List of dog foods

[Marty]

• 4health
  
• Blue Buffalo
  
• Taste of the Wild
  
• Hills Science Diet
  
• Loyall
  
• Pro Plan
  
• Eukanuba
  
• Wellness
  
• Merrick
  
• Nutro
  
• Iams
  
• Diamond Naturals
  

Hey guys, I usually cook for Amy but for the past 2 months we have been under construction and Its been hectic around here so she has been on Pedigree dry + canned. No complaints. She eats it all up just fine but I would like to change dog food brands anyhow.There have been so many recalls on Pedigree and just about every food I'm getting quite paranoid about what I'm feeding her. I have access to Tractor Supply so this is where I will be getting her food. I do have to have both dry and canned for her. My other dogs were on Nutro but Amy won't eat it at all so I have to rule that one out. From this list, what would you choose in canned + dry? Appreciate your feedback.

 

[MountainWoman]

IMHO, 4 Health, Blue Buffalo, Taste of the Wild, Merrick. I'm one of those people who makes my 5 dogs food every day and reads every single label on what goes into their bodies. The Whole Dog Journal is a really useful resource if you're searching for food ideas.

 

[Charlene]

of all of those listed, i would go with taste of the wild. lots of flavors to choose from. marty, have you ever thought about raw feeding? i know being under construction, it would probably be a pain in the butt to start it right away but once you are all settled and back to a normal routine, i would give it some thought. swee' pea and bentley have been eating raw for almost 2 years now. in all that time (other than their yearly wellness exams) i have only had to make ONE vet visit and that was for a minor skin condition pea had and with meds, it cleared up in 2 days. raw looks and sounds intimidating but once you have it down to a routine, it's just as easy as pouring kibble into a bowl!

 

[MountainWoman]

I'll chime in again and second the raw feeding or making your own homecooked.

 

[Hosscrazy]

Taste of the Wild

 

[mydaddysjag]

Diamond had a LOT of recalls this spring, they are a large manufacturer and on that list, the brand they make are: 4health, diamond naturals, taste of the wild, and some formulas of wellness. The recalls were for certain foods that were made at their plant in gaston SC.

Merrick recently had an issue where there were nails in their bags of dog food, and unless something recently changed, they didnt do right by their customers.

I would not feed proplan, eukaneuba, iams, or science diet. they are all very high in corn, its a filler that dogs dont digest well, can cause issues with allergies and coat, makes them crap more, and you have to feed more of it. Im not positive, but I think Loyall is in this category too.

Blue buffalo is a decent food, but IMO overpriced for what it is. It gives one of my dogs diarrhea, so I dont feed it.

To be honest, I origionally switched my dogs off of diamond brand foods because of the recalls, but after trying many expcencive foods(ziwipeak, orijen, fromm, acana) and before I fed diamond I tried MANY foods, I went back to diamond brand food. We show our long coat so they need to be in good body condition and coat has to be perfect. Along with that, I dont like cleaning dog crap thats bigger than horse crap, so a ton of fillers are no good.

I was always very stubborn and adament about feeding raw and grain free. Right now Im feeding 4health chicken and rice, and to be honest, my dogs look great on it. Its pretty affordable, goes on sale all the time for $30 for $35lbs. I was so leary to use it especially after that recall, but they fixed the issue, and my dogs do better on it than the other high priced grain free foods I fed before.

 

[mydaddysjag]

Here is a third party non biased place that rates dog foods, and breaks down why certain ingredients are either bad or beneficial http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/

 

[anoki]

I second going to

http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com

OR

http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com

Of that list, I would recommend Taste of the Wild or Wellness. Some of the Merrick food is good too, just some of them are better than others. You can read the FACTS about the recalls on dogfoodadvisor, and signup for email notifications of any recalls.

~kathryn

 

[Miniv]

Living on the east coast, I'd stay away from Diamond or anything they manufacture. It's their east coast plant that has had the recalls. Check the labels.

I personally like their dog food because it doesn't use corn or soy. Fortunately, we are on the west coast and that plant hasn't had a problem with recalls.

 

[HGFarm]

Ditto the above- I avoid anything made at Diamond! Too many recalls and problems. Very excellent topic here, probably near and dear to all of us. I do use Blue Buffalo and have had EXCELLENT results with it for my dog and cats both.

 

[Mona]

I used to feed ProPlan for years, and always had GREAT results with it! Many will say it is not good, but it is a pretty good middle to upper quality food, and I never had one problem at all ever with it, andf I fed it for many, many years, to Chihuahuas, a Boxer and a Whippet.

 

[mickeymoto]

Blue Buffalo would be my choice. It is pricy, but it is excellent, especially for picky eaters. I do dog rescue and it is the only food that my picky eaters will touch.

