What brand of dog food do you buy?

[DMickey28]

We use Beneful and it seems pretty decent for our pup!

 

[familyS]

Our dogs (1 English Setter, 1 Sharpei/Rhodesian Ridgeback mix) like variety and complain if they get the same kind twice in a row. We get whatever multiflavor brand is on sale: Pedigree, Purina, Kibbles and Bits, Organic, store brand. It just need slots of shapes and flavors, and they are happy.

Our vets sell one of the higher priced brands, and says our dogs' coats and overall health is as good as those that are fed thier brands.

The dogs get lots of exercise, though. I think it may make a difference. They get walked at least 5 miles a day, usually more AND they run our property on their own in 20 minute bouts for about a total of at least an hour a day.

 

[hsmamato2]

We have two Golden Retrievers and we currently use dry Canidae. We used to use Eukanuba until all that trouble with the pet food being tainted, so we switched to Canidae. Both dogs seem to like it, but my husband does not. Not that he has tried eating it !! He doesn't like the cost of it.

My local feed/garden store carries a full line of good foods(and bad),I used to do canidae-Chicken soup for the dog lover is cheaper,and very good also- I now buy the local feed store brand- seems to be very good- but can't remember name now- it was about $32 for a 45 pound bag,no filers,lamb and rice

 

[kismet1003]

I have a 2.5 year old Basset Hound that I feed California Natural Chicken & Rice. He loves it.

 

[lisaross]

I was feeding my mini-poodle Science diet for 11 years, but then from this board i learnt how bad that was so i switched to Innova - and after a couple of weeks his fur was so shiny! so now i use innova!

lisa

 

[siouxi31]

I have shown dogs for years and have tried many of the brands below. I now feed raw with great results but have always liked Chicken Soup for the Dog lovers soul. I feed this now to clients dogs and when going to long shows as to not carry all that Raw food for the dogs. If you have any questions let me know.



How to grade your dog’s food: (Some brands are done at the very bottom)...

Thank you for the method of calculation.

I bought a new food called "Spot's Stew" by Halo (both dry and wet) and according to your calcuation method, it has an A+ rating having scored over 100 points.

I think we may have found a food for our dog that we can trust is not full of scary ingredients.

Now, some general comments I have:

In my quest to serve the entire family more nutrionally dense foods, I have recently come across some shocking information that relates to pet food and have changed what I consider healthy food for our dog.

Some pet food includes euthanized pets which was discovered in a San Francisco Chronicle investigative report, which followed euthanized dogs and cats from clinics where they were euthanized directly to rendering plants and to the pet food industry.

The food has had chemical byproducts added to cheapen them. Essentially, you would be providing a food to a pet that has no nutritional value.

There is one piece of information that I found most credible in my search for information on pet nutrition and that source is:

http://www.truthpublishing.com/LisaNewman_p/pdf-cat21341.htm

I've had many friends say to me "We've used **** for years and the dog is fine".

While their pets are still alive and fine, these bad ingredients can be causing digestive, skin, behavior issues. It's the same for humans...what do we have to attribute the increase of ADHD, diabetes, cancers, Parkinsons, and MS to. Do we attribute it to the increased use of High Fructose Corn Syrup, dyes being used in our foods, or increased presence of wireless frequencies that interfere with bodies?

My beliefs aren't popular among the majority and I don't have answers to the causes of our diseases. I'm not even certain that I'm doing the right thing by buying this pet food. But I do know that this food makes sense to me and it puts my mind at ease. We all have to do what we think is right.

Thanks to the OP for starting up this discussion and for everyones frank responses. It came at the right time in my life and I find it interesting that others have similar concerns as I do when it comes to pet food.

 

[rcraw45425]

Thank you for the method of calculation.

I bought a new food called "Spot's Stew" by Halo (both dry and wet) and according to your calcuation method, it has an A+ rating having scored over 100 points.

I think we may have found a food for our dog that we can trust is not full of scary ingredients.

Now, some general comments I have:

In my quest to serve the entire family more nutrionally dense foods, I have recently come across some shocking information that relates to pet food and have changed what I consider healthy food for our dog.

Some pet food includes euthanized pets which was discovered in a San Francisco Chronicle investigative report, which followed euthanized dogs and cats from clinics where they were euthanized directly to rendering plants and to the pet food industry.

The food has had chemical byproducts added to cheapen them. Essentially, you would be providing a food to a pet that has no nutritional value.

There is one piece of information that I found most credible in my search for information on pet nutrition and that source is:

http://www.truthpublishing.com/LisaNewman_p/pdf-cat21341.htm

I've had many friends say to me "We've used **** for years and the dog is fine".

While their pets are still alive and fine, these bad ingredients can be causing digestive, skin, behavior issues. It's the same for humans...what do we have to attribute the increase of ADHD, diabetes, cancers, Parkinsons, and MS to. Do we attribute it to the increased use of High Fructose Corn Syrup, dyes being used in our foods, or increased presence of wireless frequencies that interfere with bodies?

My beliefs aren't popular among the majority and I don't have answers to the causes of our diseases. I'm not even certain that I'm doing the right thing by buying this pet food. But I do know that this food makes sense to me and it puts my mind at ease. We all have to do what we think is right.

Thanks to the OP for starting up this discussion and for everyones frank responses. It came at the right time in my life and I find it interesting that others have similar concerns as I do when it comes to pet food.

Are you using the Halo dry Spots Stew? My two picky eaters ate it for a while, now I'm using the canned Spot's Stew to entice Scruffy to eat the dry. Wow, what an eye opener this has been. When you open a can it looks like Gerber Graduates, pieces of pasta, whole green beans and carrot pieces, pieces of chicken or lamb, really looks like stew! He like the chicken one but is not crazy about the lamb, likes it better without the dry mixed in too.

