Tell me about your NATURAL PET FOOD......

[dixonismydog]

Hey all .....so for the new year, I want to start my miniature dachshunds and cats on a better diet. I know some of you will have your fav's and can let me know a bit about the costmand benefits of your "natural" pet foods.

I used to feed raw but honestly, I fear that they are not getting the proper nutrients and that scares me. They are all in good health but my cat does have some UTI issues, so we do use a low ash (I think) food for him.

There are just sooooo many choices out there.....I need some direction!

 

[Dax]

Mainly stay away from some of the cheap grains, like corn.

I read the labels. I look for my first 3-4 ingreadients to be meats of some kind. I try to stay away from anything that says by product meal...that is just NASTY for pets..

I have about 3 diff types of food I cycle my dogs/cats through. They enjoy the variety, and my budget does too.

 

[flick]

We rescued a Great Pyr who was abused. He was 70lbs and had no fur when we adopted him. He has sever food allergies and we have to feed him a no grain no chicken or beef diet. We have him on Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream. He is now 105lbs and a full coat! My vet was amazed when she next saw him. I had to change the cats food also ( the dog will sneak their food if he gets a chance). We feed then Natural Balance LID pea & duck. It is also grain free. We like both brands.

 

[danielle79]

I have a English Mastiff and he can eat! We have bought Taste of the Wild before but I found 4health at Tractor Supply and my dog really seems to like it better. My cat eats BG, it is called Before Grain and a Tbsp of tuna everyday, my vet said the tuna is good for moisture because older cats won't drink as much water and get a UTI. Both my pets are in excellent health and get A+ vet exams.

 

[dixonismydog]

Thanks folks. I am going to try the tuna for my cat. He will LOVE your suggestion! I am off to check out Taste of the Wild.....

 

[Starshine]

In my experience, any food sold by http://www.sitstay.com will be great. They only sell the best quality foods, and are adamant that they carry nothing that they wouldn't give to their own animals. If you are still thinking of doing raw, they even sell veggie mixes that already contain vitamins/minerals, you just add your own raw meats. Or they also sell freeze-dried raw foods as well. I have a Dalmatian with a history of kidney stones, and this is one of the few places I feel comfortable purchasing from because they always list ALL ingredients in their products.

 

[Dax]

I have a English Mastiff and he can eat! We have bought Taste of the Wild before but I found 4health at Tractor Supply and my dog really seems to like it better. My cat eats BG, it is called Before Grain and a Tbsp of tuna everyday, my vet said the tuna is good for moisture because older cats won't drink as much water and get a UTI. Both my pets are in excellent health and get A+ vet exams.

I use BOTH of these...in both Cat and Dog....I have been HIGHLY impressed with 4health...and the price is great too.

 

[PrincessBelle09]

I've did a good amount of research when I got my cat. I feed her Wellness and Halo brands. They have quality ingredients with no fillers. Wellness CORE is a super high protein dry food. The vet always mentions how healthy my cat is (despite having feline herpes since birth, which blinded her and causes upper respiratory problems) and how beautiful her coat is. I think both brands have options for kitties with UTI problems. They also make dog food.

Hope this helps!

 

[taximomfor4]

We feed then Natural Balance LID pea & duck. It is also grain free. We like both brands.

Same food here. One of our 4 cats apparently has food sensitivities (blood in her excrement). So we had to switch the 4 cats to a limited ingredient food. It is soooo much more $ than even the most $$$ food at grocery stores, but we never find blood anymore.

 

[uk_wildcat]

I feed my dog Orijen dog food and he loves it. It gets high ratings and doesn't have fillers.

 

[Swimalie]

We feed our cat Blue right now. But a warning, what comes out is something you will need to scoop right away!

 

[Gr8dan2]

We have a dog that did terrible on the natural lamb and rice we were feeding our other dogs when she arrived. We've moved her to Holistic Select Anchovy/Salmon and she *immediately* showed drastic improvement--- as in less than a week she was like a different dog! We thought we'd need this horribly slow switch to the new food--nope-- seriously she was all switched over with great results in about 5-6 days. Won't go back!

 

[AmandaNied]

We feed our two dogs (Itchy and Dominic) and cat (Ed) Fromm Family Foods. We have a great locally owned pet food store and they are very well versed in brands and types of food. We tried a lot of samples of different foods and found our dogs/cat likes this brand the best. It's also on a buying program, so after 12 bags the 13th is free (or something like that)

http://www.frommfamily.com/

Our Shorthair (Itchy) has sensitive skin and is prone to ear infections...he's been infection free since we made the big switch! As a bonus, there is less "waste" to pick up in the yard (with two big dogs )

 

[kkwis2]

We have fed our 15 yr. old Springer Nutros since she was a puppy. We feed our 4 yr. old Springer a combination of Wellness and Natural Balance. We have always received many compliments on what beautiful coats both dogs have.

 

[Vijoge]

We feed our two shih poo's Orijen. My brother feeds his Fromm Duck.

 

[dixonismydog]

We feed our two dogs (Itchy and Dominic) and cat (Ed) Fromm Family Foods. We have a great locally owned pet food store and they are very well versed in brands and types of food. We tried a lot of samples of different foods and found our dogs/cat likes this brand the best. It's also on a buying program, so after 12 bags the 13th is free (or something like that)

http://www.frommfamily.com/

Our Shorthair (Itchy) has sensitive skin and is prone to ear infections...he's been infection free since we made the big switch! As a bonus, there is less "waste" to pick up in the yard (with two big dogs )

Can I ask how large your dogs are? Which type of their food do you feed them....I see they have lots of choices!? And also, typically how long does a bag last you (of course I know it depends on the weight of the dog.....but ballpark.)

Thanks for your responses everyone!

 

[MinnieForMe]

Hi:
We feed our two dogs Taste of the Wild and Wellness. They seem to do well on both of these and they have very sensitive stomachs.

 

[AmandaNied]

Can I ask how large your dogs are? Which type of their food do you feed them....I see they have lots of choices!? And also, typically how long does a bag last you (of course I know it depends on the weight of the dog.....but ballpark.)

Thanks for your responses everyone!

Our shorthair is around 70# and our lab is about #120. I feed them both the Fromm Adult Gold- our lab is on a diet, so he gets a cup a food mixed with a can of unsalted green beans, and the shorthair is a little thin, according to our vet, so he gets a full bowl of food...I may cut him down soon, he's not as active in the winter as he is in the summer. A bag usually lasts around 2-3 weeks, we usually buy the 40# bag, it's around $40.

Last year I tried to 'be cheap' and buy them a good food-not fancy, just a name-brand dog food...I think spent more than what I saved with vet trips that year. Itchy (the shorthair) had a ear-infection that was not going away and we had do go for weekly then biweekly check-ups (ARGH!)

 

[TheRatPack]

Natural Balance Duck and Potato for all 3 of my doggies. We have a dachshund, yorkie and pomeranian. Our yorkie has itchy skin issues on any other food, our dachshund and pom get loose stools on anything else (well our dachshund was on Innova when she was a puppy and that went okay). Natural Balance did change formula's last year and it's a bit less duck, but you can buy Innova EVO 95% Duck (canned 95% meat) and mix that in if you'd like or you can also buy Primal raw food (frozen) and mix that in as well.

http://www.primalpetfoods.com/

http://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/

 

[castmemberb4]

I'm glad to see the responses from people who feed Wellness.
We just switched to it for our cats b/c we are trying to figure out
an allergy one of them has developed.