Dog Food Suggestions

[bossynbella]

my personal preference is blue buffalo or Taste of the wild, but as far as a cheaper alternative, the best food available to us locally, Small town in Iowa, is Purina one, its not grain free, but corn is like the fifth ingredient instead of second, also have heard some BAD things about IAM's. I buy the puppy kind right now which is $20 for a 18lb bag, but plan to switch to the lamb and rice once the puppies go to their new homes. We use to feed Blue buffalo but had to pay for it to be shipped here, and Annie was not a fan so I was still having to add in canned food. She likes this Purina One, and I will still mix it up with the Blue buffalo but should be able to buy only half what I was buying before. Some dogs get upset stomachs easily and switching is normally avoided, but our Ann gets bored with her food if fed the same thing every day, so we mix it up, and add canned off and on. Anything to keep her eating what she needs.

 

[There a chick...]

When looking at a food I always look for the AAFCO statement first and then I want to know the digestibility of the particular diet.

 

[Sword]

I know I'll sound like a bad commercial, but my old beagle's been doing great since I switched her on to Taste of the Wild. She had been on Purina One Senior. I wasn't really expecting to see a dramatic difference, but her coat is shinier, she has more energy, and she stopped having trouble walking on the stairs. Right before I switched her onto TOTW, I thought she maybe had a few more months to live. She's lived longer than I thought she could, and with how healthy she looks, she may even live for another year or so.
The only odd thing I noticed about TOTW is when I first switched her onto it, she wouldn't stop eating paper. She stopped once she got used to the food, about two weeks or so.

 

[dainerra]

I feed NutroSource Grainfree Lamb. Both boys do well on it. Rayden eats about 2 1/2 cups a day; Singe eats 3 1/2 to 4.

 

[dewey]

Quote:
3rd this! ...or whatever number it should be now.

Adding a couple of eggs per week will get the protein higher if needed. If my dog wasn't so tiny I'd get it, too. Mine eats like 2 tablespoons a day of Iams.

 

[misfitfarm]

I have to agree with kirkland dog food but I only use that as a supplement. I live in the country and we have 6 dogs and I cook for my dogs. We add veggies, oatmeal, fresh meat ect.... They don't eat near as much as when they eat commercial food.

 

[punk-a-doodle]

Right now, I'm mixing bison Taste of the Wild with a cheaper (meat "bi-product" is first ingredient) Farm Store food for my cattle dog. She likes the taste of the wild enough, but picks around the cheap stuff and only eats it later. I think the stuff she has liked the most and looked (and smelled) the best on so far is Old Roy dry lamb and rice food (A cheap brand, and I think the only variety of the dry that had meat of any kind listed first. The "moist" food did not agree with her. At all. Only switched because our other dog was allergic to lamb.) and "Rotations" which occasionally shows up at Big Lots, but not enough to make it a regular thing. She loved whatever that Rachel Ray dog food is when we first tried it on sale, but after a few bowls decided she actually hated it, and she isn't what I'd call a picky eater. Anytime we cook meat, eggs, or squash or what have you, she has a little home made meal, and she LOVES that. Wish we were at the point where we had meat birds, because guess what she'd be eating a lot of? She likes some wet food, but I'd rather have her on dry for multiple reasons, including that is the only kind of food that has given her diarrhea and vomiting (two different brands).

 

[halfwaynowhere]

I used to work for Blue Buffalo a few years ago, before the grain free food came out, but it really made me start thinking about pet food. I'm not sure if the grain free contains the lifesource bits, but I had to stop feeding it to my pets because they wouldn't touch those, and a lot got wasted.
My cats and dog are currently eating Kirkland food from Costco. No wheat or corn, its comparable to a lot of premium foods, though probably not quite up there with Natural Balance. Its so much cheaper, though. a 40lb bag is ~$25 (chicken and rice is slightly cheaper than lamb and rice, chicken is a smaller kibble than lamb), and its a great way to feed premium food without going broke.

 

[SundownWaterfowl]

Sadie our Golden Retriever gets Diamond Naturals Chicken & Rice or the Diamond Naturals Extreme Athelete. I alternate. Roxy our Min Pin gets Taste of the Wild. Both are doing great on those foods.