dry dogfood

[sammy101]

My mom and I are thinking of switching the kids to another food. Right now they're on Pedigree. I have nothing wrong with Pedigree.But i still want to switch them over to another food. Whats a decent food for a decent price?My mom isnt one who would pay $35 for a bag of dogfood,and were trying to cut back since were buying a house in Kelowna in the spring.We've tried Nutro with Kodie and he didnt like it AT ALL,so thats out of the picture.We buy our food at Petsmart,so it should be available there.Kodie also has allergies,so mabye new food would help with that too.
thanks! :)

[finn's mom]

I don't know how expensive Royal Canin is, but, you can get it at Petsmart, and, it's an excellent food.

[Jessika]

If you don't want to pay $35/bag then maybe I can recommend you switch to Nutro?? Natural Choice is about $20 - $23 for a 20lb bag and the food is just AMAZING. My pups THRIVE on it!

[areias]

Royal Canin is a good food, but very expensive. I would say Pro Plan, Natural Choice, or Authority. You should go for a Salmon or a Lamb+Rice formula, it would help with the allergies. A lot of people feed Beneful, I don't know how good it is but its less expensive, and they have a Salmon formula.

[Jessika]

I actually wouldn't recommend ProPlan. Nutro Natural Choice is actually cheaper and ProPlan has lots of fillers. :( I had my pups on it before I switched to Nutro and they did OK but not as good as I'd hoped, you know? Plus with Nutro I feed less. ;) I agree though Royal Canin is rather expensive.

OH and Charlie had dry/itchy skin and once I switched him to Nutro this helped IMMENSLY. Nutro is the only food guaranteed by the US Government to improve skin and coat conditions.

EDIT: And Beneful is full of fillers and contains by-products so I wouldn't recommend that, either.. I actually don't recommend ANY of the Purina products

[wolf_Q]

I know you said you wanted to buy it at Petsmart.....but do you have a Costco near you? Their brand of dogfood (Kirkland signature) has excellent ingredients for the price....I could be wrong, but I think it's around $16-$17 for a 40 lb bag...and the first ingredients of the chicken and vegetables (what my mom feeds Reggie and Sydney) are like chicken, chicken meal, brown rice, etc. where as what I've seen of pedigree the first ingredient is usually corn.

[RobiLee]

I think Diamond dog food is a good quality inexpensive dry food.

[sammy101]

thanks!
no we dont have a costco. I may try Nutro again,or Authority.I'll check the website to see how much it is.
-edit-
Which formula would you recommend? Lamb,chicken,?

[gemini9961]

I just bought my 3 some Nutro Ultra, the holistic stuff. It was rather expensive but all my dogs eat is dry kibble so I like to get them stuff that is tasty. My husband said they gobbled it all up in record time so I guess they like it. :D

[Jessika]

thanks!
no we dont have a costco. I may try Nutro again,or Authority.I'll check the website to see how much it is.
-edit-
Which formula would you recommend? Lamb,chicken,?

I feed my two Lamb Meal & Rice, but its really up to you what you want to feed!! :)

[Jadapit]

I just bought my 3 some Nutro Ultra, the holistic stuff. It was rather expensive but all my dogs eat is dry kibble so I like to get them stuff that is tasty. My husband said they gobbled it all up in record time so I guess they like it. :D

Is that the Nutro with the cranberries and salmon in it? I know there is a lot of other stuff in it also. My hubby also bought my fur kids a bag of that. Omg, they loved it.

[sammy101]

The Ultra sounds good! Heres the ingrediants.
Chicken Meal, Whole Brown Rice, Ground Rice, Lamb Meal, Rice Bran, Sunflower Oil (preserved with mixed Tocopherols; a source of Vitamin E), Poultry Fat (preserved with mixed Tocopherols; a source of Vitamin E), Salmon Meal, Flaxseed, Natural Flavors, Oatmeal, Sun Cured Alfalfa Meal, Dried Beet Pulp, Tomato Pomace, Cranberry Powder, Fish Oil (preserved with mixed Tocopherols; a source of Vitamin E), Potassium Chloride, Dried Egg Product, L-Lysine, Dried Kelp Meal, Vitamin E Supplement, Zinc Sulfate, Choline Chloride, Taurine, Dried Bacillus licheniformis Fermentation Extract, Dried Bacillus subtilis Fermentation Extract, Zinc Proteinate, Ferrous Sulfate, Biotin, L-Carnitine, Ascorbic Acid (source of Vitamin C), Manganese Proteinate, Manganous Oxide, Niacin, Garlic, Calcium Iodate, Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement (source of Vitamin B2), Vitamin A Supplement, Copper Sulfate, Thiamine Mononitrate (source of Vitamin B1), Copper Proteinate, Sodium Selenite, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (source of vitamin B6), Beta-Carotene, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (source of Vitamin K activity), Folic Acid.

