What Do You Feed Your Dogs?

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I have 5 dogs,an 11yr old pit bull with bad artheritis, an 8yr and 2yr jack russells, 6yr doberman and a 5yr pit/american bulldog mix. They all get Nutro Natural Choise small bite (the jacks and old pit don't like big nuggets). The added glucosamin (sp?) and condroiton (sp?) really helps the old guy with his artheritis. I thought the recall for Nutro was only canned food? I have not had a problem with it and they all do well on it. I don't feed canned food (just dry and table scraps
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I have 5 dogs,an 11yr old pit bull with bad artheritis, an 8yr and 2yr jack russells, 6yr doberman and a 5yr pit/american bulldog mix. They all get Nutro Natural Choise small bite (the jacks and old pit don't like big nuggets). The added glucosamin (sp?) and condroiton (sp?) really helps the old guy with his artheritis. I thought the recall for Nutro was only canned food? I have not had a problem with it and they all do well on it. I don't feed canned food (just dry and table scraps
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I do believe the pet food recall for Nutro was only for the cans if I remember correctly.
 
My dogs always get a variety of top quality kibble and canned diets as well as home cooked meals. Right now they're on a mixture of Nature's Recipe (rabbit), Avoderm (chicken), Blue Buffalo (fish), Natural Balance (lamb) and Nutro Natural Choice (venison).

Rabbit - Since I've found feeding high quality kibble supplemented with home cooking costs less in feed and vet bills than feeding lower quality diets, it's not hard to manage feeding our 3 (soon to be 4) dogs and cat. I spend about $45. a month, or $1.50 a day.
 
I just talked to my vet b/c Winston's newly refusing to eat his canned u/d food. He has plenty appetite for what the other dogs eat, but he needs to eat his prescription food which he loved up until this weekend
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The vet told me to mix in 2tsp of meat baby food and that will hopefully do the trick. It's funny, though, because when the other dogs were eating canned dog food vs. the new home cooked dinner, Winston happily ate his own food and didn't try to get what the others had.
 
CyndiD I'm with you! Iams fan (dry food) to the end for my dogs and cats. Eat less, poop less, hair twice as nice- lots of energy and good weight on half the food as the 'cheap stuff'. Tried other things- tried the Canidae and they had black diarrhea that would not quit... yuck!

Mine would starve on bread- they dont like it.
 
Phoebe gets Nutro Natural Choice puppy small breed. She enjoys this which is a miracle in itself as she is so fussy. She is as skinny as a rake but i think thats just part of her breed (poodle x) as she eats like a horse and is wormed regular.

Also giving her Advance Puppy canned food because she is teething ATM and cant eat the kibble. It took me ages to find a good canned food as most of them are rubbish IMO but this has good ingredients and she loves it.

I also give her raw mince meat and any meat that we have left over from dinner along with vegies like carrot sweet potato and pumpkin, just for a bit of variation as she gets bored of the same stuff day in day out.
 
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Any of you know that there is a pet food made in USA with products totally from USA? FreshPet. NO chemicals, so must be refrigerated. Only whole meats, liver, brown rice, peas, carrots, vit/min, flaxseed. NO by products, dyes, corn wheat, etc.

Comes in a tube like sausage, you slice what you need, store balance in frig. Check it out!! It doesn't stink, actually smells better than a lot of human food I've opened. :bgrin

www.homestyleselect.com
 
Because of my job, I am in pet stores almost every day and I see what foods are made of all the time. I do research the higher quality foods as a reference. Currently I feed Natures Recipe Farm Stand Select to my three dogs. They love it and with the fruits and veggies visible in the food, I know at least that they are in there. This food has dried apples, cranberries, peas and carrots and my dogs act like its candy. They love it. Plus it contains no wheat, corn or beef, the three most common causes of food allergies and digestive problems in dogs.

I have found others that are great foods, Merrick makes a wonderful dry food. My dogs liked it too, they also like Bil Jac but I find the food not hard enough to help with cleaning their teeth. Dogs need that abrasive texture from dry food to help with healthy gums. Science Diet for all of its hype is basically a corn meal based product, not what I want to see listed as the first ingredient in my dogs diet.

