What do you feed your dog?

[asher]

Both of my pups eat Canidae dog food. Pricey, but well worth it when you compare the ingredients to what you can find at a regular department store.

 

[turnerstar31]

Mine eat retriver or pedigree. I switch them because after a while they begin not to like it and eventually will not eat it.

 

[raindrop]

Mine eat Precise Adult or Innova or a mixture.

Be careful with Nylabones. Dogs can break teeth on them, especially the Galileo bones.

 

[featherfooted]

My Cairn Terrier has skin allergies and since we've started feed him Flint River Ranch he has not been scratching as bad. They have 2 types that are for dogs with allergies, Lamb, Millet and Rice and the other one is Trout and Sweet potato. Neither one has any corn, wheat or chicken which causes most dog allergies. Herbie loves the Trout and Sweet potato. You have to order it online, but they don't charge shipping.

 

[sundance]

My Pitt and Great Dane eat Pedigree with a large splash of canola oil over it and my poodle mix and Yorkie eat canned food Alpo with a splash of canola oil,

 

[seminolewind]

I am a label reader. I find most dog foods exaggerate their ingredients. I want the first ingredient to be the meat, and not meat by products or corn.That Beneful, if you read the bag, the veggies are way way down at the bottom.
The best dog food I have found is a brand called "blue" sold by Petsmart. I buy one that is Salmon and sweet potatoe, and what do you know! Those are the first 2 ingredients!
If dogs aren't crazy about their food, I add a top coating of some campbells cream of something soup.

 

[Ga Chicken Mom]

My 4 Dobes are on a homemade diet - sometimes raw and sometimes cooked. The 3 older dogs have been BARF fed for 8+ years. I am fortunate that I can get venison and grass fed beef for them and the family. Tonight they had cooked venison, brown rice, shredded squash and sweet potato. I always add Vit C, Vit E, fish oil and the supplement, Nupro, which has desicated liver, kelp, bee pollen and a lot of other goodies. The Dobes get raw chicken wings, chicken backs or turkey necks every morning. All our Dobes look great, 3 of them are 10 yrs. The baby is almost 2 yrs and she has been on the homemade diet since she was 9 weeks. They often get eggs, yogurt, cottage cheese; fish is on the menu once a week and organ meats twice a month. We have no teeth, skin or odor problems. The vets don't like their diet but it sure works for us.

 

[fowltemptress]

Seminole, what does the salmon and sweet potato blue smell like? I've tried one brand of dog food with that combination, and I felt like retching every time I fed my dogs because there was a fishy smell. It wasn't horrible, but I am a weenie when it comes to the smell of fish, and I'm wondering if I just chose a strong smelling brand.

 

[texasgirl]

Merrick dry and raw diet.

 

[texasgirl]

Found this on another site today:


How to grade your dog's food:
Start with a grade of 100:

1) For every listing of "by-product", subtract 10 points

2) For every non-specific animal source ("meat" or "poultry", meat, meal or fat) reference, subtract 10 points

3) If the food contains BHA, BHT, or ethoxyquin, subtract 10 points

4) For every grain "mill run" or non-specific grain source, subtract 5 points

5) If the same grain ingredient is used 2 or more times in the first five ingredients (i.e. "ground brown rice", "brewer’s rice", "rice flour" are all the same grain), subtract 5 points

6) If the protein sources are not meat meal and there are less than 2 meats in the top 3 ingredients, subtract 3 points

7) If it contains any artificial colorants, subtract 3 points

8 ) If it contains ground corn or whole grain corn, subtract 3 points

9) If corn is listed in the top 5 ingredients, subtract 2 more points

10) If the food contains any animal fat other than fish oil, subtract 2 points

11) If lamb is the only animal protein source (unless your dog is allergic to other protein sources), subtract 2 points

12) If it contains soy or soybeans, subtract 2 points

13) If it contains wheat (unless you know that your dog isn’t allergic to wheat), subtract 2 points

14) If it contains beef (unless you know that your dog isn’t allergic to beef), subtract 1 point

15) If it contains salt, subtract 1 point

Extra Credit:

1) If any of the meat sources are organic, add 5 points

2) If the food is endorsed by any major breed group or nutritionist, add 5 points

