What's the best dog food?

[dappledoxie]

I feed Rebel Purina ONE and Claire Pedigree, I plan on switching them both either to Nutro or Chicken Soup brand in the very near future. I am starting the switch once their food is about half gone, so I can start mixing.

[BitsyNaceyDog]

Science Diet is actually a very low-quality food.

Science Diet is a better quality food then most dog foods. I do agree that it's not the best, but it is better then a lot of them. Here are their ingredients:

Chicken, corn meal, ground grain sorghum, ground wheat, chicken by-product meal, brewers rice, soybean meal, animal fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), chicken liver flavor, vegetable oil, dried egg product, flaxseed, preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid, minerals (salt, calcium carbonate, potassium chloride, dicalcium phosphate, ferrous sulfate, zinc oxide, copper sulfate, manganous oxide, calcium iodate, sodium selenite), rosemary extract, beta-carotene, vitamins (choline chloride, vitamin A supplement, vitamin D3 supplement, vitamin E supplement, L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (a source of vitamin C), niacin, thiamine mononitrate, calcium pantothenate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, riboflavin, folic acid, biotin, vitamin B12 supplement).

Better then pedigree. Pedigree Ingredients:

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).

And then the all time low, Kibbles n' bits:

corn, soybean meal, ground wheat, beef & bone meal, animal fat (BHA and citric acid used as preservatives), corn syrup, wheat middlings, water sufficient for processing, animal digest (source of chicken flavor), propylene glycol, wheat, salt, hydrochloric acid, potassium chloride, caramel color, sorbic acid, sodium carbonate, choline chloride, minerals (ferrous sulfate, zinc oxide, manganous oxide, copper sulfate, calcium iodate, sodium selenite), vitamins (vitamin E supplement, niacin supplement, vitamin A supplement, d- calcium pantothenate, riboflavin supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride, thiamine mononitrate, vitamin D3 supplement, folic acid, biotin, vitamin B12 supplement), calcium sulfate, titanium dioxide, yellow 5, red 40, yellow 6, BHA( used as a preservative), dl-methionine.

[*LabLoverKEB*]

Originally posted by wolfsoul
My favourite brands are Innova, Chicken Soup, Wellness, Go! Natural, Foundations, Canidae, California Natural aaaand...I know there's more lol.

I hope your dogs do well on the Nutro! Purina's ingredients I find to be mainly atrocious, no offense to anyone. They also test on animals.

You're right about Kibble's N' Bit's! Look at the ingredients..I put the yucky stuff in bold.

CORN, SOYBEAN MEAL, BEEF & BONE MEAL, ANIMAL FAT (BHA AND CITRIC ACID USED AS PRESERVATIVES), WHEAT FLOUR, SOY FLOUR, WHEAT GLUTEN, WATER SUFFICIENT FOR PROCESSING, ANIMAL DIGEST, WHEAT, CORN SYRUP, WHEAT MIDDLINGS, PROPYLENE GLYCOL, SALT, HYDROCHLORIC ACID, CHICKEN, CARAMEL COLOR, TITANIUM DIOXIDE, POTASSIUM CHLORIDE, SORBIC ACID (USED AS A PRESERVATIVE), CHOLINE CHLORIDE, SODIUM CARBONATE, MINERALS (FERROUS SULFATE, ZINC OXIDE, MANGANOUS OXIDE, COPPER SULFATE, CALCIUM IODATE, SODIUM SELENITE), DRIED CARROTS, VITAMINS (VITAMIN E SUPPLEMENT, NIACIN SUPPLEMENT, VITAMIN A SUPPLEMENT, D-CALCIUM PANTOTHENATE, RIBOFLAVIN SUPPLEMENT, PYRIDOXINE HYDROCHLORIDE, THIAMINE MONONITRATE, VITAMIN D3 SUPPLEMENT, FOLIC ACID, BIOTIN, VITAMIN B12 SUPPLEMENT), POTASSIUM SORBATE (USED AS A PRESERVATIVE), CALCIUM SULFATE, YELLOW 5, YELLOW 6, BHA (USED AS A PRESERVATIVE), DL-METHIONINE, RED 40. AD01.323

Kibbles 'N Bits has got to be the worst dog food out there!

[binka_nugget]

Wow..I never realized how bad pedigree really was.

Kibbles and bits...just digusting.

[tutebugs]

I personally like Maxximum Nutrition..for both my ferrets and my dog. It's good for the ferrets with their ferret food cuz it's a pretty oily food and keeps their coat really nice and for Chipper it's just plain the healthiest they offer at Walmart. I wanna get some the that Chicken Soup stuff when I go to the petstore though.

[Twisterdog]

Originally posted by KBlaix
I have to disagree with you on that, Twisterdog. Out of those 100 people how many have the knowledge to answer the question? I'm the manager of a boarding facility and also see many different dogs on many different foods. Most of the dogs on kibbles n' bits, Ol' Roy, or pedigree have bad coats and shed a lot, not to mention the stool production is much greater. The dogs on Nutro, Science Diet Look better and are generally healthier. There are always exceptions, like the two you mentioned, however the quality of food does play a key roll in the health of your pet. Most grocery store foods are junk. The only ones I would even consider would be Iams or Purina O.N.E. Pet store foods are generly much better quality, but it also depends on the pet store. Pet Smart does sell kibbles n' bits along with other bad foods. I personally feed my dogs and cats Natural Balance which is a high quality food that doesn't test on animals, which is very important to me.

Personally, I agree with you. I would never feed my dogs Kibbles & Bits, Ol' Roy, etc. But, that's me personally.

I do not believe there is a definitive answer to the question that was asked ... "What's the best dog food?". To me, that's like asking, "What's the best diet to go on?" or "What's the best car to drive?" There is no one right answer.

The dog food debate takes place once a month or so on every dog message board on the internet, probably. And there is never one right answer. What does happen a lot, though, is that someone ends up feeling like a horrible dog owner because they feed their dog a "bad" food, even if they are on a limited income, or are not the person in the family making the choice. I don't think that's fair. I think the best we can do is say, "Here's what I do and here is why - not saying it's the only right way, or that your way is bad."

[amoore]

Twisterdog, You are so right! I agree with you 100%! I had to live with dogs for almost 50 years to learn that.

[BitsyNaceyDog]

Twisterdog, I'm sorry that I sound like such a jerk, I'm really not. I just get so fired up when it comes to nutrition. When an animal comes to the Inn (my kennel) on bad food we try to explain the importance of good nutrition to the owner. Depending on the dog and the owner we try to help find the best food for them. Very often it's Purina O.N.E. because it isn't that expensive and most often animals do exceptional on it. Although Purina does test on animals and I am very against that I often still recomend it, because many people still choose to feed foods that are tested on animals and I would rather see them on something better then worse. I have to drive an hour each way to get my dog food and most people don't want to be bothered with that, so the only place around here to get your dog food is the grocery store or a really bad pet store that only sells Iams anyway(and you can get that at the grocery store). Thank you again twisterdog for helping my realize that I sounded like a total jerk.