I think were going to go with Nutro,hopefully they'll like it!Were going to try a small bag first.

[Jadapit]

The Ultra sounds good! Heres the ingrediants.
Chicken Meal, Whole Brown Rice, Ground Rice, Lamb Meal, Rice Bran, Sunflower Oil (preserved with mixed Tocopherols; a source of Vitamin E), Poultry Fat (preserved with mixed Tocopherols; a source of Vitamin E), Salmon Meal, Flaxseed, Natural Flavors, Oatmeal, Sun Cured Alfalfa Meal, Dried Beet Pulp, Tomato Pomace, Cranberry Powder, Fish Oil (preserved with mixed Tocopherols; a source of Vitamin E), Potassium Chloride, Dried Egg Product, L-Lysine, Dried Kelp Meal, Vitamin E Supplement, Zinc Sulfate, Choline Chloride, Taurine, Dried Bacillus licheniformis Fermentation Extract, Dried Bacillus subtilis Fermentation Extract, Zinc Proteinate, Ferrous Sulfate, Biotin, L-Carnitine, Ascorbic Acid (source of Vitamin C), Manganese Proteinate, Manganous Oxide, Niacin, Garlic, Calcium Iodate, Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement (source of Vitamin B2), Vitamin A Supplement, Copper Sulfate, Thiamine Mononitrate (source of Vitamin B1), Copper Proteinate, Sodium Selenite, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (source of vitamin B6), Beta-Carotene, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (source of Vitamin K activity), Folic Acid.

I think were going to go with Nutro,hopefully they'll like it!Were going to try a small bag first.


Yes!!! Thats it. A bag of that was $40.00. Pretty pricey. My fur kids sure did love it though...

[Jessika]

Yes Ultra is VERY GOOD but if you said your mom isn't willing to pay $35 a bag then Ultra probably isn't the best choice for your price range. Nutro Natural Choice is a step down but considerably cheaper! :) I'd have my pups on Ultra if I could afford it! :(

[poofy]

I buy Nutro Lamb and rice, Sammyj is real picky and he eats it up and yollie loves it to, hers is mixed with some of the canned. The Vet said it was a good choice and it was what Holly(the lady I got yollie from) had all her pups on..and they are all thriving and doing great on it..SammyJ dosnt seem to be looking for something to eat all the time now either..and that is good..

[.sarah]

Read this -- SUPER PREMIUM PET FOOD IS CHEAPER! It's better for your pet and cheaper in the long run, even if by the bag it is more expensive.

This is a study from a magazine:

When we began to look at cost per feeding last year, we discovered an interesting fact: It costs less to feed a Super-Premium dog food than an Economy dog food. The secret is in the nutritional power of the food. A Super-Premium dog food contains much more energy and protein in every kibble than an economy brand. In one test we ran, we had to feed five times as much of the Economy brand dog food to get the same nutritional benefits of the Super-Premium. Despite the lower cost per bag of the Econo brand, it costs you more to feed than a Super-Premium, because you use more bags. How does cost fit in to the dog food picture? We measured the cost of 40 pound bags of various maintenance/adult dog foods and took the manufacturers' suggested feeding instructions. We then calculated the cost of feeding a 40 lb house dog for a day.

The Premium foods studied had an average of 22% crude protein and 10% crude fat. The Super-Premium dog foods examined had an average of 27% crude protein and 15% crude fat. The Economy brands averaged 20% crude protein and 8% crude fat.

The Super-Premium foods suggested feeding an average of 1-3/4 cups of food per day for our 40 lb dog. Premium brands recommended 3-1/4 cups, while the Econo brands instructed feeding 6 cups a day.

It costs an average of 24 cents a day to feed a dog a Super-Premium brand, compared to 26 cents a day for a Premium brand, and 31 cents a day for an Econo brand. That's right - the Econo-brand actually costs you 7 cents more a day to feed your dog than a Super-Premium does. In order to give your dog the nutrition he needs, he has to eat 3-1/2 times more of the Econo brand than the Super-Premium food.

Thus, the big difference is in the poop! The seven cents more that you spend on an Economy brand buys you piles more in the yard cleanup department.

Don't waste your money on anything by the following brands: Iams, Pedigree, Ol' Roy, Purina (including Pro Plan), Hills Science Diet, etc.

[areias]

Hmm, interesting. See I always thought the Hills and the Pro Plan were pretty good. I suppose it's better than like, Gravy Train, but not that great. There's another brand thats supposed to be really really good..some kind of Millenia Gold or something? It's probably overly expensive.

