Best Dog Food

[Guest Gemma]

We've used Natural Balance LID (all varieties except vegetarian) and are now feeding Solid Gold Barking at the Moon; both of which Peyton did great on, although he has had more energy since we switched him to Solid Gold (and his poops are even firmer than before).

 

I am a big proponent of 'high end' kibble but only if it's not ridiculously priced. Wellness Core and EVO Red Meat sound great but their prices are freakin' ridiculous.

 

Whatever you choose, go for a brand with a few different meat options. Sometimes certain proteins don't work for some pups and you might need to try a few things.

[racindog]

I used to think Solid Gold was tops. Then they were recalled too over the Diamond plant fiasco. IMO they really should not have been manufacturing it there. From what I heard it was quite obvious that Diamond had quality control issues. That's why I paid the premium bucks to Solid Gold-I thought they were looking out but of course they wern't. I now feed raw. I trust it more than any manufactured kibble and honestly the dogs do better on it in every way than they ever did on kibble-and they enjoy it far more-they LOVE it. I do give them a small amount of kibble for "snacks" and I use Southern States manufactured food (SS Natural) for that. I don't believe they have ever had a recall. It is my understanding that their food is made in relatively small batches of locally sourced raw materials so I am comfortable with that. Have also used Southern States feeds for all farm livestock and it has alwasys been of the highest quality available. My farmer friends and I have always known SS to be quite persnickity about their feed quality. I sure hope their quality don't deteriorate change too like so many of the other companies' has.

.

Edited October 15, 2012 by racindog

[rschultz]

Taylor has been on IAMS green bag for 3 weeks.

 

Within ONE DAY, he was having bounce-off-the-ground poops for the first time in 8 months of 4 different kinds of "high-end" ($$$$$$$$) foods.

 

bounce off the ground poops?? :hehe I may need to see video of that..well maybe not

 

I use a mix of precision (online) and nutro grain free venison and potato. I agree with others about feed what works for your dog. It took me 2 years to get Lexie "right"

[Guest BlueDaisy]

We feed Rocky Pinnacle brand Chicken & Oatmeal: http://www.pinnaclepet.com/Canine/dog_food_chicken.htm. It is the only dry kibble I can find with 5% crude fiber. Whenever we try anything less his stools are a complete mess.

[Guest sirsmom]

Purina One, Iams from the grocery store or, Pro Plan, Eukanuba from pet store are well tolerated or Precise and Fromm from specialty stores. I had bad luck with Blue Buffalo. Many people had good luck with Diamond and Costco (also Diamond) but they had a recent recall and many in the past years.

[brianamac]

Put another vote in for Iams green bag.

We tried 3 different high end, locally sourced foods and had pudding poo all the time. We started mixing half and half with the Iams and it's been much better since. Finally we cut the charade of using the high end food at all and just feed Iams.

That with a little bit of pure pumpkin mixed in = easiest backyard cleanup we've had since we got the guy.

I hate the ingredients and we try and make sure no one sees us buying it , but it works. So that's that.

[Guest KPS915]

Cora isn't picky, she is a very good eater, and we have been feeding her the Costco Kirkland stuff. her poop goes from normal, firm to soft and gross and we have been feeding her the same food since we got her, so I think she just has a whackadoo colon and the consistency of her poop isn't from the food. She doesn't seem ill or upset when it does turn very soft, so we have kept her on the Kirkland stuff, but we might try the Iams green bag if it would keep her at a consistent firm poop.

 

Pretty sure that this is the most I've talked about poop since I had my first kid. LOL

 

We feed TOTW and ours is the same way, we had been adding yogurt to her food and recently stopped that to see if it makes any difference. The past few days have been better - much firmer. MH and I keep commenting that we never thought we'd talk about poop this much. Pumpkin and bananas also seem to help firm things up.

[OwnedBySummer]

Put another vote in for Iams green bag.

We tried 3 different high end, locally sourced foods and had pudding poo all the time. We started mixing half and half with the Iams and it's been much better since. Finally we cut the charade of using the high end food at all and just feed Iams.

That with a little bit of pure pumpkin mixed in = easiest backyard cleanup we've had since we got the guy.

I hate the ingredients and we try and make sure no one sees us buying it , but it works. So that's that.

We, too, switched to the dark side. Spent about 2 years messing around finding a food she liked, as well as believing I was being a bad greyhound mom by feeding anything "lesser". She never had a poop problem, she just wouldn't eat most of them. And I will not be trained by her to dress it all up with all kinds of things . Iams green bag was received readily, consumed with delight AND her coat has improved. I couldn't ask for more.

