Different Opinions on the Best Dog Food

[MandaGrl Hatchling Find all posts View Profile Close MandaGrl]

Dog food, oh, no....not Dog Food!!!

Hi there, new to this board, but definitely not new to the dog food dilemma. *sigh* I have been searching for a new food recently, not because I am not happy with my current dog food (Innova Sr dry), which I think is excellent, but because it's getting quite pricey.....and because I have to wonder if they don't get bored with the same ol' same ol' after a while.

I have to admit, I have become a pet food snob :) ; but not really intentionally. Years ago when my dog was still relatively young (only about 8 or 9.....she's now about 15 but mostly you'd never know it), a local pet store suggested to my mom to try the Innova. The dog loved it and she still eats it. But a 16.5 bag costs me right about $29 incl. tax, and now it's seriously out of my way to get food.

Now, I can't bring myself to feed the dog anything with by-products or anything like that; I wouldn't want to eat that nasty stuff (ewwww), and so I don't want to feed it to the dogs either.

SOOOooooo, now my dilemma is what to change to that's a little more affordable, but equally as nutritious as what they are getting now. In looking around there's A LOT of conflicting information about what's good and what isn't, so I definitely agree with what you guys have been saying -- but other than asking the vet who either have very biased opinions or "just any old thing" opinions, I don't know where else to look to make an informed decision about what I feed my babies.

They do love their fruit and veggies, though....apples and strawberries, especially -- just not in excess. :)

[sassifrass7 Hatchling Find all posts View Profile Close sassifrass7]

Well, I appreciate very much that list above of "the Good, the OK, and the Bad dog foods". So, I wanted to thank you.

I've fed Eukanuba for years, but was starting to wonder about their quality when P & G bought them. That's when I switched to Life's Abundance, it comes in the mail regularly on my auto ship, and it smells fantastic. I can highly recommend it, my Shelties and Chihuahuas look great and have no coat or stool issues at all. Also, they really love it. They were picking it out when I first mixed it with Eukanuba, and leaving the other!

In the Winter I add Hot Water to it, so it's toasty. I always free feed, shelties are nibblers and so are my Chis. And they never pig out, they just eat enough. It's 26 % protein, and that is just perfect.

Of course it's not cheap, and I have 8 dogs too, but neither are the vet bills when their nutritional needs are not met. So, I opt for prevention.

Thanks for reading,
Mandy

[MandaGrl Hatchling Find all posts View Profile Close MandaGrl]

Life's Abundance dog food

Hi, Mandy

Do you like the Life's Abundance? What's the cost like for the amount of food per bag (or shipment, however it comes to you....a break down?)

I have looked at that as well in an effort to find an alternative for my dogs' food.

Thanks!
Amanda

[sassifrass7 Hatchling Find all posts View Profile Close sassifrass7]

Life's Abundance

Hi Amanda,
Well, it's not cheap, that's all I know. I'm on of the lucky people who gets to be a stay at home Dog Mom and buy what ever I think is best for all my dogs. I think it's cheaper on their Auto Ship plan too.

But either way, it's worth it too me.

Mandy

[webig5 Hatchling Find all posts View Profile Close webig5]

I feed my boxers Nutro Natural Choice lamb and rice because they seem to do the best on it. It makes their coat shiny and soft and their stools are not too mushy, but not too hard. I've tried other brands, but they just had dry coats and mushy stools.

Corn dries out the skin and coat because digesting it creates higher metabolic heat than digesting rice.

I think if your animal is doing well, that's all that counts. When I was a kid we fed our cat the very cheapest grocery store canned cat food mixed with Purina Cat Chow. That cat lived for 19 years. I doubt anyone could argue that her cheap grocery store diet was unhealthy for her.

As for cancer risks, those are exceedingly difficult to track down. What contaminants are in the air your pet breathes? Have they ever walked across a lawn with pesticides on it? Do you live in an industrial city? Are there heavy metals in your drinking water? What kind of carpet is in your house? What kind of seats are in your car? It is very difficult to identify a cause of cancer. It is often presumptuous to state that a certain ingredient or food "causes" cancer. If a specific preservative or other chemical ingredient is listed on a dog food label (most likely not), you could go to the EPA's website and look up thier list of "inert" ingredients in pesticides (many of which are also food and household product additives). They catagorize the inerts by the amount of research done on them and the identified risk. Chances are though, that you will get insufficient information off the dog food lable to be able to do this.

Like most folks have said, keep an eye on your pet and see how they are doing on a particular food. If they are well and you are happy, great. But be a wise consumer and don't get duped into believing you are necessarily providing a healthier diet just because it is more expensive. (It might be a "healthy" food, but your pet doesn't do as well on it).

[Hovawart Hatchling Find all posts View Profile Close Hovawart]

I prefer NUTRA GOLD for my both dogs, becouse, there are all needful component parts ( calcium and so on- http://nutragold.com/Default.html ) and they make this food only from fresh meet, NOT frozen.

[kerryclair Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close kerryclair]

I have fed Eukanuba, Hunda Flocken, Solid Gold, ProPlan, Blue Seal and most recently Canidae. Hands down, I have NEVER seen such a difference in my dogs since switching to Canidae. My dogs (black) are SUPER shiny, their fur is so soft, no dandruff...I honestly have NOT seen a difference in my dogs when on most other feeds, but after I switched to this one, within a month I noticed a HUGE difference. Expensive though...of course. Sigh.