[Jessika]

Hmm, interesting. See I always thought the Hills and the Pro Plan were pretty good. I suppose it's better than like, Gravy Train, but not that great. There's another brand thats supposed to be really really good..some kind of Millenia Gold or something? It's probably overly expensive.

Solid Gold? It's supposed to be very good, but they don't sell it in my area. :(

[Pembroke_Corgi]

Yeah I read that food that is more expensive is actually cheaper in the long run because you feed less, which also means less waste...which is good on walks! I feed my dogs Science Diet small bites and they have done well on it- if you buy the big bags they are cheaper per pound (a 40 lb bag is between $28-35 depending where you buy it around here) and Petco has a buy 9 get the 10th free program if you've got one.

[areias]

Yes, I found it. On the makers website, it's only around $40 for a 33lb bag...
www.solidgoldhealth.com. The ingredients for the "Holistique Blendz" is:

Oatmeal | Rye | Menhaden Fish Meal | Potatoes | Salmon Oil | Sesame Oil | Almond Oil | Lentils | Dried Seaweed Meal | Spearmint | Dried Pumpkin | Quinoa | Dried Cranberries | Dried Apples | Dried Chicory Root | Carotene | Choline Chloride | Vitamin E Supplement | Iron Proteinate | Zinc Proteinate | Copper Proteinate | Manganese Proteinate | Potassium Iodide | Thiamine Mononitrate | Ascorbic Acid | Ascorbic Acid | Vitamin A Supplement | Biotin | Calcium Panthothenate | Sodium Selenite | Pyridoxine Hydrochloride | Vitamin B12 Supplement | Riboflavin | Vitamin D Supplement | Folic Acid |


That would be great for the allergies.

[sammy101]

thanks!I'll look for that food also.I'll talk to my mom about it.My dad would be ok with spending that much,but my mom wont :rolleyes:lol.Were taking them to Petsmart tomorrow,so were going to look.

[Jessika]

I don't believe Solid Gold is sold at PetCo or Petsmart :(

[.sarah]

^^ I've bought Solid Gold at Petco! It's a wonderful food! It's also available at Organic/Natural food stores.

Hills is a HORRIBLE brand! I'd reccomend lots of so-so brands over it! Animals generally don't do good on Hills, it's honestly a mystery to me how they stay in buisness. A lot of vets are against it (including the one I work at) but they still sell it because they are sponsored by it (like mine :rolleyes: ). It really pisses me off that they do that.

[Jessika]

^^ I've bought Solid Gold at Petco! It's a wonderful food! It's also available at Organic/Natural food stores.

Well they didn't/don't sell it at any one near me!! Those jerks LOL

[sammy101]

I don't believe Solid Gold is sold at PetCo or Petsmart :(

really?dang :( . I dont know of any stores that would selll it here.

[.sarah]

really?dang :( . I dont know of any stores that would selll it here.
Like I said above, I've bought it at Petco before and it's also available at Organic/Natural food stores. :)


Well they didn't/don't sell it at any one near me!! Those jerks LOL
Haha, at least you have Nutro available! If you only had crappy foods near you THEN I'd be complaining!

[elizabethann]

How about Nutro? I buy Fenway Merrick (expensive) and throw in some (Nutro) just so the Merrick will last a wee bit longer. He likes it.

[wolf_Q]

I work at Petco and they don't sell Solid Gold at that location either.

I feed Nebo Natural Balance the venison and brown rice version which is supposed to be good for allergies you may give that a try. I've tried many different kinds of dog foods and Nebo eats this better than any other.

[.sarah]

How about Nutro? I buy Fenway Merrick (expensive) and throw in some (Nutro) just so the Merrick will last a wee bit longer. He likes it.
I wanted to feed my dogs Merrick, and I looked on their website and found a petstore near me that sold it, only to go there and find they've NEVER sold that brand :(

[.sarah]

I work at Petco and they don't sell Solid Gold at that location either.

I feed Nebo Natural Balance the venison and brown rice version which is supposed to be good for allergies you may give that a try. I've tried many different kinds of dog foods and Nebo eats this better than any other.

That's odd! My Petco must be special ;)

Natural Balance is also a wonderful food. Mandy, Nova, and Luka are all on the Sweet Potato & Fish formula, but Luka will be switched to Solid Gold soon since she doesn't have allergies.

[.sarah]

oh ok i didnt see your post yet :o
Most likely we'll be getting Nutro.
That's a great food, good choice :)

[Jessika]

ACTUALLY if I remember correctly, my PetCo I worked at DID sell it but they weren't... keeping a contract with the company or the certain line of food was being discontinued or something... I don't know if it was solid gold, but I do know that it was a cat food and had the name gold in it.

