What foods are best

[luvsmy2bs]

:) We have just decided we want to improve the quality of food we give our furbabies, Dane and Bella. Any suggestions for what would be best without breaking the bank????????

[WBL]

One of the things to remember with higher quality food is usually you don't have to feed as much for the dogs to be able to absorb the need nutrition from it. Here is a list of foods list by the Whole Dog Journal (WDJ) 2007 List


DRY FOOD:
Addiction Foods: addictionfoods.com
Artemis: artemispetfood.com
Azmira: azmira.com
Back to Basics: beowulfs.com
Bench & Field Holistic Natural Canine:benchandfield.com
Blue Buffalo: bluebuff.com
Burns: bpn4u.com
by Nature BrightLife: bynaturepetfoods.com
by Nature Organics: bynaturepetfoods.com
California Natural: naturapet.com:
Canidae: canidae.com
Canine Caviar: caninecaviar.com
Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul: chickensoupforthepetloverssoul.com
Cloud Star Kibble: cloudstar.com
Drs. Foster & Smith: drsfostersmith.com
Eagle Pack Holistic Select: eaglepack.com
Evanger's Super Premium: evangersdogfood.com
Evolve: evolvepet.com
Firstmate Dog Food: firstmate.com
Foundations: petcurean.com
Fromm Four Star Nutritionals: frommfamilyfoods.com
Go! Natural: petcurean.com
Hund-N-Flocken: solidgoldhealth.com
Innova: naturapet.com
Innova Evo: naturapet.com A NEW ONE!
Karma Organic: karmaorganic.com
Lick Your Chops: healthypetfoodsinc.com
Lifespan: petguard.com
Life4K9: life4k9.com (baked & olive oil)
Merrick Pet Care: merrickpetcare.com
Mmillennia: solidgoldhealth.com
Natural Balance Organic: naturalbalanceinc.com
Natural Balance Ultra Premium: naturalbalanceinc.com
Natural Choice Ultra: nutroproducts.com
Newman's Own Organics: newmansownorganics.com
NutriSource: nutrisourcedogfood.com
(Nutro Products) Ultra Holistic Nutrition:ultraholistic.com
Organix: castorpolluxpet.com
Petguard Organic: petguard.com
Performatrin Ultra: performatrinultra.com
PHD Viand: phdproducts.com
Pinnacle: breeders-choice.com
Prairie: naturesvariety.com
Premium Edge: premiumedgepetfood.com
Prime Life Plus: ompetproducts.com
Raw Instinct: naturesvariety.com (grainfree)
Royal Canin Natural Blend: royalcanin.us
Royal Canine Veterinary Diet: royalcanin.us
Showbound Naturals: healthypetfoodsinc.com
Timberwolf Organics: timberwolforganics.com
VeRUS: veruspetfoods.com
Wellness: oldmotherhubbard.com
Wellness Simple Food Solutions: oldmotherhubbard.com
Wenawe: wenawe.com.uy
Wysong: wysong.net
Zinpro: lincolnbiotech.com


WDJ Dry Dog Food Selection Criteria:

1.) We look for foods that contain a lot of high-quality animal proteins
2.) We reject any food containing meat by-products or poultry by-products
3.) We reject foods containg fat or protein not identified by species
4.) We look for the use of whole grains & vegetables
5.) We eliminate all foods with artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives
6.) We eliminate all foods with added sweeteners
7.) We look for products containing organic products

Further Attributes:

1.) A date-code or production code is easy to find, read, and interpret
2.) More than just the required nuturients (fat, protein, fiber, moisture) listed on a product
label's "guaranteed analysis" (GA)
3.) The caloric content of the food listed on the label
4.) All of the food maker's contact information listed on its product labels (and their
product literature & Web sites)
5.) A statement that a food (or one of its close "family members") has passed an AAFCO feeding
trial
6.) Certified Organic Ingredients
7.) Admire those manufacturers that have pursued and obtained noncompulsory manufacturing
certifications.

