looked at the new Fromm foods as well, but unfortunately they are chicken-based.

I dont think its a nerve really, seems like you discovered just a troll.