Food Recommendations for Duke?

[Roxyluvsme13]

I've been looking at dogfoodanalysis.com and I want to feed Duke something that is at least 4 stars. I've been looking at Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul and a few others. He needs something that's going to help him gain weight. He needs to put on at least 10 pounds.

I also need something that's not extraordinarily expensive (that cut out one of the foods I was looking at, which was Blue Wilderness Chicken since it's $51.99 a bag.)

I need something that is available in a large-ish bag (15lb +) that's not going to cost me a huge fortune. Preferably $35 or less for a pretty large bag.

He's a Bassett Hound for anyone who hasn't seen my post in dog general!

Thanks!

[wolfsoul]

I feed Acana Sport & Agility which is 24% fat content. My dogs keep weight on really well. But, it's more expensive. I spend $70 on a 30 lb bag. It only goes up to 30 lb. One food that used to work for Visa years ago was California Natural Lamb and Rice. It had a high calorie content (I think it was 520 calories per cup -- the highest I could find then), but P&G took it over and they may have changed it. I remember thinking that the price was relatively good compared to alot of foods.

[IRescue452]

Do you have a Tractor Supply Outlet by you? My mom feeds 4Health from them because its not too expensive and comes in a big bag and is approved by me. It gets 4 out of 5 stars on dog food advisors website. I think its one of the better little-known foods around. I think its less than a dollar a pound.

Dogfoodanalysis is a good start but they miss a lot of controversial ingredients like menadione. They also miss the fact that by-products are often listed by scientific name to cover them up in the suppposed "high quality" foods. For instance: Blue Buffalo brands list Enterococcus faecium and hardly anybody knows this is the same as poop. Its a by-product often called animal digest. There are 5 other scientifically listed names on the ingredients that also make up whats in poop.

A decent quality food will probably help him fill out without looking for high fat. If he's been passed around a lot an isn't even neutered I doubt his previous owners cared enough to buy anything more than the cheapy grocery store foods.

[Roxyluvsme13]

I feed Acana Sport & Agility which is 24% fat content. My dogs keep weight on really well. But, it's more expensive. I spend $70 on a 30 lb bag. It only goes up to 30 lb. One food that used to work for Visa years ago was California Natural Lamb and Rice. It had a high calorie content (I think it was 520 calories per cup -- the highest I could find then), but P&G took it over and they may have changed it. I remember thinking that the price was relatively good compared to alot of foods.
Wow $70! :eek: I'm not even sure if we have a store around here that sells Acana anyway, but I will definitely look into California Natural. I'll have to check prices on California Natural, but I saw it today when I went to the pet store to check out foods.

Thanks, Jordan!

Do you have a Tractor Supply Outlet by you? My mom feeds 4Health from them because its not too expensive and comes in a big bag and is approved by me. It gets 4 out of 5 stars on dog food advisors website. I think its one of the better little-known foods around. I think its less than a dollar a pound.

Dogfoodanalysis is a good start but they miss a lot of controversial ingredients like menadione. They also miss the fact that by-products are often listed by scientific name to cover them up in the suppposed "high quality" foods. For instance: Blue Buffalo brands list Enterococcus faecium and hardly anybody knows this is the same as poop. Its a by-product often called animal digest. There are 5 other scientifically listed names on the ingredients that also make up whats in poop.

A decent quality food will probably help him fill out without looking for high fat. If he's been passed around a lot an isn't even neutered I doubt his previous owners cared enough to buy anything more than the cheapy grocery store foods.
We have a Tractor Supply Company, but I'm guessing that's not the same thing? I just checked their website and it doesn't appear that they have 4Health... maybe they'll have it in store. The best thing they seem to have according to their website is Diamond, Pro Plan, and Science Diet, which are all not that good at all. EDIT: They do have 4health, and apparently they are only right down the street, so this is convenient :D

I'm really glad you told me that Blue Buffalo has poop in it because I was considering it since it was one of the cheaper foods on the 4 star list.

That's what I'm thinking too. I hope feeding him something good will help him.

I wish I was able to afford Merrick's Grammy's Chicken Pot Pie, but for a 4 lb bag it's $14 and a 30 lb bag is like $60. My mom was like "You don't need to get him to liking something you can only buy one bag of anyway!!!" :rolleyes:

[IRescue452]

A lot of dog foods have animal digest, its just that some try to hide it. Makes the company seem awfully shady to me.

[Roxyluvsme13]

A lot of dog foods have animal digest, its just that some try to hide it. Makes the company seem awfully shady to me.
Agreed.

So, if I decide on 4health, which version of it should I get? They have a high performance version, but I don't want to give that to him all the time or he'd get too chubby, I think. Maybe I should feed that to him for a while and then switch to one of their other formulas?