ANd here is some more info on "human grade/holistic food"

Canidae - http://www.canidae.com
Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul - http://www.chickensoupforthepetloverssoul.com/
Burns - http://www.burns-pet-nutrition.co.uk/
Eagle Pack - http://www.eaglepack.com/
Flint River - http://www.flintriver.com/ProductInfo.asp?pi=Flint-River-Ranch-Ingredients.htm
Temporarily Unavailable - http://www.godaddy.com/sites.html
IVD - http://www.petrx.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=846
**** Van Patten's Natural Balance - http://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/
Wellness - http://www.omhpet.com/dogs/wellness_detail.asp?pCode=dryDogSup5MixChicken
AvoDerm - http://www.breeders-choice.com/
Happy Dog - http://www.happydogfood.com/products.htm
Solid Gold - http://www.solidgoldhealth.com/
Pro Pack - http://www.propacpetfood.com/dogs/index.tpl?SKU=20030327154406
Nature Diet - http://www.naturediet.net/index.html
Merrick - http://www.merrickpetcare.com/
California Natural, HealthWise, Karma Organic& Innova - http://www.naturapet.com/display.php?d=home-tab
Organix - link to come soon
Newman's - http://www.newmansownorganics.com/pet/charity/

Raw Diet Links
Agility Boxer Sample Raw Diet: http://www.agilityboxer.com/barfpage.htm
BarfWorld (Dr. Billinghurst): http://www.barfworld.com
Canine Wholistic Nutrition: http://www3.sk.sympatico.ca/riverien/nutrimap.htm
Marimat Boxers’ Raw Diet: http://www.marimat.com/diet.html
Natural Diet: Don’t “Just Do It” http://www.caberfeidh.com/NaturalDiet.htm
Newcastle Boxers’ Raw Diet: http://www.newcastleboxers.com/diet.shtml
Raw "How-To" (in pictures): http://www.touchmoon.com/dotters/raw/
Raw Meaty Bones (Dr. Lonsdale): http://www.rawmeatybones.com
Raw Learning: http://www.rawlearning.com
Switching to Raw: http://www.switchingtoraw.com
The BARF Diet: http://www.barfdiet.com
Top 50 BARF FAQs: http://www.njboxers.com/faqs.htm

Prepared Raw Foods
Aunt Jeni’s Homemade for Life: http://www.auntjeni.com/homemade.htm
Bravo Pet Food: http://www.bravopetfood.com
Dr. Billinghurst’s BARF Diet: http://www.barfworld.com/html/barf_diet/barfdiet.shtml
Granddad’s Pet Foods: http://www.grandadspetfoods.com/
Halshan: http://www.halshan.com/
Hare Today, Gone Tomorrow: http://www.hare-today.com/
mORIGINS: http://d21c.com/buddyx2/MORIGINS/mORIGINS.html
NuDimensions Nutrition: http://www.nudimensionsnutrition.com/NDN_For_Your_Dog.htm
Oma’s Pride: http://www.omaspride.com/
Raw4Dogs: http://www.raw4dogs.com
Steve’s Real Food for Dogs: http://www.stevesrealfood.com

Dog Food comparison sites/About dog food
AAFCO Definitions: http://www.naturedanes.com/aafco.html
Comparison – Premium Food: http://www.doberdogs.com/foodcht3.html
Comparison – Store Brands: http://www.doberdogs.com/foodcht4.html
Comparison - http://www.feedmypet.com/dog-food-comparison.html
Interpreting Labels: http://www.doberdogs.com/foodcht1.html
Pentobarbitol in Dog Food: http://www.fda.gov/cvm/index/fdavet/2002/May_June.htm#Pentobarbital
Reading Pet Food Labels: http://www.flintriverranch.org/labels.html
Selecting a Commercial Pet Food: http://www.api4animals.org/doc.asp?ID=689
WDJ Top Dry Foods (2002): http://www.simplyschnauzer.net/wdjtopten.html
What’s Really In Pet Food? http://www.api4animals.org/doc.asp?ID=79
Whole Dog Journal: http://www.whole-dog-journal.com

[WBL]

Sorry meant to add, best thing to do is RESEARCH and see what would work for your guys best and your budget, or what you are willing to give up for them. Like me, I moved to Germany and had a problem readliy getting Solid Gold here, it is available here in Germany but they are often sold out, and with the Euro being so much stronger than the dollar, I actually order mine from the states and pay less than what I would if I bought it here using Euros

And here is my part of sacrificing for my pets, I usually order food every 2-3 months (depending on the amount I order) I will spend about $100 on food/treats/vitamins. And the kicker, I spend more in shipping than I do the food. I just placed an order for $90 and was hit with $97 in shipping. Mostly it is because of weight, the other because I have it sent priority mail. And what did I give up for this, my movies. I used to buy new movies every tuesday, now I just get a few here and there.

