Premium food (like Taste of the Wild), as opposed to basic food, for my BC (Border Collie) dog/son

[Freedom]

Your dog will be healthier on a high quality food, and there will be less waste -- i.e. smaller poops.

I fed TOTW for over 2 years, for all my pets, dogs and cats both. Then I learned that their food contains ethoxyquin, a known carcinogen. They are not required to include this on the label because it is not something they, the dog food manufacturer, adds. Rather, it is something the fish supplier adds to the fish. So I switched to Earthborn Holistics. Earthborn offers 3 grain - free formulas, I use those. Earthborn has never had a recall, and is prepared in a factory which also prepares human grade food. So it is right up there in quality.

Bichons have LOADS of food allergies, so we have to keep them on a grain free diet.

You can learn a LOT about dog foods by reading on this site: www.dogfoodanalysis.com
Read the labels for a few 6 star foods. Then read the labels for a few 2 star foods. Then look up the food YOU are feeding. You will learn what to look for, what to avoid.

Vets have little to NO training in nutrition.

[IRescue452]

The guidelines on the side of the bag usually give about a 200% range of what you should feed your dog. By following those guidelines you can be underfeeding your dog by half or overfeeding your dog double what they should get. That is because those guidelines are usually based on the size of the dog and maybe slightly on the age (puppy, adult, senior), but rarely ever on activity level. A dog being kept outside in the winter in a cold climate is even a factor on how many calories they should get. You can find a basic calculator here, but be sure to be honest about your dog's activity level. http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-fe...od-calculator/

A premium food can make a big difference if a dog has skin infections, ear infections, allergies or other health issues, but if your dog is doing fine on the regular food don't expect to see some miraculous change. Your dog is probably already pretty spoiled with the gravy so he may not want to eat any sort of kibble without his toppings. It may take some convincing.

[Freedom]

Anothr good source of info: The Whole Pet Diet, by Andi Brown. Found it at my library; liked it so much, I bought a copy.

I thought of this because she is a big fan of toppings, so the comment above brought the book to mind.

[jessewills]

Good, if you BC like premium food. But some time premium food is main cause of some infection and allergies. You should give him premium food accounting to guideline on the side of the bag. You can give him grain free, organic and natural dog food. These are very good food for dogs.try it .....

[River Amore]

You may want to check out this website for dog food reviews. http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/ The Dog Food Analysis website is also good. My Papillons eat Victor Grain Free Salmon kibble and Wellness.