[Freedom]

I used Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul for almost 2 years; I liked it, the dogs liked it, but Sugar was itching on it. Not sure why. She was the only one having an allergic reaction.

Been using Halo Spot's Stew chicken formula for a year with great results. The lamb formula also had Sugar itching.

I buy it from here:
www.doggiefood.com

[Craftlady]

I have Snoopy on Taste of Wild (lamb) it really controls his IBS so far. I get it at Tractor Supply.

Coco is on Precise (Chicken/Rice) I order it through place in Maryland. Free shipping when you order $60 or more.

Cats are all on Taste of Wild brand.

I'm thinking about switching Coco to Taste Of Wild.

I'm finding anything with chicken in it gives dog's and cats gas and more poop.

I had cats and dogs on 4 Health (from Tractor Supply). To much gas and poop.

[dab_20]

I feed Acana Grasslands (lamb formula). Its about 35 dollars for a 17 pound bag I believe. It's a 5 star rating.

Always remember, the higher quality, the LESS you have to feed. In the end, it's isn't as expensive as you might think it is because it lasts longer. I would also recommend california natural, I had my dogs on it for awhile but Sam does much better on grain free food. I think that is a 4 star food.

For example, Springen was on Royal Canin Boxer Formula. (CRAPPY food, my brother insisted he thought it was good) They recommend about 4 cups a day for his weight. He just switched him to grain free Blue Wilderness, and they recommend about 2.5-3 cups a day. Big difference!

[wolf_Q]

For instance: Blue Buffalo brands list Enterococcus faecium and hardly anybody knows this is the same as poop. Its a by-product often called animal digest. There are 5 other scientifically listed names on the ingredients that also make up whats in poop.


Can you provide further research on this? Everything I read said that it was a probiotic - yes found in the intestines but which I'm certain it is found in poop, but it's not poop. The way you worded it makes it sound like they are putting it in there as a filller - it's listed as the last ingredient that's a pretty pointless filler. I don't know if I agree that it is a good ingredient in dog food or not but they are putting it in to claim the food has probiotics, not to disguise "poop" as an ingredient.

I've fed a lot of dog foods - natural balance, nature's variety, wellness, avoderm, and I recently switched to solid gold. When I checked out all the dog foods available at petco - just the lamb formulas actually because my dogs do well on lamb - solid gold had the best ingredients for the price. I'm feeding the hund-n-flocken. It is about 54.99 for a 33 lb bag. I think I was paying 55.99 for a 30 lb bag of avoderm. And it's fun to say my dogs poop solid gold ha ha.

Be careful of putting on too much weight with him - bassets are very prone to being overweight I'm shocked to ever see one that's not fat. It seems so much worse for the dogs with short legs too.

[Roxyluvsme13]

I used Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul for almost 2 years; I liked it, the dogs liked it, but Sugar was itching on it. Not sure why. She was the only one having an allergic reaction.

Been using Halo Spot's Stew chicken formula for a year with great results. The lamb formula also had Sugar itching.

I buy it from here:
www.doggiefood.com
I'll have to check into the second one. Chicken Soup seems to be one of the cheaper higher quality foods that I can find nearby, so I also have to check into prices on it. Thanks Sandie!


I have Snoopy on Taste of Wild (lamb) it really controls his IBS so far. I get it at Tractor Supply.

Coco is on Precise (Chicken/Rice) I order it through place in Maryland. Free shipping when you order $60 or more.

Cats are all on Taste of Wild brand.

I'm thinking about switching Coco to Taste Of Wild.

I'm finding anything with chicken in it gives dog's and cats gas and more poop.

I had cats and dogs on 4 Health (from Tractor Supply). To much gas and poop.
Gas and poop, not good. I'll have to see if it reacts that way with Duke, if so I'll have to find something without chicken in it too. Thanks for the input!


I feed Acana Grasslands (lamb formula). Its about 35 dollars for a 17 pound bag I believe. It's a 5 star rating.

Always remember, the higher quality, the LESS you have to feed. In the end, it's isn't as expensive as you might think it is because it lasts longer. I would also recommend california natural, I had my dogs on it for awhile but Sam does much better on grain free food. I think that is a 4 star food.

For example, Springen was on Royal Canin Boxer Formula. (CRAPPY food, my brother insisted he thought it was good) They recommend about 4 cups a day for his weight. He just switched him to grain free Blue Wilderness, and they recommend about 2.5-3 cups a day. Big difference!
I think I saw that when I was looking at foods the other day... Not sure though.