[sammy101]

That's a great food, good choice :)

Yes.I hope it helps with Kodies skin,his skin is so dry:(.He just got off his anti-biotics so hopefully it doesnt act up again.

[Jessika]

Yes.I hope it helps with Kodies skin,his skin is so dry:(.He just got off his anti-biotics so hopefully it doesnt act up again.

Along with switching to Nutro (as I said in a previous post, Charlie has dry/itchy skin as well) I added 1tbsp of vegetable oil (soybean oil) to his food a day and that helped A LOT!! Be careful though if you do this, some dogs are allergic to soy. ;)

Like I said though, Nutro is THE ONLY pet food guaranteed by the US Government to improve skin and coat conditions or your money back ;)

[.sarah]

Along with switching to Nutro (as I said in a previous post, Charlie has dry/itchy skin as well) I added 1tbsp of vegetable oil (soybean oil) to his food a day and that helped A LOT!! Be careful though if you do this, some dogs are allergic to soy. ;)

Like I said though, Nutro is THE ONLY pet food guaranteed by the US Government to improve skin and coat conditions or your money back ;)
I would try just switching to the food at first and give it a couple of weeks. If his skin starts getting dry again add some kind of oil to the food. Fish Oil (Omega-6 or -3) works good too, as well as flax seed oil (I think).

[Jessika]

yeah fish oil is expensive though :(

anyway I only gave it to him for maybe a month then stopped (cause we ran out) but he is doing SO much better

[areias]

They sell the Solid Gold at the PetCo near me, but not at petsmart. It's good that you're switching brands, good luck with his skin! :D

[LuvGold00]

I use to feed Eagle Pack Holistics, but all of a sudden all my dogs refused to eat it. Currently I am feeding ProPlan, and I read a few of you don't recommend it, but my dogs are actually doing very well on it, and so far this litter is doing awesome too. I was thinking about Nutro, I try to switch my dogs food every 6 months or so for a little variety, so I may try Nutro at some point. I have a friend who has her Golden on the Nutro Ultra, and she's pleased with the results so far. :)

[Jessika]

Be careful switching foods too often, it can cause some dogs to be very picky!!

[LuvGold00]

Be careful switching foods too often, it can cause some dogs to be very picky!!

I've actually found it to help them with being picky, strangly enough. :) My dogs are weirdos.. lol

[Jessika]

Well I guess if you're only switching between two brands then it won't make that big of a difference, you know? But some people like, buy a new brand every month, whatever's on sale at Walmart and stuff. I know my parents used to do that with our dog, Perdy. And because of her poor diet, she died an early age :(

[.sarah]

I use to feed Eagle Pack Holistics, but all of a sudden all my dogs refused to eat it. Currently I am feeding ProPlan, and I read a few of you don't recommend it, but my dogs are actually doing very well on it, and so far this litter is doing awesome too. I was thinking about Nutro, I try to switch my dogs food every 6 months or so for a little variety, so I may try Nutro at some point. I have a friend who has her Golden on the Nutro Ultra, and she's pleased with the results so far. :)
A lot of dogs do "well" on ProPlan, but they'll do even better on a higher quality food. ProPlan is packed full of fillers and unnecessary things your dog doesn't need.

[.sarah]

I've actually found it to help them with being picky, strangly enough. :) My dogs are weirdos.. lol
Nova's really picky, which I find very odd since she's a Lab :eek:

[LuvGold00]

A lot of dogs do "well" on ProPlan, but they'll do even better on a higher quality food. ProPlan is packed full of fillers and unnecessary things your dog doesn't need.

Yeah, I've had them on "high quality" holistic foods before, we've done Wellness, Eagle, and California Natural in the past... They actually have better coats and energy levels on ProPlan, believe it or not :) .. But I suppliment them too, so that might have some influence on it.

[.sarah]

Yeah, I've had them on "high quality" holistic foods before, we've done Wellness, Eagle, and California Natural in the past... They actually have better coats and energy levels on ProPlan, believe it or not :) .. But I suppliment them too, so that might have some influence on it.
Maybe your dogs are just wierd? lol

[LuvGold00]

Maybe your dogs are just wierd? lol

That's what I think... ;) ;) Weirdos! But.. cute weirdos, right?

[.sarah]

That's what I think... ;) ;) Weirdos! But.. cute weirdos, right?
Well, I've only seen Starr's picture! But I bet they're all cute, because Goldens are all adorable!