And again there is not as many people as crazy as me out there that would spend this much on food :D

[Tayda_Lenny]

I feed Tayda and Lenny Innova Evo and they do great on it.

[jys1011]

Also you can check out this great website

www.dogfoodanalysis.com

[jenwilson]

We like Innova Dry & Merricks Wet

[youngandtired]

Sahara loves Merricks, both wet and dry. I mix the dry with alittle warm water, and add about 1/4 cup wet on top, mix well. I use the Grammy's Pot Pie the most, she also loves the Merrick Bull Stick chews. She is a Merrick girl, we tried all the rest and she eats this the best.

[achandl2]

We've been adding the Avoderm canned food to the science diet dry i/d (Rascal has a sensitive stomach) and the love it. It's the only way we can get Manning to eat and not pick at his food. PetSmart has started carrying the Avoderm brand so its pretty easy to find.

[etzbseder]

My B absolutely loves Royal Canin, and I have heard that it was really good for them.

[Mia]

I am glad I found this posting...I am looking for an alternative for our 9 month old, and we'll be bringing in a 10 week old in a few weeks. Currently I have Mia on Nature's recipe, but I read it has a very high grain/meat ratio, which I guess is not very good, might explain why she doesn't eat all that much (maybe a cup or a little more per day). So I was thinking of the raw diet, and there is store right down the road who sells a few diffrent type's of them, such as Steve's. Price is not an issue as we only eat organic, so I want something healthy for the doggies too. If I would go raw with Mia, do I have to wait until a certain age, if not can I start raw with the new puppy also? Or would it be best to go with an organic dry or wet food? Ohhhh the choices lol!

[achandl2]

I am always a little leary of raw diets just because it is more difficult to make sure the nutritive value is accurate and consistant but I haven't ever tried it so maybe it has its merits. A good alternative to raw diet is the Buffalo Blue brand, it is free of corn, wheat, and soy products. I switched mine over to that a while back and they love it. I still feed the science diet i/d for Rascal's sensitive stomach but I mix it with the canned Buffalo Blue food and they love it. The cats also seem to love the Blue cat food. Here is the website http://www.bluebuff.com/
PetSmart sells Buffalo Blue brand now so it is easier to find.

[achandl2]

Oh I forgot if you go to their website you can compare your current food with their food and Buffalo Blue will send you a sample in the mail for free.

[Mia]

I am always a little leary of raw diets just because it is more difficult to make sure the nutritive value is accurate and consistant but I haven't ever tried it so maybe it has its merits. A good alternative to raw diet is the Buffalo Blue brand, it is free of corn, wheat, and soy products. I switched mine over to that a while back and they love it. I still feed the science diet i/d for Rascal's sensitive stomach but I mix it with the canned Buffalo Blue food and they love it. The cats also seem to love the Blue cat food. Here is the website http://www.bluebuff.com/
PetSmart sells Buffalo Blue brand now so it is easier to find.

Thank you, I think I might try that, upon looking further on the web, raw diets has too many opposers for me to fell comfortable going that rout, plus the Bluebuff line has organic too. Thanks for the advice :)

[Ninabeana26]

Do any of you recommend using Eukanuba? That is what our breeder currently is feeding the puppies but I think I might want to wean him onto another kind...inputs?

[lvoss]

I am glad I found this posting...I am looking for an alternative for our 9 month old, and we'll be bringing in a 10 week old in a few weeks. Currently I have Mia on Nature's recipe, but I read it has a very high grain/meat ratio, which I guess is not very good, might explain why she doesn't eat all that much (maybe a cup or a little more per day). So I was thinking of the raw diet, and there is store right down the road who sells a few diffrent type's of them, such as Steve's. Price is not an issue as we only eat organic, so I want something healthy for the doggies too. If I would go raw with Mia, do I have to wait until a certain age, if not can I start raw with the new puppy also? Or would it be best to go with an organic dry or wet food? Ohhhh the choices lol!
Ohhh the choices is right. Their are pros and cons to raw vs kibble and there are many of us who feed a hybrid diet because kibble is easier when we travel. You can start dogs on raw as puppies and there are breeders who raw wean their puppies. The packages raw foods are garunteed to be "complete" foods just like kibble is. With the high quality kibbles and even with raw diets you will find you feed less volume. My dogs are eating around a cup of food each a day, with individual differences to keep them at good weight. You can feed a grain free kibble like EVO, Origin, or Wellness Core. There are good quality foods that contain some grains like Wellness, Merricks, California Natural. You can feed a kibble and add things like veggies or even raw though you should not feed kibble at the same meal that you feed raw bones because kibble moves through the digestive tract faster than raw bones should.

