dog food (dry)

[sweet~nichole~marie]

I tend to be a bit anal about my dogs' food. Plus our terrier/spaniel is SUPER allergic to just about everything grain-related. We buy Origins (it is out of Canada). It is based on the BARK concept. It is 70% protein and 30% fruit/veggies. No grains, pesticides, fillers, additives, etc. It is about $55 for a 40lb bag, but when you feed higher quality food you end up feeding less. Our terrier/spaniel, Buddy, is 27lbs and eats ~1/2 cup two times a day and our 85lb lab gets 1 cup two times a day.

The main thing to do it check the ingrediants: if wheat, corn, or a by-product is the first ingrediant listed, it is not a great food. I would just make sure that meat is the first ingrediant, and make sure it is not a meat by-product.

Hope that helps!

 

[ZoologyGirl]

*shrugs* I have tried high end...raw....everything under the sun. Purina One may be the devil in some eyes...but it's what I feed. My parents feed that and pedigree and the dogs have almost all lived into their late teens. Can we ask any better of a dog than that? Nah!
Sure you might eak another year or so out of their life...but is it a good year? I just don't see it.
It's one thing if your pet has allergies. We feed high end cat food because Miss Princess Picky Pants gets the trots on the cheap stuff...but my grandmother had a 22 year old cat who lived his whole life on Meow Mix and wild mice.
Who are we to say what extends life and health? Tests may show a lot about that...but family experience says otherwise.

I give my cats purina one.

My mothers dog has been eating pedigree it's entire life, shes an old fart now, and still kicking. The only health problems she's really had was when she was hit by a car...pretty sure that isn't from the food she was eating :grin01:

 

[Criosphynx]

unfortunately my cats will yack up anything and everything that isn't the $30 for 18lb (or whatever it is) wellness dry and trust me, everytime I purchase it, my wallet screams at me...especially when I hear about 20 year old cats eating meow mix...

I actually had the cats on it first long before the dogs.

when I feed canned to the cats I just buy the mid range stuff.

My old cat had science diet and did good on it...before I knew much about diet..I just knew corn was "bad" and I avoided it...

..I guess now Iam the one with the hangup on the foods...not the animals...I can't help reading labels, and I try to buy stuff that doesn't make me cringe. lol

 

[Criosphynx]

I give my cats purina one.

My mothers dog has been eating pedigree it's entire life, shes an old fart now, and still kicking. The only health problems she's really had was when she was hit by a car...pretty sure that isn't from the food she was eating :grin01:

I don't know man...feeding raw would have prevented this. Not to mention, the world peace it would bring

 

[snakemom1961]

I feed my cats Purina One. I know it isn't high end, but I also know it's better then what I had been feeding them. I also give them each 1/3 of a can of friskies canned just so Cyrus can get his fiber every day.
If I don't give him fiber he gets constipated and I end up paying 100 bucks to have him at the vet to remedy that problem. A little metamucil every day sure is alot cheaper....lol

 

[Susan]

Yeah, the premium foods are great, but they are just too pricey. My dog and cats are doing just great on regular ol' Purina. I don't even bother with Purina One. Even the cat with IBD did extremely well on Purina Cat Chow, even better than when on the hypoallergenic foods that cost three times as much. IMO, you can't go wrong with the checkerboard square. They've been around since forever, which has to count for something.

 

[Hail_Britannia]

I don't have dogs, but I try to pay attention to the ingredients labels on the food I feed my cats. If the first ingredient is "corn" or "wheat" or generic "meat by-products," I don't feed it to them. I was picky about what I gave my older cat especially since he didn't come from the best situation and has some fiddly health problems. I've been feeding Natural Balance for a few years now, and they seem to do well on it. The first two ingredients are chicken meal and chicken, and it's got other good stuff in it, like lamb meal, duck meal, and lots of different vitamins. Their canned food comes in many different varieties, which is good because I think variety is important to their diet. I don't find it to be terribly expensive, the only downside is that the only place around here that sells it is Petco; you can't pick it up at the grocery store. They seem to like it.

 

[Cornsnake124]

kent dog chow. We get ours in BIG bags. Its at a great cost and our dog loves it..

 

[Bobo's Mama]

For my dog I like to feed either California Natural, Wellness, or Canidae. Natural Balance is also a good food. All of it contains potato though. My dog is white and he gets tear stains on his face if he eats potato. Some other good brands are Solid Gold and Orijen. I have fed Purina One before and its ok, its just that it does contain corn and more fillers than I'd want to add to my dogs diet. My dog is lazy bum, and needs less calories, so I don't think I could feed him Purina One without him becoming even more of a little blimp. Lap dogs are NOT supposed to weigh 15lbs!!

 

[Hail_Britannia]

Your dog gets tear stains from potatoes? How odd! Isn't it strange the ways in which certain foods can affect the body? I always though tear stains were just something that happened in certain breeds of dogs, our old shi tzu always had them.

 

[Bobo's Mama]

Your dog gets tear stains from potatoes? How odd! Isn't it strange the ways in which certain foods can affect the body? I always though tear stains were just something that happened in certain breeds of dogs, our old shi tzu always had them.

