Your choice in dog food?

jamk1446

I prefer the higher end brands but my dog didn't like any of the dry kibble foods I tried, and I tried several. I found Freshpet at Walmart- it's a fresh pet food sold in a fridge case. Now he does this happy puppy dance every time it's mealtime. I probably could save some money if I made it myself but this is easy, he loves it and seems to thrive on it. If I had more than one dog, I'd have to consider it more carefully though.

For snacks, I buy him soup bones (marrow bones) at the meat counter. You may have to ask (not all grocery stores put them out in the display case but they often have some in the back) but usually they're not very expensive. But if you buy enough that will last more than a few days, portion them out and freeze some, they spoil quickly. Also, I buy day-old rotisserie chickens for myself for lunches but I generally don't care to eat the legs so I pull the meat off the bones and give him that as well. I don't buy any of the packaged dog treats anymore. I used to buy him Greenies, but they are expensive and he enjoys the bones and chicken so much more.

Since feeding him this way, he maintains a healthy weight, soft coat, a moist nose, and clean teeth. His nose was really dry and would crack when he was eating dry food, even the better quality brands. He doesn't have any health or digestive issues but other than the dry nose, he didn't have those on dry food either.

perfectingpatti

I love Solid Gold. I used Hundchen Flocken Puppy (lamb) when mine was a puppy.

LeilaFace

My dog was on Eukanuba as a puppy and then Iams mini chunks but he got severely allergic to that (Okay so he has IBS like his mom) so then he was on Science Diet Sensitive Stomach and then Nature's Recipe Easy to digest (Fish and Potato because he can't have red meat) but all of this got far too pricey and my dog HATED them, so I switched him to Beneful Healthy Weight (no red meat).... I switched him almost 2 years ago, between that and running he's lost 10 pounds and has had no digestion issues.



Snacks - I use my husband's spent grains from making beer and make my dog spent, whole grain peanut butter dog treats ... yeah.

LeonnieH

My golden retriever eats a raw food diet (meat, bone and offal), veggies and table scraps. The only commercial treat she is fed is Bonio dog biscuits, she gets one a day. Other treats are all home prepared - roast dinner meat leftovers, cheese, cooked liver, kongs stuffed with a plain yoghurt, peanut butter and mashed banana mixture. About once a week she gets a large knuckle bone from the butcher and about twice a year she gets a stag bar as a special treat.

CumbriaBeval

I have Lhasa Apsos that are prone to skin allergies. They were rescue dogs and when I got them was told to feed them Precise Sensicare. My dogs are 12 and have never had any skin allergies and have been the healthiest dogs I've ever had. They've been eating this for over ten years.

I'm enjoying all these comments. We sure love our pooches. Thanks for asking a great question.

FluttershySweetie

I am a certified animal nutritionist, I give my dog MediCal Dental. Vet approved foods are some of the only ones that are tested, safe and proven to match exactly what your pet needs. Alot of the other foods on the market have 6 months to change on the label what ingredients they put on the bags. So for instance: says chicken and rice formula... well can be beef and potatoes.. or fish or corn or carrots or whatever else... and they can keep switching it every 6 months and still have chicken and rice on the label.

I would much rather spend a couple extra dollars on good food than get a few thousand dollar vet bill for something that could have been avoided by eating the proper foods.

Congrats on your new puppy!

PS: The Biggest Myth out there for pet foods is Corn is bad for them!!!! Absolutely positively untrue!!!! It`s like saying vegetables are bad for us...

sarbar71

We started out giving our German Shepherd Iams, but she starting having stomach issues for some reason. After trying numerous brands, we settled on Nutri Source. I'm not going to lie - it is a premium dog food that is not easy to find around here and is ridiculously pricey, but we don't seem to go through it as quickly AND no more tummy troubles so I guess its worth it. Plus - the vet and groomers always go comment about how beautiful and shiny her coat is and how healthy she looks - she's only 2 but I definitely saw a huge improvement in her coat

mitch16

I failed on the healthy snacks question, too...

Those giant rawhide bones are one of the worst things you can give your dog--they can unravel, get eaten, and cause intestinal blockages.

We buy Blue Buffalo biscuits to use as bribes. She also get Nylabone Fresh Breath bones because she has lobster breath. We use string cheese as a training treat. She gets plain yogurt, cottage cheese, or natural peanut butter as a special mix-in with her food most days (and more when we need to get weight back on her). I tend to get a little squeamish about the chicken jerky-type snacks for some reason--I'm not even vegetarian, but somehow I could never get myself to buy jarred meats for my son when he was a baby, either.

Sequoia joined our family as a 2-year-old, so she was done with the constant chewing phase, but with our previous puppy we gave her big, ugly carrots (marketed as 'deer carrots' during hunting season in the midwest) to chew.