As with so many things, feeding is something that you should do some research and then try to figure out what will fit best with your routine. You may also find some foods work better for your dogs than others.

[tanza]

Do any of you recommend using Eukanuba? That is what our breeder currently is feeding the puppies but I think I might want to wean him onto another kind...inputs?

My only problem with Euk is the corn and the beet pulp... to me those are just fillers and have value to the diet...

[TuckerVA]

Tucker is a Merrick dog also. Wilderness Blend dry and varied wet on top. He seems partial to the canned Campfire Trout Feast, Thanksgiving Day Dinner, Wingaling, Cowboy Cookout, Wild Buffalo Grill and the Venison holiday Stew. He won't touch the Medeterranean Banquet, Brats-n-Tots or the French Country Cafe. I was really surprised he wouldn't eat the Brats. It looks so yummy I almost tried it!

[Mia]

Tucker is a Merrick dog also. Wilderness Blend dry and varied wet on top. He seems partial to the canned Campfire Trout Feast, Thanksgiving Day Dinner, Wingaling, Cowboy Cookout, Wild Buffalo Grill and the Venison holiday Stew. He won't touch the Medeterranean Banquet, Brats-n-Tots or the French Country Cafe. I was really surprised he wouldn't eat the Brats. It looks so yummy I almost tried it!

What made you chose this type of food over another brand?

[jys1011]

My only problem with Euk is the corn and the beet pulp... to me those are just fillers and have value to the diet...

I agree! My breeders fed Eukanuba & I weaned them off of this asap. I even had a dog trainer (BIG MISTAKE!) tell me to feed Purina or some other crap dog food. I knew that she was a fraud right then & there :mad:

We're mostly Merricks dry & wet...and recently I added Natural Balance Allergy Formula (my guy is allergic to everything) Sweet Potato & Duck


Tucker is a Merrick dog also. Wilderness Blend dry and varied wet on top. He seems partial to the canned Campfire Trout Feast, Thanksgiving Day Dinner, Wingaling, Cowboy Cookout, Wild Buffalo Grill and the Venison holiday Stew. He won't touch the Medeterranean Banquet, Brats-n-Tots or the French Country Cafe. I was really surprised he wouldn't eat the Brats. It looks so yummy I almost tried it!

Camp Trout is new I'll have to look for it. I also wonder if I made the wet food for dinner would my husband notice :D :D :eek:

[Mia]

Camp Trout is new I'll have to look for it. I also wonder if I made the wet food for dinner would my husband notice :D :D :eek:
Ok I just looked online at the Merrick site, and yes the food looks better than most of the stuff I cook lol. I was really impressed, if I feed that to Mia, there will probably even be a chance she'll stop coming to the dinner table!

[TuckerVA]

What made you chose this type of food over another brand?

I chose Merrick when I read the forums here and the thread that rated the foods. Merrick was one of the top ranking foods that I could by locally (a shop about a mile from home carries it). Originally, I tried to find the Timberwolf, but it wasn't local or convenient to buy. Merricks is a bit more expensive, but Tucker loves it. I WAS feeding him Purina Beneful, then I found out the Beneful got a score of around 17/100 while Merrick scored 117/100. Merrick is considered a 5/6 star food. I just want the best for my dog. :)

The Wilderness Blend seemed, to me, to be the most healthy of the choices although a lot of the canned foods have a brother dry food, like Grammy's Pot Pie.

As I mentioned, I buy a case of the cans when I go shopping and I mix them up. He likes the variety. I use a can about every 4 days when mixing it in with the dry. Actually, he's getting a bit plump according to my vet so I'm going to start replacing the dry with a bit of green beans. Last time I did this, he picked the bean out first. Guess he thinks healthy food is a treat. ;)

[JazzysMom]

I agree! My breeders fed Eukanuba & I weaned them off of this asap. I even had a dog trainer (BIG MISTAKE!) tell me to feed Purina or some other crap dog food. I knew that she was a fraud right then & there :mad:

Not meaning to start a row here or anything, but That's pretty strong.

