Dog food. which is the best?

I have been trying to do some research on different types of dog foods and which ones are the best (without driving me to the clearners) there are so many opinions in this matter. I was just wondering what some of you feed your puppies and adult dogs and how your dogs have reacted to different brands.

 

I've been using Timberwolf Organics for about 2 1/2 yrs now on both of my dogs. I've been very pleased with it and its one of the few brands that I've found that keep Natalie's anal glands under control. When Natalie was a puppy I fed her Nutro NC puppy which she seemed to do pretty well on. Opinions on feeding seem to vary widely.

There are lots of good foods available but the "best" food really comes down to the individual dog. There really is no single brand that is best for all dogs. My dogs may do fantastic on Timberwolfs but your dog may not. My suggestion is to find a brand you are interested in, give it a try and see how it goes from there. If your not happy with it you can gradually switch to another brand later. Good luck.

Is that a GSD puppy you have there in your avatar? Very cute.

There is a sticky at the top of the forum titled "Food for thought" that you might also find helpful.

 

thanks for the info. That is what i figured but you know how some people are. They always try to tell what to do with your pets....

Yep that is my GSD (my spoiled brat....LOL)

 

Some other brands to look into would be Innova, Canidae, Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul, and Natural Balance.

I feed raw, real food. Raw meat and bones, to be exact. Prey model. Everyone here is probably sick of hearing about it, but I can't pass up a thread like this without mentioning it.

 

I have St. Bernards, a 11wk old puppy and a 1 1/2 yr old. I feed them both Calif Natural, it can be fed at all ages - esp since they are large breed I don't want to give them the reg puppy food.

I feed calif natural b/c it is good for dogs with allergies, and also it has a good protein/fat ratio for large breed dogs. With a gsd you may should look into that. Innova, I heard, is too rich for larger breeds.

I tried eagle pack after going to a website (www.thegreatdanelady.com) but Indy got hot spots while he was on that. The large breed formula has corn in it. I also tried Natural Balance duck and potato but Indy's hair started to fall out due to the protein/fat ratio thing.

Calif Natural isn't that expensive, $40 for a 35lb(I think) bag. It lasted one of my dogs 1 month, so for a smaller dog it should last even longer. Now with the two of them, I'm going through 2 bags a month. But it is well worth it if you think of the health benefits.

I also give supplements to Indy - salmon oil and nzymes (www.nzymes.com). And as a treat I put in either calif natural canned food or one of those natural balance lamb roll things with their kibble. It gets them really excited.

But all those dog foods mentioned are good. If your dog is picky you can do a taste test with samples (most pet stores have them). But if your dog isn't picky - dont do it. I did it with Indy and he went crazy, every bowl was empty in like 2 seconds so I didn't know which one he preferred. He thought he'd died and gone to heaven with me giving him 6 bowls of dog food. lol.

Just try some foods and see how the dog does on them. Look at their coat, energy level, etc.

 

Look at poop, too. Less poop, less stinky = better food.

You do need to take Eliza's advice and look for food for a large breed. You don't want to grow him too fast or he could end up with joint problems.

 

I have two small Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, but I would still like to share a little about their food. I gave them Wysong dry and can. What I like the most about Wysong's is that I could switch between different flavors often without causing them diarrhea. For example, I could give them chicken kibbles one day and lamb kibbles the next day. The only downside is the price, a little more expensive.

I occansionally feed them some raw meat from Natures Variety (www.naturesvariety.com). The result is okay. At least they enjoyed some variety.

What's the best for your dog is what you need to figure out. Each dog reacts differently to the same food. I had them try different premium brands before, and both of them had different reaction. One would be fine, while the other would have some serious diarrhea. I stick them with Wysong because both of them do well on it.

Hope this helps.

 

I particularly love the whole line of Nature's Variety.
~ Good Stuff :y_the_best:

I just wish i could afford to purchase it all the time!

 

I use Nutro Max Natural Choice. I tried a few others but Duncan seems to have allergies to some other brands so I stick with what makes him happy.
http://www.nutroproducts.com/ncdoglamb.asp

I have been using this brand for years, and never had a problem with it. $34.xx for 40+ pounds.

 

Well, I decided to go with the Nutro natural. So far so good. I havent noticed a differnece in her stool ( no diahreah) It was a little soft today but not too bad. What I have noticed and im not sure if this is the food or not but she can go a lot longer after eating without pooping and when she does poop its once not 2 or more times after eating like she was with the Iams. So if it the food I say thank goodness because it make housebreaking so much better.

 

Yes, less stool is a good thing and means more of the food is being used inside her body instead of being eliminated.

Sometimes if you switch foods abruptly, there can be diarhhea. This doesn't necessarily mean the food is bad or won't work for your dog. They just need to get used to it. Usually it is suggested that you switch foods gradually, by mixing a small amount in with the old food and gradually increasing the amount of new food relative to the old.

That being said, some dogs do fine switching cold turkey while others have tons of problems. I have switched mine before without mixing and we also went straight from kibble to raw overnight, and neither one had any problems.

 

It has been about 4 days and Jaz is almost totally on her new food. She seems to love it. So much so that she leaves the old food in the bowl and will try to eat only the new one. Pretty smart pup....LOL

I think I am going to leave out the old food all together since she obviously does not want it...the snob that she is :roll:

 

I have a big self feeding food dispenser that I keep full of Nutro Nat. and there is some left over Diamond brand mixed in it. Every day I have to clean aroung the feeded where the dogs have pulled out the Diamond on to the floor and ate the Nutro away from it.

 

I think that is too funny.....