Let's have a chat about Dog food.

First of all, I understand that sometimes price is the most important factor when deciding what brand of Dog food to buy and that's why I want to keep this thread mostly about dry kibble that one can find online or in stores. Secondly if any of you feed your dogs raw food and want to share the recipes here that's fine as well.

Let me start out by talking about my dog named Chico, which is a Spanish word for "small". This was the name that was given to him by his previous owner, an older lady that lives out in the country. I've had him since I was 10 years old, and I'm 23 now and for the 13 years that I've had him, he has been the best dog I could ever have asked for; Even though he has never listened to any of my commands, will sometimes bolt out the door when it's left accidentally open and constantly begs for my food, he has helped me grow tremendously as a human being.

He has helped me learn about the importance of having patience, and most importantly has helped me appreciate nature and animals that we share this wonderful planet with. Most people will balk at the idea of helping a stray or abused dog because it's "just a dog." But only us dog owners know how big of an impact these furry creatures can have on our lives. I've gone from an irresponsible dog owner that used to feed his dog the cheapest brands I could find, and that didn't take his dog on regular walks. But as I've grown up, my dog has helped me change all of this.

I know that a lot of people feed the Benefuls, and Purina's because they are available everywhere and they are cheap and a lot of times the convenience of that far out weighs everything else. But if you do some research you will find out that these brands are full of corn, soy and other useless and sometimes harmful fillers that provide no nutritional value to your dog.

Here is the ingredients in a bag of Beneful dog food:
Ingredients: Ground yellow corn, chicken by-product meal, corn gluten meal, whole wheat flour, animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols (form of vitamin E), beef, rice flour, soy flour, water, meat and bone meal, propylene glycol, sugar, salt, phosphoric acid, tricalcium phosphate, animal digest, potassium chloride, sorbic acid (a preservative), non-fat yogurt powder, dried carrots, dried peas, dicalcium phosphate, calcium propionate (a preservative), choline chloride, vitamin E supplement, zinc sulfate, ferrous sulfate, red 40, l-lysine monohydrochloride, manganese sulfate, niacin, yellow 5, yellow 6, vitamin A supplement, blue 2, calcium carbonate, copper sulfate, vitamin B12 supplement, calcium pantothenate, thiamine mononitrate, garlic oil, pyridoxine hydrochloride, riboflavin supplement, vitamin D3 supplement, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of vitamin K activity), calcium iodate, folic acid, biotin, sodium selenite

Would any of you feed your dog this crap? I know it's super cheap but seriously? Propylene Glycol is also used in anti-freeze which is tremendously toxic to dogs, but yet its found in many big brand dog foods and treats. Not to mention many of the ingredients in this list are sourced directly from China.

Next I will post an ingredients list found in Orijen, one of the best if not the best dog kibble available right now. You can't find this brand of dog food in Wal Mart or big box chains. However you can order it online or find it at many small mom and pop pet food shops.

Origin Adult Dog Food:

Ingredients: Boneless chicken, chicken meal, chicken liver, whole herring, boneless turkey, turkey meal, turkey liver, whole eggs, boneless walleye, whole salmon, chicken heart, chicken cartilage, herring meal, salmon meal, chicken liver oil, red lentils, green peas, green lentils, sun-cured alfalfa, yams, pea fibre, chickpeas, pumpkin, butternut squash, spinach greens, carrots, red delicious apples, bartlett pears, cranberries, blueberries, kelp, licorice root, angelica root, fenugreek, marigold, sweet fennel, peppermint leaf, chamomile, dandelion, summer savory, rosemary, Enterococcus faecium, supplements: vitamin A, vitamin D3, vitamin E, niacin, riboflavin, folic acid, biotin, vitamin B12, zinc proteinate, iron proteinate, manganese proteinate, copper proteinate, selenium yeast.

