Dog food- what you using and why
 

Hey guys I know there are lots of dog owners on this forum . Our now 10 month old sheprador came to us with a bag of Pedigree dry food . He likes it and there are no apparent issues so far . Doing some internet research there seems to be quite a bit of debate regarding grains as fillers .

As I am typing this my wife is out shopping and is going to pick up a small bag of Purina Pro Plan for us to try . Online reviews and package ingredients look decent . After that we may try a bag of Blue . Do you guys stay with one brand womb to tomb ? Or do you have a rotation that offers some change ? Strictly dry or mix in wet ?

Seems to me I recently read on this forum that someone's vet recommended Purina Pro Plan . I know everyone and their vet has opinions so I am interested in your feedback . Like anything else a good bang for the buck would be nice . We don't want to be tied to a food that is only available at a vet's office . We have within 15 miles grocery stores/Tractor Supply/PetSmart/Petco .

Iams dry.

Merrick.

Merrick Hero's Banquet. It is a great food. All of the Merrick line is strong. I had a dog that had allergies and had lost most of her coat. Started feeding her Merrick; six months later she looked like a new dog.

order from Chewy. Prices are competitive and shipping is free.

https://www.chewy.com

Any particular reason/s ?

Purina Pro Plan is an excellent dog food. Can't go wrong with it.
Allow a few days for changeover from the old food. (blend it with the old)
All the stores you mentioned should carry it. (maybe not a small grocery)

That is what she was on when I got her. No need to change.

Purina Pro Plan at the time. Was using Taste of the Wild, Nutro.



.

After that we may try a bag of Blue

My dogs refused to eat Blue...

kit & kaboodle cat food +table scraps +uneaten can cat food
as the dog refused to eat dog food and was raiding the cat's food
and cat's can't eat the junk/filler in dog food so cat food has mostly protean
so one bag feeds them all

My last Lab (14 year awesome run) consumed nothing but dry Pro Plan her whole life. The breeder used it and I never changed. I started my current Lab on Authority (Pet Smart) which according to my vet is rebranded PP and what he uses. The labels confirm this with the Authority having a couple of extra ingredients, Omega 3/6 and Glucosimine. I didn't like the way her poop looked (mebbe too "rich"), so I have almost completed the transition over to Pro Plan and I think it suits her better. She's almost two now fwiw ...

You might have to adjust the amount down if your pup isn't "very active" though.

Pro Plan :)

Costs a fortune, but our 15 year old dachshund is healthy and never smells like a dog.

Stella and Chewy's frozen raw meats. We've never seen the "Red Meat" or "Turkey" flavors, but we rotate through all of the rest.
https://simplycountry.net/wp-content...300038_800.jpg

There's less poop, and it degrades faster (back when he had a yard and didn't pick it up). And he (and our other dog that used to get it) seems to be very healthy.

.........anything that doesn't have corn as the first or second ingredient.

We used Authority for years. Was very happy with it. Then they decided they didn't like it anymore.

My Husky that I had would only eat Kibbles and Bits and Beneful. Crap food. Lived 17yrs with out a single health issue.

Like Superman and Roswell I use Merrick, Heroes Banquet or another of the grain free kind. My GSD is 13 and doing great. I get the same type but the small breed stuff for my 8 month old pug.

It is not cheap by any means. My ex has a rescue that had all kinds of food related issues then she switched him to the Merrick as well and he is going great.

We use Gentle Giants, it was developed for large breeds but you can feed it to any size dog actually.
We have a 14yr old Lhasa Apso that loves it.

we use nature's variety-salmon formula.....we have two black labs, Ruby, the 11 year old is allergic to everything.....all grains, all beef and chicken, even medications that have beef flavorings will inflame and irritate her ears....

We have it delivered by Chewy, great service.

It looks like you guys stay with one brand when you find one your dogs like vs a rotation of two or three brands . We have a bag of Purina One True Instinct that we bought last week that we will start using tonight . Then when that's gone we will try the Pro Plan my wife purchased today . Looking at the ingredients on both Purina bags they are almost identical but the Purina One was cheaper .

Keep the comments coming , too much data is not possible 😁 . Hopefully " Luke " will like one or both of the Purina products and we'll be good to go . I see Purina bought Merrick in 2015 .

Lots of dogs DIED in 2008 because their owners bought made in China dog food (good ole American brands) Before yo buy a bag or can for your beloved family member Google the brand to see it's rating and how many RECALLS they have had for essentially poisoning dogs.

Blue has particularly been egregious and has lot of recalls.

The cheaper the brand the more suspect as to how discriminating they are in what they put in it.

Dogs are essentially being slowly poisoned to death every year by the food they are eating. It is shortening their lives with increased cancers and other health issues.

I lost my Airedale in 07 and I suspect that poisoned dog food was at least a factor. I had been buying a premium Costco brand..which I believe was made in China. So after that I have been careful in what I feed the mutts.

The nationally respected elderly breeder I purchased my Lab from spent 30 years breeding Champion Field dawgs after retiring... specializing in Chocolates .... hence my "Moka" ;). He used, and recommended plain ol' Purina ... said Pro Plan would make 'em fat ;). He's got a legacy of 500 awesome dawgs to his credit.

I like Brad Penn oil :D

And Cat food has TURINE which is very bad for dogs...you are essentially poisoning them. Then "Table scraps" is not dog food and can be detrimental to them..they are different than you and can not tolerate some of the things you eat. One of the things is Fat, in a small dog beef, pork fat or cheese can cause Pancreaitis.

