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Good Dog Food?
 Sassafras Tango August 7th, 2013 6:01:21pm 1,233 Posts |
My puppy Vino (11 months) is eating Diamond brand large breed puppy food and I'm about to switch him over to adult food. I called the vet to see what they recommended because I think he has a sensitive stomach (about 2 months ago he had a week long vomiting case and ever since then he is very hesitant to eat his dog food--sometimes he skips a meal). They said Science Diet, Royal Canine, or a Purina should be good. I'm doing research on those brands now, but I was wondering if anyone on here knows of any quality dog food?
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 Farewell's Paint Horses {finals time - please hold} August 7th, 2013 7:01:37pm 1,039 Posts |
I feed mine purina dog chow and my sierra has a sensitive stomach too. But it could be different for your pup. |
 misa・brandenburgers August 7th, 2013 7:16:59pm 190 Posts |
I used to feed my dog Blue Buffalo Wilderness, which I really liked. She had the puppy formula and then switched to the adult.. But then she started refusing to eat the little "LifeSource bits" (that contain the supplements/vitamins) and letting them fall through her teeth as she ate... They blended in with the carpet reallyyyy well and after I stepped on them one time too many, we switched. ;;Now she gets Wellness Core, which she really likes! She always eats her entire meal. :)I used DogFoodAdvisor to help narrow down all the choices.. hope that helps!! :D |
  Samantha - see page to know who to contact directly!August 7th, 2013 7:43:05pm 4,333 Posts |
Please don't feed your dog Purina. Tons of Purina brands (especially Beneful) have been reported to cause tons dogs to get really, really ill and die. It's not a risk you should take. You can look it up on Google to see about that stuff, but everyone I know has been steered away from Purina.I feed my dog Iams, which he seems to like. But if you can afford them, any of the other brands you mentioned are good too. The biggest thing if you want "good" dog food is to make sure none of the ingredients are meat byproduct, and wheat ins't all that great either. And most importantly, the first ingredient, and preferably the first two should be some kind of whole protein. |
Farewell's Paint Horses {finals time - please hold} August 7th, 2013 7:55:55pm 1,039 Posts |
It also depends on your budget for how much you wanna spend on dog food :P I looked into science diet once and about had a heart attack it was so expensive. I pay about $25 once a month for a 50 pound bag of what I feed. |
misa・brandenburgers August 7th, 2013 8:18:37pm 190 Posts |
WhiteRoze, I think Pedigree is pretty comparable to Purina, based on the ingredients lists. Like Sam said, you want to look for a brand that lists whole proteins (chicken, beef, fish, etc.) as at LEAST the first ingredient. A lot of the more well-known and readily available brands use "filler" like rice and other grains in place of healthier ingredients. Also, a lot of vets will recommend what they are paid to carry in their offices.. Hence why Science Diet, while not being a super good food, is marketed so heavily through vet offices.Also, as Farewell said, your choice in dog food depends a lot of how much you want to spend and what is available in your area. I wanted to try the Orijen brand, but it's just not carried in stores where I live, so.. Wellness it is! |
Sassafras Tango August 7th, 2013 10:12:23pm 1,233 Posts |
Yeah, I really like/want to feed my dog a quality dog food brand but I don't want to pay over $65 for a 30-35 lb. bag. The research I did also said Purina wasn't a very good brand and I kind of knew that already which is why I'm surprised my vet recommended it. I think Canidae & Science Diet is the cheapest best quality. I heard Nutro (Natural Choice) is really good but it's almost at my budget so I might go with Royal Canin. I'm also wondering if I should not only look into general adult dog foods but also breed specific? But since my pup isn't FOR SURE purebred maybe that doesn't matter? |
