Help with finding the right food for dogs LONG

[Chiefs Mess]

I have been following the post on what feed do you use for your chickens and someone posted about talking dog food. So, I decided to have a thread here hoping this might help me out.


I have 3 beagles and 1 lab.

beagle one: he is about 8-9 yo (stray, he came to us about when he was a year old) and does have a bullet near his spine and starting to walk slow. Plus being overweight and no carpets he has strained his muscles by his shoulders Beautiful coat! Does have the run of the backyard

beagle two: he is about 6 yo (got him as a puppy, actually born
in the woods, momma deserted him. Had lots of problems with him growing, mange was the biggest. Right now blind but other than that he is good, skin, coat. Not really overweight due to the fact he cannot run around like the others.

lab: she is 5yo (got her as a puppy, saved her before she was destroyed at the county shelter) She can lose a few pounds but not obese like the first beagle. Her coat is starting to look dull. Losing clumps of fur. Runs around the yard.

beagle 3: she is ? Not spayed. ( son was hunting at a state forest and she came and sat by his side the whole time like he was her owner. He asked some hunters if they were missing a dog, they responded she has been around for some weeks.) So, We had her for 3 years now. Vet is going by her teeth and figures around 10-11 yo. Very very active. Overweight. Problems with her skin, coat yeast buildup in her ears, losing clumps of fur

Problem:

I use to use Pedigree dog food, Vet said do not use because how the dogs were gaining weight. Was at Petsmart looking at ingredients. A salesperson for Nutro company came up to me and naturally pointed out how their brand would benifit the dogs. What sold me was less dog waste (that is true!) But it has been 4 months and really no losing weight and skin/fur no improvement. Only the price of the food changed!!!

PLUS all four dogs did and still do, eat grass like there is no tomorrow, or acorns when they start to fall. Dog poop. And always always hungry. beagles get 2 1/2 c. lab 3 1/2 c. a day.

Please someone steer me towards a direction to good food that is not more than $45 a 30 lb. bag.

Thank you for helping and reading this long post.

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

what about good ol' iams? and supplement with eggs from your hens?

has your vet diagnosed the 'losing clumps of fur' for the lab? while i agree that pedigree isnt the best bet - not sure that your vet had the best reason?? did you see the thread on raw food? i'm not a huge fan but if one of them has fur issues - could be related to allergies. you could try and find a single sourced protein and see if the fur improves??

what we've found is that we can feed less bagged food if there is more fat/protein. just like people - if you get some fat and protein its more satisfying

good luck!

 

[Chiefs Mess]

TU for helping me out so quickly

One, we do not have chickens anymore (people who let their dogs roam) leave it at that. We are building a fence all around the 5 acres so we do not go through that again. Yes, I believe if we fed eggs that will help, use to feed the first two dogs eggs a lot. I will have to check out Iams not sure the price. I was told and not sure if this is a right way of viewing this but, If you see the dog food sold in a Walmart or Food Lion ect. it is not worth buying. I am not completly sold on that but I know don't buy Walmart or Food Lion brand ect dog food. lol

Question: in the winter I put rice in the dogs food to give them extra carbohydrates (told this helps keep them warmer) because they sleep outside at night and left outside when no one is home. That seem to help a bit, could I put rice in the food in summertime or will that get them extra fat.

Have to check out the thread on raw food
Thanks!

 

[Hangin Wit My Peeps]

Nutro cat has just recently been recalled and not long ago there was one of the dog foods that killed many dogs. If you google it there has been MANY problems with it. We found most of the "good" things listed on google were from the company. We found hundreds of comments on it. I used to feed my animals that and took them all off it and things have been MUCH better. My long hair cat which had never gotten mats in his life suddenly started getting them and now that he's off that a month later no more mats. My boxer is acting "normal" now. And my pom has lost weight. Here is a set of reviews on the dog foods. Like some said on the comments...mine were also fine on it for a while but then it changes.
http://www.rateitall.com/i-24984-nutro.aspx

 

[jerseygirl1]

My feeling, anything that can be bought in a supermarket is not good food. Iams, Eukanuba are owned BY Purina, and they are nutritionally useless. They also do animal testing.
Your BEST brands are the ones from the independent pet stores, mom and pop, Petco, Petsmart if you have one. Good brands are -
Nutro (it's still a good food, depending on which type), California Natural, Wellness, Solid Gold, etc. You will not find these in Walmart. Do a search on 'Top Dog Foods' and it will turn up tose I listed, and listed under 'never buy' wil be Science Diet, Iams, Pedigree, every single one that was involved with the pet food recall is on the 'bad' list and always has been. Yes, they cost more, but my dogs all feel good and look good, which is important.
Also, veggies of any kind never hurt mixed in with dog food to give it some bulk, and the dogs think they are getting more food.