Most tear stains are caused by allergies. Some are caused by food allergies, and others are caused by environmental allergies, like to pollen or dust. Or in puppies it can be caused by teething, since the eyes and tear ducts are connected to the nose and mouth through the sinuses. And still some dogs have tear stains because thier tear ducts are blocked or too small. Having a white dog and tear stains, it sucks. So you find out through process of elimination what causes them and what doesn't. He's eaten 2 different brands of food with potatoes in them, and both caused staining.

 

[ceduke]

If you want a premium quality food that is not terribly expensive, look into Healthwise. I'm PICKY about what goes into my dog....no corn, no wheat, no unspecified by-products, and I want a meat MEAL at the top of the ingredients list. I also will not feed foods from companies that import ingredients. I few my dog nothing but raw for a long time, and had to add in some kibble when I moved in with my mother in law. HW makes me and Jasper happy.

Natura will not import any ingredients, they use only whole grains, and they are picky about the ingredients that go into their food. The ingredients for Healthwise Chicken & oatmeal...

Chicken Meal, Oatmeal, Brown Rice, Chicken Fat, Flaxseed Meal, Natural Flavors, Herring Oil, Avocado Oil, Garlic Powder, Dried Kelp, Potassium Chloride, Choline Chloride, Calcium Carbonate, Vitamins/Minerals

The price of HW at my store is low because we wholesale for Natura, but I think it runs about $1/lb most places. They only sell to privately owned businesses, so if you haven't seen it in your area check out their "Where to buy" tool: http://www.healthwisepetfood.com/where-to-buy/

 

[PJ@PJCReptiles]

My daughter, Ashley@PJCReptiles, is certified in "dog food. I dont remember the certificate that she holds.

What kind of dog are you feeding? Breed, size, age, and food issues?

I am sure she could recommend a few good brands for you if you are interested.

PJ

 

[lesleym]

I have a Pharaoh Hound. Back in the day, I used to breed and show Pharaoh Hounds. I've also had an Afghan, a Borzoi, and was part-owner of a Greyhound. I love the sighthounds, what can I say! Anyway, I used to be a dog food snob. Wouldn't touch anything but Science Diet. Purina...straight from the devil, NO WAY would I touch the stuff! Then I relaxed a little and fed Iams for a long time. Finally, within the last few years, Glen persuaded me to try something a little cheaper, especially since the Iams wasn't keeping weight on said Pharaoh Hound. So now I buy Purina Healthy Morsels from the grocery store. And guess what? He's doing great on it. His coat is healthy, he keeps weight on, and he likes it. It does help that he's not allergic to anything. Say what you like about Purina, they do their research. Did I mention it's much cheaper that Iams and Science Diet?
Just for fun, here's a picture of said dog. His name is Dakarai, and he's missing a back leg thanks to some idiot from the landlords lawn service company leaving the gate open. And yes, he is in good weight, he's a sighthound and they don't have an ounce of extra fat on them

 

[ZoologyGirl]

I have a Pharaoh Hound. Back in the day, I used to breed and show Pharaoh Hounds. I've also had an Afghan, a Borzoi, and was part-owner of a Greyhound. I love the sighthounds, what can I say!

:eek1: You have a marvelous taste in dogs. Sighthounds are my favorite.

 

[sweet~nichole~marie]

The funny thing is, Science Diet is supposed to be great stuff, blah, blah, blah, the only reason so many vet clinics sell it is that the reps push it like crazy (I worked in a vet clinic for 4 years) but if you look at the ingrediant list, the first 3-4 isn't even meat. You are shelling out a TON of money for rep pushing power. I also have a friend who just graduated from vet school and is into holistic food like me. She said that vets do not get any nutrition classes in school, so all they know is what the reps come and tell them, soooo, the pushiest rep sells the most food. Holistic pet food reps don't even bother with a lot of vet clinics because a lot of vets are not interested in learning about that type of stuff ~shrugs~ Only vets who have an interest and take the time to pursue and educate themselves about alternative foods learn about it . . . sorry for the little rant ~LOL~ it is one of my pet topics . . .

 

[ceduke]

You should meet the reps who come to my store, LoL. Our Nutro rep is the nicest guy, and he never shows up without cookies for us! Our Natura rep knows everyone by name and is willing to stand around for hours answering questions. I've never met our SD rep though....their pushiness would have no chance against my boss! We ONLY carry SD because a few of our customers want it. Not our favorite line of food.

 

[sweet~nichole~marie]

The vet that I worked for didn't really consider nutrition top priority so he couldn't be bothered to research and learn about alternative foods (too "new-agey" for him ~rolls eyes~) so he pretty much just carried what the mainstream reps recommended . . . just one of the many reasons I got fed up with working for him ~LOL~

 

[ceduke]

The vets I have worked for all got a hefty commission for selling SD too.

 

[sweet~nichole~marie]

The vets I have worked for all got a hefty commission for selling SD too.

Oh, yeah, I forgot that! Sneaky sons of --- I have become pretty anti-SD in the last few years ~LOL~