 aliaɳaɳa •• Akita Empire August 7th, 2013 10:37:50pm 65 Posts |
I feed mine Canidae, it's a very good good, not a lot of grains which tends to be what dogs are sensitive to. I am really impressed with it. It is expensive, but it is also a premium food, and has done wonders with keeping my dogs fat =] |
`RHIXUS; back from her unexpected hiatus! August 8th, 2013 2:14:17am 42 Posts |
I don't know if it's sold where you live but my dog gets Eukanuba, he's an English Staffy and has a sensitive stomach as a lot do and it's great with him and he actually enjoys eating them too. I think they're a really great brand, so many of his stomach-y problems have gone down since being on it. |
 trig 🎄 what a wonderful day August 8th, 2013 3:37:17am 3,612 Posts |
I feed my shih tzu Blue Buffalo Senior Sm Breed and my Pyrenees gets Science Diet Adult Lg Breed because naturally he's going to eat a ton more and I can get it at cheaper rate at my work. We actually used to sell Royal Canin at our clinic, while I don't know much about it, I've only heard good things about it.We had a rep come and talk about Lotus foods and the process used to make the kibble is completely different that normal dry food. They're able to keep a ton more nutrients in the kibble by baking them and unlike normal food there's no greasy residue. I may have even eaten some of their canned food >.> which you can actually make out the ingredients in it. Not sure what the going price is though.The way I look at it is, you'll get what you pay for. If you only spend a minimum amount you're going to get the minimum quality. If you can afford to buy something with less fillers and better quality ingredients I would. Your dog will actually tend to eat less because he's able to get more out of the food. So your cost will balance out a little.Whatever you choose, most brands will have a sensitive stomach formula so good luck!
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 uni August 8th, 2013 6:20:47am 1,338 Posts |
I feed my dogs Orijen for dry food. It's really great food and I like that it's made here in Canada.. so it doesn't have to travel quite so far from the US or something.. It's made of fresh meats and veggies, no grain and lots of essential nutrients, minerals, vitamins etc. My vet carries the science diets, because some of them they really are the only option for dogs with certain conditions. I don't think it should be a food for regular dogs or dogs with mild problems such as sensitive tummy. It's worth noting that my vet actually feeds his dog Orijen as well :P It is quite protein heavy though, so a particularly sensitive tummy may do better on the company's other brand Acana. It's a bit less protein heavy. I feel Acana to my cats because Orijen made their poos beyond stinky!My puppy has quite a sensitive stomach, and she's prone to the runs if something doesn't sit well with her.. she does really well on the Orijen food. I also feed Wellness Limited Ingredient canned food. It's basically a wet food that's made with only a few simple ingredients, and it also is made with more novel protein sources (duck, salmon, lamb.. my dogs like the lamb the best), as sometimes dogs develop sensitivities to the more common proteins like chicken.Definitely avoid foods with corn in it, as this is probably the #1 allergen for dogs and can cause a lot of stomach upset. And also look at your labels. Don't be afraid of the word 'meal', as this can actually be very good as it's basically concentrated protein. Things like chicken meal, salmon meal, etc. are actually good ingredients. Avoid by-product meals though, since it contains low quality ingredients and it's not particularly nutrient rich.I also feed my dogs fresh boiled chicken, they like the thighs the best, which is good since they're the cheapest :P And a really great ingredient is to add canned pumpkin to their food (pure 100% pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling). It helps to calm the stomach and prevents digestive issues such as constipation, the runs, etc.
