Your choice in dog food?

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  • jillybeanruns
    jillybeanruns Posts: 1,420 Member
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    I'm going to be harsh, but if you can't afford anything better than Purina Puppy Chow than you shouldn't have a dog. It is completely processed and full of junk (aka fillers). Without even looking at the label, I'm going to guess that the #1 ingredient is a byproduct.

    In the long run, feeding your puppy a good food will keep him/her healthy and you won't be spending lots of time at the vet. You also will need less food (i.e. 1/4 cup vs. 1/2 cup) as the "good" food will have more protein and will actually satisfy your puppy's appetite.

    Every few months, I recheck the labels the food I feed my pets (cats) as companies are always changing to try and manage costs. Buy it in bulk, buy it from Amazon (15% Subscribe & Save) or National Pet Pharmacy (no shipping if you do auto refill). I can absolutely guarantee you that your puppy will benefit in the long run.
  • skinnygurl02
    skinnygurl02 Posts: 176 Member
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    I try to stay away from the ones with so many fillers and by products. Evo, Blue Buffalo, Innova, are some really good ones. They cost more but you actually can feed the dogs less because they aren't filled with all those fillers.
  • jillybeanruns
    jillybeanruns Posts: 1,420 Member
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    http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/

    Purina Puppy Chow is a 1-Star food, aka the lowest:
    http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/purina-puppy-chow/

    At least try and bump it up to a 3 or a 4.
  • AnnyaSB
    AnnyaSB Posts: 233 Member
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    My lovely Dobie girl is on a combination of raw meaty bones and BARF diet. She is nearly 9 years old now can still run a 5k with me no worries, so I must be doing something right!

    Treats are dried sausages, pigs ears and snouts - all natural with no additives or preservatives.
  • jennaworksout
    jennaworksout Posts: 1,739 Member
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    Royal Canin

    THIS ^^^
  • sheleen302
    sheleen302 Posts: 266 Member
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    We use dry food, Evo, small bites--I think they make a puppy chow. I like it because there is no filler and it's pretty high in protein. Our Corgi's not a big dog, so he gets the same amount 1/3 Cup 2x daily as he did when a pup, but we also do give high quality treats, like Stella and Chewy's....he has lots of rawhide chews, bones and hoofs. Now he is on Evo weight management.
  • LupaNera
    LupaNera Posts: 170
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    My are eating mostly chicken (cooked). There are mostly leftovers that are not eaten by humans (back and wings etc) that I find at a local grocery. Also beef etc. But no veggies.... They are part wolfs so they practically discard anything that is not meat. For the winter I supplementing it with Novafoods Trainer (they need to be very hungry for this). They simply don't touch anything that has colorants and preservatives. They know to read the labels better than me.
  • TheRealParisLove
    TheRealParisLove Posts: 1,907 Member
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    I have a designer dog, border collie/ blue heeler cross, and feed her a designer dog food. She eats Blue Buffalo Wilderness formula most of the time. Sometimes I fix her some homemade dog food consisting of organic chicken or turkey, oats, pumpkin and peas. Sometimes I supplement her with some yogurt or kefir, especially if she got into the garbage or ate something on the ground when out for a walk.

    For treats she gets hard boiled egg yolk or bacon. I monitor her calorie consumption closely because her breed has a tendency toward obesity. She is a dog-sport dog, but we have no agility clubs in our current town. I try to keep her active with frequent walks and lots of play with the ball or frisbee. She likes to go on hikes with me in the cooler weather, but she is not so keen on the hot summers and won't take to the water.

    Edited to add:
    When feeding a high quality food, and added bonus is less poop and less farts. Her droppings are nice and firm, which is healthy for a dog so as not to incur anal gland blockages. Also, only a dog owner can understand and appreciate a nice firm poop. I've got poopbags stashed everywhere, just in case.
  • melsmith612
    melsmith612 Posts: 727 Member
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    I feed my dog either Beneful or Science Diet... they're the only two types of food that he has consistently eaten. I tried a few other varieties and he typically refused to eat more than 1 or 2 pieces of each one so I've just stuck with what he likes. For treats I buy the 5 calorie milk bone mini's and the 7 calorie cesar moist dog treats (I forget the exact name of these) because I have a 15 lb dog who could stand to lose 1-2 lbs.
  • alyja09
    alyja09 Posts: 34 Member
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    I didn't see the dog food I use listed, so I'll put mine out there. I use Nature's Recipe Chicken, Sweet Potato, and Pumpkin for my adult dog, and he loves it. I use a lamb recipe for my puppy. They didn't have a grain-free puppy food, but I'll switch to the same as my adult dog once she gets older.