Which food would you prefer your dog to be eating? When buying dog food it's important to read the ingredient list carefully and to make sure that grains or by products are not listed as the top ingredients. Corn causes many allergic reactions in dogs and provides no nutritional value. If your dog keeps scratching or if he has crusty eyes and you don't know why, then I suggest you read the ingredients list of the food you are feeding it.

If you are looking to feed your dog a better food, and want cheaper alternatives to Orijen then I suggest you take a look at Fromm Dog Food, which is manufactured in Wisconsin and sources its ingredients from within the USA. A typical 12 pound bag of food will cost you around $35 dollars, if you have a smaller dog a 4 pound bag will cost you about $12

Please people read labels, it will greatly benefit the long term health of your dog

My Parsons Jack Russell is 17 years old and went blind two years ago as the result of diabetes. Since then we switched him to Freshpet, he seems to enjoy it. As far as natural, healthy, it looks like liverwurst, I'm assuming it's loaded with junk too.

We have to be careful what we give him to eat, for snacks he gets fresh fruits and veggies.

originally posted by: Yeahkeepwatchingme
My Parsons Jack Russell is 17 years old and went blind two years ago as the result of diabetes. Since then we switched him to Freshpet, he seems to enjoy it. As far as natural, healthy, it looks like liverwurst, I'm assuming it's loaded with junk too.

We have to be careful what we give him to eat, for snacks he gets fresh fruits and veggies.

My dog LOVES to chew on a whole carrot. She will gnaw on that for days! Always has since she was a pup. She was given Purina Puppy Chow as a pup and anything else makes her throw up, so I've stuck with it. I may not like it, when I try switching brands, even just putting a tiny amount, little by little, she still gets sick everywhere, so for her stomach, it's easier to keep her on Puppy Chow.

(Even though she's a year old, here's a baby photo of her eating a carrot when we first got her.)

a reply to: muse7

Here is kind of an in between option. You CAN get it at Petco's, I know I just went and bought another bag of it. So it is easy to get. Yet this is a very high quality food for you dogs and cats. That is Merrick. I won't link to their website,but a guy that lost his dog over Chinese ingredients started a website called The Dogfood Advisor. You can easily Google this to find the site.

He rates dog foods on meat content,added ingredients that are both helpful and unhealthy. They rate them from 1-5 stars with 5 being the highest a dog food can get. Merrick and Orijin both get 5s.The difference is,you have to order Orijin or find someplace that carries it,or you can go with Merrick and get it at petco. Either way is fine,so long as you order what you need ahead of time to have it on hand. Just takes planning,but well worth it for a high quality food. I have bought both,right now I have my animals on the Merrick,but Orijin is every bit as good as well.

And if you look at their website,guess what? Petco is now carrying Orijin as well,yippee! Makes it so much easier for a lot of people.

My schnauzer had pancretitis the last few years of his life and I made his dog food myself. He was also allergic to corn.

I feed our current schnauzer a corn free dog food because the corn seemed to aggravate the schnauzer bump problem. Our current schnauzer has never had the schnauzer bumps.

How I made the food, pancretitis calls for a very low fat diet
(many of the recipes called for steaming ,etc. but after a while of making it I found a crock pot to be the best solution)
White fish with no bones and no skin
Chicken with no bones and no skin
Sweet potato or yams washed and cut up unpeeled (very important to any homemade dog food)
Carrots unpeeled but washed
Green beans from a can, rinsed well
Fresh blueberries, washed (also very important to any homemade dog food)
Uncooked rice
Enough water to cook the rice plus a little more

(leave in the crock pot on high until the carrots are soft and the chicken falls apart)
at least 1/3 of the ingredients should be fish and chicken

Stir well, yes it looks and smells bad to us, but great to a dog.

If your dog can have fat, leave the chicken skin on when cooking but remove the skin from the mix before stirring.

