Premium dog food

[Cigary43]

Being a Dog Rescue Volunteer the subject always comes up as to what to feed our pets. The reality is we want to have our Dogs live as long as possible and their nutrition is important for a long and healthy life. There are dogs that tend to have issues...so a certain dog food is necessary if they have skin conditions and such then you use a "grain free" type of food. What you don't want...is anything made in China...you might as well feed them poison. The Chinese put whatever they want into the food and it has caused a lot of deaths. There is no one "best dog food" but what we do is buy the smallest package of dog food from Petco or PetSmart....they are really good places that work with you on finding a food your dogs enjoy which means if your dog doesn't like it...take it back to the store for a full credit towards another food.

Secondly is you want your dog to move it's bowels....that is a healthy thing because it removes all of the bacteria and stuff that usually sits in their intestines with the cheap dog food....thats why they get sick and have health problems....just like with humans you want to move that shyte along in the intestines to evacuate it else you have health problems.

Yes, some dog foods can get a bit high in price but the best way to deal with that is to get on a "auto ship" where you end up saving up to 25% and Google the brand you like and see who else has deals. We use Orijen for our dog food needs...we buy in volume to get even more of a price break and while it is more than most brands our boys run and play like they are puppies...one of our guys is 13 years old and you'd never know he was 13...more like 5 years old. Our other dog is 10 and the same goes for him. Also consider using supplements for their joints esp. if your pet is heavy...their hips tend to wear down and they get hip dysplasia so if you really love your pets then treat them accordingly.

 

[Lomey]

We feed our 2 dogs Nutro Ultra and they love it and do well on it. It's around $55 for a 30 lb bag. They are both under 20 lbs so it last us a while. On the Ultra they eat in the morning then go out and poop right away and then do the same after their dinner. Nice and regular!

We tried grain free, but that didn't work well at all. They just didn't have the energy and their coats weren't as soft. They also had loose stools and the little one would crap in the house because his stomach was so jacked up.

Not all dogs can tolerate the same food, just like humans can't. I do know that you should feed them age appropriate food. The puppy need certain nutrients that is found in puppy food until they are around a year old. Good luck brother!

 

[winston596]

We feed pedigree to our 100 pound black lab (super large American lab not fat). he has some hip issues already at only 3 years old, so we have him on a joint and hip blend.

I feed Pedigree to my 3 dogs even the little chiwinnie likes it better then he's expensive puppy food.

 

[Questionablesanity]

If you are looking for a really good all natural no filler dog food at a good price check out Whole Earth Farms. It's American made with zero ingredients from China. It's made by Mericck. It runs 9.99 for a 5lb bag. (Full disclosure I am a GM of a petco so I could be biased, but as a result I have had years of training in dog nutrition)

 

[jcolan1]

I feed my dog Blue Buffalo Limited Ingredient salmon and potato and swear by it. When my dog was a puppy she would throw up everything she ate. Switched to the Blue Buffalo limited ingredient and it was smooth sailing.

My 11 month old daughter also seems to like it. She tries to eat it whenever we feed the dog

 

[Cigarth Vader]

We feed both of ours Petcurean. It's from Canada, all whole ingredients, no fillers. They barely crap, and their coats look amazing. Plus they eat about a third less compared to the other foods they have been on.

 

[Mathen]

Our beagle/bulldog mutt (my wife calls her a hybrid, but she's a mutt) has got grain allergies. So she's been on the premium dog food since we got her.

We've tried all of them and she is really picky. Sometimes she won't eat for 24 hours, sometimes she picks at it, rarely does she eat with gusto. You can see she's kind of pink in the picture, which means she ate something she shouldn't have.

My lab puppy was a little puny when we got him so he's eating massive amounts of high end puppy food right now and it's got him filling out nicely. Like all labs, he's 100% food motivated.

My last lab lived to be almost 16. Interestingly, for the last three or four years of her life, the only food that DIDN'T give her explosive diarrhea was Beneful. I always felt like I was feeding her crap, but it worked for her.

 

[Tombstone]

My dog gets bits and bones dry food. She likes to eat fresh carrots and plain rice as well.

