Dog owners: What dog food do you feed them?

[BHW]

Just curious to see what you feed your dogs? There are a lot of dog owners here, so I'm expecting a lot of varied answers.

We bought Iams Natural Chicken for our dog, but I'm still doing some research and reading on brands and ingredients. My lab that's been dead a few years now, had bad allergies and we fed him a lamb/rice food. But I'm open to trying new foods for my labradoodle.

Let me know why you chose what you did...be it price, ease of availability, ingredients, vet recommendations, etc. Don't be shy and be honest.

I've been looking at pet stores, club stores, and department stores...and am seeing food range from well under $1 a pound, to well over $5 a pound!

[Dave]

I've been told by several veterinarians to look for food made in California. CA apparently has pretty strict rules as to what can and can't go into pet food.

I won't even get into pet food that's made in China. There have been several outbreaks of tainted food.

Personally, we use Nutro Lamb and Rice. The dog that Mrs. Dave and I got a couple of months ago was fed Iams all the time. Ever since the food switch, her coat has improved a lot, has more energy, and a good firm stool. Her coat quality is quickly catching our other dogs. 'Course, she also gets a lot more exercise now, too, which probably also helps.

The food isn't cheap, though. It used to be $30 for a 40 lb. bag. They've held the line on prices, but now it's a 30 lb. bag.

[Motornoggin]

I've been feeding Natural Planet Organics adult formula. Riley seems to be doing well with it.

[Dukeryder]

I've been feeding our dog Innova. The stuff is expensive but you're paying for what you get not some national advertising campaign. The better dog food not only means the dog has fewer stinky farts and shits but the dog will also eat less of it.

http://www.innovapet.com/about/manufacturing-quality


Pure meat diets aren't necessarily the best diet for a dog, as wild dogs would've had eaten herbivores and the partially digested grasses in their stomachs so some vegetable content is actually good for your dog. However you shouldn't be feeding him/her a corn based food or ANY that contain Cellulose (i.e. wood pulp/saw dust).

[nskitts]

Diamond brand. They have several different formulations and get good ratings in comparisons. We get ours at Tractor Supply. You won't see it advertised in magazines, so it's not real expensive but not cheap either. You don't want corn as your first ingredient in whatever dog food you buy.

[Bueller]

Originally Posted by nskitts

Diamond brand. They have several different formulations and get good ratings in comparisons. We get ours at Tractor Supply. You won't see it advertised in magazines, so it's not real expensive but not cheap either. You don't want corn as your first ingredient in whatever dog food you buy.

You don't want corn period. When's the last time you saw a dog break chase at a game animal to rip an ear of corn off of a corn stalk?

[Ursa Major]

Orijen adult dog food, it's made in Canada. It's bloody expensive, but it took a rescue dog who'd been tied to a tree behind an apartment complex and left to starve from 17 lb. and near death in early November to 44 lb., muscular, and with inexhaustible energy as of yesterday morning. He couldn't keep the stuff from Target that he got his first week down, but he's thrived on Orijen. Gets 5 stars on the site Bueller linked.

[Bueller]

Originally Posted by Ursa Major

Orijen adult dog food, it's made in Canada. It's bloody expensive, but it took a rescue dog who'd been tied to a tree and left to starve behind an apartment complex from 17 lb. and near death in early November to 44 lb., muscular, and with inexhaustible energy as of yesterday morning. He couldn't keep the stuff from Target that he got his first week down, but he's thrived on Orijen. Gets 5 stars on the site Bueller linked.

Good stuff, made by the same folks that make Acana. We used it on our emaciated stray we found this summer, but once he hit normal weight we moved him to Acana. Orijen is a very high protein food (can cause issues for large dogs) for very active dogs.

[FlagRS]

Canidae - recomended to me by the owner of our local feed store. My old boy ate it everyday for 14.5 years. Best thing about good quality dog food is that it produces less dog shit.

[KeithinSC]

Originally Posted by FlagRS

Best thing about good quality dog food is that it produces less dog shit.

Less dog Farts also!

[troidus]

Originally Posted by FlagRS

Canidae - recomended to me by the owner of our local feed store. My old boy ate it everyday for 14.5 years. Best thing about good quality dog food is that it produces less dog shit.

Another good thing about quality food is that you can feed them less of it for the same result. Why feed a dog two cups of crap when one cup of good stuff gives them all the nutrition they need and it's better for them? (Adjust volume for size of dog, of course.)

My wife's beagle has been on either Azmira or Canidae for most of his ten years and still runs around like a much younger dog. Only recently has he started to get a joint supplement for a little arthritis, but he looks great. Thrice-daily walks help, too.

[Ko]

Originally Posted by Bueller

You don't want corn period. When's the last time you saw a dog break chase at a game animal to rip an ear of corn off of a corn stalk?

While that's true, many a dog lived long lives working their tails off- sheepdogs kept on scraps of polenta and sheep milk. Those dogs put on dozens of km each day and night- now they won't say no to the occasional game they can catch, but their main meal is corn...

My dogs are on a combination of home made and kibbles- the kibbles I use now are Natural Balance. The reason for it is the digestive system of my Belgian, she shits solid on this food.

As a rule of thumb, radiated food is bad. Road kill is bad. Too much protein is bad- especially for some breeds/individuals highly sensitive to this (Bull terriers, etc). The too much protein rule applies to active dogs too.

Just because your dog eats it doesn't mean anything- crap food can taste good, in the short run. Unlike rats, who can smell on other rats what not to eat, and memorize a gazillion food experiences, our companion dogs lost this ability. So do it right...

Ko

[Bueller]

Originally Posted by Ko

While that's true, many a dog lived long lives working their tails off- sheepdogs kept on scraps of polenta and sheep milk. Those dogs put on dozens of km each day and night- now they won't say no to the occasional game they can catch, but their main meal is corn...

And humans can survive on gruel. But with all we've learned about nutrition we know how to eat better. I try to treat my pets the same way.

[wfopete]

I feed my Great Dane "Holistic Select Large and Giant Breed Adult Formula" kibble augmented with cunks of meat table scaps. Minimal farts, happy poops, no puking or other neg. side effects. Get it on line through Petflow.com, it's runs me $1.80/pound and my Dane goes through about 40 lbs/month.

[Dave]

Originally Posted by Bueller

And humans can survive on gruel. But with all we've learned about nutrition we know how to eat better. I try to treat my pets the same way.

I checked out your link from page 1. I've been into a lot of different dog food stores, and I honestly have never seen or heard of half those brands. I wonder how many of them are store specific brands or are regional only.



Day at the beach.

One of my 'holes in the couch' into which I pour money.