I used to feed Purina -- only stopped in the last year or so, and my dogs have always lived long lives with no health problems.
My sister currently feeds Purina and her dog is 11 yrs old and still runs and plays like a young dog. No one can believe that Kelly is 11;she hasn't slowed down a step and has never been to the vet except for annual exams, etc.

I think Bryan feeds Purina {and he can detail out his research and reasons for it, which he actually did here once}, and he's been breeding exceptional dogs for over 20 yrs.

My niece feeds Canadae and Merricks and her 8 yr old dog is o-l-d.
On the other hand, she has a very "young" 6 yr old.
I have another sister who feeds raw and just had a dog die at age 7 and she said it was because the dog was "old". WTF??? and I don't expect her other dog to live much beyond that.

Some dogs do fine -- better than fine, even exceptionally well -- on what many here term "crap food", others do not. Some dogs do great on the "higher quality" foods, others do not.

{Just like some people smoke and drink and eat nothing but sugar and fat and live to be healthy vibrant 90 yr olds, and others have heart attacks at age 40 on a health food diet}

Feeding is a touchy issue, I know, but to call someone a "fraud" because they feed a food you feel is less-than-acceptable is pretty strong and unfair, IMO, of course, but wow.:(

[TuckerVA]

I think a dog food that scores 17/100, when it comes to nutritional value, can be considered to be a 'not so good' food. My opinion, of course. Dog's don't need pretty food with dyes and fillers and Beneful is mostly dye and filler. I'm sure Purina has other foods that score higher, but Beneful is certainly not one of them.

Tucker had been eating Beneful for 3+ years with his previous owners and he seemed to be fine. I fed it to him for half a year before I found out it wasn't top quality.

/thankfully didn't say Purina was crap. :D

[Mia]

As I mentioned, I buy a case of the cans when I go shopping and I mix them up. He likes the variety. I use a can about every 4 days when mixing it in with the dry. Actually, he's getting a bit plump according to my vet so I'm going to start replacing the dry with a bit of green beans. Last time I did this, he picked the bean out first. Guess he thinks healthy food is a treat. ;)
could you mix a little of the can everyday with some dry? it's harder to think of what to feed a dog, then to feed ourselves lol

[Basenji_Boy]

could you mix a little of the can everyday with some dry? it's harder to think of what to feed a dog, then to feed ourselves lol

We do that......Evo with the Merricks.....they love it.

[TuckerVA]

could you mix a little of the can everyday with some dry? it's harder to think of what to feed a dog, then to feed ourselves lol

That's exactly what I do. Someone else here also mentioned this. I give him 1/2 cup dry and then about two forkfulls of the wet and mix-it-all-up-real-nice-yummy-like!

[Basenji_Boy]

We use one can and mix it with the kibble for all seven dogs.....so a couple of spoonfulls per dog and kibble.

They seem to like the Grammies pot pie the best.

[MaxBooBooBear]

I just ran across Merricks at Pet Club and from what I heard here on the forum decided to try it with my Nutro Dry instead of the Nature's Recipe canned I'd been using. Tyler and Zoey love love love it! I kept them with the same food Basenji Rescue had them on because they were doing ok on it and it didn't have corn/wheat. They have always been chow hounds--but I can tell by the way they keep going back to the kitchen to relick their bowls that the Merricks is more tasty.

[Basenji_Boy]

The wet helps to mix in the crushed up pills a couple of them get.

[elena86]

I think a dog food that scores 17/100, when it comes to nutritional value, can be considered to be a 'not so good' food. My opinion, of course. Dog's don't need pretty food with dyes and fillers and Beneful is mostly dye and filler. I'm sure Purina has other foods that score higher, but Beneful is certainly not one of them.

Tucker had been eating Beneful for 3+ years with his previous owners and he seemed to be fine. I fed it to him for half a year before I found out it wasn't top quality.

/thankfully didn't say Purina was crap. :D
I bought Senji a small bag of Beneful once. He didn't mind it, but it created a lot of bulk and made him poop about 4 times/day.

[Mia]

ok I just bought a bag of the puppy food from Merricks. I opened the bag, and I seriously wanted to taste it it smelled so good! We'll see how Mia reacts to it.