3) If the food is baked not extruded, add 5 points

4) If the food contains probiotics, add 3 points

5) If the food contains fruit, add 3 points

6) If the food contains vegetables (NOT corn or other grains), add 3 points

7) If the animal sources are hormone-free and antibiotic-free, add 2 points

8 ) If the food contains barley, add 2 points

9) If the food contains flax seed oil (not just the seeds), add 2 points

10) If the food contains oats or oatmeal, add 1 point

11) If the food contains sunflower oil, add 1 point

12) For every different specific animal protein source (other than the first one; count "chicken" and "chicken meal" as only one protein source, but "chicken" and "" as 2 different sources), add 1 point

13) If it contains glucosamine and chondroitin, add 1 point

14) If the vegetables have been tested for pesticides and are pesticide-free, add 1 point

94-100+ = A
86-93 = B
78-85 = C
70-77 = D
<70 = F

Here are some foods that have already been scored. If you don't see your dog's food here, ask and someone will score it for you.
Dog Food scores:

Alpo Prime Cuts / Score 81 C

Artemis Large/Medium Breed Puppy / Score 114 A+

Authority Harvest Baked / Score 116 A+

Authority Harvest Baked Less Active / Score 93 B

Beowulf Back to Basics / Score 101 A+

Bil-Jac Select / Score 68 F

Blackwood 3000 Lamb and Rice / Score 83 C

Blue Buffalo Chicken and Rice / Score 106 A+

Burns Chicken and Brown Rice / Score 107 A+

Canidae / Score 112 A+

Chicken Soup Senior / Score 115 A+

Diamond Maintenance / Score 64 F

Diamond Lamb Meal & Rice / Score 92 B

Diamond Large Breed 60+ Formula / Score 99 A

Diamond Performance / Score 85 C

Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance Ultra Premium / Score 122 A+

Dick Van Patten’s Natural Balance Venison and Brown Rice / Score 106 A+

Dick Van Patten's Duck and Potato / Score 106 A+

EaglePack Holistic / Score 102 A+

Eukanuba Adult / Score 81 C

Eukanuba Puppy / Score 79 C

Flint River Senior / Score 101 A+

Foundations / Score 106 A+

Hund-n-Flocken Adult Dog (lamb) by Solid Gold / Score 93 B

Iams Lamb Meal & Rice Formula Premium / Score 73 D

Innova Dog / Score 114 A+

Innova Evo / Score 114 A+

Innova Large Breed Puppy / Score 122 A+

Kirkland Signature Chicken, Rice, and Vegetables / Score 110 A+

Member’s Mark Chicken and Rice / Score 84 C

Merrick Wilderness Blend / Score 127 A+

Nature’s Recipe / Score 100 A

Nature’s Recipe Healthy Skin Venison and Rice / Score 116 A+

Nature’s Variety Raw Instinct / Score 122 A+

Nutra Nuggets Super Premium Lamb Meal and Rice / Score 81 C

Nutrience Junior Medium Breed Puppy / Score 101 A+

Nutrisource Lamb and Rice / Score 87 B

Nutro Max Adult / Score 93 B

Nutro Natural Choice Lamb and Rice / Score 98 A

Nutro Natural Choice Large Breed Puppy / Score 87 B

Nutro Natural Choice Puppy Wheat Free / Score 86 B

Nutro Natural Choice Senior / Score 95 A

Nutro Ultra Adult / Score 104 A+

Pet Gold Adult with Lamb & Rice / Score 23 F

Premium Edge Chicken, Rice and Vegetables Adult Dry / Score 109 A+

Pro Nature Puppy / Score 80 C

Pro Plan Sensitive Stomach / Score 94 A

Purina Benful / Score 17 F

Purina Dog / Score 62 F

Purina Come-n-Get It / Score 16 F

Purina One Large Breed Puppy / Score 62 F

Royal Canin Boxer / Score 103 A+

Royal Canin Bulldog / Score 100 A+

Royal Canin Natural Blend Adult / Score 106 A+

Science Diet Advanced Protein Senior 7+ / Score 63 F

Science Diet for Large Breed Puppies / Score 69 F

Sensible Choice Chicken and Rice / Score 97 A

Solid Gold / Score 99 A

Summit / Score 99 A

Timberwolf Organics Wild & Natural Dry / Score 120 A+

Wellness Super5 Mix Chicken / Score 110 A+

Wolfking Adult Dog (bison) by Solid Gold / Score 97 A