As for quality foods, yes you will have dogs that thrive on regular grocery brands, but the big difference comes in the amount you usually have to feed to achieve that balance. Normally with higher end foods, you can feed much less and get the same results. But with anything, if you are satisfied with how your dogs look and act and they are happy and healthy, then there is no reason to change anything.

And when people tell me they feed Beneful and their dogs love it, I tell them of course they do, its McDonalds for dogs. Nothing but junk food. It does pay to read the ingredients.
 
Jill, you can save yourself some cooking if you just buy some generic cans of chicken & rice soup.

That's why I do to add to Amy's chicken breasts.
 
Jill, you can save yourself some cooking if you just buy some generic cans of chicken & rice soup.

That's why I do to add to Amy's chicken breasts.
No, that wouldn't work because it's like 3 rice to one meat. When it's done, it's not like a soup at all, looks like a rice side dish, basically. Plus, I think the soup may have more salt than I'd want them to get. It's like a huge pot of rice w/ chicken in it but all the water and chicken stock is absorbed.

They eat the Nutro Natural Choice during the day or late at night, and have this rice + chicken (turkey, beef... whatever it is that pot) for dinner.

PLUS, this is actually really cheap compared to what I think it would cost to fill a pot with even generic soup (and it would be mostly water in that case). The bag of rice makes 19 cups, and is $1.29. The meat is about $3.50 pound (watch for sales, and freeze it). The stock is about 80 cents a can. It is really actually an inexpensive, but I feel quality, dinner for them. I know the vets are big on whole grain brown rice.

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With three large breed, one small and two cats I could not afford to feed any commercial brand of dog food bar racing Greyhound which has no tax on it- that which I could afford I would not give to my dogs it as simple as that.

15kgs (roughly 36lbs) of Pedigree Puppy costs $50.00 and that is with the breeders discount!!!

You have only to work out what I would be feeding to realise it is not an option- and I would not feed it anymore anyway.

So - I buy 56lb bags of dried ground meat- it is human grade and comes off bones destined for bone meal.

A bag costs me $60.00 and lasts all my animals three months.

The bread comes free and is just filler.

The meat is soaked just like Beet Pulp and reconstitutes into a nice, fresh meat- I do this every day.

The dogs look good on it which is all anyone can ask of anything they feed.

The horses are not expensive (relatively speaking) to feed either- I buy no pre-mixed feeds for them either, I do it all myself.

I cannot buy in premixed feed in bulk because of storage and wastage but I can buy straight feed in bulk and again, this suits me.
 
With three large breed, one small and two cats I could not afford to feed any commercial brand of dog food bar racing Greyhound which has no tax on it- that which I could afford I would not give to my dogs it as simple as that.

15kgs (roughly 36lbs) of Pedigree Puppy costs $50.00 and that is with the breeders discount!!!

You have only to work out what I would be feeding to realise it is not an option- and I would not feed it anymore anyway.

So - I buy 56lb bags of dried ground meat- it is human grade and comes off bones destined for bone meal.

A bag costs me $60.00 and lasts all my animals three months.

The bread comes free and is just filler.

The meat is soaked just like Beet Pulp and reconstitutes into a nice, fresh meat- I do this every day.

The dogs look good on it which is all anyone can ask of anything they feed.

The horses are not expensive (relatively speaking) to feed either- I buy no pre-mixed feeds for them either, I do it all myself.

I cannot buy in premixed feed in bulk because of storage and wastage but I can buy straight feed in bulk and again, this suits me.

Jeez thats expensive Jane :new_shocked: Is that in pounds? - Pedigree Healthy Viatlity cost me about 28.00 canadian with tax for a 18.1 Kg bag- Storm would bankrupt me if I had to pay 50.00- . :bgrin
 
Whoa... I wouldn't feed Pedigree if they PAID ME... let alone pay $50. for any amount! :new_shocked:
 
Whoa... I wouldn't feed Pedigree if they PAID ME... let alone pay $50. for any amount!
I wouldn't make anyone feel bad about what they feed their dogs... :no: we all do our best.