[Mia]

so this morning I tried 1/4C of Merrick's with 3/4C of her old food...Well it didn't take her more than 10 min to gobble the whole thing up! Usually what we did was put a cup of her old food out in the am, and sometimes even by dinner time it would still be full. Needless to say I think Merricks was a good choice for her palate. It's not that pricey either. It's definitly worth seeing her lick her chomps for like 10 minutes afterwards, and the bowl too! lol
I can't wait to see if she leaves us alone at dinner time when I give her the other 1/2 of her daily food.

[tanza]

Chance of that are slim to none...gggg (leaving you alone during dinner)... especially when the new pup comes. Of course then it will be time to feed each in their crates.... and your girl will not have a chance to "leave" food since you will not be leaving it all day...

[jys1011]

Jazzy's Mom-I totally did not mean to offend...my apologies if I did :( At the time most of Purina's ingredients were not what I wanted to feed my pet & that's just in my humble inexperienced opinion.. From what I undersand a lot of the dog food companies have totally revamped their dog foods. Especially considering the dog food crisis we just experienced in this country.

I read up on the ingredients & I almost gagged (I'm quite serious about this). Corn was the first ingredient which I had read was a big no no. Followed by all kinds of animal "meal" which to me was not something I wanted to feed my dogs. I won't go into what it is because it still makes me nauseous to this day.

The trainer told me it was designed by Vets & contained the utmost nutritional value. I wondered if she had ever read the label? I wondered if she even knew what animal meal was?? I questioned the manner by which stated her authority on dog nutrition. To me, I felt she was completely wrong and needless to say I did not trust her.

[JazzysMom]

Jazzy's Mom-I totally did not mean to offend...my apologies if I did :(


No *offense* taken. I just thought the wording was strong.

We're good.....:D

[Ninabeana26]

I think I may just leave ours on the Eukanuba the breeder has been feeding him. She raises, shows, etc. tons of adult Bs & so I trust her opinion on the matter. Anyone think Eukanuba is a mistake?

I read the ingrediants & didn't think it looked too bad. Meat was the first thing listed & I have been told you know it's a bad dog food if anything besides meat is listed first.

[Nexa]

I found this list a few weeks ago and thought it was interesting. It lists the majority of dog foods and their top 6 ingredients and percentages of protein, fat, fiber...etc. Some of them just look disgusting. It's at least a good place to start when comparing different foods.

http://www.alternativepetservices.com/Dog_Food_Ingredient_Analysis.xls

[tanza]

I think I may just leave ours on the Eukanuba the breeder has been feeding him. She raises, shows, etc. tons of adult Bs & so I trust her opinion on the matter. Anyone think Eukanuba is a mistake?

I read the ingrediants & didn't think it looked too bad. Meat was the first thing listed & I have been told you know it's a bad dog food if anything besides meat is listed first.

My only problem with Euk is the corn and beet pulp.. I think that you can get better food for the same price. And I used to always use Euk... on my kids, both show and performance dogs and expecting Moms... and pups.... but not any more, of course I do have one that is allergic to corn period....

[Mia]

I found this list a few weeks ago and thought it was interesting. It lists the majority of dog foods and their top 6 ingredients and percentages of protein, fat, fiber...etc. Some of them just look disgusting. It's at least a good place to start when comparing different foods.

http://www.alternativepetservices.com/Dog_Food_Ingredient_Analysis.xls

wow that's a great list...and Nina it lists chicken by-product as the second ingredient in Euk...to my knowledge by products of any meat are a no no for a dog.

[Ninabeana26]

wow that's a great list...and Nina it lists chicken by-product as the second ingredient in Euk...to my knowledge by products of any meant are a no no for a dog.

Yea I want to avoid by-products. On the bag I bought though I didn't see that listed. The list given in the previous post actually doesn't have the Euk puppy food listed, only regular & adult.

I think choosing a food is the most complicated part of becoming a pet parent!!! :p

[tanza]

Here are the listed items for Euk Lamb & Rice Puppy (From their website)

Chicken, Corn Meal, Chicken By-Product Meal, Ground Whole Grain Sorghum, Brewers Rice, Fish Meal, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Natural Chicken Flavor, Dried Beet Pulp (sugar removed), Dried Egg Product, Brewers Dried Yeast, Potassium Chloride, Fish Oil (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Salt, Vitamins [Vitamin E Supplement, Ascorbic Acid, Beta-Carotene, Vitamin A Acetate, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate (source of Vitamin B1), Niacin, Riboflavin Supplement (source of Vitamin B2), Inositol, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (source of Vitamin B6), Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid], Choline Chloride, Minerals [Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Potassium Iodide, Cobalt Carbonate], DL-Methionine, Marigold, Rosemary Extract.