Also, white rice is not good for dogs, the carbs are too high, and you will notice that they get constipated quickly from it. Brown rice is the way to go. Ask the vet. The Whole Dog Journal does a yearly review on canned and dry foods also

Raw food is great, when you buy in bulk and prepare it. Way more expensive than spending $45 on a bag of dry food, though. Definitely more expensive.

 

[spook]

Now only speaking for my cats, I have gone with Innova and EVO made by Innova for crystles in urinary tract.

The first month I had them on this, both cats, slowed down eating, balanced out their weight, and energy...wow. Not only that, our one cat with crystals, chronic constipation was turned around! He now has firm stool, yet he does not have to go for a $200 enema every 6 months! (I know, its a cat.)
This is on the program of raw food, its natural. It does cost a bit more, but its not filled with grains and fillers.

Iams animal tests they're food. Its not pretty and every animal I've seen on Iams has grown large. Science diet isn't the greatest in MY book.

But, we all feed what we are most comfortable with and what works for your pets. (No intent on kicking sand on anyones shoes)

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

Question: in the winter I put rice in the dogs food to give them extra carbohydrates (told this helps keep them warmer) because they sleep outside at night and left outside when no one is home. That seem to help a bit, could I put rice in the food in summertime or will that get them extra fat.

honestly i'd go with more protein and fat. we raise our own hogs so i have a bunch of lard which i feed to the dogs (i make huge dog food omlettes - fried in lard of course) and this helps keep them warm when working outside and really i've been able to use way less bagged food and they are more efficient with using a little bit of good stuff than lots of just dry food.

as you can see from this thread and the 'rearing back to fight' posturing already...come on guys lets help Chiefs Mess and not quibble about kibble.... everyone has an opinion about what is best. you may have opened a fire storm so you might want to duck and cover
;-)

anyway - if you want to spend a lot of money on bagged food there are some really great ones out there - but if thats not possible for you then do what works to help your animals.

i know people who buy the sams club cheapest possible food - then add a bunch of supplements and meat. the hard thing is that a lot of bagged food has soy as its main source of protein (and heaven knows what..gulp.. the parts and by products are....) and as carnivores dogs need meat. so you want to try and work this into their diet if you can.

many animal develop allergies b/c of the bad quality of by products and meat and all the crap that they put into pet food. which is why - in a perfect world - you'd make your own. i cant do this and frankly folks - since dogs are animals i wouldnt expect iams to test on PEOPLE - so this doesnt get me cranked at all. its the best bet for our dogs and its what my cat vet recommends or our Insane Cat Posse.

of the fancy/pricey brands we like Wellness and Felidae (for cats).

good luck... now just stand back and watch the fur fly.....PM me if you want to take this out of the fray​

 

[Stina]

I would try one of the lower protein grain-free foods...like Taste of the Wild, Merrick Before Grain, Wellness Core, or Petcurean Go! Endurance. I recommend these specifically at 32-34% protein as opposed to other grain frees at around or over 40% protein, as some of the dogs are young or getting old, and overweight...so the lower protein should be a little better for them.

The lack of grains will probably help a lot with the weight....I would also feed less than recommended to the overweight dogs in a few small meals throughout the day.

now if you have the money I would suggest going raw...but I know many of us don't! I am going to be feeding a combination of the lower protein grain frees I listed and raw to my dogs.

 

[ChickenToes]

Most supermarket dog food is not good, it's mostly made from corn. Which passes right through the dog, leaving huge piles of poo in your yard.

The best food for dogs is raw meat, organ meat, and bones.

If that's not an option, look at feed stores or pet stores for a high quality brand where the first ingredient is meat, not grain. Some good brands are Blue Seal, Nutro, Taste of the Wild, Innova, Canidae, Eagle Pack, Bil-Jac, etc. The only good stuff I can find locally is Diamond.

 

[ma2babygurl13]

Quote:
I totally agree...most commercial dog foods are

But Taste of the Wild, and Innova are good foods... Diamond isn't bad...but it was one involved in recalls years back as was Nutro.... I highly suggest RAW feeding my dogs have never been better!