Dog Food Question

[Kim]

After reading the other dog food topic, I am wondering what would be a good food to feed my dogs. I looked at the website that Nikki posted, and it looks great, but I just don't have time to go through it in detail, unfortunately.

We have 3 dogs. The first is a 6 year old lab. The second a mixed breed, who is about 2/3 the size of the lab (she looks somewhat labish/pit bullish, for lack of a better description). We rescued her from the side of the highway, and have NO idea what she is. She is very high energy though, and no matter how much she eats, stays quite thin. The third is the puppy of the mixed breed (who was very pregnant when we found her, but has since been spayed, of course), and she is almost a year and a half, and similar in body type to the mixed breed.

Currently we feed Nutro Natural Choice Large Breed to all 3. Is this an okay food, or should we switch? I also need something that will be good for all 3 dogs, as they eat free choice food and are not fed separately. The lab was fat in the past when she was stealing the puppy food of the mixed breed's puppies, but now is a good weight again. The other 2 are quite thin, but look perfectly healthy and have tons of energy--I think it's just their body type.

Thanks!

 

[mininik]

Hey Kim!

Nutro Natural Choice and Nutro Natural Choice Ultra are way better than anything you can get at a supermarket (generic brands like Ol Roy, Alpo, Pedigree, etc.) and the best of what you can get at most pet stores like Petsmart and Petco. Just stay away from Nutro MAX as it is their lower end product and similar to Iams/PUKE-anuba (ICK). Science Diet although "veterinary recommended" (because most aren't much into doggy nutrition and they get kickbacks for selling the stuff) is also icky and to give you an idea I refer to it as "Science Experiment."

Ultimately, since what you are feeding your dogs now is of good quality and is working for all of them you may not want to change. So long as they are on a regular deworming program and there are no underlaying health problems, a lean dog is a healthy dog. IF you would like to try switching kibble, there are many options to choose from including Innova (my personal favorite), Wellness, Evolve, Back to Basics, Pet Promise, Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul, Flint River Ranch, etc. Keep in mind that since you are feeding several big dogs it may seem like feeding these other brands is going to cost more but in the end you will feed less because your dogs will be getting more complete nutrition in every bite. When shopping, be wary of items just marked "premium" like Purina. Learning to read the ingredients is all you really need to know to avoid that sort of false advertising:

http://www.mordanna.com/dogfood/index.php?page=li101

 

[CharmedMinis]

Well I'll chime in here as I just got done doing almost a week's worth of research and getting myself a list of good dog foods to try.

I used the site Envy just posted (www.mordanna.com)

On that site there is a list of ingredients to avoid. So I went through almost 100 different company websites and read every single label and every single ingrediet

: YES it took forever!!!

The foods that Envy posted above, are considered to be GOOD foods.

However I found at least ONE bad ingredient in almost all of those foods.

Following is the list of foods that don't contain one single one of the ingredients found on the bad ingredient list. So these are the foods I would choose from..............

Innova

Innova EVO

Canidae

Timberworlf Organics

Merrick (I am currently feeding this)

Avoderm (only the Baked Plus flavor, the others have ickies)

Pinnacle (only the duck version)

Canine Caviar

Wenaewe

Karma

Solid Gold (Hund N Flocken, or Mmillennia)

Holistic Blend

That's it!!! Out of almost 100 different foods I looked at the ones above are the only ones that don't contain even one bad ingredient!!!

Here is a link to the ingredients to avoid page Ingredients to Avoid

Kim, I'm PM'ing you

 

[mininik]

Innova and Innova EVO are definitely my favorites. I've tried so many and started out years ago feeding Iams. The petstore I worked at then fed their puppies Science Diet so fortunately I never had to make that mistake. I've never understood how Pedigree, Iams/Eukanuba and Hills/Science Diet get away with sponsoring so many dog shows and getting show breeders to feed their garbage. When I was grooming dogs I could literally smell or tell by appearance which dogs were on a supermarket brand dog food. Most were were suffering from health problems, the most common of which were allergies and I'm willing to bet the majority were due to diet.