[Ninabeana26]

I have it narrowed down to two brands...

Blue Buffalo or By Nature

I checked the website given earlier in this site & those were two that were recommended for dogs. Any opinions over these two?

[TuckerVA]

Other ingredients to avoid in the Euk are the:

-Brewers Rice (which is the cruddy part of rice that has no nutritional value)
-Salt

Merricks Wilderness Blend is considered to be a 5 star food (I believe Blue Buffalo is a 6 star food). This is Merricks ingredients list, for comparison, for the Wilderness Blend:

Buffalo, Oatmeal, Barley, Salmon Meal, Venison, Whole Brown Rice, Canola Oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols – a source of Natural Vitamin E and Ascorbic Acid, a source of Vitamin C), Flaxseed, Freeze Dried Potatoes, Freeze Dried Carrots, Freeze Dried Peas, Freeze Dried Apples, Dicalcium Phosphate, Calcium Carbonate, Potassium Chloride, Lysine, Guar Gum, Sea Salt, Choline Chloride, Zinc Amino Acid Complex, Whole Blueberries, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Dried Venison Broth, Whole Garlic, Chondroitin Sulfate, Glucosamine Hydrochloride, Natural Venison Flavor, Chicory Root, Marigold Extract, Lactobacillus Plantarum, Enterococcus Faecium, Lactobacillus Casei, Lactobacillus Acidophilus, Natural Celery Flavor, Iron Amino Acid Complex, Vitamin E Supplement, Manganese Amino Acid Complex, Natural Caramel Color, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Copper Amino Acid Complex, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin D3, Niacin, Lecithin, Ribofl avin Supplement, Biotin, Ethylenediamine Dihydriodide, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Cobalt Amino Acid Complex, Folic Acid, Thiamine Mononitrate, Sodium Selenite.

[youngandtired]

I tried Blue B as well and Sahara did good on it. It is not available in the town that I live and so I researched and decided to go with Merrick's products. I like the fact that it is a family run business, they all have dogs and all the ingredients are good, no by-products and the business is very successful. I like the idea of putting apples, sweet potatoes, peas and carrots in the food, the fiber is good for dogs. Sahara does not seem to have any problems with her anal glands, and a big plus is that I can buy it locally at a pet nutrition store which is run by a local vet and his family.

[jys1011]

Corn Meal, Chicken By-Product Meal, Ground Whole Grain Sorghum, Brewers Rice, Fish Meal

I have problems with these ingredients...if you look up what these are it's really not good nutrition IMO.

www.dogfoodanalysis.com

[Chelbell26]

Just curious...I've always fed my dogs (larger breeds) Bil-Jac...but I don't see this mentioned anywhere on this thread? Any opinions on Bil-Jac products? The reason I've always used it was because I was told by my breeder when I had a lab that the first two ingredients should be meat (don't know if that's really a big deal or not). But I'm wondering if Bil-Jac would be okay for my b-pup that we are bringing home in 2 weeks. It is not what the B-breeder is feeding them currently, so we'll make the transition slowly...but I'm definately interested in anyone's opinion/experience with Bil-Jac!!!

Thanks all!

[tanza]

Just curious...I've always fed my dogs (larger breeds) Bil-Jac...but I don't see this mentioned anywhere on this thread? Any opinions on Bil-Jac products? The reason I've always used it was because I was told by my breeder when I had a lab that the first two ingredients should be meat (don't know if that's really a big deal or not). But I'm wondering if Bil-Jac would be okay for my b-pup that we are bringing home in 2 weeks. It is not what the B-breeder is feeding them currently, so we'll make the transition slowly...but I'm definately interested in anyone's opinion/experience with Bil-Jac!!!

Thanks all!

Bil Jac is not bad food and meat should be the first ingredients.. however be careful that it is meat and not "by products"... The only thing that I don't like about the Bil Jac is the corn. Corn is useless for dogs, IMO, it is a filler that has no value and many dogs have allergy problems with corn... There are a number of threads about foods on the forum

[Chelbell26]

Pat,
Thanks for your opinion....I didn't know that about the corn (had heard that many dog-people had opinion about teh cane molasses that is in the Bil-Jac product...we might go with something else (EVO, Merrick, Wellness all sound like they come highly recommended from the look of things on the threads in the forum).