In reply to the original question my dogs get Royal Canin for fatties.... :bgrin
 
I don't use it for my dogs, but I honestly think Pedigree and really all the "name brands" are okay for dogs and REALLY probably more healthy balanced for the dogs, than what most of us feed ourselves...
 
I will post this site again, in case anyone wants to do some research into what they are feeding (or not feeding) their dogs. Just something that I found online and have shown many people who appreciated (and agreed) with what was on the site.

My Webpage

~kathryn
 
I feed my yorkie lean hamburger, rice, and a can of mixed vegetables ( I rinse them to get most of the salt off), flaxseed, and hawthorn berry, and a multi vitamin. This was a receipe given to be by my vet.
 
My mom bred German Shepherds for years when I was younger, and about 10 years ago she hurt her back pretty bad and stopped breeding German Shepherds, and started breeding chihuahua's. we have fed every food there is. We were feeding Nutro for years, but then found out that a sample of nutro dog food contained the drug that is used to euthanize animals in the sample. We changed foods that day. Obviously they muct have used animals that were euthanized for the meat in their food. We've used purina, pedigree, diamond, authority, flint river ranch, chicken soup for the pet loves soul, the list goes on. Some of our dogs have food allergies, we have a diabetic dog, and I have a dog with some food allergies and is very finicky (my german shepherd, who is 6)

Right now our diabetic lab still gets the nutro natural choice lrge breed adult. Its the only thing that her sugar level stays consistant on. We have tried to change her several times.

My german shepherd in on an all raw diet. Raw beef hearts, raw chicken, raw livers, raw venison, fish and is fed yogurt or cottage cheese daily. We make our own yogurt, so thats almost free and the cottage cheese I get in bulk like 6lbs for like $5. She also gets vegitables. I just run them through the blender so she can digest them easily. It costs me less that $40 a month to feed her. She also gets salmon oil and vitamin e oil. I prepare everything and freeze it on ziplock bags. I spend about 6 hours every 3 months preparing it.

Her coat is shiny, she put on weight for the first time, and she actually eats her food. I'll post pics of her when I get come current ones.

My moms chihuahuas are fed canidae, and all look good.
 
Here is an interesting grading of dog foods. I have seen it before and think that it is periodically updated.

What I feed (Dick Van Patten's Duck and Potato - Score 106) scored an A+. I have bred and showed dogs for 40 years and you need to keep up with the latest dog foods. They are ever changing. A long time ago I fed Science Diet. Those were in the days that it was well rated. Now the two listed both get F's.

Anyone here feed Purina? Wow, you can't get much lower than those F grades.

Have fun looking for your feed on this list. If you feed isn't on this list use the scoring system below and you can grade it.

DOG FOOD GRADES

Copy provided by Pet Pals, Inc. www.PetPalsInc.org

Alpo Prime Cuts - Score 81 C

Artemis Large/Medium Breed Puppy - Score 114 A+

Authority Harvest Baked - Score 116 A+

Authority Harvest Baked Less Active - Score 93 B

Beowulf Back to Basics - Score 101 A+

Bil-Jac Select - Score 68 F

Blackwood 3000 Lamb and Rice - Score 83 C

Blue Buffalo Chicken and Rice - Score 106 A+

Burns Chicken and Brown Rice - Score 107 A+

Canidae - Score 112A+

Chicken Soup Senior - Score 115 A+

Diamond Maintenance - Score 64 F

Diamond Lamb Meal & Rice - Score 92 B

Diamond Large Breed 60+ Formula - Score 99 A

Diamond Performance - Score 85 C

Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance Ultra Premium - Score 122 A+

Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance Venison & Brown Rice - Score 106 A+