Edited October 17, 2012 by OwnedBySummer

[chelseasmom]

Pinnacle Trout and Sweet Potato

[Guest Blitzkrieg]

I used to think Solid Gold was tops. Then they were recalled too over the Diamond plant fiasco. IMO they really should not have been manufacturing it there. From what I heard it was quite obvious that Diamond had quality control issues. That's why I paid the premium bucks to Solid Gold-I thought they were looking out but of course they wern't. I now feed raw. I trust it more than any manufactured kibble and honestly the dogs do better on it in every way than they ever did on kibble-and they enjoy it far more-they LOVE it. I do give them a small amount of kibble for "snacks" and I use Southern States manufactured food (SS Natural) for that. I don't believe they have ever had a recall. It is my understanding that their food is made in relatively small batches of locally sourced raw materials so I am comfortable with that. Have also used Southern States feeds for all farm livestock and it has alwasys been of the highest quality available. My farmer friends and I have always known SS to be quite persnickity about their feed quality. I sure hope their quality don't deteriorate change too like so many of the other companies' has.

.

 

 

i use the Solid Gold "Barking at the Moon" it was not subject to the recall and mine do very well on it.

IIRC only the "Sun Dancer" which is chicken based was recalled

[Guest brit1]

go to dogfoodadvisor.com and it tells you

brit

For the money, what is the best dry dog food there is? I saw a commercial today for Blue Longevity and was thinking about buying that.

[Guest Downtownhoundz]

go to dogfoodadvisor.com and it tells you

brit

For the money, what is the best dry dog food there is? I saw a commercial today for Blue Longevity and was thinking about buying that.

 

 

 

Great site !!!!! Thanks for sharing !

[JJNg]

go to dogfoodadvisor.com and it tells you

 

Good site for looking up ingredients and nutrient content. I take the ratings with a grain of salt, as they're essentially the opinions of a human dental surgeon. Not to say that there isn't some validity to what he writes, but I also wouldn't consider it a definitive source of food and nutrition info.

[duncan41]

Really the best dog food is the one "your" dog does good on and that fits "your" budget. I'll tell you what is working for mine and that is California Natural Grain-free Venison and Potato. It is admittedly higher priced than grocery store brands, but is actually pretty decently priced when compared to big box pet store foods. I was surprised to find that it was cheaper than the Nutro Grain-free Venison and Potato. Not only is it less expensive it has more calories per cup so you feed less and right now Natura foods, i.e. California Natural are buy 10 bags get 1 free. And as for output I'm so impressed I'd swear I was feeding raw if I didn't know better. That's my experience, others will have other foods that work for their dogs.

 

I am a food nut...........I am always looking at what's new, what's different, but with the health issues that we have in our house, I ended up home cooking. Not a big deal and nothing fancy, just common sense after reading a ton of information about dog nutrition. Whether it's economical will be decided in the long run. Health comes first which translates to $$$ spent at the Vet's office. If the food costs more but results in healthier dogs and less visits to the Vet, it's break even and I'm good with that.

[winnie]

If you have a BJs Wholesale Club membership, consider their Berkley and Jensen dog food. We switched our grey girls over to it following the repeated Diamond recalls (we used to feed Diamond Naturals Chicken & Rice). Our girls like the Berkley and Jensen and their systems agree.

 

Review of Berkley and Jensen dog food - http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/berkley-jensen/

Edited October 18, 2012 by winnie

[Guest BrindleBabes]

Consider this a vote for Iams RED bag (Adult Lamb Meal & Rice). It's supposed to be good for dogs with sensitive stomachs and skin. All I know is I spent a lot of money on "higher-end" products which often had to be special ordered and gave one of my "grrls" the squirts. The best part for me? Iams is readily available, even when we travel.

 

As 4my2greys says, "whatever works for your pups" -- and that's exactly what my vet said. She also told me to stick with one food, and that has helped as well. But I must admit, I sometimes wonder whether I should try something new ...

Edited November 1, 2012 by BrindleBabes

[Hubcitypam]

go to dogfoodadvisor.com and it tells you

 

Good site for looking up ingredients and nutrient content. I take the ratings with a grain of salt, as they're essentially the opinions of a human dental surgeon. Not to say that there isn't some validity to what he writes, but I also wouldn't consider it a definitive source of food and nutrition info.

THANK YOU!!!!!

[Guest Kaila]

I'm a pet food nutrition consultant and college student currently in pursuit of a college degree in Biology (with as many college courses for animal behavior and animal nutrition under my belt as have been available to me).. if that makes anything that I'm about to say more credible.