[tricollie4me]

We've only ever fed Bijou Nutro Max -- for her first year it was Nutro Puppy, but now she's on Nutro Max Adult. She likes it very much (okay, she'd probably eat rocks if we let her, lol!) and she's healthy, happy and verrrry energetic! Pretty coat, too! I have no plans on switching :) Every so often, I check labels and compare nutritient lists of various brands when I'm out shopping to ensure that Nutro is still our best choice -- there really are a number of high quality foods from which to select, and I'm open to change if Bijou would benefit. We're getting a new Mounds in our area next spring (they've finally broken ground, woo hoo!) which means another shopping source of quality foods at better prices. I'm excited about that!

We do feed Royal Canin Indoor to our cats, though -- they do very well on it. I started feeding Bonnie, our first cat, Nutro when we adopted her, but switched to Royal Canin when we got our pair of orange & whites after doing some reading/comparing cat foods.

[sammy101]

thanks for you guys' input!
Theres actually dogfood at H-E-B,(i dont remember what its called though? :o ) It had natural in the name..lol. Well anyways,i read the ingrediants and it has NO by products in it.I still dont know how good it is though.It was about $14.99 for a medium sized bag.A can was $1.27,which had no by products in it either.I dont know if its any good or not.

[wolfsoul]

Remember that there isn't a Petco or a Petsmart in Kelowna, so the prices of the foods might be different in the stores we have here. :) The discount stores here carry Kirkland and Solid Gold for really cheap, just because the bag has a hole in it. I put Visa on Kirkland puppy food when she needed to gain weight and I paid $20 for a 33 pound bag. That's so awesome that you're still moving to Kelowna, we will have to hang out and have lots of play dates with the pups -- it'll be so much fun!

[sammy101]

That's so awesome that you're still moving to Kelowna, we will have to hang out and have lots of play dates with the pups -- it'll be so much fun!

yes im really excited!We will definently have to make play dates for the pups,Kodie & Lucy would enjoy that alot! :)

[Jessika]

thanks for you guys' input!
Theres actually dogfood at H-E-B,(i dont remember what its called though? :o ) It had natural in the name..lol. Well anyways,i read the ingrediants and it has NO by products in it.I still dont know how good it is though.It was about $14.99 for a medium sized bag.A can was $1.27,which had no by products in it either.I dont know if its any good or not.

By products aren't the only "bad" thing to look for in ingredients, though. Corn is a big ingredient used as a filler, so even if a bag contains no by-products at all it can still contain a lot of fillers, especially if corn or corn meal is listed as one of the first four ingredients.

[anna_66]

I have to say one of the best cheapest foods I've fed is Diamond (http://www.diamondpetfood.com/). I think it was around $25/40lbs. Not a bad price.

I'm currently feeding Canidae (http://www.canidae.com/). It's an all natural human grade food and they love it! I think it's around $40/40lbs.

I've also fed Eagle Pack (http://www.eaglepack.com/), another all natural human grade food. I think it was a little more expensive, $40/33lbs.

Good luck on finding a food!

[Jessika]

I have to say one of the best cheapest foods I've fed is Diamond (http://www.diamondpetfood.com/). I think it was around $25/40lbs. Not a bad price.

Diamond is OK but a lot of their formulas contain by-products, and all contain lots of fillers. That's what I had Charlie on before switching to ProPlan (and now to Nutro) and it gave him the WORST gas and he was SO itchy. Sure its cheap and you can get it even cheaper by going to the farmer's market (I know in St. Charles you buy one 50lb bag, get one free) but the quality in a lot of the forumulas lacks a lot. :(

Though their Lamb & Rice isn't too bad, ingredient-wise, the other formulas are.

[sammy101]

i found the ingrediants for Natural Life adult dry. Doesnt sound too bad,but theres a few fillers in it.

Chicken Meal, Ground Yellow Corn, Ground Whole Wheat, Poultry Fat (preserved with natural mixed tocopherols, citric acid, rosemary extract and ascorbyl palmitate - a Vitamin C ester), Natural Flavors, Dried Beet Pulp, Dried Eggs, Fish Meal, Ground Flax Seeds, Salt, Potassium Chloride, Dried Kelp, Choline Chloride,Yucca Schidigera Extract, Glucosamine, Natural Antioxidants,Vitamin Supplements (E,A,B2,B12,D3), Niacin, Calcium Ascorbate, Calcium Pantothenate,Thiamine Mononitrate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Inositol, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (source of Vitamin K activity), Folic Acid, Biotin, Zinc Proteinate, Zinc Oxide, Ferrous Sulfate, Iron Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Proteinate, Manganous Oxide, Cobalt Proteinate, Potassium Iodide, Sodium Selenite.
http://www.nlpp.com/products.html?topic=adult

