The BEST dry dog food? (please respond quickly)

Ok, first I need you to respond quickly is because we are leaving to go to Petco as soon as mom gets home, and that will be very soon!

And, what is the very best dry dog food? That they carry at petco? (I know there isn't really a BEST dog food, but you know, Nutro is better that Kibbles N' Bits, right?) Because aren't the bad ingredients corn, and wheat, and something else? And Sadie is on Nutro Natural Choice, and that has wheat, corn and lamb in it! And I thought that was the best dog food you could get a Petco!

And help is greatly appreciated!!!:) :)

The best dog food is whatever your dog likes and doesn't have any health problems with. If you plan to buy a new brand, introduce it slowly. (Corn and wheat and the like are not bad ingredients, though many people think so. It is like you go to a restaurant and get steak and corn and potatoes, which would you rather have more of. Dog are omnivores just like people so its really a personal preference if you would rather have more meat or more veggies.)

As you know I do not own a dog, so I can't give you a recommendation based on personal experience- only by knowledge.

I have researched just about every dog food on the market (for when I do get a dogl; soon) and so far I like Natural Balance the best. We feed our cats Natural Balance, we recently switched them over from Iams- there has been a huge improvement in their coats, digestion, and weight (Dudley is underweight)- they chow down the Natural Balance. My rats also eat Natural Balance mixed in their Suebee's Mix- they love it too! :p The ingredients in Natural Balance are fantastic. I think it beats everything else on the market. It is sold at Petco. Here is the website for more information on the company and products:

Natural Balance

Duncan eats Eukanuba which is made by the same people who make Iams I think. I switched him to that when they were the only dog food company that could guarantee there was no mad cow disease in their food (back when that scare was happening) His coat has always been shiny but his teeth improved with Eukanuba, less tartar.

I use Purina EN but you can only get that at the vet. Duke has been doing really well on it.

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Originally posted by IRescue452
The best dog food is whatever your dog likes and doesn't have any health problems with. If you plan to buy a new brand, introduce it slowly. (Corn and wheat and the like are not bad ingredients, though many people think so. It is like you go to a restaurant and get steak and corn and potatoes, which would you rather have more of. Dog are omnivores just like people so its really a personal preference if you would rather have more meat or more veggies.)

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There are a lot of bad foods on the market like Kibbles N' Bits, Ol'Roy, Sprout, etc. For the most part dogs are not omnivores, they are natural carnivores, people MAKE them omnivores. Just because the dog likes it doesn't mean it is healthy for them. You may like the taste of a Big Mac, but look what it does to your body. Low-quaility foods will not produce a healthy dog; it is highly unlikely. Corn and wheat do nothing for dogs (corn gives them SOME energy, that's about it), it is a filler ingredient.

Thanks sooo much you guys! This really helped! :)

I get my pups' food at PetCo. They get Royal Canin (owned by Sensible Choice) Natural Blend. It was the only food I could find at either PetCo or PetsMart that did not have corn in it at all, was a human grade quality food, and had meat ingredients as the first ingredients. Each PetCo might be different in what they carry though. Do try to find something that has meat as a first ingredient, and avoid foods with lots of corn or corn gluten meal, those are just starchy fillers with no nutritional value. :)

both mine are on Pedigree,and doing wonderfuly on it.I couldnt ask for healthier dogs.
i dont know what the BEST foods are,but i heard Nutro is good.I tried it with Kodie,but he hated it.You got some great advice already;) :)

Well I'm sure you're gone by now, but I'll post anyway.
I agree completely with YLL, on both her replies.
I feed all 5 of my dogs Natural Balance as well as all 6 of my cats. It's a great food.

We have tried Science Diet and Eukanuba...Bil Jack is the brand Gracie seems to do best with.

It's the way that corn is processed that rids it of its values. I mean, growing up, I was taught that if the vegetable could be fed- it was nutritious :p I still suspect that corn is nutritious in its raw, unprocessed form--- to dogs. I do, however, agree that dogs' diets should not be composed of starchy, carbohydrates. Even though they can thrive on vegetables, they are natural carnivores and meat should always be predominant in their diet. With that said and done, I feed my dogs EVO and a raw meat mix, a la Pitcairn's recipe, Billinghurst, or Schultze. Whatever mood I'm in determines the meat mix. Umm, does that make sense? LOL. Along with the meat mix, Giselle receives chicken or turkey wings/carcasses/neck and a rec bone *occassionally*. I stress occassionally because too many rec bones can and DO wear away and crack your dog's teeth. Just ask poor Gonzo:o ;) Ok, that doesn't help, though. You're shopping at PetCo, huh? I wouldn't know what kind of brands they carry as EVO is not sold there and I don't agree with PetCo's practice of selling live animals. Thanks for letting me rant!

Edited to add food recommendations anyways:
Innova/ EVO
Karma
Natural Balance
Organix
Newmann's Organic
Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul
Canidae
Pinnacle
Fromm
Wysong
Solid Gold
...and these are the only ones off the top of my head. There are lot more out there.:)

Some middle of the line brands that I would feed if I had to:
Diamond and Nutro <--- and other brands along these lines

Maybe this site can help for future reference: http://www.ourpetfood.com/comparison.html

This one too: http://www.naturapet.com/display.php?d=comp-wiz

I throw in votes for Wellness, Blue Buffalo, and Innova. ;) Those are the only super premiums I have experience with. Just look at the ingredients list and slowly try out different types of high quality food.

I am way late on this but I will throw in my.02 anyway....
we were feeding chicken soup, and maybe it works for some, but all of our dogs gained weight on it, and we weren't overfeeding....ashlee quit eating it suddenly, so we picked up some Precise at the pet store across the street, and it has worked out great....all three dogs have gotten back down to their normal weight, and they always gobble it down......
we feed foundation formula, but there are several others to match your dogs requirements......the downside is petco and petsmart don't carry it, so I guess this isn't really much help to the original poster......tom

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Originally posted by IRescue452
Dog are omnivores just like people so its really a personal preference if you would rather have more meat or more veggies.)

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Dogs are not omnivores. They are conivores (meat eating). You do not see wolfs attacking corn fields... you see them attacking meat sources. Canines are all desendants of the wolf and are meat eating animals! Corn has no nutritional value for dogs and in some dogs it is the primary cause of allergies and coat problems.

I would suggest getting a food that has three meats in the first 5 ingredients listed on the label. Preferrably not all by-products as these can include all the scraps of meat not able to be used anywhere else.

Unfortuantely, Petco by our house doesn't sell the super premium foods such as Innova, Candiae, Wellness and some others. They do however carry Natural Balance, Eagle and a few others. The main thing in looking for a good dog food is to read the label! The more you read, the better you will be at finding a good food!