 

That being said, I'm an unapologetic food snob. I don't buy into the commercial advertising/bag designs (Blue Buffalo was highly advertised but I've never touched the stuff), but I read nutrition labels myself and communicate directly with companies that produce the food that I feed my dog, usually via e-mail. You can learn a lot about formulas that you can't see on nutrition labels by communicating directly with the manufacturer (such as how they preserve their meats, especially fish, prior to mixing). I have not personally been to visit some of the companies out there (Fromm in Wisconsin, Champion Pet Foods [Orijen/Acana] in Alberta, Canada, Texas Farms [Precise] in Texas, etc.) but I've spoken to friends and acquaintances in the industry (mostly pet food distributors and vets) who have.

 

What you should feed depends on your dog. That being said, I feel like it's safer and healthier for the dog to start at the highest quality you can afford (all things considered) and work down from there. JMHO, it doesn't make sense to raise your kids on McDonald's just because they're not currently dying of cancer, heart disease, or morbid obesity when you COULD be feeding them something healthier. I feel the same way about dog foods.

 

I've fed my dogs many brands (Acana, Orijen, Fromm, EVO, Innova, Artemis, Precise, Earthborn, Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul...) through the years. Currently, I would say that Orijen is the highest-quality kibble money can buy, but you'll bleed out your wallet for it (especially the Regional Red or 6-Fish formulas). I tried it and my dog had terrible acid reflux with it, so we went with a lower protein food. I'm currently feeding Fromm's Game Bird formula. Even though I consider it a small step down from Orijen in terms of quality, my dog really likes it and it agrees with him.

 

In my opinion, dogs who are fed lower quality diets tend to have a "doggy odor" about them; smelly ears, oily skin or dandruff, excessive shedding, hot spots, etc. Not ALL dogs have these reactions on a "lower quality" food, but many do. And many times, once the dog is switched to a higher quality food, the symptoms disappear within 1 to 2 weeks.

 

I agree that http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com is a great resource! A good book, in case you're interested, is "Food Pets Die For" by Ann N. Martin.

Edited October 19, 2012 by Kaila

[Hubcitypam]

I feel like it's safer and healthier for the dog to start at the highest quality you can afford (all things considered) and work down from there.

Whew. Here I go again....

That is exactly what I did. Blue Buffalo, Wellness, California Natural, EVO, Natural Balance, and a couple of others that escape me right now. I spent about 467 hours researching the "best" foods on line and in stores. Nothing would fix Rex's runny poops. He'd been tested, wormed and fecaled within an inch of his life. One day I got so pissed off I tossed a green bag of Iams in the cart and called it a day. I'd fed Iams to my dogs for years before online greyhound gurus lectured me about the demon corn. Rex's poops firmed up a day or two into transition and went to bouncing off the sidewalk poops in a week. His colitis stopped, his poops were great and we never looked back.

[Guest Kaila]

Hubcitypam, I had the same problem with a Golden Retriever service puppy in training. I started her on Orijen--constant runny poo, bright red blood in her stool after weeks of it (presumably from irritation as she was cleared of diseases/parasites by a vet). I finally switched her to Precise Sensicare for extra fiber and supplemented with Honest Kitchen Perfect Form and carrot pulp. That was after LOTS of experimentation. Finally it worked for us.

 

I don't know that I personally could feel good feeding Iams (I don't mind cooking for my dogs so I'd sooner do that) but I say, do what works. I'm not gonna judge. And truthfully, kudos to you for trying as much as you did. So many people give up after the first bag.

[Guest Kaila]

Oh, if you're still feeling adventurous, the local Greyhound rescue here in Gainesville, FL (Gold Coast) feeds Nutro lamb & rice. They said that it's the best they've used for sensitive hounds.

[Guest Carstel]

Kaila, a kindred spirit!

 

I wouldn't go near Blue. Overpriced, multiple recalls, and lots of reported issues that have never led to recalls but are very suspicious.

 

Solid Gold was good a couple of decades ago. Now they're still charging top of the line prices while having a food that's filled with grain.

 

The thing people need to keep in mind with Orijen is it's very high protein. Unless you have an active dog, it likely isn't for you. It also needs to be switched to over several weeks, not days, because of the high protein. I currently feed Acana - Orijen's lower protein brother - to my puppy. The chicken variety is only $48, over $15 cheaper than their other versions.

 

To me it isn't just about the ingredients, although that is a huge factor since 2 of mine have allergies. Ingredient sources and quality, company openness, and things like that are also a factor. You can give me a food that ingredient-wise looks perfect for my dogs, but if the meat is the lowest quality, the grains and minerals are from china or unnamed locations, etc. I'm not going to touch it.