sounds better than pedigree..
GROUND YELLOW CORN, MEAT AND BONE MEAL, CORN GLUTEN MEAL, CHICKEN BY-PRODUCT MEAL, ANIMAL FAT (PRESERVED WITH BHA/BHT), WHEAT MILL RUN, NATURAL POULTRY FLAVOR, RICE, SALT, POTASSIUM CHLORIDE, CARAMEL COLOR, WHEAT FLOUR, WHEAT GLUTEN, VEGETABLE OIL, VITAMINS (CHOLINE CHLORIDE, dl-ALPHA TOCOPHEROL ACETATE [SOURCE OF VITAMIN E], L-ASCORBYL-2-POLYPHOSPHATE [SOURCE OF VITAMIN C*], VITAMIN A SUPPLEMENT, THIAMINE MONONITRATE [VITAMIN B1], BIOTIN, d-CALCIUM PANTOTHENATE, RIBOFLAVIN SUPPLEMENT [VITAMIN B2], VITAMIN D3 SUPPLEMENT, VITAMIN B12 SUPPLEMENT), TRACE MINERALS (ZINC SULFATE, COPPER SULFATE, POTASSIUM IODIDE).

[Jessika]

Since ground yellow corn is the second ingredient in the list, it makes up a big portion of the overall kibble. I wouldn't recommend feeding that :(

IT IS much, much better than Pedigree, however ;)

[sammy101]

Since ground yellow corn is the second ingredient in the list, it makes up a big portion of the overall kibble. I wouldn't recommend feeding that :(

IT IS much, much better than Pedigree, however ;)

ok :).I think were going to give Nutro a try.My mom want to finish off the dry they have now,since they have quite a bit left still.

[Jessika]

On a side-note, I JUST bought some more dog food today from Petsmart. For a 44lb bag of Nutro ADULT Lamb Meal & Rice (I'm getting my pups off the puppy formula since there's no real difference) it only cost me $31!! A 20lb bag of Nutro PUPPY cost me $23. So for less than $10 more a bag (and going from puppy to adult) I got more than TWICE the amount of food! :)

I also forgot to add, its better to buy the new food NOW and then mix the new food with the old for a few weeks to get their body adjusted to the new formula.

[JenBKR]

:) Before you buy new food, go on the websites for different food companies - lots of times you can get free samples. If there's no link for free samples email the company and ask for one. When we first got Roscoe he was VERY picky, so that's what I did instead of buying many different kinds that he would not eat. We settled on Biljac (you can get it at petsmart, and they will send you a large free sample for going on their website). We went through many free samples before finding one he's eat.

I also want to mention that, although you want a good brand of food, it won't do any good if they won't eat it. Some people have told me that Biljac is not as good as some other brands, but Roscoe has been doing wonderfully on it. The vet said that he is MUCH healthier than when we first adopted him. It's really up to the individual dog, I know people that fed Purina to their dog and she was a very healthy dog until the age of 17. Each dog is different, that's why there are so many different kinds of food :)

[dab_20]

i use iams for my 2. the vet says iams and science diet are really high quality foods. science diet is more expensive though. sammy was on ol' roy but we switched him to iams because the vet thinks ol' roy is not very healthy.

but i think iams is a great brand and molli and sammy do great on it. there is iams lamb and rice too. its the same price.

[anna_66]

Diamond is OK but a lot of their formulas contain by-products, and all contain lots of fillers.

Though their Lamb & Rice isn't too bad, ingredient-wise, the other formulas are.
Very true they do contain a lot of fillers, but the lamb & rice (the one we used-guess I should have stated that in my post:o) wasn't too bad for a cheaper food. Much better than grocery store food IMHO.
It gave Bon runny poos but was fine for the girls.

I think it all really depends on what kind of food your dog can handle. Some can't handle the richer better foods, others can so I say just experiment. A lot of people have to do this to find out what's best for their dogs:)

[JenBKR]

i use iams for my 2. the vet says iams and science diet are really high quality foods. science diet is more expensive though. sammy was on ol' roy but we switched him to iams because the vet thinks ol' roy is not very healthy.

but i think iams is a great brand and molli and sammy do great on it. there is iams lamb and rice too. its the same price.

Yikes, I don't think Iams is very good...in fact most here boycott Iams...:(

I should also mention that I know a few dogs that cannot eat any kind of lamb food due to digestion problems, so be careful when trying a new food (another reason free samples are so wonderful!)

[.sarah]

i use iams for my 2. the vet says iams and science diet are really high quality foods. science diet is more expensive though. sammy was on ol' roy but we switched him to iams because the vet thinks ol' roy is not very healthy.

but i think iams is a great brand and molli and sammy do great on it. there is iams lamb and rice too. its the same price.
Believe it or not most vets don't know crap about pet food. Plus they'll tell you anything to buy their product. I think I mentioned it in this thread, but the vets I work for HATE Science Diet but still sell and promote it :rolleyes:

Iams is a really bad food, and aside from that I've heard *really* bad things about the company.