Dick Van Patten's Duck and Potato - Score 106 A+

EaglePack Holistic - Score 102 A+

Eukanuba Adult - Score 81 C

Eukanuba Puppy - Score 79 C

Flint River Senior - Score 101 A+

Foundations - Score 106 A+

Hund-n-Flocken Adult Dog (lamb) by Solid Gold - Score 93 B

Iams Lamb Meal & Rice Formula Premium - Score 73 D

Innova Dog - Score 114 A+

Innova Evo - Score 114 A+

Innova Large Breed Puppy - Score 122 A+

Kirkland Signature Chicken, Rice, & Vegetables - Score 110 A+

Member's Mark Chicken and Rice - Score 84 C

Merrick Wilderness Blend - Score 127 A+

Nature's Recipe - Score 100 A

Nature's Recipe Healthy Skin Venison & Rice - Score 116 A+

Nature's Variety Raw Instinct - Score 122 A+

Nutra Nuggets Super Premium Lamb Meal and Rice - Score 81C

Nutrience Junior Medium Breed Puppy - Score 101 A+

Nutrisource Lamb and Rice - Score 87 B

Nutro Max Adult - Score 93 B

Nutro Natural Choice Lamb and Rice - Score 98 A

Nutro Natural Choice Large Breed Puppy - Score 87B

Nutro Natural Choice Puppy Wheat Free - Score 86 B

Nutro Natural Choice Senior - Score 95 A

Nutro Ultra Adult - Score 104 A+

Pet Gold Adult with Lamb & Rice - Score 23 F

Premium Edge Chicken, Rice & Vegetables Adult dry - Score 109 A+

Pro Nature Puppy - Score 80 C

Pro Plan Sensitive Stomach - Score 94 A

Purina Beniful - Score 17 F

Purina Dog - Score 62 F

Purina Come-n-Get It - Score 16 F

Purina One Large Breed Puppy - Score 62 F

Royal Canin Boxer - Score 103 A+

Royal Canin Bulldog - Score 100 A+

Royal Canin Natural Blend Adult - Score 106 A+

Science Diet Advanced Protein Senior 7+ - Score 63 F

Science Diet for Large Breed Puppies - Score 69 F

Sensible Choice Chicken and Rice - Score 97 A

Solid Gold - Score 99 A

Summit - Score 99 A

Timberwolf Organics Wild & Natural Dry - Score 120 A+

Wellness Super5 Mix Chicken - Score 110 A+

Wolfking Adult Dog (bison) by Solid Gold - Score 97 A

This is how the grades were determined:

Start with a grade of 100

1) For every listing of "by-product", subtract 10 points

2) For every non-specific animal source ("meat" or poultry", meat, meal or

fat) reference, subtract 10 points

3) If the food contains BHA, BHT, or ethoxyquin, subtract 10 points

4) For every grain "mill run" or non-specific rain source, subtract 5

points

5) If the same grain ingredient is used 2 or more times in the first five

ingredients (i.e. ground brown rice", brewer's rice", "rice flour" are all the

same grain), subtract 5 points

6) If the protein sources are not meat meal and there are less than 2 meats

in the top 3 ingredients, subtract 3 points

7) If it contains any artificial colorants, subtract 3 points

8 ) If it contains ground corn or whole grain corn, subtract 3 points

9) If corn is listed in the top 5 ingredients, subtract 2 more points

10) If the food contains any animal fat other than fish oil, subtract 2

points

11) If lamb is the only animal protein source unless your dog is allergic to

other protein sources), subtract 2 points

12) If it contains soy or soybeans, subtract 2 points

13) If it contains wheat (unless you know that your dog isn't allergic to

wheat), subtract 2 points

14) If it contains beef (unless you know that your dog isn't allergic to

beef), subtract 1 point

15) If it contains salt, subtract 1 point

Extra Credit:

1) If any of the meat sources are organic, add 5 points

2) If the food is endorsed by any major breed goup or nutritionist, add 5

points

3) If the food is baked not extruded, add 5 points

4) If the food contains probiotics, add 3 points

5) If the food contains fruit, add 3 points

6) If the food contains vegetables (NOT corn or other grains) add 3

points

7) If the animal sources are hormone-free and antibiotic-free add 2

points

8 ) If the food contains barley, add 2 points

9) If the food contains flax seed oil (not just the seeds) add 2 points

10) If the food contains oats or oatmeal, add 1 point

11) If the food contains sunflower oil, add 1 point

12) For every different specific animal protein source (other than the first

one; count "chicken" and "chicken meal" as only one protein source, but

"chicken" and "" as 2 different sources) add 1 point

13) If it contains glucosamine and chondroitin, add 1 point

14) If the vegetables have been tested for pesticides and are pesticide free,

add 1 point
 

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