Yeah, I was trying to keep that in mind. Everything I've looked into to give him is something super expensive, but my mom is objecting :rolleyes:. Though technically, I've already claimed Duke as MY dog, so I think I can feed him what I want to since I'm 19 and paying for it :D

Wow, big difference. Is Springen doing better on the Blue than the Royal Canin???



I've fed a lot of dog foods - natural balance, nature's variety, wellness, avoderm, and I recently switched to solid gold. When I checked out all the dog foods available at petco - just the lamb formulas actually because my dogs do well on lamb - solid gold had the best ingredients for the price. I'm feeding the hund-n-flocken. It is about 54.99 for a 33 lb bag. I think I was paying 55.99 for a 30 lb bag of avoderm. And it's fun to say my dogs poop solid gold ha ha.

Be careful of putting on too much weight with him - bassets are very prone to being overweight I'm shocked to ever see one that's not fat. It seems so much worse for the dogs with short legs too.
Amy, you're just a dog food expert, LOL.

Lily always liked lamb, so I was thinking about trying that with Duke too. I think we have solid gold somewhere around here, again I'll have to look into it.

Oh yeah, I read about a lot of bassets having weight problems. So I'm really shocked that he's as skinny as he is :/. He just needs to put on about 10 or so pounds I think. He's supposed to weigh around 40 and he probably weighs nowhere close to that.

Thanks for the input!

[dab_20]

I think I saw that when I was looking at foods the other day... Not sure though.

Yeah, I was trying to keep that in mind. Everything I've looked into to give him is something super expensive, but my mom is objecting :rolleyes:. Though technically, I've already claimed Duke as MY dog, so I think I can feed him what I want to since I'm 19 and paying for it :D

Wow, big difference. Is Springen doing better on the Blue than the Royal Canin???


Yeah, if your buying it, go for what you want! Yeah, Springen always has had runny poop whatever we put him on. Finally, it's mostly normal. He also had allergies on his other food and would lose some of the hair around his eyes and ears, and that seems to be growing back as well!

[IRescue452]

I would just see how he does on a regular quality adult formula with no extra feedings or excessive amounts. He may have just been fed poorly in the past and that's why he's thin. If he fills out and seems healthy with just that then you know it was just poor care he'd received in the past.

Autumn does terrible on lamb but fine on chicken. Each dog is individual. I wouldn't buy a huge bag of any food you decided to try for the first time around.

[Roxyluvsme13]

Yeah, if your buying it, go for what you want! Yeah, Springen always has had runny poop whatever we put him on. Finally, it's mostly normal. He also had allergies on his other food and would lose some of the hair around his eyes and ears, and that seems to be growing back as well!
Poor Springen :(. Maybe he was allergic to one of the ingredients in most dog foods? I'm glad he's doing better now though :love:


I would just see how he does on a regular quality adult formula with no extra feedings or excessive amounts. He may have just been fed poorly in the past and that's why he's thin. If he fills out and seems healthy with just that then you know it was just poor care he'd received in the past.

Autumn does terrible on lamb but fine on chicken. Each dog is individual. I wouldn't buy a huge bag of any food you decided to try for the first time around.
Okay!

I think/hope that our Natural Pet Supply store actually gives out samples of bags of food. At least our one where I previously lived did, and since they're the same company, I'm hoping the one here does too.

I can hopefully get some samples of most of the foods mentioned here and try them out with Duke. If not, I'll just buy a small bag of something at the pet store near my house for the time being I think.

I appreciate everyone's suggestions, I have a lot of options to choose from now :)

[luvofallhorses]

Natural Balance is pretty affordable. :)

[K9soul]

I feed mine Taste of the Wild grain-free formulas (I pick different formulas off and on for variety) mixed with raw feeding. It's the most affordable grain-free that I feel comfortable with and they have done well on it. I had tried a higher rated food with grain but just didn't like how they gained weight on it and had more stool. The ToTW that I get at the feed store is about $46 I think for 30 pounds.

Anyway, I'd be very cautious about deciding to add 10 pounds to him. You say he is "probably" no where near 40, but be sure you weigh him first. My Tasha is 40 pounds and does not look it. She's a lean light dog. Second of all, what a lot of people think looks "too skinny" is actually a healthy lean weight on a dog. A study recently showed that over 50% of dogs in the U.S. are overweight or obese. That's a very sad statistic. Another study has shown that leaner dogs live longer. You can read more about that here: http://mullerveterinaryhospital.com/library/lean%20dogs.htm

It's actually better to be a couple pounds under than over, especially as mentioned before on a breed with a long back and short legs. Ten pounds is actually quite a bit to add on in my opinion. I would also get his stool checked for worms before upping his intake.