http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/ is a reeeeally great website.. they rank all of the widely available dog foods from 1-5 and also provide a detailed analysis and breakdown of the ingredients and make up of the different foods. If you can, I'd recommend choosing ones that are at least 4 starts out of 5. I also strongly recommend adding some canned pumpkin to their diet, it's done wonders for my puppy! I just mix it in with the chicken/wet food... it's sweet tasting so they tend to like it. I give about 3 or 4 tablespoons to my large dog (~50 lbs) and 1.5-2 for small dogs :)/sorry for the essay.. i'm a touch passionate about feeding high quality dog foods and I hate to see when people feed low quality food when there are way better options, even if you have a limited price range. Good luck! :D |
Sassafras Tango August 8th, 2013 2:44:41pm 1,233 Posts |
That's a lot of great ingo Uni, thanks! When I got Vino at 10 weeks he had the runs and I gave him pumpkin for a while. As he got older he got better and I thought about giving it to him again in small doses because it couldn't hurt and he became constipated for a day. So I don't put it in his food unless I need to. I did hear that you should put common minerals and vitamin supplements in your dogs food like iron and calcium and Vitamin D because most dog foods don't generally have the correct amount for your dog, but I guess if you're buying a 4 star dog food you wouldn't need to do that. |
Von Fox August 8th, 2013 9:04:58pm 3 Posts |
http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/Dog Food Advisor is a really good website to get tons of info on all kinds of dog food! They have a rating system and in-depth descriptions of the ingredients list, including why certain ingredients are good for your dog and which have been considered controversial to give dogs. I used to feed my pups Blue Buffalo, but it got too pricey. We switched to Nature's Select (not to be confused with Natural Select) which was the same if not better quality than BB, but with two pups instead of one, it became too expensive. Now we feed Authority (petsmart's brand of food)... It is not the best by any means, but our pups are still growing well and their coats are still shiny as ever! |
uni August 9th, 2013 1:08:18am 1,338 Posts |
If adding the pumpkin made him constipated but you want to feed it to him, I'd recommend adding a very very tiny amount and then adding more and more so he gets accustomed to it! It's high in fibre so it can do that if they aren't used to it |
Sassafras Tango August 9th, 2013 3:16:40am 1,233 Posts |
Oh, yeah that's a good idea uni. I just kinda assumed that if he didn't need, don't give it to him. |
 Audio // Home of Fara August 9th, 2013 5:57:42pm 30 Posts |
Foods with beef or pork can be an irritant for dogs with sensitive tummies and often creates links with poor coat and skin. Poultry and fish are great for sources of protein and are nice and light on the digestive system. Check labels for brands that contain high percentages of taurine and tyrosine as they help maintain cost/skin and the digestion of fats to promote a healthy gut.Like uni said, avoid corn based diets but the small addition of whole grain rice and maize are good sources of sugar and starch. Also check for things like beet pulp under fibre as this helps the digestive system as well and helps strengthen the inner walls of the gut.It's usually a trial and error process with foods because every dog is different, I live in Scotland and brands such as Wainwrights, James Wellbeloved, Royal Canin and Eukanuba are great. My dog is on Wainwrights, he's 11 years old and it's been a dramatic improvement for his mobility, coat and skin. High brands tend to look more expensive, but in the long run I've found that yes the initial cost looks more but it's worked out lasting me longer than if I'd initially bought a cheaper brand. You definitely get what you pay for and your dog will benefit from it too =) |
Mystery Show Spots | Read Page For Info! August 11th, 2013 12:12:53am 255 Posts |
Mine gets Royal Cannine & Black Hawk R.c Is really good but can Be highly Expensive. Black Hawk, is reconmended as it's used in dog shelters and RSPCA. its reasonabled Priced and its health for the dog. |
Sassafras Tango August 11th, 2013 3:36:27am 1,233 Posts |
Well I'm starting out with a small bag of Canidae. He seems to like it...I mean he's eating again at least. So maybe this will work for him. Thanks everyone for the helpful advice! |
 adeina ❧ border collies ❦ August 11th, 2013 9:54:32am 1,794 Posts |
My two collies both have colitis and they're on Royal Canin Sensitivity control which is a fabulous brand. Morning and night they have a cup full of the dry biscuits and half a can of the med-plan meat.It is expensive though. I'm spending roughly £250/£300 a month on it. You've got a ton of good advice here, let us know which brand you go for! |
 𝔖𝔱𝔬𝔯𝔪 ℭ𝔯𝔬𝔴 💀 The Artist Formerly Known as xxCHAOTIC August 11th, 2013 6:54:09pm 1,854 Posts |
I noted the Trader Joes brand cat food is actually grain/corn/byproduct/meal free and quite a bit cheaper than the name brand high quality holistic cat foods. It's worth a look if you have one in your area to read the ingredients label! Link Tree |
عناية ♥︎ August 14th, 2013 10:29:12am 231 Posts |
My dog has a wicked sensitive stomach. My vet said certain ingredients can irritate some dogs. The big ones being grain, chicken, beef, and lamb. What I feed my dogs is grain-free salmon. Any brand will do normally only the higher end brands are grain free anyways so you can't really go wrong. - INA! |