Dogs and even cats love to drink pool water. Problem is that the chlorine you put into the pool as a disinfectant is A SOLID which over time makes pool water very hard. That is why you have to drain pool water every so many years because the chlorine has a diminishing effect on disinfecting the water and it creates scale which creates cosmetic problems and is hard on the pool equipment.

I digress the real problem is if you or your pet drinks the stuff on a continued basis it will destroy your Kidneys.

Purina is cheap....and lots of dog people will not touch the stuff.


The FDA does not cover dog food..so they can put anything they like into it...and they do

Purina has been around a long time and I think respected in the industry . I have heard they do more R&D than all others combined . Doesn't make them the best but best is subjective . I have looked at some recall history WOW there is/was a lot of crappy food out there . Our pets deserve better .

And yeah I like Brad Penn oil also 😁

I use kirkland, but also feed chicken thighs-occasionally raw, but usually i pressure cook 5 lbs or so once or twice a week, debone, and feed with the dry.

Better check that out..

It is a cost point dog food..

Our male dachshund would eat anything I put down that is remotely edible. All they have ever had is Science Diet brand dry dog food. No table scraps or people food by order of the wife. Trying to keep their weight down is the main thing. Both dogs are happy to drink from our kio pond and it is filled with our water well or rain, and the koi are happy in it.

There is a Purina dog food plant 2.5 miles away (as the wind blows) from our house. Some days it smells like toast, other days it smells just like a fresh bag of dog food. We only smell it on the days when the wind is coming from an unusual direction. I can only smell it outside as a faint odor, I am sure it makes any dog hungry. I can imagine it is like having a bakery next door.

Back in 08 when the Chinese dog food poisoning was going on they stopped carrying their own brand of dog food for awhile...Hmmm.

They may have cleaned up their act but check them out beofre you serve your beloved pet another cup of the stuff.


I give my lil guy Trader Joe Holistic dry..only after I checked them out..It does not have any recalls and is given a B+ rating..The knock on it is that no one except TJ's knows who makes it for them.

TJ's has recently DISCONTINUED their wet dog food line because the mfg had made some changes to the recipe. That tells you something now doesn't it?

Ignorance and stupidity can be costly in so many ways.

A friend of mine was a Chicken Grower for Sanderson Farms. He said NOTHING on the bird goes to waste..the chicken feet for instance go to China.

Yep on avoiding China crap... food & treats.

It tastes like crap :D

Had been feeding our golden Blue Buffalo. Sr Vet student daughter came home and said "no". Did an ingredient check on most of the major brands and switched us to Purina One. Told us under no uncertain circumstances to never feed the dog a grain free food. Seems large breeds develop lots of medical issues without grain, and most of the current grain free pet foods are marketing to grain free humans. (some exceptions if dogs actually have grain issues). After that it came down to which protiens and which grains and by products. Seems there is a very specific definition about what ingredient terms mean (guess it tells those in the know how much of the chicken is actually in the food).

Also seems that many of the major dog food producers do not have Vets on staff, so how much "research" are they doing into how the food effects animals.

YMMV but ....I will listen to her.

Fed all my previous goldens Pro Plan. Only switched to Blue because it seemed to have better protien (turned out it had better marketing)

Oh yeah .... if yer poopie is over 50lbs or gonna be ... get the "large breed" formula.

Purina Pro Plan. I have fed all my dogs Purina from "womb to tomb" for the past 35+ years. No issues ever.

We have a personal relationship with our Vet, who has also earned our respect over a very long period of time. I asked this same question. Without regards of cost or where to buy, what dog food brand do you recommend?
Without hesitation = Purina Pro-Plan. He said that Purina invests more $$$ in R&D for the health and well being of the animals nutrition than ALL the other brands COMBINED.

Now that's a bold statement, but true.

It's all we use.......

I did a recall search on Purina dry food and I find one in 2007 and another in 2013 . Nothing since 2013 . Found reviews rating two stars to five stars . Did the same search on other brands mentioned here with similar results . It's very difficult to know who actually is doing the rating .

When looking at Pro Plan specifically the ratings are generally higher . I assume like many companies Purina offers a good/better/best with associated cost . The more research I do the more confused I get on grains good vs grains bad . I do appreciate everyone's thoughts . Thanks

The amino acid taurine is in all meats naturally
and dogs make it out of other amino acids naturally in their system
cats can't make taurine out of other amino acids naturally like dogs do

my dog is not small or big at about 40 lbs and in good health at age 11

https://www.onlynaturalpet.com/blogs/holistic-healthcare-library/taurine-dog-food-and-heart-disease-in-dogs-1
''However, it is also known that large dogs produce taurine at a slower rate than small dogs, putting them at risk for a deficiency. Genetics also play a significant role, with certain breeds and family lines being predisposed to developing DCM.''

so yes small dogs may have a problem with excess taurine
but normal sized dogs can be deficient in taurine and need more of it

Diamond Naturals. Can find it where we shop and has had good reviews of its ingredients.

We have been giving our 11 year old German shepherd mix Costco dog food since we got her in 2010. No real health issues. After seeing many high end dog foods recalling food after the China scandal and how low end and high end foods come from the same factories, Costco’s high ratings and reasonable prices were enough for us.

A lot of the upper end dogs foods have been having recalls lately. Just when you think you are feeding them something good. I would love to just feed my pups a raw diet but that gets pricey.

Vinman you are 100 % correct on recent " high end " dog food recalls . I found that in my internet searches today . And a raw diet would be great but only if a relative or close friend was a butcher . That's the only way it could be economical . Wouldn't hurt if that butcher also worked at a fish market :D

Solid statement thank you for that .