Dog owners:what kind of food do you buy?

rachmass1

If no one has mentioned it, go to dogfoodadvisor.com and search for the highly rated foods. Our dogs are on Fromms with huge success

hbrittingham

Just a clarification, grain free is not a meat only food. It just doesn't have grains in it.

Most vets do not take a single nutrition class during their schooling.

pennplax

I have great big chocolat lab and I feed him Science Diet Large Breed Light. He likes that lot. Healthy 10year old.

Victoria2448

Like someone said before me...MOST vets don't know diddly squat about nutrition.

Here is a great website that will help you pick a great food for your dog.

http://www.dogfoodproject.com/

wrevhn

Look for high protein and corn / wheat free ones. Healthier ingredients. Also, they have skin treats/pills you can give your dog. I give my daughter some everyday! She loves them. (My fur daughter = my daughter)


I hear great things about Orijen, its what we want, but cannot quite afford it yet. Soon!

jamers3111

We have a pug (Ms. Boogs) and pugs are notorious for food allergies (which causes them to bite their feet and scratch A LOT!!). My vet recommended the Science Diet brand for allergies that you can only buy at the vet. It is pretty expensice but I think it works really well. When I don't have time to go to the vet to buy it I buy Halo since it's all natural... she seems to do well with that one, too. Boogs is allergic to grains, so as long as I get her a natural food without all the grain fillers she seems to be so much better.

iLoveMyPitbull1225

i have a dog that does not have any special needs as yours does so I can't really contribute anything there, but I have heard that blue buffalo is good dog food. I just feed my pup Kirkland adult chow. its like 30 bucks for a 40 pound bag.

PaleoPath4Lyfe

My dog has been having skin problems with the weather change and I think I need to buy a better food for her. Ive been feeding her purina dog chow and Ive heard thats like feeding them junk food every day... lol. I am on a budget but I also want her to be healthy and not be scratching so much so I will spend more if I need to. She is a collie mis and she is 6 years old and 50 lbs.

I feed Acana or Evo and a partially BARF diet for my 2 dogs. They eat less with these foods, so they last longer and there are no fillers like in Purina Dog Chow.

Howbouto

This website will give you an idea on how good your dog's food is:

http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/


I have a lab with chronic ear infections and itchy skin. I was feeding Proplan sensitive skin. It helped the skin but the ears were horrible and my collie didn't like it. I switched to Evo Salmon and Herring. It is twice the price but I fed them half as much and I'm not buying ear meds constantly. Plus our collie-mix, loves it. (And they coat is so shiny and soft it's not funny!!)

crimsoncat

My dog has been having skin problems with the weather change and I think I need to buy a better food for her.

Just my two cents as a girl with food allergic pets AND pets with seasonal allergies, a change in skin seasonally sounds like she may have seasonal skin problems possibly due to something in the environment. Around this time of year mold is really bad. A food allergy will manifest with some of the following symptoms:

-biting, licking (yes, licking is NOT normal in dogs unless they're wet or wounded), chewing, scratching at the feet, stomach, and ears.

If you see biting, licking, chewing and scratching GO TO YOUR VET because if it continues you could develop a skin infection. My dog is still on drugs for a lovely staph infection he got from licking his feet. It's not fun and not cheap to treat. Trust me you'll want to skip out.

To your current dog food you can add fish oil, some canned food, fat free yogurt (about a tbsp), or cottage cheese if she gets the runs.

Never give your dog: aspirin, grapes/raisins (unknown toxin, some dogs die, others never get sick), IBprofen, Advil, tylenol, garlic or onions (This CAN AND WILL cause HEMOLYTIC ANEMIA and is NOT safe despite what many online people will tell you. There are better, more effective flea treatments)

I don't like Blue Buffalo because they recently had a recall for salmonella.

Wellness has always impressed me and they test their food for salmonella before it leaves the factory. They did recall one food for salmonella but they had already tested the batch and confirmed it was salmonella negative. They recalled it anyways just to be safe. I was very impressed.

My dog was on Nutro and his skin was very dry. I wouldn't recommend it.

If you're looking for the brand of dog food everyone will smile and nod to, I'd check out the Champion Pet foods. They're the one that the most picky dog owners seem to like. I feed my cat there stuff and have never had a problem.

DO NOT buy off brand supermarket food. Things like Old Roy and Old Yeller are just a waste of your time. Iams, Purina, Hills and Royal Canine are better than this by a LOT even if people seem to talk about them being awful all the time. This is the general sliding scale that the internet recommends. I DO NOT endorse this sliding scale whole heartedly as I view any company who tests for disease in their product more important that the order of ingredients:

(bad) poorly made home diet<supermarket branded food<national food brands (iams, purina etc)< national "high quality" brands like Wellness, Champion, Solid Gold<A VETERINARY NUTRITIONIST FORMULATED home cooked diet followed TO THE LETTER WITH SUPERVISION

You don't need to go to the vet formulated home cooked diet. That is for people with lots of time, money, cooking ability and a dog with crazy food allergies.

