Brand Of Dog Food

[Houndmommy03]

When we got Marlow, they told us he was eating Pedigree dog food so I bought small bag to start with, figuring I would have to change his food (I've always had to do a lot of work to find a food that worked for my new hounds). Well, his poops are good (better than any of our other hounds), he likes it and his weight is good. It's REALLYcheap (all my other hounds ate much more expensive food - this was due to trial and error in an effort to find ones that worked for the individaul dog). If this food works, should I be worried that it is a cheap grocery store brand?

[Guest jbbuzby]

First, I'd suggest you visit dogfoodadvisor.com and do some research on the food and the different products in the different types, if you haven't already. This will give you some perspective on what it is you're feeding and if you're comfortable with it...if you are, that's fine, but I feel it's best to be informed.

 

IMO, and probably others on here, while he might be fine now, you'll likely have more instances of health issues down the line. This can include ear infections, skin problems, organ issues, etc. I worked in vet's offices for years, and I'll say our most common recurring customers had dogs on diets such as Purina, Pedigree, and Beneful. You can akin it to some people that can eat fast food and still appear thin and healthy; they might be able to for a while, but you can imagine what it's doing to their insides, as opposed to if they were eating fresh healthy, high quality food. Also note that stool isn't everything. A lot of those foods have fillers that dogs can't digest, so it just comes out as more waste, often compacted.

 

Some dogs have iron stomachs and can handle most anything too. I'd suggest trying some samples of a higher quality food and see how they do with it and if you notice a difference; the best deal by far if you have a costco membership is the Nature's Domain food, but there are others out there that are okay deals too. Even Iams or Iams Naturals would be a better option with a more solid protein content and less filler.

 

That being said, if you're happy with it and the dog likes it, to each their own. Just look into the food and do some research to stay informed.

[Houndmommy03]

Thanks for the info. The issues that may occur down the road is what my DH and I were concerned about but not sure if it was a real issue (my dogs growing up were always fed Purina and they lived long lives with few health issues). I'll checkout that site and will alos look at the food you mentioned from Costco. Thanks for the input.

[Busderpuddle]

We fed Iams for a while too and and Ruby's poo looked good, but there were MOUNTAINS of it. It was a crazy amount so we switched her back to Kirklands salmon and brown rice variety. She has been doing great on it for quite a while now and no gas.

[Hubcitypam]

I'm fine with corn and by-products but try to stay away from meat and bone meal. My guys eat Iams and Purina One. Have tried many expensive foods over the years but these two work for us. Poodle ate Natural Balance for a long while but the Purina One healthy weight works just as well.

[RedHead]

Personally, I would explore other brands before staying on the Pedigree. It has BHT, plus all kinds of artificial colours added to it among other cheap, poor quality ingredients (like the bonemeal Hubcitypam mentioned above). I might feed something like this as a treat, but I personally wouldn't want to put all of that stuff in my dog every day at every meal. If you want a relatively cheap food, that many dogs do well on, you could try the Iams or PurinaOne that many here use successfully. Then you are avoiding a lot of the chemicals, colours, plus adding higher quality protein sources.

[cleptogrey]

keep these 3 things in mind

1. it's what works for your dog,

2. what you can afford and

3. what you can easliy obtain.

 

good luck