[JJNg]

What you should feed depends on your dog. That being said, I feel like it's safer and healthier for the dog to start at the highest quality you can afford (all things considered) and work down from there.

 

Can you explain in more detail how you gauge the "quality" of a dogfood? This is the concept that I feel is not well defined and not necessarily well understood. It seems to me that there is a lot of focus on specific ingredients and very little on the amount of nutritional research that actually goes into the food. Obviously both are important, but discussions like this seem to only look at ingredients.

[Guest Kaila]

Can you explain in more detail how you gauge the "quality" of a dogfood? This is the concept that I feel is not well defined and not necessarily well understood. It seems to me that there is a lot of focus on specific ingredients and very little on the amount of nutritional research that actually goes into the food. Obviously both are important, but discussions like this seem to only look at ingredients.

 

Sure. I'll give you a specific example, which I hope will make it clearer. You're right to think that it's not JUST the ingredients that should be used to gauge the quality of a dog food..

 

So let's compare two products. Acana Adult Small Breed (which I believe is only available in Canada for the time being, but will be coming to the USA) and Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul for Adult Dogs.

 

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Acana Adult Small Breed

http://www.dogfoodad...a-dog-food-dry/

 

Ingredients: Chicken meal, steel-cut oats, deboned chicken, whole potato, peas, chicken fat, whole egg, deboned flounder, sun-cured alfalfa, chicken liver, herring oil, pea fiber, whole apples, whole pears, sweet potato, pumpkin, butternut squash, parsnips, carrots, spinach, cranberries, blueberries, kelp, chicory root, juniper berries, angelica root, marigold flowers, sweet fennel, peppremint leaf, lavender + probiotics and vitamins/minerals

 

What we can gather from the ingredient list:

- contains a named meat source (in this case chicken) as the first ingredient; since ingredients are listed by weight, we know that this makes up the bulk of the food (which is appropriate, given that dogs derive most of their energy from protein rather than carbohydrates, so a grain-based food would be inappropriate and inefficient)

- the meat is in a meal form (which has 3x the protein per unit weight when compared to regular muscle meat; "chicken" instead of "chicken meal" would include the water weight from muscle and would actually fall lower on the ingredient list if you were to imagine dehydrating it first)

- there are two types of meats in this food: chicken and flounder (fewer animal proteins to digest might be best for a dog who has frequent gastrointestinal upset)

- high level of protein (36%)

- it is not grain free (but contains only one type of grain: oats, which are a low-allergen, high fiber, low-glycemic grain)

- the formula consists of many whole ingredients, such as whole potato (skin included) and whole egg (rather than dried egg product)

 

What I know about the product that is not reflected in the label:

- the company, Champion Pet Foods, is based in Alberta, Canada

- they have a contractual agreement with their local fisheries that the fish they use in their formulas will be free of ethoxyquin (ethoxyquin is a chemical preservative that is used with limitations in the human market in smaller doses than is allowed in the pet food industry; other uses for ethoxyquin include insecticide, pesticide, and rubber stabilizer); they also state this guarantee directly on their website in their FAQ section

- their customer service is great; I've sent them several e-mails making small inquiries about vitamin/mineral/ash levels for customers who have pets with various chronic ailments undergoing specific treatment plans. Champion Pet Foods has been very open about their formulas and are always willing to give information.

- each kibble varies slightly by size; this might not seem like a big deal, but it's actually a great indicator of quality. If you find a food where each kibble is identical to every other kibble, it indicates a higher level of processing and lower overall quality.

- their ingredients are sourced from local farms and fisheries in Canada, and arrive at their factory on big refrigerated trucks-- the meats and fruits/vegetables are never frozen

- I have never heard of a Champion Pet Food product being affected by any sort of recall (I attempted to research it on multiple occasions and have been unable to find anything-- this, for a company that's been in existence since 1985, is pretty astounding)

- Champion Pet Foods makes only Acana and Orijen products

 

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Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul for Adult Dogs

http://www.dogfoodad...overs-soul-dry/

 

Ingredients: Chicken, turkey, chicken meal, turkey meal, cracked pearled barley, whole grain brown rice, oatmeal, millet, white rice, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), potatoes, egg product, tomato pomace, duck, salmon, ocean fish meal, flaxseed, natural chicken flavor, potassium chloride, salt, choline chloride, dried chicory root, kelp, carrots, peas, apples, tomatoes, blueberries, spinach, dried skim milk, cranberry powder, rosemary extract, parsley flake, Yucca schidigera extract + probiotics and vitamins/minerals