Of course I am all for feeding the best to my companions but have gotten so used to fighting the dog food war with people that I now recommend not only the best but the middle of the line, as well. IMO anything that has one or even a few "questionable" ingredients will be better than Ol Roy, Alpo, Pedigree, etc. What I find amazing is just how defensive people will get when they have been feeding a certain kibble and although their dog may appear to be "just fine" or if it's obviously suffering they wont' accept that they could do better...

:

 

[rabbitsfizz]

You know you really cannot beat Human Grade meat and a good biscuit or even, as I am using at the moment, Brown wholemeal bread (I have a free source).

Basically, although I have two large and one small dog, I put nothing down their throats that would not go down mine. By shopping around it is now as quick and easy as Kibble, stores as well, and I know they are being fed well.

Science Diet was developed for Guide Dogs, it was a good idea and it used to be good value.

My friends cats were actually given urethra problems by the Science Plan cat food devised to avoid it- it is the ONLY food my Dobes (which are canine garbage cans and will eat horses doo-doo ) would not eat!!!

(And NO before you ask, I do not eat horse doo doo, but then, neither do I actually feed it to my dogs, either

: )

 

[Mona]

Maybe we need to worry as much about what we eat, as we do to what we feed our dogs!

:

 

[mininik]

I do, Mona. Researching what I was actually feeding my dogs is actually what got me interested in living more naturally. We ALL deserve the best!

 

[Jill]

Two dog foods I feel very good about are Nutro Natural Choice and Bil Jac.

 

[whitney]

envypoodles: What would you recommend for a yorkie on Science Diet k/d?

 

[mininik]

Hi Whitney.

I know that Science Diet k/d is a special prescription diet for kidney disorders so I what I'm going to suggest if you want to change is that you get in touch with a vet who specialises in holistic care. There may not be one in your area, but I'm sure you could find one to talk to in Michigan or a neighboring state.

Best wishes for you and your little Yorkie.

:

 

[Ashley]

I feed Nutral Natral Puppy. My puppys are really active. I would like to see more weight on them, but again they are puppys and they are not underweight for there type of dog. My 11 month old Cocker weights 21.5 pounds and my almost 6 month old Jack Russel weights 10 pounds.

 

[mininik]

Ashley - I think you mean Nutra Natrual Choice Puppy? If so, I've fed that and my doggies liked it, too.

: If you think your pups could use a little extra weight I also give my dogs natural biscuits for treats.

 

[Jenn]

I am feeding our puppy the Nutro stuff, he is doing very well on it.

The other three get the cheap crap from the super market and are fat, shiny and happy despite that. Of course, they are also supplemented with a pretty steady diet of leftovers and dead cow - we had to slaughter three older cows earlier this year, and they keep pretty well for a long time in this cold weather. Gross, but hey, they're getting real meat!

 

[Ashley]

Yes sorry Im not fully awake yet

 

[mininik]

LOL Me either, Ashley.

: I just wanted to be sure anyone who was interested could find the stuff so that's why I asked.

:

 

[whitney]

envypoodles I went searching and found a "homemade receipe" that uses Cooked Rice, veg oil, hard boiled egg, calc carbonate, and salt, and a broad spectrum vitamin.

So.........................................I just got off the phone with my VERY EXPENSIVE VET who sells me the Science Diet, and she said "Oh, I thought I gave you that receipe?"

Making the food fresh/homemade with organic eggs,rice, salt, I don't think I could get anything better in a bag.

I hate to cook for myself but I love to cook for my animals.

Thanks for the thread it OPENED my eyes.

 

[mininik]

That's great, Whiney! HOW WONDERFUL FOR YOU AND YOUR DOG that you are willing to make a change to help her out! Just be sure to research it a bit more so you know exactly what ingredients to use. Some receipes might have worked for dogs with no health problems but your little one is special. I'd also like to warn against feeding any raw foods with kibble as they do digest at different rates and that can cause problems. For more information you can do an Online search for raw feeding and/or cooking for your dog and more information than you probably care to imagine will be right at your fingertips.

: Good luck!

 

[whitney]

envypoodles:

This receipe was APPROVED by my VET. I faxed her a copy of it. I would NEVER change my vets feeding instuctions without the VETS APPROVAL.

THANKS AGAIN Whit