Healthiest dog food

[llacort]

Please help! I gave my dog Iams when we rescued her from the shelter because that is what they were feeding her. I since changed to Nutro Natural Balance thinking it would be better for her. She is a puppy and was very hyper. I thought the Natural Balance would help calm her down since it wouldn't have anything unnatural. Well, I've since discovered it isn't that great a food. She was having bad breath and lots of gas. It has since subsided but I've been looking into other brands. The same names come up again and again. Canidae, Wellness, Innova, Blue Buffalo. I was thinking of Innova but found out it is $43 for a 33 lb bag. Wow. The people at the dog park use different brands but one woman told me that Cosco (Kirkland) has a dog food with the same ingredients as the brands listed above. She said it is quality. Does anyone have any info to share?

[MrsRottie]

Hello :)

With food, you get what you pay for. So if you're paying $43 per bag (or whatever) you get higher quality ingredients and therefore have to feed less amount - so in my experience all foods last about the same amount of time.

I feed Purina ProPlan (UK), I've tried allsorts with mine from raw meaty bones to mixer and biscuits, and have ended up with this stuff every time. The more organic the food, the smellier the farts....

That's only my experience, there are people on here with much much more expertise (Cheetah where are you???:D )

[Becky]

I think the store you're looking at is a bit pricey. Are there other petfood outlets in your area? Natura has a store locator for their products on their website ( http://naturapet.com ).

I pay $6 less than that for Innova where I live, and, from what I understand, I pay more than most people.


The pay off is, however, with Innova, you are getting 557 Kcals per cup. Most dog foods are around 350-400 Kcals per cup. So, even though you're paying more per bag, the costs usually average out.

I also used to feed Nutro Natural Choice... it's not horrible, just not excellent either. I used to pay more for it too per lb. Maddi has also been on Eagle Pack Holistic Fish meal with oatmeal, but, once again, it costs more than Innova does.

What kind of dog do you have, or how big is it?

MrsRottie, I think rotts just have smelly farts, lol.
Maddi farts a lot, but nothing ever smells (unless she's really gotta go, of course).

I am also wondering, are Purina's products of better quality in the UK?

[ChessieLvr]

I buy Canidae- a decent premium food, at a decent price. I pay $29.99/40lb bag.
Chicken soup is another good one at a decent price. I switched my dogs off of this after the Diamond scare. They actually did better on the Chicken Soup, but it wasn't worth the risk for me.

[p0g03]

I have been feeding all my dogs Canidae for the last two weeks and the diff. in thier eating habits are amazing. It is taking less to feed them and they have not lost any weight. Their pooh is less frequent and my dobbie is not filling up the yard with the previous cow pies we where getting with the other foods.
It is also a all life stage food for pupps thru seniors.
A true godsend for my 20 year old chiuahua too he is very picky and just one week and he is up and running around with the other dogs again instead of sleeping all the time and he loves it.
I payed 40 dollars for a 44lb bag. I am sure it is alittle on the pricey end because I bought it from Mojo's trainer but am in the process of finding a better price some where else.

[Cheetah]

My dog eats Canidae. It's a very good food with great ingredients, and it's affordable. My puppy will also be switched to Canidae when he arrives. >^_^<

[EnchantedGypsy]

The people at the dog park use different brands but one woman told me that Cosco (Kirkland) has a dog food with the same ingredients as the brands listed above. She said it is quality. Does anyone have any info to share?

Right now I would not recommend any Costco brand pet foods, please read the topic down the forum about the Diamond dog food.... Several dogs have died from toxins in Costco brand foods, and pet foods manufactured in the same facility recently.

[MrsRottie]

MrsRottie, I think rotts just have smelly farts, lol.


LMAO :D:D:D

[sandi]

Gassy dog, it could be a protein ingredient in the food. Check and compare, it could be chicken, turkey, lamb, or fish. SOO changing foods without finding what is causing the gas is a waster. It could also a certain grain, even kelp

[3 goldens]

It was just posted on another board that both Timber Wolf and Solid Gold are manufactured in a Diamond Plant. There was so much discussion about foods and different kinds, etc, rumors. Someone contacted Diamond food and then posted the return e-mial saying they do inideed have Timber Wolf organics made in their plant and goes on to say what a good food it is, sales up, etc. Then another contacted Solid Gold and they also posted the return e-mail saying yes, their food was made for them in a Diamond plant. Several tried to contact Timberwolf, but never got a reply.

Nobody knows who many different foods are made in the Diamond plants, or any other plants for that matter. It seems the smaller companies have the larger ones make the food for them. I have no idea who does the quality control--the plant making the food or the company who is having the food made. I just thought this interesting. Many were totally shocked at this discovery.

[Doberman's]

I feed a holistic RAW food diet. No commerical food here.

[keljo]

dobermans - we feed the same :)

[Cheetah]

I would, but it takes so much research... I'm terrified if botching it up somehow lmao... Maybe someday though... I'm already supplementing raw.

[BratBoxers]

I feed Innova EVO to my adults and Innova Large breed puppy to my pups.

I'm not sure what they cost I think the total was for both like 85.00 they were the large bags. I guess I don't even think of price I need it I need it.

I too would go raw but worried that I wouldn't make it the correctly.

I can tell you it is worth it I have had this food for like 3 weeks and I wont have to buy any for at least 2 more weeks so its like 5 bucks more than when I was buying Pedigree years ago I was having to buy 1 50lb bag a week.

Talk about cow pies in my yard! ewww

[Doberman's]

Talk about cow pies in my yard! ewww

ROTFLOL!!!! Niiiiiiccceee..................... :eek:

RAW is not that hard, people make it harder then it has to be, I know I did when I first started it. If anyone would like some help let me know I would be pleased to help.:)

[retriever crazy]

ew that is sooo gross

[Cheetah]

I'm open to any raw advice. Some day I might be brave enough to try it lmao...