 

What we can gather from the ingredient list:

- it contains a named meat source as the first ingredient (which includes water weight, but is followed by two types of meat meals; turkey and chicken); we can assume that this is a meat-based formula as well based on the fact that the first few ingredients are either meats or meat meals

- it is not grain free (it actually contains 5 different types of grains; millet and white rice have a high glycemic index, so they can contribute more easily to diabetes, obesity, and hyperglycemia)

- it has a wide range of probiotics

- very high level of carbohydrates (50%)

- anonymous "ocean fish meal" (it would be nice to know which type of fish, specifically, but it falls fairly low on the ingredient list so it probably doesn't matter much unless the dog has an allergy to a specific kind of fish)

- it contains five different types of animal protein (chicken, turkey, duck, salmon, and some sort of ocean fish meal)

- potatoes (compared to whole potatoes) don't contain the vitamin- and fiber-rich skin, and egg product (which is not as nutrient-rich as whole, unprocessed eggs)

 

What I know about the product that is not reflected in the label:

- the kibble is pretty uniform, indicating a higher level of processing

- I don't have an issue so much with the formula as with the company, Diamond Pet Foods

- Diamond has three manufacturing facilities (California, Missouri, and South Carolina)

- A few years back, I was doing research about whether ethoxyquin was used the Chicken Soup formulas. They used to have a written guarantee on their website, but then suddenly one day it disappeared. At that point, I became uncertain and decided to e-mail the company myself. The customer service rep that I communicated with lead me in circles, basically avoiding answering my question directly. After that, I didn't feel comfortable recommending their products to my customers. At some point, however, they did put that guarantee back up on their website, but that didn't erase all of my worries.

- Diamond Pet Foods owns and manufactures many different brands that range in quality from feed-store quality to premium foods like Taste of Wild. They also allow other brands to be manufactured using their facilities (such as Solid Gold, 4Health, Kirkland Nature's Domain, Van Patten's, and [up until recently] Canidae). Diamond manufactures Professional, Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul, Taste of the Wild, Diamond Naturals and Bright Bites dental treats. I'm not sure about Country Value and Apex, but those apparently pass through their facilities as well.

- A good example of why running so many brands through one facility is a bad idea is the recent salmonella outbreak at their Gaston, South Carolina facility. 14 individuals were affected by salmonella across 9 states. The recall was voluntary (which just means that they recalled the food before suffering a cease and desist by the FDA that would halt production for a while). Since the factory equipment was infected with salmonella, all of the above brands had to be recalled, even if they didn't immediately test positive for salmonella. There's no real way of knowing what caused the salmonella outbreak or which brand was responsible, but my guess would be that they weren't cleaning their equipment properly or they just got a bad batch of lamb meat.

- This wasn't their first major recall. There have been two major recalls since the company was founded in 1970. The other was in December 2005 as a result of food infected with aflatoxin (a type of VERY carcinogenic mycotoxin). Strangely, the outbreak was at the SAME facility as the 2012 outbreak.. It seems like someone is doing something wrong there, imo.

- Canidae Corporation finally got fed up with dealing with Diamond and moved to their own facility in California. (Good for them!)

 

 

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So you can see.. for me, it's a matter of 1) company transparency and communication, including the level of customer service and information available on the website, and 2) the quality control standards, including having fewer brands to manage and fewer recalls that would put lives (both human and canine) at risk.

 

I hope that helps! Phew!

Edited October 20, 2012 by Kaila

[Guest Carstel]

A few other sites of interest:

 

The Dog Food Project, namely their Bad Ingredients list. Rather than reviewing foods, this website is dedicated to explaining how to read labels, what things are legal for companies to do, and what ingredients to avoid. A great primer.

 

Truth About Pet Food Very informative blog. Lots to go through. It is a bit difficult to read through her bias sometimes, but most info is backed up by vets and research. Hell, Susan has been trying to get to the bottom of the dog jerky illnesses, to the point that she's paid to have dead dogs' organs studied and tested.

 

4D ingredients article. This does a good job of explaining the basics of meat sourcing. 4D meats - Dead, Dying, Diseased, Disabled - are the biggest difference between a quality food and a junk food. Euthanized farm animals, ones who die from illness, and others that cannot be used in human food are used in pet food. So are dead laboratory animals and euthanized pets from shelters. How it's allowed. I can't locate it at the moment (Tino is being horrible), but there is at least one video out there of the FDA acknowledging this is allowed.