Dog owners:what kind of food do you buy?

Blue Buffalo Wilderness, I alternate between the duck, chicken and salmon every couple months to give them something different.

Check out www.dogfoodadvisor.com.

I actually work at a pet store and I am trained to help people find the right food for their dogs. I'm so happy to hear all of the great advice given on this thread!

Excuse the long post, but this is what I do with my life about 5 days a week after classes, so I have a lot to suggest.

I would definitely switch your dog to a natural food- something with minimal grains, no fillers, lots of protein, and high quality ingredients. Some people "swear by" certain brands that have been around for quite some time, but aren't exactly up to par (Purina, Pedigree, Science Diet, Alpo, Kibbles and Bits, Eukaneuba, Beneful, Caesars, etc). Every dog is different. Some do just fine on these brands, but many have food sensitivities and can't deal with all the extra ingredients. I have customers that come in and their dogs have a grain allergy, a chicken allergy, sensitive skin, sensitive stomach... there's always a solution. The best thing to do is to go into your local pet store and read labels.

If your dog is having skin issues, first try switching to a good, high quality dry food, and go from there. Like a lot of people have said, you can try adding fish oil drops to the food, or buy the capsules, if changing the food isn't enough. I feed my dogs Blue Buffalo. It's not cheap by any means, but a medium sized bag (around $35) will last me about 3 weeks for my yellow lab. Also, with high quality foods, you don't need to feed as much as with other foods, because the nutrient-packed kibble keeps them full longer (with less waste to clean up too). A good diet helps the skin, coat, teeth, joints, energy level, helps muscle growth, and weight maintenance (well, we all know that already because we're all on MFP) . I also have been able to solve many customer's issues with the Natural Balance L.I.D line (like someone else mentioned in the beginning of the thread). The first ingredients are "the good stuff", and they are also all grain free and come in a variety of flavors to choose from, which caters to a lot of dogs with allergies. Other brands you may want to check out are Wellness, Merrick, and Innova. Other brands were suggested already that I've heard pretty good things about (Orijen, Taste of the Wild, etc.), but I'm not familiar with those because we don't sell them at my store.

Don't forget, the treats you give your pet are just as important as the food. You don't want to ruin an all-natural diet by giving it tons of milkbones. Try getting better quality treats like Natural Balance LIT, Blue Bones, Old Mother Hubbard, etc. Also, you need to make sure you ease your dog into this new diet slowly, mixing the food little by little until he completely transitions over. A lot of people switch too fast, their dogs get sick, and they get discouraged.

I hope this helps!

I buy Newman's Own from Amazon. My dog and cat LOVE IT. I get treats from there also and they love those even more. They both have beautiful coats and no dandruff. Even with shipping and handling, I find that the price is about the same as what you would buy at the vets office.

Diamond Naturals (it is different than Diamond) Lamb and Rice

We use this as well. Our dogs love it and it's not too expensive.

My dog also has bad skin allergies. We use Nutro brand/ They have a sensitive skin formula that is potato/fish meal or something of the sort. They just changed the bag so the new name escapes me.

I have heard great things about blue buffalo wilderness--especially for dogs that are having issues with skin. I personally feed it to my dog and she loves it It is on the pricier side but I think it is definitely worth the money...hope your dog gets to feeling better!

This! My dogs have done a complete turn around health wise since being put on this food.

If you have a Tractor Supply nearby then I recommend any of their brand called 4 Health. They're super great! No corn, no wheat, and no soy. The best part is I'm getting a 35# bag for $30! Can't beat that and my dogs loooooove it!!!

Natures Domain is the name of the grain free Costco food. My dogs say they prefer it.

My family owns a feed store and I"m still totally lost on what's the best choice out there. Advice from my vet was choose a brand that has been around. He says there are so many new store specific "specialty" foods, that when there is a recall, many fall through the cracks. I was buying a grain free brand that my local store carried exclusively. It was of course highly recommended. Vet said nope...dogs are not carnivores, they actually needs meats and plant based nutrition, unlike cats that can do just fine on meat based only. We've switched our dog to Iams lamb and rice and her digestion has improved, she has put on lean muscle and looks great.

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.

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/

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.

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.

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.