What foods are best

[WBL]

Sorry meant to add, best thing to do is RESEARCH and see what would work for your guys best and your budget, or what you are willing to give up for them. Like me, I moved to Germany and had a problem readliy getting Solid Gold here, it is available here in Germany but they are often sold out, and with the Euro being so much stronger than the dollar, I actually order mine from the states and pay less than what I would if I bought it here using Euros

And here is my part of sacrificing for my pets, I usually order food every 2-3 months (depending on the amount I order) I will spend about $100 on food/treats/vitamins. And the kicker, I spend more in shipping than I do the food. I just placed an order for $90 and was hit with $97 in shipping. Mostly it is because of weight, the other because I have it sent priority mail. And what did I give up for this, my movies. I used to buy new movies every tuesday, now I just get a few here and there.

And again there is not as many people as crazy as me out there that would spend this much on food

[Tayda_Lenny]

I feed Tayda and Lenny Innova Evo and they do great on it.

[jys1011]

Also you can check out this great website

www.dogfoodanalysis.com

[jenwilson]

We like Innova Dry & Merricks Wet

[youngandtired]

Sahara loves Merricks, both wet and dry. I mix the dry with alittle warm water, and add about 1/4 cup wet on top, mix well. I use the Grammy's Pot Pie the most, she also loves the Merrick Bull Stick chews. She is a Merrick girl, we tried all the rest and she eats this the best.

[achandl2]

We've been adding the Avoderm canned food to the science diet dry i/d (Rascal has a sensitive stomach) and the love it. It's the only way we can get Manning to eat and not pick at his food. PetSmart has started carrying the Avoderm brand so its pretty easy to find.

[etzbseder]

My B absolutely loves Royal Canin, and I have heard that it was really good for them.

[Mia]

I am glad I found this posting…I am looking for an alternative for our 9 month old, and we'll be bringing in a 10 week old in a few weeks. Currently I have Mia on Nature's recipe, but I read it has a very high grain/meat ratio, which I guess is not very good, might explain why she doesn't eat all that much (maybe a cup or a little more per day). So I was thinking of the raw diet, and there is store right down the road who sells a few diffrent type's of them, such as Steve's. Price is not an issue as we only eat organic, so I want something healthy for the doggies too. If I would go raw with Mia, do I have to wait until a certain age, if not can I start raw with the new puppy also? Or would it be best to go with an organic dry or wet food? Ohhhh the choices lol!

[achandl2]

I am always a little leary of raw diets just because it is more difficult to make sure the nutritive value is accurate and consistant but I haven't ever tried it so maybe it has its merits. A good alternative to raw diet is the Buffalo Blue brand, it is free of corn, wheat, and soy products. I switched mine over to that a while back and they love it. I still feed the science diet i/d for Rascal's sensitive stomach but I mix it with the canned Buffalo Blue food and they love it. The cats also seem to love the Blue cat food. Here is the website http://www.bluebuff.com/
PetSmart sells Buffalo Blue brand now so it is easier to find.

[achandl2]

Oh I forgot if you go to their website you can compare your current food with their food and Buffalo Blue will send you a sample in the mail for free.

[Mia]

@achandl2:

I am always a little leary of raw diets just because it is more difficult to make sure the nutritive value is accurate and consistant but I haven't ever tried it so maybe it has its merits. A good alternative to raw diet is the Buffalo Blue brand, it is free of corn, wheat, and soy products. I switched mine over to that a while back and they love it. I still feed the science diet i/d for Rascal's sensitive stomach but I mix it with the canned Buffalo Blue food and they love it. The cats also seem to love the Blue cat food. Here is the website http://www.bluebuff.com/
PetSmart sells Buffalo Blue brand now so it is easier to find.

Thank you, I think I might try that, upon looking further on the web, raw diets has too many opposers for me to fell comfortable going that rout, plus the Bluebuff line has organic too. Thanks for the advice

[Ninabeana26]

Do any of you recommend using Eukanuba? That is what our breeder currently is feeding the puppies but I think I might want to wean him onto another kind…inputs?

[lvoss]

@Mia:

I am glad I found this posting…I am looking for an alternative for our 9 month old, and we'll be bringing in a 10 week old in a few weeks. Currently I have Mia on Nature's recipe, but I read it has a very high grain/meat ratio, which I guess is not very good, might explain why she doesn't eat all that much (maybe a cup or a little more per day). So I was thinking of the raw diet, and there is store right down the road who sells a few diffrent type's of them, such as Steve's. Price is not an issue as we only eat organic, so I want something healthy for the doggies too. If I would go raw with Mia, do I have to wait until a certain age, if not can I start raw with the new puppy also? Or would it be best to go with an organic dry or wet food? Ohhhh the choices lol!

Ohhh the choices is right. Their are pros and cons to raw vs kibble and there are many of us who feed a hybrid diet because kibble is easier when we travel. You can start dogs on raw as puppies and there are breeders who raw wean their puppies. The packages raw foods are garunteed to be "complete" foods just like kibble is. With the high quality kibbles and even with raw diets you will find you feed less volume. My dogs are eating around a cup of food each a day, with individual differences to keep them at good weight. You can feed a grain free kibble like EVO, Origin, or Wellness Core. There are good quality foods that contain some grains like Wellness, Merricks, California Natural. You can feed a kibble and add things like veggies or even raw though you should not feed kibble at the same meal that you feed raw bones because kibble moves through the digestive tract faster than raw bones should.

