Pet Diet Designer

EmmiTemmi

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If you're very intent on making sure everything is balanced to recommended levels you can use Pet Diet Designer. It's a software that pulls nutrient values from the USDA database and allows you to craft your own formulas. Then it tells you if the formula has met the requirements for all the NRC minimum or recommended values for all amino acids, minerals, vitamins, and fatty acids. User interface is a little difficult, but they're rolling out a huge update soon when the full version is released. If it interests you even a little bit, I'd get it now, since the price is sure to go up with the full release.
 

mschauer

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That looks like a promising tool. They don't offer a try before you buy option so I can't tell for sure but if it does as advertised it is a steal at the current $20/year.
 
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EmmiTemmi

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That looks like a promising tool. They don't offer a try before you buy option so I can't tell for sure but if it does as advertised it is a steal at the current $20/year.
That's what I thought. And even if you don't re-subscribe every year, you still get to keep and use the software, it just won't be updated.

And if you buy it now, from what I understand, you get an automatic 1 year subscription to their full product when it's released.

To disclose bias, I did just purchase this on Saturday, and I've had a ton of fun messing around with it. It's lacking in some areas, but the makers have said they're working on fixes.
 

mschauer

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EmmiTemmi EmmiTemmi - I was looking at some of the user comments in their forum and it sounds like they don't provide any way to add a custom ingredient. Is that true? If so I hope it is something they add soon. If, for instance, you are using a B-Complex product that isn't in their database it would be awkward (can you do it at all?) for you to include it in your recipe.

Edit: Just found in their forums where there is talk of "custom foods". That sounds like what I was referring to.
 
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prairiepanda

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That software looks pretty promising. It claims to allow customization for specific pets, but is that limited to weight/energy level, or can it also accept special health considerations?
 

mschauer

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I found on their web site that they are planning to add support for pets with a specified disease.
 
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EmmiTemmi

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Edit: Just found in their forums where there is talk of "custom foods". That sounds like what I was referring to.
Yes, you can definitely add your own ingredients. And their new update will include over 30,000 ingredients if I remember right, including some values for raw meaty bones.

They don’t have taurine or iodine content listed for their foods yet, since those aren’t in the USDA database, but I think they’re adding those in soon too.
 

mschauer

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I finally downloaded this desktop app. As of now, the user interface basically sux. It is very difficult to create a recipe. Since that is after all the most basic function of the application it should be made easy.

The developer says he knows the user interface needs work. Lets hope he understands what needs doing to make it at less a little intuitive to use.

In the mean time, $20 to give it a try is still cheap. I can't say how accurate or useful it is. Frankly I got so annoyed with it that I didn't even get through the task of creating a recipe. For someone willing to spend the time to understand its quirks it may well be worth the effort.
 
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EmmiTemmi

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I finally downloaded this desktop app. As of now, the user interface basically sux. It is very difficult to create a recipe. Since that is after all the most basic function of the application it should be made easy.
Agreed. It took me forever to figure stuff out, but it's fun to play around with now that I understand it more. I think the thing I hate the most is that each recipe has to be done on a cal/day basis for a certain animal (and then you can scale up in the report module for batches). And so the nutrient %s on the left-hand side of the recipe formulator are in %nutrient per day requirement. I prefer to work in %dry basis of a formula required per day. Hopefully a conversion like that will be in the final product.
 
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