I had to change dog food - $42 a bag is over the top

[s6bee]

Quote:
My dogs eat thier food very fast and we had warm water to slow them down. Garlic powder may help too. Eating fast can cause them to vomit. But if that's not the problem, you may consider switching to a lamb based or vegetarian based food. The Avoderm I get is sold at Petsmart or Petco and really inexpensive. It did wonders for my dog, and no more gas!!

 

[Jimagination]

DuckyBoys,Sorry,I have to admit,I didn't read all 5 pages of posts.

Sorry.

 

[DuckyBoys]

Quote:
Nutro isn't a special diet. It's just a higher quality which I preferred for many years because I've always owned large breed dogs and they were one of the first to add glucosamine and chondroitin (sp?) to their middle end product.

They have been bought out though- don't know if anyone knows that. They are not a private company anymore.

I went to the Big R yesterday afternoon to see Shrek (19 hand Percheron!!

) and their Nutro prices haven't changed. That $42 a bag price was at PetCo in the city.

I've been thinking about switching to a lower priced product for a while now and I think I will still go ahead and do it.

 

[DuckyBoys]

Quote:
Oh no worries - I just wanted you to know that this issue came up at our house too, and if it is true, and I don't know either way (but I lie and tell my daughter it isn't!

) then it is something to think about.

 

[s6bee]

Here try this link and see where they sell it. It's good food but not sure how much a really large bag is.
http://www.canidae.com/dogs/platinum/dry.html Lot's of breeders use it.

 

[Crunchie]

Edited for content

BYC Forum rules

2. No PETA or Cock fighting posts, period!
​

I have a feeling that these issues are probably not just isolated to Iams (which, IMHO, is total junk--save your money and buy the cheaper stuff if you don't want to/can't go with a better quality (and usually more expensive) food). I think Iams is just the one who got caught and made an example of. But yeah, this was all hyped up awhile ago, I agree it is probably outdated.​

 

[DuckyBoys]

Quote:
To be honest that WAS the cheapest food at PetCo! LOL...I only go there because I have to pick my daughter up from work and that is the pet store in that mall plaza.

Buying dog food is SUCH a hassle for me because of where we live. Everything in every direction is 30 miles away. So I try to conserve gas by going to the closest available store for which ever city or town I'm in at the time.

I'm gonna stick to to the Big R in Elizabeth I think.

 

[CityGirlintheCountry]

Javamama- I had switched my two boxer mixes to Nutro from Beneful after I heard bad things about Beneful. They ate Nutro Max for months and months with no problem. Then Lucy started throwing up randomly. As she is prone to eat all sorts of things, I chalked it up to her eating something out in the yard. Then Lily started throwing up randomly. Then one day she threw up all morning. She seemed fine when I left for work. I worried all day, of course, and came home early. She acted fine, but started throwing up again after eating a bit of dinner. Then she started throwing up after just drinking water. I tossed her in the car and headed to the vet. The vet poked and prodded and never could come up with a reason. She sent us home with four types of pills and half a dozen cans of super pricey lamb and rice allergy food.
About that same time someone on here posted about having trouble with Nutro and posted a link to a site. There were tons of people that had dogs throwing up or dying after eating Nutro. Some had been on Nutro for years and then suddenly died. The company denied that there was a problem of course. The dogs (and cats) were having liver and kidney issues among other things. The thought is that either a bad batch went out or that the recipe changed when the company changed hands. I decided that it wasn't worth the risk and switched the dogs and cat over to Natural Balance. I'd love to do raw, but as I don't even cook for me, I'm pretty sure i'd never make it with the dogs. Natural Balance was as close to raw as I could find in a kibble. The dogs and cat love it and there has been no more throwing up. None since I quit feeding Nutro.

Perhaps it is a coincidence. I don't know. It just seems worth it to me to spend the money on the high end food so I don't spend money at the vet with a sick dog.

(We used to eat Iams when they were young, but holy cow it makes us pooty. They could clear the room with the Iams "silent but deadly" !)

 

[warcard]

If you have to change dog food brands here are the top things you should try and avoid:

1. Fillers: Peanut hulls is a big one, just adds bulk i.e. poop
2. Meat-by-product, 'Meat' could mean anything, look for the name of the animal, lamb-by-product, poultry-by-product, etc. same on digest or fat, animal could mean anything look for them to name the animal
3. More grains than meat in the first couple ingredients, if its chicken, corn, corn, rice, the dog is actually getting mostly grain and not protein.

Also realize that dog food companies are out to sell dog food, you don't necessarily have to feed the recommended amount. If your dog is getting chubby cut down on the food.

Oh yeah. If PETA had it's way you wouldn't have any pets/animals, and would live in a cave. They kill more animals than they have ever saved! I swear I won't say anymore (on the forum, e-mail me privately if you want more details)

 

[annmarie]

Since no one has mentioned it yet, I feed my dog Eagle Pack. (Don't worry, it's an eagle-free formula!

) My dog loves it. We get it at our local hardware store. We used to feed our dog Iams, but found ourselves becoming preferred customers at the vets office with ear infections, itchiness, and puking problems. The Eagle Pack lamb and rice formula pretty much changed things overnight, and our dog is so much more excited about eating it. I figure Eagle Pack is cheaper than Iams plus monthly vet bills. I do feel bad for people feeding several large dogs. I can't imagine the cost of filling their canine tanks. The year of the compact car and toy dog perhaps?