[audkal Hatchling Find all posts View Profile Close audkal]

Kerry, I feed my dog Canidae too! I didn't really think anything was wrong with him (he was on Beneful before I made the switch). He seemed pretty healthy, but after I switched, even then I noticed differences. His fur is much softer, he has a lot more energy, he doesn't even get those "eye boogers" anymore.

The natural foods last a lot longer than a couple of weeks, they too have preservatives but they are NATURAL preservatives. I buy a 40 lb bag of Canidae (which costs about $30 at Pet Supplies Plus), and it takes my dog about 3 months to eat the whole bag, and it is fine and fresh even when he makes it to the bottom of the bag.

Also, what people don't realize is that since the natural foods don't have all those fillers, the food is more dense, so you don't have to feed as much as the cheaper foods. So in a way, you aren't really saving much money with the "cheaper" foods.

For a 50 lb dog you would feed these amounts daily:

4 cups (Pedigree Adult)
3 cups (Purina Dog Chow)
2 cups (Canidae All Life Stages)

So it's the same amount if you spend $15 on a 40 lb bag of Pedigree or $30 on a 40 lb bag of Canidae, because you feed twice as much Pedigree than Canidae.

[kerryclair Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close kerryclair]

Audrey,
Has it made your dog fat?
One of my dogs is on it and I think he's getting fatter.
I am not sure if I can blame the food or the relaxed winter where he isn't trail riding with us (G).

[audkal Hatchling Find all posts View Profile Close audkal]

I recently switched to the Platinum (Senior) formula, he was already overweight when I first started Canidae. I find that my dog may gain weight in the winter months since he can't get out much, lol. But the Canidae hasn't made him gain any more weight no.

[Carl Cub Find all posts View Profile Close Carl]

The behaviorist I spoke to recently regarding my dog's behavior when left alone addressed food immediately. He said that the Purina One that I was feeding her is like giving a second grader a bottle of coke and a snickers bar for breakfast, and then expecting them to behave and be focused at school. As an elementary teacher, the thought gave me the chills. He recommended Natural Balance. I have no reason to believe that he is in any way connected with the company, nor do I have any reason to believe that he would be steering me in the wrong direction. I have some coupons that I got at PetCo when I adopted Penelope, so I can get a free small size bag, and a couple large bags at a reduced price, so I'll give it a shot.

C

[Arazante Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Arazante]

Our vet advised us to use Nutragold when our dog was a puppy. It seemed to work well, but the product became discontinued in our stores so we switched to Science Diet. In my experience, it was the worst food to feed him. He threw up almost nightly and began to deny it. (And my dog loves almost every kind of food in existence). I eventually began to use ProPlan since it settles best in his stomach.

Unfortunately, a lot of the brands suggested here we never had in our pet stores. I feel a bit deprived from something I could have done.

[SalemWitchChild Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close SalemWitchChild]

After much consideration, and the fact that 3 different and unaffiliated dog forums all recommend the above approved dog foods, I've decided to try Kota on Flint River Ranch dog food. I just got it yesterday and I saw a change in her immediatly! Normally she is not all that interested in her food. Se would pick at it throughout the day. I mixed her normal food and the new food together and boy did she attack it! She ate the entire bowl in one sitting. :lol: As long as she continues to do good on it I'll keep buying it.

[countrychic10 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close countrychic10]

Hi! I'm starting to notice a trend with alot of the forum sites. It seems like everyone is debating on what we should feed our beloved pets. I noticed a list of "the good and bad foods" posted by SalemWitchChild and I don't know if I nessesarily agree with the author of it (but do appreciate Salem posting it..I found it interesing). When we first got our Weimaraner we fed him Innova because it was highly recomended by a friend. He threw up almost all the time and at first we thought it was because it was a new food (we adopted him from the shelter and had no idea what he was eating before) So our vet said to keep him on it for a few weeks and gradually change to something different if it didn't work out. Well we eventually ended up switching to Authority Lamb and Rice (which is on the bad list) and he has been doing fine every since, Good body weight, shiny coat ect.. and he also prefers the taste of this food. (he used to pick at Innova but he always empties his bowl now) I don't believe you should feed your pets things like Ol' Roy, but I also don't think people should be made to feel bad because they don't feed a holistic or "all natural" diet. I have been critized severly because of what I feed my pets by other forum sites and I don't think that is fair. I take very good care of my pets and as my vet says "If they are of healthy weight, shiny smooth coats and are eating well then you are doing just fine by them" And to those people who are feeding Innova to their pets, I am not saying your food is bad...if it works for your pet then thats what you should feed them. I am starting to wonder though, just how long this food debate will go on? Its sad that I don't go to some of the other forum sites anymore just because of how mean the people were to me over what I feed my pets. :(

[SalemWitchChild Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close SalemWitchChild]

CountryChic,

I have been to several dog forums as well. I do agree you should feed what your dog will eat. Since posting this I have switched to Flint River Rance which isn't top of the line but close. I have noticed a difference! She's keeping more weight, building more muscle tone and she's playing more. I think most people believe you should not only do good by your pet, but excel at it. Kota was on Purina Beneful before. She does like it more.. My child likes junk food more but I don't let her eat that all the time either. :P

Whatever your decision is I know it will be for your pets best interest. Many dogs do not take to the all natural diet. But remember there are many different ones out there and many times you can get samples. I had to do that before decideing on FRR.

Lastly, don't take peoples nastyness to heart. You know what is right for your pet. Remember in one ear out the other..right..