I keep getting their ads on YouTube and they *really* irritate me, to the extent that I will never buy from them.
They make all sorts of health claims that they could absolutely never back up. There's one that shows a dog struggling with mobility issues "before" and moving comfortably "after" they started feeding TFD - but 0 explanation of what would have caused that change. One ad has a lady talking about her 21-year-old dog who is still kicking despite being ancient - not only is there no evidence of a causal relationship there, but she says she started feeding TFD when the dog was 16 - pretty old for a dog already; perhaps it's just lucky? And a sample size of one proves *nothing.* And TFD doesn't come out and *say* their food healed the lame dog or made the old dog live forever, because they couldn't support those claims. They just heavily imply it.
Also, a few of the ads talk about dogs becoming lethargic and refusing to eat. The lady with the 21 year old dog said she had started wondering if it was the dog's "time," but then she switched to TFD and WOW! Now the dog's doing great?
Did none of these people think, "hey, my qdog is lethargic and not eating, maybe I qqshould take it to the vet"? Or maybe they *did* take it to the vet, and the vet started it on meds, but the ad doesn't mention that part - just leads the viewer to believe that the new food was the cure.
I have multiple degrees in animal science (including from UC Davis) and worked as a vet tech for 12 years (I mention these things just to give some context for my opinions). My personal belief is that processed foods and grains are absolutely fine (provided the dog doesn't have food allergies, which are real but not as common as people believe). What matters is the amounts and ratios of bioavailable nutrients, not the source of those nutrients.
In general, I far prefer to feed foods that meet WSAVA guidelines, at least for the bulk of the diet. I personally feed primarily Purina Pro Plan kibble, with a little bit of garbage canned food (whatever is cheapest) mixed in for flavor. My sample size of two dogs is statistically meaningless, but they're both doing well for their ages - my old man Lab could still jump in to the bed of my lifted Tacoma *without waiting for me to put the tailgate down* until he was 12.5.
Don't let clever marketing trick you into spending a fortune on dog food. Nutrition is important and you shouldn't cheap out, but stick to brands who have science to back their claims.