 

[Margo_C-T]

I used Blue Buffalo for some years, and it was fine-but my two tiny dogs always left behind the 'flavor bits' or whatever they call them, in it(small black 'cubes'), and then came to not want to eat ANY part of it. I have changed to Costco's Kirkland brand, for them and my Dobie(who was already 'on' that when I got her). All three like it! I have to soak it for the tinies, and I do add a bit of canned dog food to it for all. They are all eating well, healthy, no 'excess' of poop, and no gassiness!

Margo

 

[HGFarm]

I have a real issue with pet foods that use RENDERED products! Euthanized pets of all kinds go to the rendering plant and all that crap that is with them goes along with it, including the drugs that were used to medicate them before and for, euthanization. That does not cook out when rendered. This is one reason that so many animals end up with cancer, skin problems and all kinds of stuff is because of what is put in the food. I will never again purchase any kind of food that you can get in the grocery store and even some of the expensive foods also use rendered products in it.

There is a book called 'Food Pets Die For' by Ann Martin- it is a horrible awakening to the tons of research she did on the pet food industry and it is sickening. It's available thru Amazon or I believe you can download it too.

It's full of shocking facts that will never allow you to look at the pet food industry the same again. Our vet has the euthanized animals cremated- they do NOT go to a rendering plant like many of the animals (hundreds of thousands)

I REFUSE to feed my pets other people's dead dogs and cats!!

 

[zoey829]

I am always stressing about what to feed my dogs. I was feeding Merrick but they seem to not be too interested. Then I notice Racheal Ray has a decent brand for the buck. However, i have been looking at Nutro. They changed the formula and it looks good. We foster dogs and the shelter gave us a bag of Nutro and my dog who is so picky just loved it. So thinking abotu switching over.

 

[Danielle_E.]

Any of these three, taste of the wild, blue buffalo or wellness.

 

[shorthorsemom]

anybody feed Verus' dog food? whoops, spelled Ve'RUS. didn't see on the list. This is what I feed. just curious.

 

[dutchhollow]

All of mine eat pro plan preformance formula and have since it came out. These are high level tial/test dogs that work all year. It is approved for all life stages, they are weaned onto it and eat it for their whole lives. Never had a case of cancer, have had 14/15 year old dogs still preforming in the field. Almost everyone in my business feeds it. Been out there longer then any of them, millions spent on research, no recalls. Really Racheal Ray? She a dog nutritionalist?

 

[Tui]

I have a real issue with pet foods that use RENDERED products! Euthanized pets of all kinds go to the rendering plant and all that crap that is with them goes along with it, including the drugs that were used to medicate them before and for, euthanization. That does not cook out when rendered. This is one reason that so many animals end up with cancer, skin problems and all kinds of stuff is because of what is put in the food. I will never again purchase any kind of food that you can get in the grocery store and even some of the expensive foods also use rendered products in it.

There is a book called 'Food Pets Die For' by Ann Martin- it is a horrible awakening to the tons of research she did on the pet food industry and it is sickening. It's available thru Amazon or I believe you can download it too.

It's full of shocking facts that will never allow you to look at the pet food industry the same again. Our vet has the euthanized animals cremated- they do NOT go to a rendering plant like many of the animals (hundreds of thousands)

I REFUSE to feed my pets other people's dead dogs and cats!!

Ann Martin is an accountant who decided to write a book on Pet Food. After her first book she was sued by more than 10 pet food manufactures for slander. She put a lot of information into peoples hands without giving them the whole truth. People like that and some internet sites give people enough information to get themselves into trouble but not get out of it.

As far as rendering goes, there are USDA rendering plants and non USDA rendering plants. Many people have a poor thoughts on rendering when it really isn't that bad. Many homemade chicken soup recipes require rendering a chicken carcass but people don't normally see the similarities until pointed out. All AAFCO approved foods have strict standards of what rendered product can be put into pet food and all must use USDA approved rendering plants. Rendered dogs and cats do not go back into pet food but do get utilized in things like candles, rubber, plastics, exc. Not to mention, the act of rendering solves what would be a huge waste issue. I know it isn't a pretty process and I would hate to be the one doing it but it is very necessary.

Lastly, I would never think about purchasing a pet food that does not have an AAFCO (American Association of Feed Control Officials) approval on it based on feeding trials not just the statement of adequacy. Quite a few of these boutique or ultra-premium brands not only lack ANY AAFCO approval but don't have veterinarians, let alone board certified nutritionists, on staff to make sure the foods are balanced and complete for the particular life stage being stated (if there is one). My other concern with these brands is that they use copackers and do not manufacture their own food leaving more room for things like contamination and incorrect formulas.

I prefer to feed my dog a brand that spends more money on food trials, clinical studies and working with universities to further the study of nutrition in animals than a company that spends their money on a GREAT marketing campaign.

 

[sfmini]

We have fed Diamond for years with no problems.

That said, my vote would be taste of the wild. We are feeding 7 dogs so I'm afraid cost is a issue for us when choosing dog food.