What do you feed your dog?

[Minerva Mouse]

This is absolutely correct. Don't feed your dog this junk.

I was one of those people who thought everyone was nuts spending so much money on dog food, until my baby girl, Maggie, started having knee trouble. The vet told me to just TRY switching food (I tried blue buffalo) and if it didn't change anything then surgery was next.

I humored him.

She went from not being able to run without popping a knee out- to never having it happen again after switching food.

Honestly, 3 years later, hasn't happened once. 3 years ago we thought her puppy years were long gone.

feed them good food!

WOW! Over the years we humans have become more educated about the effects of food on our bodies and have now learned that the same applies to our pets as well. I have no doubt to the truth behind your story, this processed "junk" isn't good for any living thing. I've been considering switching her for a while now, I just haven't taken the plunge.

 

[CaptainObvious]

WOW! Over the years we humans have become more educated about the effects of food on our bodies and have now learned that the same applies to our pets as well. I have no doubt to the truth behind your story, this processed "junk" isn't good for any living thing. I've been considering switching her for a while now, I just haven't taken the plunge.

make sure if you do decide to switch you do it little by little....like 1/3 new food 2/3 old food and gradually increase the amount of new food.

 

[minkydog]

We got a 5yo pound pup about 6weeks ago. He was completely emaciated, had lost almost 50% of his body weight. Our vet recommended a high quality, high protein puppy food. I researched it and chose Taste of the Wild puppy formula. I also use a TOTW canned food, a dollop I'm the dish at every meal. Tiki is looking good now. His hips and shoulders are filling out and he feels less ribby. His eyes sparkle and his coat is soft. I love that TOTW contains a lot of meat rather than corn and wheat fillers

 

[skater]

I knew Beneful wasn't top of the line, but she's always been in good health. But now that she's aging, I've wondered if a quality dog food would be better for her in her senior years.

What is ToTW?

I've seen a difference in my older dog on a good quality dog food (no corn, no by-products, no other fillers). He plays just a little more on a better food.

 

[Liberty Belle]

We feed our animals Wellness.

I fed our old lab Beneful and Kibbles and Bits and he was incredibly healthy his whole life until the very end at 14. If I would have fed him better food, maybe he would have lived a little longer, though?

When we got our first kitty, he was so sick and very skinny. Our vet was upset when we brought him in. She said to feed him Wellness, that it had a lot of protein and calories and he filled out quickly. We switched to Wellness for our other dog (our lab is gone), but haven't really noticed any difference in him.

 

[Mickey'snewestfan]

Something that's in a lot of dog food doesn't agree with my dog, but I can't figure out what it is. I've always fed him relatively high quality stuff, but even some of those brands don't seem to work. Blue Buffalo made him really sick, Evo makes him really constipated etc. . .

Two that we've found that seem to work are Canidae and anything Wellness. We do Wellness more often because they sell it at the Petsmart which is close.

 

[LiveYourLife]

Minerva, congratulations on your new addition!!! I learned the hard way that it is not so easy to have two dogs on the same food. Some dogs need a high protein food. Others a low carb. Or high fiber. Or a novelty protein (ie: venison) with a single carb source (these are called Limited Ingredient Diets). As much as I tried, my two guys cannot eat the same dog food.

I agree with others, that Beneful is not the most high quality dog food out there for your pet. ToTW is much better, but it may be too high in protein for the dog you have now. You said she was aging but didn't mention how old she was.

To all dog owners, the poster that provided a link to the dog food advisor website, this is an excellent site to research dog foods. It breaks down all foods by protein, fat, and carb content percentages, and also gives you explanations on the remaining ingredients in each food.

Also on this website there is a place for you to sign up to get email alerts when there has been any kind of dog food (and even treats!) recall. This s HUGE! I get emails about once a week regarding some sort of recall. I've had two foods that my dogs were currently on end up on a recall list, and had it not been for those email alerts, I would have never known. There has been a rash of recalls this past month for foods like California Natural, Innova, and EVO and just this week two different brands of RAW diet (RAW is a whole different food concept for dogs, and I'm not criticizing it, just stating it is different than your more common dry kibble and canned food diets) foods have been recalled. All for possible sallmonella contamination.

Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that ToTW may work for your new puppy, but not your
current, but definitely worth a try in changing your current dog over to ToTW, because it's a much
better quality food than Beneful. As another poster mentioned, be sure you gradually change your current dog over from the Beneful to ToTW to avoid gastric upset. Start with 3/4 Beneful and 1/4 ToTW- do this for two to three days. Then go to 1/2 Beneful and 1/2 ToTW-do this for two to three days. Then go to 3/4 ToTW and 1/4 Beneful-do this for two to three days. Then after that go to all ToTW. A change in diet should take no less than 7-10 days. If you find your dog is getting a little tummy ache while transitioning, mix in one teaspoon of canned pumpkin. It must be 100% pumpkin, NOT the pumpkin pie filling in a can, as that is pure sugar.

Best of luck to you with the new puppy!!! As you know photos of the new puppy are a requirement!!!!

 

[Dax]

I have started using Fromm's. I have to buy it at the specialty store, but it is soooo worth it. Draco has been on it now for close to 6mo, and his skin issues have vanished. His stinky smell also left the building.

When I got my foster pugs, I also put them on Fromm. They were on Iams, which is mostly corn based. I noticed a change very quickly in them as well. Bella has since moved to another foster home, and she is on a grain free food there as well. Buddy is still with me, on a super strict diet, and is thriving on Fromm.

 

[luvwinnie]

Acana dry mixed with Party Animal canned.

 

[sunshinehighway]

4health from Tractor Supply. He really likes it and its cheaper than most dog food you find in grocery stores. I was really paranoid about food and treats after reading some horror stories online about dogs getting sick from food and treats. I was going to feed him TOTW but then I found 4health. Its less expensive and has good reviews.

 

[TinkerBelled]

One of the reasons we like ToTW is the larger range of flavors. We switch it up between chicken, duck, venison, lamb, and wild boar when we get a new bag, and our dog doesn't get bored. We have learned to skip the salmon flavor. Perfectly good food; perfectly stinky gas.

 

[java]

We use the Kirkland lamb and rice from Costco. It gets nicely rated on dog food advisor. Or at least it did when I was looking. I suppose I should recheck.

I had been feeding our dogs Evanger's pheasant and wild rice. I realized the dogs were eating better than we were so I switched them. They like the Costco food( not as much as Evanger's but it's only $29 for the big bag)

 

[Minerva Mouse]

Would a slow switch need to be done on the puppy as well? or since he's so new to food itself, would it be ok to just to switch him, or is more sensitive since he's so young? The local Petsmart carries Blue Buffalo (which is what I've been considering for my older girl, she's 9 by the way) but they do not carry Taste of the Wild, it would be great if I didn't have to go to multiple locations to purchase their dog food.

Thanks again everyone.

 

[thedonduck]

Would a slow switch need to be done on the puppy as well? or since he's so new to food itself, would it be ok to just to switch him, or is more sensitive since he's so young? The local Petsmart carries Blue Buffalo (which is what I've been considering for my older girl, she's 9 by the way) but they do not carry Taste of the Wild, it would be great if I didn't have to go to multiple locations to purchase their dog food.

Thanks again everyone.

Honestly, we switched right away with both of our dogs. They both get Blue Buffalo and we are really happy with the food. You can go online and get a $5.00 off coupon from their website.

 

[Disneefun]

We were feeding Innova for years and our dog did very well on it. Well, as part of researching the recall they had last month on their foods, I learned that they have been bought by Proctor and Gamble, who has a pretty horrific track record with their foods.

Something in the mixture has changed. The ingredients listed are still the same, but they've changed the manufacturing or something. Dogfoodadvisor.com hasn't dropped the 4 star rating yet, but said it is considering it in light of the new ownership and the change in the food.

So now I have no confidence in the Innova brand and we are in the process of switching to Wellness.