I personally don't like raw food as it gives my dog the runs. After learning about all the diseases that can be transmitted by raw food (salmonella, ecoli, tuberculosis, tricohnella, toxoplasma, round worms, hook worms,pin worms and believe me this list goes on for about 20 pages in my vet school notes)

There is a lot of debate about grain free versus not. I have fed my dog and cat grain free and my other kitty not. I haven't noticed a difference. Everybody still has food allergy problems except for my cat on not grain free food. I know people that swear by it and others that call it a gimmick. My rule of thumb is if the dog eats it, likes it and is healthy on it does it really matter if it's grain free or not?

Oh, and don't buy the crap about "the three D's" (dead diseased dying in petfood). As a person that has worked with food animals I can tell you that NEVER EVER EVER EVER EVER would a dead, or obviously sick animal be allowed to be slaughtered at a USDA inspected plant. NOT EVEN for pet food. Don't believe me? Do what I did and read the AFFCO handbook and go shadow a plant inspection veterinarian. If the animal can't walk to slaughter, it is condemned. If it is found to be sick on necropsy parts or all of the animal are condemned. It doesn't matter what that animals purpose is, it is condemned. The three D's stuff may have been true once but is now a complete and utter fallacy. Again, if you don't believe me, call your state's department of agriculture. Don't fall for internet fear mongering, just do the research.

Phew. That was a lot of information. Pm me if you need more. I do my homework and have the books to look stuff up for you.

Too long didn't read I like Wellness and Champion Pet Foods and that's what I feed my animals. If your dog has seasonal problems, that's not JUST a food issue it's probably some other allegery on top of it. Go to your vet and fix that first.

TylerJ76

Purina Dog Chow

Jayme34

Iams is what we use.

courtneylee31

blue buffalo wilderness for puppy. He seems to really like it, and having no issues with it. Hes also small breed (Bichon poo)

crimsoncat

My vet recommended the Science Diet brand for allergies that you can only buy at the vet. It is pretty expensive but I think it works really well.

This is correct. The "limited ingredients diets" found at petstores are a good idea but may contain some of the things not listed on the label. One study we learned about in class showed that 3/4 foods that did not have soy on the label had soy traces in them and 1/2 without beef on the label had beef traces in them. It wouldn't be enough to hurt a normal dog, but one with allergies it could. It seems trace amounts of other proteins and carb sources don't need to go on the label because they're not that high. However, they're plenty high to ruin a food trial.

The veterinary prescribed diets are much more expensive because the food company makes those batches and guarantees no contamination with other ingredients in them. They are VERY stringent about this because there are dogs with very severe allergies. If they were found to have traces of another ingredient they would have RAGING veterinarian dermatologists on the phone DEMANDING that they recall the food and provide replacement. I'm not joking when I say that would make my vet very angry.

I know many of the purists will say that the ingredients are not good, but I'd rather have my dog eat corn than scratch himself to death. In the mean time, I continue to ask company reps why they don't change the ingredients.

That's the difference. Limited ingredient pet store diets do work for some dogs, but not for ones with very severe problems.

I will add that one veterinarian I talked too didn't know this. I told her what my dermatology professor said and she changed her mind about recommending them until AFTER a food trial as opposed to FOR a food trial.

cjosenga

We give our dog an egg yolk once a month to help with dry skin and keep his coat shiney. We feed him Iam's dog food. He has seizures and had to stop giving him dog chow.

marycmeadows

our dog doesn't have skin issues, but she has had liver issues and has to eat a food that is higher in fiber and on the lower side in protein, we give her WELLNESS Healthy weight.... it's a purple bag.... usually $65 for the larger bag at petco. lasts a few months, and we give her 1/2 cup am & pm plus half a can of green beans for dinner!

Sharon_C

Iams. I was feeding him Purina but he suddenly stopped eating it. Then I switched to Beneful but my vet told me that wasn't very good. So now I'm feeding him (and now the new puppy) Iams.

shamr0ck

Your dog may have an allergy to ragweed or something else in the air. One of my corgis has itching fits every year at this time, and has to go on Benadryl for about six weeks to clear it up.

In answer to your food question, i feed my dogs as nature intended. They eat raw meat and bones, just like their wild relatives. I've been feeding this way for 13 years, and just lost my oldest sheltie at age 17. Two of my dogs come from raw feeding breeders, and have never eaten any other way, and the rest were converted when they came here, ranging in age from 10 weeks to 7 months.

They are all very healthy, active, at a good weight, and only one has ever needed a dental cleaning.

capnrus789

For a long time, we were buying Nature's Variety duck for our Newfoundland. When we realized we were spending close to $70 a week on her food, though, we started shopping around.

You have Newfie!?!? Awesome! I miss my Newfie, he was the best dog ever.

We've had 3 dogs and have always fed them Purina Pro plan, nothing else. Our little Papillon does just fine with it.

lorig_2000

I have been feeding a raw diet to my dogs and cats for about 15 years now. I will never go back to dog food. I have super healthy animals with shiny coats and great skin! Just google Biologically Appropriate Raw Food (BARF).

Feeding raw cleared up allergies in a cat I had. He was very allergic to poultry and it's darned near impossible to find a cat food without poultry or poultry by-products. I switched him to raw lamb and within about 3 months it was like I had a different cat!

JMHO