I wonder how many people put as much research into the food they put on their own tables? Dogs evolved as scavengers, and will do surprisingly well on relatively crappy diets. A friend had a cross bred mutt that lived to be 19 years old, healthy as can be for most of his life (deaf as a post the last couple of years) and he ate the el cheapo stuff she got from the farm store, plus table scraps, his whole life.
Commercial dog food began as an invented product, and good advertising has made us believe we need it. Certainly people appreciate the convenience and have come to believe…...because of advertising.....that you need some sort of degree in nutrition to feed a dog (but not a child, apparently) Sure, it is great to get the "best" food (if you can figure out what that is), but many dog food brands are under the same parent multinational and even if you find a good, small, independent brand, keep an eye on it, as companies get swallowed up so quickly these days, formulas change (but not the name) and all of a sudden your favourite brand is no longer what you thought it was.
In reality, most dog food manufacturers use the cheapest ingredients they can get away with. There is nothing "fresh" or "natural" about commercial kibbles, with the processing that they go through. Without the "premix" they won't even support life. An ingredients list is great, but you need to know what actually qualifies as the ingredient stated. It may not be what you think. Most pet foods aren't made from anything you would want to put on your own table!
Full disclosure......I use a commercial food for convenience. Because I am vegetarian, table scraps are not going to cut it for me. I use NRG dehydrated, because I prefer something that doesn't use a pre mix. My dogs have done well on it, but before I bothered doing my research I had a couple of healthy Basenjis that lived to 16 on food I wouldn't use now.
Oakleys tried taste of the wild and had stool issues, at that point he ha to go on Iams low residue for gastrointestinal sensitivity…due to the poor ingredient list (although he did have great stools) I made the decision to switch back to a high quality food. I currently feed Fromms..in a variety of flavors and he does decent...I've contemplated switching to a high quality lower fat food to help prptect his eyes after his diagnosis of corneal dystrophy...but haven't decided or done research into what food that would be...
It's such a mixed bag, every dog is truly different, everyone has different expectations of what they want a particular food to do for their dogs
I do not know which Taste of the Wild dry food you were using but the Bison formula also has Lamb and Chicken in it. For me, their foods have too many different meat products in them. How does one know which one is causing a problem? I quit feeding it a few years ago.
I have a dog on the Intestinal food because of esophagus problems. I tried all different foods when he was an older puppy because I thought it was allergies. He has done well on it. I would only put a dog on it if a health problem has been accurately diagnosed.
Jennifer
Spencer was content with Evo until I had to switch him to a low protein diet. He hates them all. He won't get near Hill's k/d, so I mix a little Wellness Senior with his cooked food (usually chicken, fish or egg, veggies and rice or potato) and consider myself lucky if he doesn't pick out the kibble. Most of the time he will lick the dry bits clean and spit them on the floor. If I try and sneak too many of them in, he won't touch anything in the bowl. He gets lots of vitamins, omegas and other supplements, but I still worry that he isn't getting the right nutritional balance. Somedays, it's all I can do to get him to eat ANYTHING, and I have had to resort to chicken and veggie pizza, fish tacos or spaghetti on occasion to keep him from starving. Sigh.
Spencer is lucky you are so inventive! Chicken and veggie pizza sounds delish!
OK, busted! I like the chicken pizza, fish tacos and spaghetti and muttballs, too. 
But there are nights when I wish he would just eat his kibble out of a bowl like other dogs.
so we were using kirkland for a while and decided after reading here to try some dif foods !
she would hardly eat her food we always had to hop it up with stuff
about 3 months ago we went and picked up Orijen and taste of the wild to compare to the kirkland (this was pre recall)
decided to let Hana tell us what she liked the most so we did some one kibble in each hand let her sniff it and then backed up ten feet let her come up and decide with our hands about 6 inches apart which hand she prodded
out of 11 tries she picked the orijen each time over the taste of the wild we even swapped hands etc..
while expensive we seem to be able to feed her less and she is doing well on it
she of course is getting a little picky already again waiting for that fresh chicken etc.. in her meals but happy with the Orijen
after the recall makes me nervous the taste of the wild was on the list !
their was one other food the pet store brought in that she liked along with the orijen ? forgot the name of it but going to go back and check that out also ?