And Ol' Roy is one of the worst foods on the market, so good job switching him off of that!

[JenBKR]

Here's the website about Iams I was looking for: www.iamscruelty.com

[.sarah]

Here's the website about Iams I was looking for: www.iamscruelty.com
PETA isn't a very reliable source, though. I've heard a lot of bad things about them too (with lots of proof) so now I don't know when to believe them.

[JenBKR]

PETA isn't a very reliable source, though. I've heard a lot of bad things about them too (with lots of proof) so now I don't know when to believe them.

Is that a PETA site? I didn't see that :confused: but the website was posted in another thread a while ago.

[.sarah]

Is that a PETA site? I didn't see that :confused: but the website was posted in another thread a while ago.
Haha yeah it's a PETA website -- one of their dozens...

If you scroll to the bottom of the page it has their logo. Not only that, but when I first found it, it was a link on their main website.

[JenBKR]

Haha yeah it's a PETA website -- one of their dozens...

If you scroll to the bottom of the page it has their logo. Not only that, but when I first found it, it was a link on their main website.

Oh geez, I completely missed that. :rolleyes: Ok, never mind about the website, we all know PETA can't be trusted. Thanks for pointing that out! :)

[Jessika]

Well personally I dislike IAMs not because of the PETA rumors but the food quality and ingredients aren't exactly what I would want to be feeding to my dogs, you know?? But to each his own -- feed what you can afford! There is no "bad" dog food, the only "bad" dog food is not feeding anything at all! Sure some are "better" than others and I really wish to feed my dogs hte absolute best quality within my price range (hence why I'm not feeding Innova!) but any food keeps them alive :)

[dab_20]

well my dogs do very well on iams. so what could be sooo bad about it??

[Jessika]

well my dogs do very well on iams. so what could be sooo bad about it??

..the ingredients include by-products and lots of fillers, that's really the only "bad" thing about the food. Don't be offended, some people are set in their ways but as I said any food is a "good" food because its keeping them alive, right? ;)

[dab_20]

yep your right. what are by-products and fillers?

[wolfsoul]

Yeah, Iams and Science Diet aren't good foods, Science Diet is by far the worst between the two though. Most vets know nothing about food -- they are only taught about nutrition for a few hours and they are taught by Science Diet and other dog food company representitives, therefore they learn nothing. Before my vet decided to practise both holistically as well as conventionally, she was a regular conventional vet. She began to realise that many of the health problems that arose in pets could be due to diet. As soon as she stopped promoting the bad foods and started promoting RAW diets and high quality kibbles, she noticed an extreme drop in health problems.

You really just have to know what you're looking for when you look at the ingredients. When you are looking for an inexpensive food, obviously you have to let a few of the ingredients slide because it's impossible to find a good food for really cheap. But some of the ingredients you have to watch out for are corn, wheat, by-products, soy, peanut hulls, BHA, BHT, ethoxyquin, tallow, unessecary additives like colour, etc. Make sure the first ingredient is a meat MEAL, not just meat (unless the ingredient after the meat is a meat meal, then it doesn't really matter). So chicken meal instead of chicken, lamb meal instead of lamb, etc. Stay away from any inspecific ingredients like "meat meal" or "meat and bone meal." What kind of meat??? :eek: Same thing with "poultry." Dog food companies make a killing off of buying roadkill from the city and euthanised pets from shelters and laboratories and putting it in their food. Poultry often means crow. But like I said, if you want something cheap, it's hard to find something that lacks all of these bad ingredients. Just try your best! :)

[Jessika]

by-products are any parts left over from animals that aren't fit for human consumption. This can include feathers, bones, feet, blood, and sawdust from the floor.

Fillers are ingredients added to a food that have little to NO nutritional value but serve as a cheap ingredient to add and make your pets "feel" like they are full. Fillers usually are not digested and come out as nice little packages on your front lawn. The MOST commonly used filler is any form of corn!