 

[Pre]

Count me as a ToTW Feeder. I got my dog from the pound and all the info I got was "he's white" literally no other information. So I took him to my vet and she did a DNA test and told me how old he was. After that I started him on Beniful from petsmart, but he would constantly lick his paws and itch all over. I took him to a pet store and the owner said he might be allergic to chicken so she had me switch him right away and fast (1/4 new food one day and 1/2 the next day and then 3/4 the last day). It worked he stopped licking his paws raw and his whole personality changed from being a scared pound puppy to a loving dog to the whole family.

 

[jlewisinsyr]

Our dog eats a raw diet, beef specifically from Primal. Our dog's coat is as soft and shiny as a puppy's and the diet has helped her mobility (she was born with luxating patellas in both rear legs). I am a firm believer in a raw diet, it is a different diet though, so it requires slightly more effort than scooping a cup of kibble out of a bag.

Now, I give it about 5 posts before someone will post something bad about raw diet and I have read many reports/reviews people often post and most are hypothetical in nature or refer to the risk to humans, rather than the health of the dog. Recalls have been very rare with raw diets, especially with the major brands like Primal or Stella and Chewy's, and of the one recall I recall with Primal, it was with their chicken line and they immediately changed their process to use a high pressure processing technique in their poultry products that pretty much eliminates any pathogen.

Referring back to risk to humans, like any raw meats, you need to practice safe handling procedures, this includes washing their bowls with hot water and soap, washing your hands after handling and keeping the food refridgerated (unless it is freeze dried). The risks often refer back to safe handling, but honestly, that's more informational than a risk. If it was a risk, every package of meat sold would have a big fat warning sticker on it; but rather it comes to common sense, raw foods have to be handled properly.

(Note: Every recall I've seen on raw diets has been related to poultry, not saying that you should avoid it, but honestly, even with human food, poultry tends to be the dirtiest and one you really have to watch out for when looking at meats)

 

[Tinijocaro]

One of the reasons we like ToTW is the larger range of flavors. We switch it up between chicken, duck, venison, lamb, and wild boar when we get a new bag, and our dog doesn't get bored. We have learned to skip the salmon flavor. Perfectly good food; perfectly stinky gas.

Our dogs eat a salmon based food (can't remember the name but not a grocery store food, no fillers)

They have the most horrific gas ever! DH will get up and leave the room!

Never thought it could be the salmon.

 

[My2Cinderellas]

We had been feeding our Golden a mix of Blue Buffalo large breed and Costco's Kirkland Chicken and Rice. Both are no corn no wheat foods as she has allergies. When I had her at the vet last month, she recommended I switch foods since the dog still shows signs of allergies and we can rule out outdoor allergens in winter. Vet said most food allergies are to a protein, and we have done no corn no wheat. Chicken is the number one problem and both her foods were chicken based.

I bought the rediculously expensive bag of recommended prescription food $63.99 for 17.5 pounds at the vet which is salmon based. After research we are in the process of switching her to the Natures Domain salmon from Costco. She is no longer licking her paws as much and has had zero tummy troubles thru the food changes which is amazing.

 

[lizbaby007]

My dog has stomach issues and has since he was a puppy. I tried a wide variety of dog foods including Blue Buffalo and Taste Of the Wild before settling on Natural Balance L.I.D. Basically all the "good" foods were too good for my boy. Way too rich and gave him horrible stomach cramps, spasms, gas, diarrhea you name it.

Natural Balance L.I.D comes in a bunch of flavors and we chose the lamb and brown rice. As soon as we put him on a limited ingredient diet we saw an immense improvement in him. So now he gets a scoop of LID for lunch and then at dinner he gets a scoop of LID as well as some plain boiled chicken, carrots, occasional spoonful of cottage cheese and some white rice.

Once or twice a week we will cook (boil) some lean ground beef and mix that with some rice and a little cottage cheese. We will serve him it with a scoop of the LID food. We joke that sometimes the dog eats better than us, but he is now one of the healthiest 9 1/2 yr old dogs I have ever seen. He runs and jumps and plays like he is a puppy! Every time we go to the Vet they always remark on how muscular and healthy the dog looks. They see so many overweight animals (too many bad treats!) that they wish more owners would pay attention to what they are feeding their pets.

There are a lot of good brands out there and since it does not sound as if your animal has any stomach problems or allergies I would recommend you going to the store and checking out a few of the brands mentioned previously.