OH we picked up both the fish and the meat varieties of each and she did not seem to like either of the fish ones ? only the red meat varieties
As you probably already know the Orijen is much higher in protein than the Taste of the wild. We mentioned before we stuck with Evo for our new puppy even though they were sold to P&G. Since the formula and manufacturing plant or process has not changed, we felt it was a safe bet.
Even so we still investigated other foods. The top three on our list for dry dog food is Evo, Orijen, and Fromms. Evo has better availability than Orijen does. Evo and Orijen are higher in protein than Fromms. All three mentioned contain Dha which we felt was important to us and our puppy.
I will say that from personal experience- Oakleys sensative and picky to foods and while High protein seems to trigger loose stools he did well on te Orijen…I still choose Fromms because it is lower protein and because they're family owned and operated and have never been part of a recall. Recently I emailed them because I bought Oakley a bag of food and coincidentally he was sick the same day, I emailed them and thy assured me thy had no recalls and furthermore, they would investigate the batch number to quell my fears... Turned out not to be the food but they were so helpful and transparent that it made me feel I was dealing with an honest company..plus Oakleys coat is as shiny and soft as ever ( he has been blessed with a great short coat anyways). Occasionally I'll rotate in a small bag of the Orijen in the winter but for us its Fromms all the way
The people at Fromms are good people. We have spoken with them as well as people at both the other companies mentioned.
From our experience we know that when you feed a higher protein food, one of the side effects of over feeding can be loose stools. Exercise and hot weather can also cause loose stools.
When it comes to food, the protein level is only one factor to be concerned with. The digestibility of the protein as well as the digestibility of the whole food are important. For puppies, you need to consider fat levels as well. Fiber and Dha are two other factors for consideration as well,
So even though the protein in a Fromms food might be lower, if the digestibility of that protein has a higher percentage ratio then it can be just as effective a food as one with much high protein levels and less percentage of digestibility ratio.
Does anyone know where I can get Fromm's in either the west coast of Canada or the pacific northwest area of Washington state? I am batting zero trying to find it in the Vancouver lower mainland area.
I get Oakleys through doggiefood.com and they do free shipping over 49.99 anywhere in the US…I don't know about Canada though? I get mine quickly ALWAYS, with good expirations and they always respect I don't want packing peanuts in my order...and they substitute the shippin material with no issues! Not to mention it saves me from driving to have to get his food which even the closest location isnt convenient. I really do love Fromms!!
Fran, I also pulled this from the frommsfamily.com website:
**Canada Authorized Distributor
Tri-Natural Pet Products
www.trinatural.com
info@trinatural.com
1-800-267-6028
Established in 1991, Tri-Natural Products Inc. is a leading Canadian importer and wholesaler of innovative, premium holistic and wellness products for humans and companion animals.
Find a Store in Canada Near You
Fran, I also pulled this from the frommsfamily.com website:
**Canada Authorized Distributor
Tri-Natural Pet Products
www.trinatural.com
info@trinatural.com
1-800-267-6028
Established in 1991, Tri-Natural Products Inc. is a leading Canadian importer and wholesaler of innovative, premium holistic and wellness products for humans and companion animals.Find a Store in Canada Near You
Chealsie508, thank you so much. I'll be calling a few stores near me tomorrow to confirm they have it in stock!
Let me know if kipawa likes it! Oakleys finicky and has no issues at all, even with the "salmon tunalini" ( fish isn't his favorite)
The Fromms treats are also a hit at our house, Parmesan cheese low fat treats or the cheddar biscuits!
