What are we feeding our dogs these days?

[AdoreMyDogs]

I used to give Graham Innova. It was good food, but he began getting so bored with it. He would smell it and walk away, then come back and take a bite, and walk away again.

After researching it quite a bit, I decided to begin him on a raw diet with bag of grain mix from the company Sojonour Farms, raw meat and raw, ground veggies.

It was hard at first since I have been a vegetarian for 7 or so years, but I got used to having meat in the house again.

[aly]

My dogs are on Nutro Max right now. I was trying to switch them to Innova but haven't done it yet because I am researching to find a good food for dogs with allergies.

[Dixieland Dancer]

Originally posted by aly
My dogs are on Nutro Max right now. I was trying to switch them to Innova but haven't done it yet because I am researching to find a good food for dogs with allergies.

The best food for dog with allergies is California Natural. It is also made by Natura (the makers of Innova).

[Logan]

Opinions of which dog food is the best can become very heated at times. One thing I know is that each of you does everything possible to take the best possible care of your dogs!!! Once over at Golden Retriever, I had to remind people that not everyone could throw down the money required to purchase the premium foods. And we all know that lots of dogs have lived perfectly healthy, long lives on Purina Dog Chow and other grocery store brands. I think the key is to get the absolute best you can afford.

Purrley, Ktreva52, who knows her dogs, and who is a member here, suggested Authority before. I've never read the bag, but she was very high on it. I guess it is Petsmart's own premium food.

Honey and Lilly are currently eating Iams Weight Control in the blue bag. We had a severe weight gain in both dogs and this food was suggested by a nutritionist who works with a Golden Retriever Rescue group in Dallas. We previously used Flint River Ranch, which they loved, but they both gained an extreme amount of weight on it. I don't think my dogs are active enough to need something quite so rich. We switched to Iams in October 2001. They have made their adjustment beautifully and have lost weight too! Lilly hasn't been weighed in since before Christmas, but in two months, had lost 9 pounds and looks wonderful. She has probably lost additional weight since then, but we have not been back for a weighin. Honey didn't need to lose as much weight, but dropped from 72 pounds to 69 pounds. I would like to see Lilly at 80 and Honey at 65. They also have Iams Weight Control biscuits, which I break in half for them, so they can have several treats a day. And occasionally, I will give them a scrambled egg or greenbeans on their food. They are very happy and healthy.

[purrley]

Logan - yes Authority is Petsmart own - the only bad thing about this is I have to purchase it there and it is a little out of the way. But Tess likes it and she seems to be thriving on it. I'd like to be able to buy it in the grocery store and maybe when she's a year old I'll switch her over to the store brand.

[aly]

Originally posted by Dixieland Dancer


The best food for dog with allergies is California Natural. It is also made by Natura (the makers of Innova).

Cool!!! Thanks so much. I wonder if its at Petsmart? I'll look into where I can get it here.

[Logan]

Purrley, I can't imagine that you have to buy too much at a time for little Tess!! Maybe you could get it from Petsmart's website instead. I liked it when we were on Flint River Ranch because I bought 40 pounds at a time (to last one month), and the poor UPS man had to haul it, not me!! He would deliver straight to the dog food bin in the kitchen for me!!! I love that man!! Now I'm back to buying 20 pound bags, and I just get them one at the time, and buy them from our local Greenville Feed and Seed Store. The grocery store sells Iams now, but only has the blue bag in the smallest size, which doesn't last long around here.

Logan

[purrley]

Actually the smaller bag will last her over a month, maybe more - she just finished off the second small bag since I've had her which was Dec. 5th

[jennifert]

WHY? Both of them are terrible. If you are going to switch why not go with something that is actually healthy for you dog!

Dixie, why do you say Iams is terrible? I know Logan, I know! I don't want to start a fight at all! I'm just curious as to what is wrong with Iams and what would be better and why... My vet recommends it for all dogs along with Eukanuba. I would prefer to feed Duncan Eukanuba but my roommate and I buy the 40 lb bags of Iams and are currently sharing. We don't have a Petsmart here, only a PetCo. Some of the brands mentioned, (Royal Canin, Innova, Flint River Food) I have never seen around here at any of the stores.
Dixie, perhaps you can direct me to some articles or websites with info on why Iams may not be the best choice?? Then I can have some ammunition to show my roommate to convince her we need to change food.

[kobieeli]

jennifert--

Here's a good site to compare dogfood labels and understand their ingredients.... www.naturapet.com/display.asp?sc=7-1&hsc=
It's part of the Innova/California Natural website so it's a bit biased towards those products, but in general the info is pretty accurate. You can compare almost any dog food brands side-by-side here.

As for the Iams/Eukanuba brands (they're made by the same company, Proctor & Gamble), the negative publicity P & G has gotten in the past few years both in the US and Europe regarding their animal testing has turned me off of those foods completely; I don't even like to buy any household products made by P & G anymore! But they're not bad foods, and there are definitely WORSE ones you could feed your dog. One P & G animal testing link... www.vivisectioninfo.org/news/pandg100501.html There are many others if you search under "iams animal testing" or similar phrasing.

[Dixieland Dancer]

Originally posted by jennifert


Dixie, why do you say Iams is terrible? perhaps you can direct me to some articles or websites with info on why Iams may not be the best choice?? Then I can have some ammunition to show my roommate to convince her we need to change food.