I haven't eaten any dog food in many years. When I was young, I wanted to see what they tasted like so I tried eating about five or six brands. They all tasted like crap. I'm not even going to get started on that crappy cat food. That attractant chemistry they put in there to get them to eat the food doesn't taste very good to humans. I suppose if you got used to it it wouldn't be so bad.

We use Taste of the Wild.
tasteofthewildpetfood.com...

I consider it a mid-priced food....and we get it at a good price.....not at one of the chain pet stores.
Our Husky eats the High Prairie flavor....mostly because she isn't partial to fish.
It's grain free, which is a huge plus for us.

She also gets some human food, in limited quantities.....

A lot of foods have ash, soy, grain and other crap fillers in them. Dogs also have odd systems in the sense that they absorb protein different than humans. They have a tough time absorbing it when cooked. It is tough to find a kibble that can deliver what they need. Most big commercial brands are junk, even the expensive science diet brand, especially purina, puppy chow etc...

I have found orijen brand to be too rich, and others have complained as well. I did a ton of research and found the best option for my dog was Taste of the Wild, the price is better and so are the dogs reactions to it.

I feed him Taste of the Wild-high prairie canine formula with Bison & Roasted Venison
Grain free, I combine this with cheap pre-made frozen hamburger patties 2 times a week.
Available at pet supermarket, petco, etc...

Worth taking a look at...ingredients too long to list w my ipad.

He loves it and has noticeably higher energy, healthier coat, less eye buggers. He also fills up quicker, with less volume of food ingested.

Another advantage that I can confirm, is the fact that he is able to digest it better and get the nutes he needs.
The dog actually craps less, without all the undigestible junk fillers, which is a win win for everyone

This has been a topic of recent discussion around my house! Beginning of December I was asked if I could foster a pregnant dog that needed to be rescued from a high kill shelter in Alamosa, Colorado. I said yes because I'm a sap! December 23rd she had 9 puppies!! When I picked her up they gave me two large bags of dog food for her as they supply the food. It was regular Science Diet as that is what the vets office they work with sells. This food gave her terrible gas and diarrhea so I went out and bought a higher quality food for her. I have always had all of my pets on Blue Buffalo Wilderness. The mama dog and puppies are all on their own variety of Blue Buffalo Wilderness Rocky Mountain Recipe. The puppies are 6 weeks old today and eating dry kibble. Admittedly it is a little expensive, but it is worth it. TMI, but their stools are all solid and small. Compared to what it was when the mama was on Science Diet, it's like night and day difference. She doesn't sit around gassing everyone out of the room all day! It has made a huge difference switching to a higher quality brand.

I also have four cats who are on the feline Blue Buffalo Wilderness. Last spring our dog we had for 15 years died and she was on it as well. The few times I couldn't afford it and had to get something cheaper, I immediately regretted it.

Dog food is a major reason lots of dogs don't make It past 12. Its really sad when the major dog food brands don't really care what there putting in those bags. Lots of times they put dead or rotten animals in with it.. Cant tell at the end, so who cares right? Treat your best friend with respect and feed him some good food!

Any can answer this question.. The food at Costco, its grain-free, 35 pounds for 30 bucks.. anyone use this or hear anything about it? Thanks!

This is a good topic. I think it's important to point out that reading labels is essential. Some people think high protein foods are better but this is absolutely not true unless you have a hard-working dog. By hard-working dog I mean one that herds sheep or cattle all day. HIgh protein can cause skin problems.

Also, the protein percentage doesn't tell you what the protein consists of. Ol'Roy dog food is probably the worst dog food you can buy. Remember that hides and hooves count as protein even though they can't be digested.

Many dogs are allergic to corn and chicken so avoid dog foods with those ingredients. For the sake of safety (remember the dog food contamination that killed numerous animals a few years back?) it's best to stick to dog food with a single protein from a single source. You do not want to buy dog food that contains proteins from multiple sources. It's potentially dangerous. Above all, do not buy dog food or treats containing anything from China. It's killed many dogs in the past because it was contaminated.

originally posted by: Dimithae
a reply to: muse7

Here is kind of an in between option. You CAN get it at Petco's, I know I just went and bought another bag of it. So it is easy to get. Yet this is a very high quality food for you dogs and cats. That is Merrick. I won't link to their website,but a guy that lost his dog over Chinese ingredients started a website called The Dogfood Advisor. You can easily Google this to find the site.