Here are the ingredients for IAMS Lamb Meal & Rice formula. "bad" or "questional" ingredients (from my view point) I have bolded:


Lamb Meal, Brewers Rice, Corn Meal, Ground Whole Grain Sorghum, Ground Whole Grain Barley, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of vitamin E, and Citric Acid), Fish Meal (source of fish oil), Chicken By-Product Meal, Corn Grits, Dried Beet Pulp (sugar removed), Natural Chicken Flavor, Potassium Chloride, Dried Egg Product, Brewers Dried Yeast, Salt, Monosodium Phosphate, Sodium Hexametaphosphate, Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Ascorbic Acid, Vitamin A Acetate, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Thiamine Mononitrate (source of vitamin B1), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Niacin, Riboflavin Supplement (source of vitamin B2), Inositol, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (source of vitamin B6), Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid), Choline Chloride, Minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Potassium Iodide, Cobalt Carbonate), DL-Methionine, Rosemary Extract

When reading an ingredient list, ingredients are listed from the highest weight to the lowest. So the first ingredient makes up the majority of the food whereas the last ingredient makes up the very smallest percentage. Make sense??

If you want more information on reading lables, google the term or here are a few sites that I have found helpful and have helped teach me!
http://www.asuperiorgsd.com/feeding.html
http://www.asuperiorgsd.com/dog.food.html
http://home.att.net/~wdcusick/011.html

[k9krazee]

We feed Iams and have been since Shadow was little. It was a lot better 8 years ago, we had Shadow on some crappy food and my Aunt recommended we get Iams. I know now that is has just gone downhill and isn't very good quality, but tell my mom that :rolleyes: she refuses to switch their food. Her "excuse" is that another one of my Aunts has a 16 year old Lab and it has lived off of Spartan brand dog food its whole life and Iams is a ton better than that stuff. As soon as I can take my Micki and Jack I will feed them raw...(even though those two are mine she won't allow me to feed them raw under her roof or even switch their food)

She said the other day that she wanted to switch their food but to something less expensive than Iams...I really would like to get the Hoodlums on Nutro but its still more expensive than she would like...we'll see.

[dab_20]

ok thanks for the information. like k9krazee, my mom refuses to switch the food. she says that iams is a good brand and that what we have to stick to.

[Jessika]

Well IAMs isn't "the best", but there are definitely brands out there that are much worse. Just think of it that way! ;)

[dab_20]

lol ok! ;)

and jessika, i cant stop looking at your gorgous aussies!!

[Jessika]

lol ok! ;)

and jessika, i cant stop looking at your gorgous aussies!!

Aww, thank you so much!! They are my children so it makes me smile with pride and joy (as lame as that sounds! lmao) whenever someone compliments them!! ♥♥♥

[dab_20]

yep, i dont have digital camera pics of my 2 yet, so no one can compliment them! lol

but its true, you got some beautiful dogs! :D

[sammy101]

sorry to bump this up ;) but...

we FINALLY went out and bought Nutro Natural Choice Lamb & Rice from Petsmart. My mom was talking with one of her walking friends and he said its cheeper at feed stores,apparently quite a bit cheaper. We're praying that his allergies are food allergies,and we're waiting patiently to see if his skin starts clearing up.I'm feeding him half nutro and half his other stuff until his other stuff is gone.He even ate it without canned food which was a surprise.

[lv4dogs]

Thats great! I hope it helps.
You won't see an improvement over night but within a few weeks you should dee some sort of improvement if it is in fact a food allergy. After a month or 2 you should see a big improvement!
Good luck, I hope it works!

[Suki Wingy]

I've fed Iams to all my dogs, and for the past year or so I have really been trying to swich but my mom swears her dogs growing up lived long healthy lives and thrived on crap like hy-vee brand dog food, and won't swich for more than one transition bag and one whole bag. I had him on Bil-Jac for about a month because he loves it and the liver treats, and he was on the chicken liver formula and did great but had several small seisures over that time and my mom switched him back to Iams because 1. she thought the food had something to do with the frequency of his seizures 2. it was like $20 a bag (Niño refuses to eat the food if it has been out of the bag for more than a week or 2 so we have to buy 7 or 8 lb bags) but this bag was like $20 lbs or something! 3. (and the main reason) We can only buy it at Petsmart. I have offered to pay the difference for any more expensive food, but she doesn't want to go to petsmart that often (even though we go for crickets anyway! :confused: ) When I get my drivers license I will probably swich him to something, I really don't know what.
My stepdad is convinced that by products are ok, that they mostly include stuff healthy for dogs but not people.

[Sky57]

I'm not sure about price or if it is available at Petsmart because I am in Australia, but I did a bit of research into dry foods this year and to the best of me knowledge, the very best food I could find was Innova. The ingredients are amazing, so natural, and my dogs love it.

[Jessika]

I'm not sure about price or if it is available at Petsmart because I am in Australia, but I did a bit of research into dry foods this year and to the best of me knowledge, the very best food I could find was Innova. The ingredients are amazing, so natural, and my dogs love it.

Innova is AMAZING dog food, even better than Nutro (what I'm feeding now) but significantly more expensive, unfortunately :(

And most likely Innova will not be found in stores like Petsmart and PetCo