Help with finding the right food for dogs LONG

[BlackBart]

Quote:
California Natural Herring and Sweet Potato is what I started my fat dog on. The lady at the pet store is a animal nutritionist and she suggested it
It is very important to me that she doesn't work for or receives any compensation from feed companies so I consider her advice unbiased.
She said the sweet potato is high in fiber so it is more filling. The cold protein source (herring) is good for the skin.

Another good kibble is Healthwise made by Natura. Same company that makes California Natural but Healthwise is cheaper.
www.healthwisepetfood.com

I feed raw and supplement with a good kibble. My dog tested for low thyroid

she's on meds. She wasn't loosing hair but could not loose weight.

 

[Brindlebtch]

Low thyroid is a common problem in dogs. Fortunately it is easy to diagnose (if you have a good vet) and easy to treat.

 

[Dar]

I like natural balance... and I always get complemented on my skin...lol

I had a large dog and a small dog
and now I have a puppy and a senior

the natural balance is great...

http://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/dogformulas/home.html

my large dog had a ton of allergies she had a reaction to almost every commercial dog food... this was the only commercial food she could have the next step was vet foods $$$$$$$

 

[Stina]

Natural Balance is ok for a food with grains...but it still uses grains. You can get allergy suitable diets without grains as well. A lot of times the allergies are to corn, wheat, or soy...sometimes chicken or turkey. Not to hard a find a grain free food without chicken or turkey, and none of them will have corn, wheat, or soy.

 

[()relics]

As I've read everyone has their own opinion on which food is the best for dogs....I raise, breed, and hunt German Shorthaired Pointers...They eat only dog food very few "treats" and no table scraps/raw food...I feed Loyall brand dog food..It is made and bagged by Nutrena Feeds in Minneapolis MN. They always make their own feed, I feed this brand to my horses,dogs,goats,rabbits, It is never contracted out to another producer...They make it They bag it..I have found their feeds to be very consistant...Unlike most other feed labels that will contract their feed to various makers depending who is cheaper...I feed the professional formula durring hunting season. It is a 31/20,31% protein,20% fat. The rest of the year I feed a 21/20..My dogs need the extra boost when they hunt every day...I am told by my vet, who is mainly a large animal vet, that the first ingredient listed on the bag should be Poultry/poultry by-product...
Dogs, or any animal for that matter, benefit from a consitant diet and this maker/brand has worked for me and I wouldn't change it...It isn't cheap but if you were to look at my dogs in the field you can see they benefit from it.

 

[wombat]

Innova, Flint River, and Solid Gold are generally good brands.

You might also want to try an addative. We use Missing Link. It is expensive to get a bag of it, but you only add a spoonful, so a bag lasts a long time. If your dogs are conisistently eating large quantities of grass and feces, they're probably missing something in their diet. This might be worth a try, though it may take a while to make a difference.
http://www.petco.com/product/6570/T...e-Formula-Super-Food-Original-Supplement.aspx
http://www.dog.com/item/missing-link-canine-formula/221130/

... the second site offers the larger bags at a great discount

Raw diets are fine, though expensive and a lot of work (if it is not expensive, you have a lucky source of cheap meat, or you're feeding very fatty meats - cheap hamburger is very high in fat, and abnormally high fat diets can cause pancreatic problems). Also, remember that the "wild brother" eats more than just raw meat, and gets nutrition from eating the stomach contents of his kills ... canines "in the wild" do not eat only meat ... so if you're going to feed a raw meat diet, do some research and supplement with veggies.

Some grain in commercial dog food is ok, it's just that cheap brands use a lot of it as filler, and also use random, unidentified animal fats to make up most of the rest of the feed. Check your labels.

One big feeding at dinner time tends to cause hungry, over-fed, fat dogs. I've always fed adult dogs twice a day, in smaller portions. If you're going to reduce the amout of feed because your dog is over-weight, do so gradually, so the dog's system adjusts.

If you're changing foods, it is usually best to slowly introduce the new one as you cut back on the old ... 70/30 ... 50/50 ... 30/70 ...

The ear infections might be diet related, or might not be. Try cleaning with a mix of vinegar and isopropyl alcohol on a regular basis, and try to identify the source. A friend of ours had a GSD with chronic ear infections ... we eventually figured out that the dog was sleeping in her walk-in shower, and the problem stopped when the dog was no longer allowed in there.