HarleyFaithQuinn

I actually feed my dog on a raw meat diet. She has a lot of allergies and I don't trust what the dog food makers put in there kibble, so to play it safe I make all her meals. It's hard to balance everything out over each week I'm not gonna lie but very rewarding xXx

SARgirl

Oh! As far as treats go, our GSD is picky so he will only eat certain treats. We generally buy milk bones, Bi Jac treats, and I used to by the Canyon Ridge Chicken Jerky but it is made in China and has been recalled a couple times so we don't get that anymore. I have bought some organic chicken jerky treats at a local place but they were super expensive. I'm half tempted to buy a dehydrator and make my own jerky for the dogs (they also like sweet potatoes). We also use training treats by Natures Balance (aka "doggie crack") for search and rescue.

_Mimi_

We feed our babies Holistic Select®. Also use their brand of treats, or Newman's Own, or most any organic treat. In the winter, I make them "cookies", in summer I make them "ice cream".

I laugh at myself because I will eat a few things that come from China, including my favorite tea....but I will not allow them to have any food, or toy, that is made in China! lol

FluttershySweetie

I'm probably even more picky about what I feed my dog than I am about what I feed myself! I feed my dog EVO food and I often give her organic coconut oil, veggies, and homemade treats. Yes, I am that crazy lady! Check out www.dogfoodadvisor.com for ratings and info on all different brands and types of food.

Pet food stores support that website so they rate the foods they carry high and the foods competitors and vets carry as low so people will buy them.... the ratings are based on their opinion only...

divemunkey

I feed my dogs raw meat, organs and bones supplemented with coconut oil, and whatever vegetable I happen to be cooking for myself. This is the best way to feed your cats and dogs, and NO it is not expensive. I can buy enough meat to feed 2 dogs (50 and 70 pounds) for 3-4 months for less than $110. How much do you pay for your Orijen?

If I didn't feed this, I would feed Nature's Variety.

I have been a vet tech for 15 years, I know that the majority of veterinarians are educated by pet food companies. I call that a conflict of interest.

JaceyMarieS

I fed Wellness until I got a rescue German Shorthair who happily consumed 10-12 cups of food per day (and burned it off as quickly as he wolfed it down) and then looked for more. I switched to Kirkland (costco) Super premium chicken and rice and have been very pleased with the results. 40# is around $25 with no wheat or corn.

I'm not sure if Kirkland offers a puppy food in premium though and i do always suggest no wheat, corn or beef (all are major allergens). I don't think ANY grocery store brand is suitable. From a feed store, you can look into Wellness, Candidae (although I was not impressed that they changed their formula without notifying consumers), Solid Gold, Taste of the Wild or certain of the Nutro products.

You don't say what kind of puppy you have. For large breed puppies, I it's important that the food is not too rich..you don't want them growing too quickly. EVO, for example, is not suitable for puppies.

abnerner

I feed my Boomer Iams Simple and Natural Chicken and Rice. It's Iams but a little better quality.

CallMeCupcakeDammit

I'm probably even more picky about what I feed my dog than I am about what I feed myself! I feed my dog EVO food and I often give her organic coconut oil, veggies, and homemade treats. Yes, I am that crazy lady! Check out www.dogfoodadvisor.com for ratings and info on all different brands and types of food.

Oh - and for store bought treats, I try to avoid the ones made in China (usually in very small print on the back of the bag) because that's where many of the products involved in recent recalls originated from.

Felt this needed repeating! My pit mix gets grain free Nature's Recipe because she gets sick on everything else. My lab mix is a senior, and he eats Petsmart's Authority brand, but I've mixed in some other senior foods to give him variety.

pinkfluff79

I use Acana, it is made from the same company as Orijen but with a little bit less protein for those dogs that can't handle the large amount. It is a Canadian company with no recalls as I have found. My dogs love it. Pricey but worth it!

PitBullMom_Liz

Raw.

korsicash

I am a pet food snob. Will 100% admit that. I detest iams and eukanuba. To save money they are no better now then grocery store crud and are less the food they were just 8 years ago but still charge you dumb amounts of money for their corn processed into cardboard crap. Okay that rant done. Beneful....the only meat that hit that bag is in the pictures. Crap full of dyes and horrible other stuff do not feed it. I like blue buffalo, natural balance, evo, bill jack and there are few others that are great foods. Science diet doesn't look great when you look at the ingredients but it is actually an amazing food that I also recommend.

I used to be a pet store manager and they made me go through TONS of training so I could walk people through a crap ton of brands!

STAY AWAY FROM THE STUFF WITH DYES!!!!!!

whayamean

I tried feeding my Weimaraner Science Diet but he couldn't put on weight with it. Switched to Diamond dog food and it's worked pretty well.