I base this comment on the ingredients in both products. Let's just take a couple of ingredients on the Iams chunks bag and see what they really are.

Chicken By-products - This is an ever changing ingedient. By-products are whatever is left over from other processing. Today is it liver, kidney, lung tomorrow it is spleen, heart, intestines. Due to the inconsistentcy of the By-products being used how can the nutritional value be consistent? By-products are also much less expensive than Chicken meal and also much less digestable. This means the nutritional value is going in one end of your dog and passing through the other end with almost the same nutritional value because it is not getting absorbed into the dogs system.

Ground Corn - Ground corn is a processed ingredient that has been determined to be a cause of allergies in canines. While your dog may not develope an allergy that is readily diagnosed, That does not mean a food allergy is not present. Excessive shedding, scratching, ear infections, dull coat, hot spots are all symptoms of food allergies. I have seen to many of these problems in dogs and then when they are switched to a higher quality food they magically disappear!

My suggestion is to learn about the foods you feed your dog. A lot of pet food manufacturers do it for the billions of dollars the industry creates and not for the absolute love of your pet. IAMS and EUKANUBA were originally a very high quality food when it was run by IAMS co. The founder was Paul Iams and he started the company to create a high quality food. Unfortunately it is now run by Proctor and Gamble and believe me they do not have the same concern for your pet that Paul Iams did over 50 years ago. Their bottom line is how to make a bigger profit for the company using the least expensive ingredients they can. After all they are a public trading company that has to answer to the stock holders! Anyone in business can tell you how that goes.

Royal Canin has a new holistic food on the market that can be purchased at Pet Smart. I have not researched it all that closely but at first glance it looks pretty good. None of the ingredients that are on my taboo list.

Please don't get me wrong. You are the one who ultimately has to determine what is best for your dog. I am only giving my opinion based on years of research and trying to combat problems my dogs were having. Goldens in particular tend to have a lot of food allergy problems. I can honestly say that my Dixie and Dusty are the first Goldens I have owned that are not displaying the problems my other Goldens did. I believe it is because of the food they are eating.

One final note. The cost of a food does not determine if it is a premium food or not. You need to be educated to read the label and see what is in the product. Chances are you will find more foods with unattractive ingredient lists that cost more than some of the less expensive supermarket kinds. However, that being said, a Super premium food will cost more initially but because the ingredients are more readily absorbed into the blood stream, you do not feed as much. Therefor the food actually ends up costing about the same in the long run. You actually get smaller more consistent stools too because the ingredients list is pretty stable.

[ShepherdLover]

Dixie, I was very offended by your comment. I'm not feeding Iris, Iams Chunks, I'm feeding her Lamb & Rice. I don't want to start a flame, but I was very offended. I don't want to be yelled at.

[Dixieland Dancer]

I apologize for offending you. That was not my intention and I did not realize I was yelling. Please forgive me. I was just trying to understand why you would switch from pedigree to Iams ASAP.

I only used Iams chunks as an example. Most Iams products fall into the same processing catagory. The ingredients may change but the processing procedures are still the same. However, you ultimately have to be satisfied with what you feed your dog. If you feel Iams is right for you then that is what you should feed.

In working with dogs over the years, I have had many owners fight battles with problems that are more likely caused by food allergies. This can be prevented by changing what we feed our dogs. I have been trying to get people to look at what is on the ingredient list. I believe if people are informed of the problems in some of the ingredients given to our dogs then they will naturally make the decision to switch to a more wholesome food.

Again, I sincerely apolagize. It was not my intention to offend you. I guess I get a little (okay a lot) passionate about this subject.

[C.C.'s Mom]

I finally found some nice premium dog food in Germany (other than Iams & Co.), It's called Bozita and it's from a Swedish company. It might be hard to get, but in Germany you can either get it by mailorder or some pet shops may have it.

Why Bozita? Compared to EU regulations:
no antibiotics, hormones or sedadive medication allowed for animals used for consumption

Cookie seems to really enjoy it. It's also supposed to be better for the doggy coats.

I bought some catfood from Bozita too this morning, and they like it too. It's also not too expensive. Try it! It seems to be the most natural dog food available in Germany at the moment.

[mary_jsn]

Dixieland Dancer, don't want to start a fight but I don't think Iams is a bad dog food, just because of the ingridients. It's like us, eating Mcdonald's when they use some artificial chicken or something on the nuggets. But hey! who cares? As long as we like it. You should read the label. This is what eukanuba for small breeds say: The eukanuba Vital health system provides advanced nutritional support with special ingridients in each formula to keep you dog's vital system in optimal conditions. Each eukanuba formula is developed with nutrients important for a dog's specific life stage and/or size.
It also has real chicken protein which help to develop and maintain strong muscles and healthy coat. I don't mind animal testing in this product 'cause they test it to make sure that our pups and dogs have a balanced nutrition for growth, gestation and lactation.
Anyways. In Chile, we don't have much dog food brands and this was recommended by Leika's vet and the pet shop were we bought her. This is one of the best brands apart from Pedigree and Purina. And I haven't had any problems with it. And anyways In here I haven't seen any brands that offer a special nutrition for small breeds. All I know is that pedigree has some but for older dogs. As long as my dog eats it and has strong poops I don't mind.