 

[ShaggysGirl]

Hi
Sorry I didn't read all the reply's but this site is great for helping deside what to feed
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/
I feed Wellness and my dog and cats love it and it is great food. My vet who is a good friend loves it too.

 

[Stina]

I am told by my vet, who is mainly a large animal vet, that the first ingredient listed on the bag should be Poultry/poultry by-product

Interesting opinion.....now, I'm not anti-byproduct like many are...however, poultry by-product is mainly chicken heads and feet.....Not something I would want as a main ingredient! Poultry is also an interesting choice to recommend as what should absolutely be the first ingredient as a a wild canine diet is not mainly avian...its usually large ruminants and rodents. I am not a vet....but I went to vet school for a year (I did NOT fail out, I chose not to return) and I DID go through the 1 nutrition course required....I've also worked for a couple different vets and used several different vets and I never once heard anyone say that poultry *should* be a main ingredient....meat of some sort ideally should be at 3 of the top 5 ingredients, especially meals. Regular meat (beef, bison, venison, chicken, turkey, deboned whatever) is included in the ingredients inclusive of water content....thus when the water is removed, that ingredient is reduced to only about 20% of its original mass and moves down the ingredient list. We currently have some Merrick Before Grain in both bison and salmon...however bison and salmon are the first ingredient in wet weight.....when the moisture is removed it likely makes chicken meal, which is the 3rd ingredient or so...the true main meat source. Not an issue in a food with several meats and meals in the first 5-7 ingredients....but when you have a food that's say lamb and rice...and the first ingredient is lamb...but the 2nd is rice bran...the 3rd brown rice, the 4th rice flour........your main ingredient is rice...and by a lot.​

 

[Brindlebtch]

Stina, ()relics' dogs clearly do well on their dog food.

There is no one right way to feed a dog. Domestic dogs are no longer wild canines and have not been for millenia. Dogs have been eating at least some grains since agriculture has existed and dogs chose to grace us with their presence.

My Grandma used to have and breed hunting hounds. For years and years she made them cornbread everyday, added leftover fresh milk or cream, a fresh egg per dog (yes I know about the current 'no don't feed your dog egg whites') and table scraps and kitchen scraps from her very big family. The dogs did great and she was well known in East TX for her dogs 50-60 yrs ago.

If your dog doesn't do well on grains then don't feed it grains. However, most of America's dogs do JUST FINE on a portion of their ration being grains.

Some dogs will be allergic to beef, chicken, turkey, lamb, rice, wheat, corn, soy and some are allergic to flax and numerous other ingredients.

Just because a person feeds a kibble on your "Not Approved" list does not mean that it is wrong to feed a dog that food. As long as the dog is not having problems on that food that is the right food.

Our first dog was fed Purina kibble and table scraps and lived to 17 healthy yrs.

I have cooked for dogs, fed raw and have gone back to kibble. I know NUMEROUS people in the training community that feed raw and their dogs don't live any longer or more healthy than mine. Actually I am known locally for my long lived dogs.

Try to have an open mind about what works and what doesn't. I don't care about studies and yada yada yada. If the dogs don't have problems with a particular dog food then that food is right for that dog. In 10-15 years there will be a study that finds something else is best to feed.

I also had a year of vet med and then changed to geology (bad career move) and have trained dogs for 22 years - professionally for over 10.

 

[Hippie Chickie]

When you look at the ingredient list on the food there are a few things you need to look for. Ingredients are listed by the percentage of the whole. The first ingredient has the largest percentage and the last has the smallest. The first ingredient should be some kind of meat meal. For intance chicken meal, not just chicken. The reason is simple. Meal is the meat with the liquid taken out. Just meat has the liquid weight in it. So it really is water and then chicken or whatever. You should also buy a food that has brown rice, white rice is basically worthless when it comes to nutrients. Whren looking for the animal fat a high quality food should use chicken fat. It contains linoleic acid that helps keep the coat in good shape. Try to avoid generic animal fat. The question is what animal is it? Also avoid meat byproducts as a main ingredient. Again what meat is it? Purina used to and may still get their meat from rendering plants. These plants accept road kill and euthinized pets. Groose I know. I made the mistake of reading a book called "food to die for" It's about all of junk that goes into dog and cat food. Of couse take this advise with a grain of salt and get what makes the dog happy and healthy. My 75 pound "puppy" is an increadably picky underweight eater and supprisingly likes and will eat the store brand from TS. It's not the best nutitionally but he's gained some weight and doesn't scratch up a storm anymore.