As with so many things, feeding is something that you should do some research and then try to figure out what will fit best with your routine. You may also find some foods work better for your dogs than others.

[tanza]

@Ninabeana26:

Do any of you recommend using Eukanuba? That is what our breeder currently is feeding the puppies but I think I might want to wean him onto another kind…inputs?

My only problem with Euk is the corn and the beet pulp… to me those are just fillers and have value to the diet...

[TuckerVA]

Tucker is a Merrick dog also. Wilderness Blend dry and varied wet on top. He seems partial to the canned Campfire Trout Feast, Thanksgiving Day Dinner, Wingaling, Cowboy Cookout, Wild Buffalo Grill and the Venison holiday Stew. He won't touch the Medeterranean Banquet, Brats-n-Tots or the French Country Cafe. I was really surprised he wouldn't eat the Brats. It looks so yummy I almost tried it!

[Mia]

@TuckerVA:

Tucker is a Merrick dog also. Wilderness Blend dry and varied wet on top. He seems partial to the canned Campfire Trout Feast, Thanksgiving Day Dinner, Wingaling, Cowboy Cookout, Wild Buffalo Grill and the Venison holiday Stew. He won't touch the Medeterranean Banquet, Brats-n-Tots or the French Country Cafe. I was really surprised he wouldn't eat the Brats. It looks so yummy I almost tried it!

What made you chose this type of food over another brand?

[jys1011]

My only problem with Euk is the corn and the beet pulp… to me those are just fillers and have value to the diet...

I agree! My breeders fed Eukanuba & I weaned them off of this asap. I even had a dog trainer (BIG MISTAKE!) tell me to feed Purina or some other crap dog food. I knew that she was a fraud right then & there :mad:

We're mostly Merricks dry & wet…and recently I added Natural Balance Allergy Formula (my guy is allergic to everything) Sweet Potato & Duck

Tucker is a Merrick dog also. Wilderness Blend dry and varied wet on top. He seems partial to the canned Campfire Trout Feast, Thanksgiving Day Dinner, Wingaling, Cowboy Cookout, Wild Buffalo Grill and the Venison holiday Stew. He won't touch the Medeterranean Banquet, Brats-n-Tots or the French Country Cafe. I was really surprised he wouldn't eat the Brats. It looks so yummy I almost tried it!

Camp Trout is new I'll have to look for it. I also wonder if I made the wet food for dinner would my husband notice :eek:

[Mia]

@jys1011:

Camp Trout is new I'll have to look for it. I also wonder if I made the wet food for dinner would my husband notice :eek:

Ok I just looked online at the Merrick site, and yes the food looks better than most of the stuff I cook lol. I was really impressed, if I feed that to Mia, there will probably even be a chance she'll stop coming to the dinner table!

[TuckerVA]

@Mia:

What made you chose this type of food over another brand?

I chose Merrick when I read the forums here and the thread that rated the foods. Merrick was one of the top ranking foods that I could by locally (a shop about a mile from home carries it). Originally, I tried to find the Timberwolf, but it wasn't local or convenient to buy. Merricks is a bit more expensive, but Tucker loves it. I WAS feeding him Purina Beneful, then I found out the Beneful got a score of around 17/100 while Merrick scored 117/100. Merrick is considered a 5/6 star food. I just want the best for my dog.

The Wilderness Blend seemed, to me, to be the most healthy of the choices although a lot of the canned foods have a brother dry food, like Grammy's Pot Pie.

As I mentioned, I buy a case of the cans when I go shopping and I mix them up. He likes the variety. I use a can about every 4 days when mixing it in with the dry. Actually, he's getting a bit plump according to my vet so I'm going to start replacing the dry with a bit of green beans. Last time I did this, he picked the bean out first. Guess he thinks healthy food is a treat.

[JazzysMom]

@jys1011:

I agree! My breeders fed Eukanuba & I weaned them off of this asap. I even had a dog trainer (BIG MISTAKE!) tell me to feed Purina or some other crap dog food. I knew that she was a fraud right then & there :mad:

Not meaning to start a row here or anything, but That's pretty strong.

I used to feed Purina – only stopped in the last year or so, and my dogs have always lived long lives with no health problems.
My sister currently feeds Purina and her dog is 11 yrs old and still runs and plays like a young dog. No one can believe that Kelly is 11;she hasn't slowed down a step and has never been to the vet except for annual exams, etc.

I think Bryan feeds Purina {and he can detail out his research and reasons for it, which he actually did here once}, and he's been breeding exceptional dogs for over 20 yrs.

My niece feeds Canadae and Merricks and her 8 yr old dog is o-l-d.
On the other hand, she has a very "young" 6 yr old.
I have another sister who feeds raw and just had a dog die at age 7 and she said it was because the dog was "old". WTF??? and I don't expect her other dog to live much beyond that.

Some dogs do fine -- better than fine, even exceptionally well -- on what many here term "crap food", others do not. Some dogs do great on the "higher quality" foods, others do not.

{Just like some people smoke and drink and eat nothing but sugar and fat and live to be healthy vibrant 90 yr olds, and others have heart attacks at age 40 on a health food diet}

Feeding is a touchy issue, I know, but to call someone a "fraud" because they feed a food you feel is less-than-acceptable is pretty strong and unfair, IMO, of course, but wow.:(