He rates dog foods on meat content,added ingredients that are both helpful and unhealthy. They rate them from 1-5 stars with 5 being the highest a dog food can get. Merrick and Orijin both get 5s.The difference is,you have to order Orijin or find someplace that carries it,or you can go with Merrick and get it at petco. Either way is fine,so long as you order what you need ahead of time to have it on hand. Just takes planning,but well worth it for a high quality food. I have bought both,right now I have my animals on the Merrick,but Orijin is every bit as good as well.

And if you look at their website,guess what? Petco is now carrying Orijin as well,yippee! Makes it so much easier for a lot of people.

I LOVE PetCo. My pup loves the cookies there. I'll buy a large bagful every month or two of the tiny treats. I use them for her walks and teaching her new tricks. Her latest is trying to high five everyone in the apartment building. She'll jump up and put both her paws on their palm. My daughter taught it her in a sitting position, I'm trying to get her to do it standing now. So far the tiny round treats are working.

originally posted by: rickymouse
I haven't eaten any dog food in many years. When I was young, I wanted to see what they tasted like so I tried eating about five or six brands. They all tasted like crap. I'm not even going to get started on that crappy cat food. That attractant chemistry they put in there to get them to eat the food doesn't taste very good to humans. I suppose if you got used to it it wouldn't be so bad.

My dad used to eat dog bones with our dog growing up. LOL

originally posted by: Tangerine
This is a good topic. I think it's important to point out that reading labels is essential. Some people think high protein foods are better but this is absolutely not true unless you have a hard-working dog. By hard-working dog I mean one that herds sheep or cattle all day. HIgh protein can cause skin problems.

Also, the protein percentage doesn't tell you what the protein consists of. Ol'Roy dog food is probably the worst dog food you can buy. Remember that hides and hooves count as protein even though they can't be digested.

Many dogs are allergic to corn and chicken so avoid dog foods with those ingredients. For the sake of safety (remember the dog food contamination that killed numerous animals a few years back?) it's best to stick to dog food with a single protein from a single source. You do not want to buy dog food that contains proteins from multiple sources. It's potentially dangerous. Above all, do not buy dog food or treats containing anything from China. It's killed many dogs in the past because it was contaminated.

I usually give my dog cooked chicken that I cut up and was eating that night. I'll mix it with her food.

And yes, like you, avoid food from CHINA! Even treats.

originally posted by: Anyafaj

originally posted by: Tangerine
This is a good topic. I think it's important to point out that reading labels is essential. Some people think high protein foods are better but this is absolutely not true unless you have a hard-working dog. By hard-working dog I mean one that herds sheep or cattle all day. HIgh protein can cause skin problems.

Also, the protein percentage doesn't tell you what the protein consists of. Ol'Roy dog food is probably the worst dog food you can buy. Remember that hides and hooves count as protein even though they can't be digested.

Many dogs are allergic to corn and chicken so avoid dog foods with those ingredients. For the sake of safety (remember the dog food contamination that killed numerous animals a few years back?) it's best to stick to dog food with a single protein from a single source. You do not want to buy dog food that contains proteins from multiple sources. It's potentially dangerous. Above all, do not buy dog food or treats containing anything from China. It's killed many dogs in the past because it was contaminated.

I usually give my dog cooked chicken that I cut up and was eating that night. I'll mix it with her food.

And yes, like you, avoid food from CHINA! Even treats.