 

[Torkey]

We have a 3 year old Shiba Inu. For Dry food we use the Blue buffalo Wilderness Salmon flavor and then use Merricks wet food with it for his evening meal. We will alternate his evening meal between that and Stella and Chewy's freeze dried venison that we reconstitute with water. Dog loves his food and has tons of energy and stays pretty slender. He is a bit heavy for his breed at 38 pounds but it is definitely all lean mass. Just had another good checkup today.

 

[havana1]

You have to be careful nowadays with whatever you feed you pets. Stay away from ANYTHING made in China!
Also, a lot of these brands use a lot of filler and even though not necessarily bad but wasted calories. I didn't read all the posts so not sure if any of this has been mentioned.
We feed our pups Beaver Dam products made in DE and very good food at reasonable prices. You can go on their web site and see who carries them but I do know the big stores do not.

 

[E.J.]

Did the Nutro L&R for a bit, switched to Kirkland L&R(Costco brand) for these cats....never noticed a difference & they didn't say anything about the switch.

 

[Monsterdg]

We feed Nutro limited ingredient (lamb & rice) recipe; I think it's $55 for 30# at tractor supply. One dog has lots of sensitivities and seems to do best on this one.
I also mix up some "gravy" to add to the kibble: some 80/20 ground beef, and either ground pork or turkey, and some oatmeal; all goes in the crock pot until the meat is cooked through. Gives them a little fat & flavor.

 

[Tom1984]

We've had Bagheera for what I think has been a year now. She's gone through several different dog foods, and she always seems to stop eating them after a week or two.
At first we would cook up some chicken and put it on top of the food, but after awhile she started picking around the dog food and only eating the chicken. So we'll cook up some rice with the chicken, and that's pretty much all she eats nowadays. She's very happy with that.

 

[elderboy02]

When I rescued my beagle, the shelter recommended Hill's Science Diet. http://www.amazon.com/Hills-Science-Diet-Advanced-38-5-Pound/dp/B004CX2VSU

It is all that I have ever fed him and he doesn't have any problems.

 

[rfraser]

Well, on a different note for all of us that use Blue Buffalo, I learned a while back from a local pet store, that BB has a program that when you buys 10 bags, you get the 11th Free. And the store, keeps track of it for you. I asked him if this is their special deal and he said no, its from the company and most of the big chain stores just get the free bag and throw it on the shelves. And since his price was only $1 per bag higher (and its actually cheaper after you factor in the free bag) and he was a local business, I stopped going to Petsmart and go to his store now.

 

[Dave]

It's a dog, for crying out loud.

That's what I said for years. And I had a number of dogs that were perfectly healthy eating anything and everything. However, in recent years, dogs I've had have had a few 'issues' that if not caused by food, were at least mitigated by different or better food.
Talk to your vet about it. Talk to another vet or two about it. I know a couple of vets who I greatly respect who would pound me if I tried to feed a dog BB. Keep an eye on your pet. Read the ingredients. Try to stay informed.

 

[Stogies and Suds]

I too, feed my dog Nutro Natural Choice. Specifically this

.
We like to add some flavor enhancement to his food

they come in 4 different flavors, I hope he likes getting a variety...

 

[cigar_breath]

I have a greyhound I adopted a few months ago. The rescue people as well as my vet recommended tractor supply brand(diamond). They say its a good good for a reasonable price.He's had no issues with it. I pay about $37 for a 40lb bag.

 

[havana1]

I have a greyhound I adopted a few months ago. The rescue people as well as my vet recommended tractor supply brand(diamond). They say its a good good for a reasonable price.He's had no issues with it. I pay about $37 for a 40lb bag.

Hey brother, I would be careful with Tractor Supply dog food. I looked at their canned food and it never says "made in the US" just says it'd distributed by Tractor Supply. Usually that means not made in the US. I've never looked at their hard food, however.
We buy lots of stuff from TS but not their brand label canned dog food just because that.

Also, BJ's or Costco used to sell their house brand made by Blue Diamond. It was made in China and I know a few people that had issues with that and I believe a brother on this forum was one of them...

 

[Mikenice81]

I'm just happy when my pit isn't on a blinds, work boot, and kid's toys diet. lol

Seriously, we use mainly Purina and Beneful. We tried a couple of other "premium" foods and she wouldn't eat it. I even tried some crazy expensive all natural food made with goose, carrots, and potatoes. She flipped the bowl over and walked away.