    My treats are also Nature's recipe because they have grain-free treats also. At Petsmart, there's a coupon for a free bag of treats with a bag of food so I've been getting treats every time, even though they go through food way faster than treats haha. I'll be good for quite awhile now.

    Enjoy your new puppy! They're just the best. :)
  • bellanena
    bellanena Posts: 74
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    You do not want to feed your dog fillers and by products. 1 in 2 dogs will get cancer. Feeding your dogs a natural or whole food diet absolutely helps sustain the pups life.

    I believe in feeding food where the first ingredients are meat and fruits and vegetables. I choose Grain Free as well, because dogs are very likely to get diabetes as they age.

    As far as price, I think a lot of people think that feeding your dog a cheaper brand of food saves them money. Do me a favor and go to a pet store and do some comparison in feeding guidelines. You will definitely see that you will be recommended to feed almost DOUBLE with Grocery Brand dog foods than the Organic, Holistic, Healthy dog goods. So if you are feeding double the amount than you would have to if you switched...you are really not saving. The reason for the serving difference is obvious. Dogs do not have a full feeling effect. They simply need their nutrients. More nutrients are packed into a cup of healthy food than 3 cups of grocery brand. (same as Mcdonalds vs Making healthy choices.)

    You will feel sooo much better about feeding them a healthier dog food. And you will literally be picking up less CRAP in your yard. BY PRODUCTS mean more ****! :) Literally!

    I feed Earthborne Holisitic. For every bag I purchase I send the UPC in and they plant a tree too. :)
  • MyOwnSunshine
    MyOwnSunshine Posts: 1,312 Member
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    I buy Costco's Kirkland dog food -- it is made by Diamond dog food, which also makes Taste of the Wild.

    Kirkland brand is always very highly rated by pet nutritionists and vets. One of my dogs has a very sensitive digestive system. I used to buy Avoderm Chicken and Rice, but switched to the Kirkland food and he does even better with it, plus it's much less expensive.

    Like a previous poster said, if you buy a higher quality dog food with less fillers, your dog will eat less and will poop less, too!

    Edited to add this link: http://petfoodtalk.com/dogfoodreviews/#best-dog-food
  • bellanena
    bellanena Posts: 74
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    Also, I want to point out that MOST dogs have chicken allergies. If your dogs coat seems itchy or something is wrong with their stool. Try switching.
  • fjrandol
    fjrandol Posts: 437 Member
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    Old Jack gets Blue Buffalo in his bowl. :smile: He thinks it's mighty noms, and doesn't take much to fill him up!
  • LorinaLynn
    LorinaLynn Posts: 13,248 Member
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    Off topic, kinda. When I worked for a vet, he suggested to one client that she get some kind of lamb and rice food for her dog with allergies.

    A week later, she came back to the vet's, saying, "I looked in EVERY store in the county, and NO ONE had any "Lemon Rice" dog food!"

    :laugh:
  • bellanena
    bellanena Posts: 74
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    I can't really afford to feed my pups the fancy food either, but I will cook them their own special dog food to mix in with the Pedigree/Purina/Whatever we pick that week.

    I cook up lean ground beef and mix it with rice and garlic and add that to their food.

    You can make your own treats too. There's tons of recipes out there. :D

    Just an FYI... garlic is bad for dogs and can cause kidney failure:( So are onions and grapes

    Garlic is only bad for dogs in large amounts. A little in their food once in awhile can actually have health benefits and repel fleas.
  • crw72209
    crw72209 Posts: 169 Member
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    I have a Welsh Corgi. That breed tends to get overweight so we exercise her a lot and fed her Eukanuba Weight Control. Our vet said Iams has too much protein in it for her and could cause her to gain.
  • jwaitman
    jwaitman Posts: 367 Member
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    I feed Iams with some green beans mixed in and no treats because my little dog is fat. He is on a diet too. My big dog gets Iams too, but she is a brat so she will not eat the dry food alone so she gets a spoon full of canned Pedigree mixed in with it.

    Each of them get 1 milk bone per week. they sneak some table scraps from time to time too.
  • SuperSteph81
    SuperSteph81 Posts: 29 Member
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    We pay around $90 for the big bag of Adult Beef Orijen. And like someone commented before, with better quality food, you feed less. She gets around 1 c of food, twice a day.

    We also make our own frozen goody treats. Putter butter, applesauce, and non-fat greek yogurt- in the processor and poured into ice cube trays. She gets two of those treats a day. Since she is still going through growth spurts, our doc suggested adding calcium to her diet and thats how we get it done. She loves them, her own ice cream :)
  • Liquidfeet
    Liquidfeet Posts: 62 Member
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    Blue buffalo

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