Certainly not all dogs are allergic to chicken, but if you have a dog with skin allergies, chicken and corn are likely culprits. I've never known a dog who didn't prefer chicken to steak. I did have a wonderful dog who preferred raw carrots above all else. My other dogs didn't really care for carrots but each insisted on having one and would choke it down each time I gave one to her.

We are currently feeding our dogs 4health. It's not perfect, but so much better than purina or o'lroy crap, and I can get it at TSC here in town. It has been working well, especially since bulldogs are so prone to skin issues.

But we also supplement raw veggies and slightly cooked cow liver. I buy a cow from a local farmer every year, and it would go to waste, cause I won't eat it! They also get two raw eggs a week.

Word of warning about giving them eggs and veggies. You end up with a garden thief, and a "helper" when you go to gather eggs from the chickens if you have them.

Hubby has been very upset when mowing and running over half eaten cucumbers all over the yard.

It's nice to see so many feeding good foods. On bones, NEVER feed cooked bones to a dog. They're brittle and can splinter and be very sharp.

I feel Wellness to the two Shepherds and Cara (the old girl) gets Instinct frozen raw patties.

Wellness Core Ocean
Wellness Simple Lamb and Oatmeal
Instinct Raw Patties - Chicken

a reply to: muse7

Wish I had a bag in front of me - but we've got our animals ( cat and dog ) on Blue Buffalo. Once they get used to it ( the first week was tough; a nutrient overload if I had to guess ), it seems to serve very well... I'll post some info on it later; I'm at work and trying to get through as many posts as I can while I'm still alone, but it'll be fun to sift through this later this evening and take a look at everyone's analysis.

Anyone else on Blue Buffalo? Results?

originally posted by: MaMaa
This has been a topic of recent discussion around my house! Beginning of December I was asked if I could foster a pregnant dog that needed to be rescued from a high kill shelter in Alamosa, Colorado. I said yes because I'm a sap!

December 23rd she had 9 puppies!! When I picked her up they gave me two large bags of dog food for her as they supply the food. It was regular Science Diet as that is what the vets office they work with sells. This food gave her terrible gas and diarrhea so I went out and bought a higher quality food for her. I have always had all of my pets on Blue Buffalo Wilderness. The mama dog and puppies are all on their own variety of Blue Buffalo Wilderness Rocky Mountain Recipe. The puppies are 6 weeks old today and eating dry kibble. Admittedly it is a little expensive, but it is worth it. TMI, but their stools are all solid and small. Compared to what it was when the mama was on Science Diet, it's like night and day difference. She doesn't sit around gassing everyone out of the room all day! It has made a huge difference switching to a higher quality brand.

I also have four cats who are on the feline Blue Buffalo Wilderness. Last spring our dog we had for 15 years died and she was on it as well. The few times I couldn't afford it and had to get something cheaper, I immediately regretted it.

So you see about the same thing I did. TMI aside - stool is a good indicator of how well your dogs nutrition is. Mine drops twice a day; on the clock with a precision - never gasses - and Rarely even seems hungry... Half of the time I'll drop her evening food in her dish and she'll just look at it and go do something else. Similarly; I can rarely get her to eat 'people food' unless it's meat - something I feel is a combination between a lack of interest in treats in general, and just not being hungry because she is well fed.

Glad to hear some more positive feedback.

a reply to: Tangerine

While I agree with avoiding corn at all costs, high protein isn't necessarily a bad thing.
Protein and fat, with low carb, is more satisfying.
Our dog doesn't get a lot of carbs, and has great skin.
We also add some coconut oil to her food, esp in winter.
She also gets a fish oil capsule in the winter.

Ever wonder why dogs get diabetes more often?
I'll bet a bag of good quality, low carb dog food that those dogs get way too many carbs, esp wheat and corn.
Just like people.



a reply to: Mandroid7

I've had similar experiences with Orijen....and now feed our Husky the same brand and flavor as you do, except we add a little cooked chicken breast and apple to her evening meal.
She also loves many veggies...and a little of that is added to the evening bowl.