 

[semo233]

Last year, when we adopted Eliza (lab, seen to the left), I did A LOT of research and found this to be the best choice for us:

Nutro Natural Choice for Sensitive Stomachs - Chicken, rice and oatmeal

Chicken Meal, Rice Flour, Ground Rice, Rice Bran, Poultry Fat (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Soybean Oil (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Oatmeal, Natural Flavors, Dried Plain Beet Pulp, Sunflower Oil (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Potassium Chloride, Dried Egg Product, Dried Kelp, Choline Chloride, Vitamin E Supplement, Zinc Sulfate, Taurine, Ferrous Sulfate, Ascorbic Acid (source of Vitamin C), Biotin, Niacin, Garlic Flavor, Manganese Oxide, Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement (source of Vitamin B2), Vitamin A Supplement, Glucosamine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate (source of Vitamin B1), Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (source of Vitamin B6), Chondroitin Sulfate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (source of Vitamin K activity), Calcium Iodate, Folic Acid.

I have found that the better the quality of food, the less you need to feed your dog because of the concentrated nutrition. Less "waste" to clean up in the yard! She only gets 1+1/2 cups of kibble per day. A little more on days where she is very active or swimming in our pool. Her vet has said that she is at her ideal weight. People always comment on how soft she is also.

 

[ceecee]

We switched our dogs too when I read that Iams was mostly fillers. I knew grocery store brands (Beneful, Kibbles & Bits) were bad but thought Iams was okay. The vet said he thinks when P&G took over the nutrition went down so they could make a better profit. My oldest lab hasn't had a ear infection since (she used to get them a lot and that cost!) and their coats feel so much better. One thing I don't like is the poop...the flys are on it and they lay maggets, totally gross!!! We used to pick up every other day and now we have to do it daily because I can't deal with that!

 

[semo233]

We switched our dogs too when I read that Iams was mostly fillers. I knew grocery store brands (Beneful, Kibbles & Bits) were bad but thought Iams was okay. The vet said he thinks when P&G took over the nutrition went down so they could make a better profit. My oldest lab hasn't had a ear infection since (she used to get them a lot and that cost!) and their coats feel so much better. One thing I don't like is the poop...the flys are on it and they lay maggets, totally gross!!! We used to pick up every other day and now we have to do it daily because I can't deal with that!

What did you switch them to? I just compared some brands and it looks like the Kirkland Signature will get a try in our house!!

 

[Tarheel Tink]

Eukanuba- used for the past 20 years for all levels of dog's ages/activity level. Love Iams company.

 

[java]

Evanger's for the Lab(pheasant and wild rice- I joke that she eats better than we do)

And I just switch the French bulldog off of Royal Canin and onto Wellness. The goal is to eventually get them both on the same food. I think Wellness would work for them both. (and I can get the food easily as opposed to having to go to the Agway to get my Evanger's )

 

[kafitty]

GRAMMY'S POT PIE!!

http://www.merrickpetcare.com/

i used to feed her Cowboy Cookout (because i liked the name...also my roommate of the time has a thing for cowboys, and i figured she'd maybe remember to feed the dog if it had something to do with cowboys...i know, weird logic, but it really does make sense if you knew her ) , until one day they were out of it, and my then-boyfriend got Grammy's instead...after she ate the entire bowl in about 5 seconds, we decided to switch for good. As she is a Chow, she has that long, thick coat, and it's been very soft and shiny so long as i've had her, and i started her on this stuff immediately.

also, after i moved home to my parents, i started feeding it to their 2 dogs (they were getting pedigree dry and wet), and suddenly our German Shephard/Lab's breath got miraculously better!! That convinced my mom - so now she buys it for all of them. It is a little pricey though.

They all still get pedigree canned though. Mine only gets a little spoonful cause her digestion went all wonky at some point and she just doesn't handle wet food all that well. Methinks the wet stuff AND all the people food she gets is just a bit too much. (i know, i know, bad mama...but you know how it is! i can't resist her little face!)

 

[eatatmidnight]

I have shown dogs for years and have tried many of the brands below. I now feed raw with great results but have always liked Chicken Soup for the Dog lovers soul. I feed this now to clients dogs and when going to long shows as to not carry all that Raw food for the dogs. If you have any questions let me know. A

How big are the pieces of dog food? Our dog has a hard time with large peices.

 

[njcarita]

Changing foods doesn't freak out your dogs stomach? Our old dog was very sensitive to changes in food and had to make them gradualy, so we stuck to one kind that worked for her.

nope -- no issues-- thus far
they are beagle mixes-- maybe the type of dog makes a difference

 

[Skatermom23]

My yorkie gets Royal Canin and just loves it! My pom still is eating the Iams senior but he loves the Royal Canin puppy food more! I may have to find a senior version of the RC stuff for him.

 

[ceecee]

What did you switch them to? I just compared some brands and it looks like the Kirkland Signature will get a try in our house!!

We switched to Canidae, but the kibbles are so small they swallow them whole! Wellness Core has kibble that is a little larger, they also seem to eat less of that. Where is Kirkland sold, I've never seen it around here.

 

[semo233]

We switched to Canidae, but the kibbles are so small they swallow them whole! Wellness Core has kibble that is a little larger, they also seem to eat less of that. Where is Kirkland sold, I've never seen it around here.

Kirkland is actually a Costco brand. It was rated an A+

 

[TENIA66]

My american eskimo, german shepard and golden retriver are Ol Roy dogs..............

 

[Jacoby 46]

We have two Golden Retrievers (3 and 4 years old) and they both have been eating Pedigree since we got them!