[lassie]

Pmsl................... i feed a complete food for my lot.

Is Barf the same as Raw, excuse my ignorance?;)

[sandi]

Costco brand is chicken soup. Also, you are correct Diamond is making Timberwolf and some Solid Gold dog food.


Sandi

[ChessieLvr]

Costco brand is chicken soup. Also, you are correct Diamond is making Timberwolf and some Solid Gold dog food.



Costco brand is not Chicken Soup for the Dog Lovers Soul. Chicken Soup is made by Diamond and is only sold at high-end pet and feed stores. Diamond also makes the Costco brand kibble which is called Kirkland.

[Aurora]

Hi, I find the BARF diet to be the best its 100% natural and much cheaper to feed than most complete dog foodsand tents to have a lot of benefits health wise.

If you are not keen on the idea of feeding raw then the best foods on the market are Nutro, Autarky and James Wellbeloved or Nature Diet as these are made using more natural ingredients. Bakers complete is the worst food on the market followed a close second by pedigree complete, they are full of colouring and flavourings and can often make dogs hyper.

[shadowfacedanes]

dogfoodanalysis.com

also:
http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/Spring04/Perhach/PetFood/Ingredients.htm

I find that the debate about dog foods usually ends poorly..someone always gets angry. Please look at the links above and choose what you think is best. If you have a question about ingredients, feel free to ask.

Most importantly, dogs are carnivores and need meat...not corn, not rice, not barley, not oatmeal. They need meat. The first 2 or 3 ingredients should be meat and this does not include "by-products" (beaks, feet, feathers, fur, etc).

I've recently switched to raw. If you can stomach it, it's rather healthy and it gets easier after the first day. I can provide you with links if you'd like.

As far as premium kibble...nutro is not it, nor is iams, science diet, pro plan, etc. If you are looking for a good food, Solid Gold (it's not all manufactured in a plant where diamond is - check with your supplier), Wellness, Canidae, Innova, Merrick brand foods and Eagle Pack Holistic (Holistic is the key, the other formulas contain corn) are all good foods.

[1bigdoglover]

I know that you were saying the food is REALLY expensive. Natural Life is now in some Wal-Mart stores and it's completely natural. You can get an 8 lb. bag for under $12 and a 20 lb. bag for under $20. Their food is really good for your pets and VERY reasonable. You can visit their website at www.nlpp.com. Just a suggestion!

[Cheetah]

Mmmmm corn... >X.x;<
Unspecified poultry fat, unspecified fish and fake vitamin K >O_o;<

Definitely better than some foods I've seen, but personally, I wouldn't feed it to my dogs. >o.o<

One of my dogs has a corn allergy, and when she eats anything containing corn, she starts flaking and itching, and then my boyfriend starts having allergic reactions to her. He's allergic to every dog he's been around that has corn in its diet... It's weird.

The Lamaderm looks better... no corn.

[pittiegirl]

I'm sorry but for those ingredients that price seems pretty high. How much under $20 is a 20 lb bag? A 40 lb bag of Canidae costs me around $37 - and has much better ingredients.

[bananas123]

Is Prairie (Nature's Variety) any good? Is this considered a high quality food?

[pittiegirl]

Yes, it is excellent.

[dogdaze]

Mmmmm corn... >X.x;<
Unspecified poultry fat, unspecified fish and fake vitamin K >O_o;<

Definitely better than some foods I've seen, but personally, I wouldn't feed it to my dogs. >o.o<

One of my dogs has a corn allergy, and when she eats anything containing corn, she starts flaking and itching, and then my boyfriend starts having allergic reactions to her. He's allergic to every dog he's been around that has corn in its diet... It's weird.

The Lamaderm looks better... no corn.

My Gus (black head) is also allergic to corn. He had no hair on his underside and was practically glowing pink before I figured it out. It seems that white dogs with white skin are allergic to many things. My other dog is white with black skin and she has no skin problems or allergies.

[Aus_Dog]

I buy Canidae- a decent premium food, at a decent price. I pay $29.99/40lb bag.

Wow, that's cheap!! There aren't many choices for dog food in my small community, mostly grocery store bands, not many premium foods. I buy Royal Canin, it's not the best premium food, but it is pretty decent, no by products. I would say Innova is the best dog food brand, but they don't sell it around here. Canidae is the best premium food in this area. I wanted to buy Canidae but there is only one pet store that sells it and they are VERY expensive. The 20 pound bag is $40 and the 40 pound bag is $60.:eek: If I could afford it, I'd buy it.

[skunkstripe]

This web site is a good reference I think for dog food.
http://www.mordanna.com/dogfood/
It has LOT of information.

Lassie, 'barf' is the acronym for 'bones and raw food'. Don't know about the UK, but where I live, 'barf' is also slang for 'puke' so it is kind of funny. If you want to read something hysterically funny about BARF try this:
http://lab-retriever.net/board/showthread.php?t=33150
This woman can write so wonderfully, she got her own category on a Lab forum.

[MICHELE2129]

Hi Everyone

I have been reading the posts on dog food. I feed Cagney a food called James Well Beloved turkey and rice. Cagney loves it and is very healthy on it. It cost £38/15kg bag. I don't see it mentioned on the site, I don't know if that is because it is British or some people think it is no good. I would like to hear from anybody how knows this food.

Thanks
Michele

[bryony]

i feed my lhasa burns which i think is grate and for al on burns there is another brand autarky which is ment to be as good but half the price if any one has tried this please email me about ur findings.