[IRescue452]

Agreed about the weight. If he's lean but not losing weight with a regular diet then you shouldn't worry. If he is losing on a regular diet then worry. 10 pounds is 25% of a 40lb dog's weight. That's the equivalent to about 38 pounds on the average 150 pound human. So that's like a lean person suddenly wanting to add 38 pounds. Not something that should be done real fast by simply overeating.

[Roxyluvsme13]

Well, my mom and I are going to try to weigh him soon and see how much he weighs. Ten pounds was just a guess (and I'm really bad about judging weight on animals), but he just looks really skinny to me and I can feel all his ribs and see them, so that's why I'm a bit concerned. He eats ALL the time and is ALWAYS hungry, but I know he's getting fed enough because I've seen him inhale his food like it's nothing.

He looks and acts very healthy, I'm just concerned about seeing his ribs and feeling them. Maybe I'm just worrying too much? :p

[Karen]

Have you checked his poop for worms? Eating a lot and not gaining weight ....

[Roxyluvsme13]

Have you checked his poop for worms? Eating a lot and not gaining weight ....
That was the first thing I did when we got him. Poop is 100% worm free. I even dug through it a little with a stick to double check. Maybe he's not as skinny as I think he is :confused: I'll take a picture and let y'all see whenever I get home this week.

[Karen]

You're likely worrying too much, and knowing Bassets, at some point he'll start packing on the pounds ... so if a vet check says he's fine, I'd not worry about it. He's your first "hound," isn't he? that vacuuming down food is pretty typical, don't worry!

[Roxyluvsme13]

You're likely worrying too much, and knowing Bassets, at some point he'll start packing on the pounds ... so if a vet check says he's fine, I'd not worry about it. He's your first "hound," isn't he? that vacuuming down food is pretty typical, don't worry!
I'm always paranoid about new pets having health problems. His previous owners (Even though they didn't give him the best of care) said he was indeed a healthy dog, he just didn't seem to put on weight even though he ate ALL the time.

Yes, he's my first hound :D. Do they all eat like vacuum cleaners? :p

[K9soul]

Lean and fit hounds often tend to seem more "ribby" than some other breeds of dogs, especially since you are used to a fluffy pom :). If his spine and hips are not jutting out he's probably pretty good even if you can see the ribs outlined. You are actually starting out ahead of the game so to speak by him not being overweight. Bassets are notorious for becoming overweight too easily. As he gets settled he may fill in a couple pounds without adding extra to his food.

By the way congratulations on your adoption of him, I hadn't been to the general area yet but just noticed this thread topic when I stopped by earlier.

[Karen]

Yes, he's my first hound :D. Do they all eat like vacuum cleaners? :p

Yup, pretty much a given, though there is the occasional picky eater, that's the anomalous one! You won't have much worry about crumbs lingering on the floor ....

[luvofallhorses]

Even if there aren't worms in his poop I would definately have your vet worm him especially since he had fleas. If you need any help with anything, PM me. I am pretty hound savvy as I have a coonhound and have had them in the past. :) Also do not over feed him, hounds get fat FAST, so it's better to keep them lean.

[Roxyluvsme13]

Lean and fit hounds often tend to seem more "ribby" than some other breeds of dogs, especially since you are used to a fluffy pom :). If his spine and hips are not jutting out he's probably pretty good even if you can see the ribs outlined. You are actually starting out ahead of the game so to speak by him not being overweight. Bassets are notorious for becoming overweight too easily. As he gets settled he may fill in a couple pounds without adding extra to his food.

By the way congratulations on your adoption of him, I hadn't been to the general area yet but just noticed this thread topic when I stopped by earlier.
Well, that's good to know then. You can see his spine and hips some, maybe? I'm not 100% sure on that as he's not right in front of me, but I'm pretty sure if he was like really malnourished I would know, and he eats well, so I guess it's good that he's on the leaner side. I'm expecting him to start gaining weight when he starts a higher quality food and gets neutered, so I'll just have to make sure to exercise him some to keep his weight healthy.

And thanks! :) He's such a goof and I'm glad he's in our family. :love:


Yup, pretty much a given, though there is the occasional picky eater, that's the anomalous one! You won't have much worry about crumbs lingering on the floor ....
Well, Duke eats ANYTHING. He kind of tried to eat the cat poop in the litter box :o so we have to keep the litter box away from where he can get into it :rolleyes:.


Even if there aren't worms in his poop I would definately have your vet worm him especially since he had fleas. If you need any help with anything, PM me. I am pretty hound savvy as I have a coonhound and have had them in the past. :) Also do not over feed him, hounds get fat FAST, so it's better to keep them lean.
Will do! And thanks! I'll probably need some information at some point or another! :)