Cheap or expensive ... Dog food

[M.D. Holloway]

I've given our dogs the good stuff (Blue this and that) as well as Ol Roy and everything in between including a can of chicken breast and I have note seen a difference in their coat, disposition, weight gain/loss or any measure of health.

I have started adding warm water to the dry kibble. I am equal parts water to food and let it sit till it softens. Seems to fill them up and hydrate as well.

They chew plenty of horn and bone and their teeth are plaque free.

So is there really a difference in this food or are we fooling ourselves ?

[VINMAN]

There is definitely a difference. The higher end foods have more nutritional value, with real beef, chicken, etc..., and less fillers such as "meal". I use the better brands like Blue, Call of the Wild, plus a raw diet. Gets pricey, but I feel it's worth it.

[javadog]

Look at their "output" if you want to see a difference.

I wouldn't feed my dog anything that was a WalMart brand, what with all of the horror stories about pet food and treats coming out of China. I assume that would rule out the 'Ol Roy.

I feed ours dry food that has a little canned food, or something else, mixed in with it. I'll periodically cook whole chickens for them in a pressure cooker and add that to the dry food. De-boned, one chicken goes a long ways.

JR

[Chocaholic]

With 310 lbs of dogs at our house, no boutique dog food here. Costco brand has kept them healthy and active for years. Also, no $45 heartworm tabs either. A $40 bottle of Ivomec (from tractor supply), had handled that for less than 1/20 of the cost.

[Tobra]

Never feed them anything from China. Never ingest anything from China but tea myself. I read labels, and if it mentions that some of the juice may be from China for example, it stays on the shelf and I get something else.

[RANDY P]

Diamond Brand or Costco Kirkland (also Diamond) is what Ol' Big Mouth the Weim gets...

rjp

[targa911S]

Jack likes the rachel ray just 6.

[VincentVega]

Look at their "output" if you want to see a difference.

Spot on. I had a dog that was very picky, anything but the $$ stuff and his gut wasnt happy. The costco stuff was a good alternative to the spendy potatoe and lamb or whatever it was.

Another dog was completely happy with bargain basement corn based stuff. No ill effects.

[VINMAN]

Originally Posted by targa911S

Jack likes the rachel ray just 6.

The Rachael Ray stuff is actually very good food. Another good food is Petsmart's "Authority" brand.

I'd stay far the hell away from any food products out of China. I'm convinced those chicken jerky treats killed my Heeler

[targa911S]

Yeah Vinny. I did my homework and RR stuff came out with high marks. Glad you agree. Treats? Jack like the ones from Omaha steaks.

[VincentVega]

A local bbq place sold a dog back of misc cuts/shavings or beef, turkey, ham.... for $1. Great deal and the dog loved it, cant get much better really.

[nota]

my dog eats cat food dry with a bit of canned cat food on top

actually better in nutrition, vitamins, ect
and less ash fat and other gunk then dog food
as cats require better quality food

plus lots of table scraps

[onewhippedpuppy]

Buy the good stuff. Switching from a discount brand to a real meat food made a noticeable difference in my Lab's coat. She's also lost weight because we don't feed her as much with the better food, and she eats much better. I was convinced by an article I read that made a great point - dogs are carnivores by nature, yet we feed them a grain diet and are surprised when they have health issues.

[yel911]

My friends dog gets venison treats.

[sammyg2]

I have some dogfood that I'd be willing to sell for $1000 a pound.
At that price it must be the best dog food in the whole world.

We have no real way of knowing what's in the dog food we buy. Using price as a measuring unit is flawed logic.
Going by the company's rep might work but it's still a crap-shoot.


Besides, my dog drinks from the toilet and has been known to eat turds from the lawn.
Kinda takes the snob right out of me.

[javadog]

They eat turds when there is a deficiency in their diet...

JR

[t6dpilot]

Raw diet heavy in proteins for my dog. Stella & Chewy's brand. Literally saved her life years ago from IBD. At 2, she was 37 lbs and wasting away. Changed to raw and it turned her health around pretty quick. Back up to the proper 52 lbs and very healthy. She is now 10 and has the energy of a 2 year old.

A lot of dog allergies can be attributed to the crappy food they eat.

[skipdup]

I've noticed a night and day change in coat, output, breath, and even general smell... fwiw.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by sammyg2

I have some dogfood that I'd be willing to sell for $1000 a pound.
At that price it must be the best dog food in the whole world.

We have no real way of knowing what's in the dog food we buy. Using price as a measuring unit is flawed logic.
Going by the company's rep might work but it's still a crap-shoot.


Besides, my dog drinks from the toilet and has been known to eat turds from the lawn.
Kinda takes the snob right out of me.

Nothing to do with price. The Nutro brand stuff that I buy is less money than some of the big name brands that don't have any meat in them. My dog is by no means spoiled, but I don't see the logic in feeding a carnivore food that is 100% grain and filler.

[911SauCy]

I can't remember the name, but we have upped the spend on the dog chow, $55/bag. Both dogs loved eating the IAMS, but the younger one developed wicked yeast infection (black goo that stunk coming from her ears, dry skin, and her claws turned dark red) from all the grain fillers (probably from whatever chemical/s accompany them). Found some recommended stuff online after fighting the infection for about a year... 2 weeks later she was/is a new dog.

First 3 ingredients are always most important.