Again, thanks for your opinion. :-)

[Ninabeana26]

I switched Dallas over to Merrick's but for some reason he didn't take to it very well. He did at first, when I switched him from eukanuba but then suddenly stopped eating. He would nibble a bit but would actually spit the kibble out. Not sure if it was just that specific kibble, since he did seem to like the Wilderness blend [he spit out the Cowboy Cookout] so now I am trying to get him on Wellness. I mixed it tonight with the Merrick's & he ate more than he has in the past week and a half but I'm going to keep an eye on him since I really do like the Merrick's brand...

[tanza]

Pat,
Thanks for your opinion....I didn't know that about the corn (had heard that many dog-people had opinion about teh cane molasses that is in the Bil-Jac product...we might go with something else (EVO, Merrick, Wellness all sound like they come highly recommended from the look of things on the threads in the forum).

Again, thanks for your opinion. :-)

I have one that has allergies to corn, so I am pretty sensitive to corn in foods... and things like "by products" since you have no idea what is in "by products".... we all do the best we can with feeding our kids.. and food does become a person choice...

[chiya]

I have recently switched to Blue Buffalo and my kids really really like it.
I like that they have these lifesource bits mixed with their kibbles thats cooked in much lower temperature, so all the vitamins, nutrients, antioxidants are not being destroyed by the high temperature processing, so are much potent. What I like about blue buffalo food too is that they use deboned chicken so you are getting more meat for the buck. Not to mentioned they have no corn, by products and other fillers.
Anyhoo.....Highly recommend! And you can get them at any petsmart and I think some of the petco.

I personally don't believe in feeding puppies puppy food. I either feed all lift stage or start with a premium quality adult food.

[Chelbell26]

Thanks Steffie! :-)

[chiya]

Hey Michelle!

March 30th is getting closer and closer.
I am getting more and more excited for you!!

[Chelbell26]

I know...we are SO excited. Thanks for thinking of us. :-) We have everything ready for him...and have spent the past weeks "puppy proofing" our house. Now we just need to get back from vacation (we are going to Las Vegas next week) and when we get home we will be picking him up! :-) YEA!

[chiya]

Have fun in Vegas!!
I LOVE Vegas, such a fun fun place!!
Yea, better get out while you can, having a pet makes it hard
to travel.
One little dog is not bad but with me having 3, it's hard to take
all of them with me especially if I fly, not drive.
Boarding cost adds up QUICK!!!

Again, have fun in Vegas and be sure to share all your
puppy pictures and stories with us once you pick up the
little guy. :rolleyes:



I know...we are SO excited. Thanks for thinking of us. :-) We have everything ready for him...and have spent the past weeks "puppy proofing" our house. Now we just need to get back from vacation (we are going to Las Vegas next week) and when we get home we will be picking him up! :-) YEA!

[Chelbell26]

Well, we finally found our puppy's food (whew). I tried Merrick on the recommendation from so many people on the forum (mixed with his old food of course) and he hated it (wouldn't eat the Merrick & sorta gave me this look like..eww-mom when you mix this stuff in with my regular food it makes everything taste/smell gross)...but when I put down the Wellness food he scarfed it right up...we've found our winner! :-) LOL He definately has had much more energy since he started eating the Wellness and I'm looking forward to trying some Wellness treats since he's rather picky about his treats as well (so far he just likes hotdogs...) LOL All those other expensive treats I've bought will have to be donated to a rescue...as Jackpot wants nothing to do with them. Maybe we'll have better luck with the Wellness treats? :-)

[Ninabeana26]

I tried Dallas on Welness & he did okay on it. I ran out while visiting my grandfather & with Petsmart the only local pet store I had to get something, ended up with Blue Buffalo & now he scarfs that down quicker than he did with the Wellness!

As for the treats, eh. Dallas doesn't go crazy for them like some of the other kinds I have bought. I give him cheese & peanut butter in moderation since those seem to be his favorites. I also buy the tuna treats [I forget the brand but they contain Omega & come in a green/white bag] & he goes crazy for them. Although honestly, they smell TERRIBLE! They sell them at Petsmart :)

[Chelbell26]

Nina,
Thanks for the info. I laughed when you mentioned how smelly the treats are...I think with Jackpot his motto is "the smellier the better!" LOL I will look for those treats you mentioned next time we are at the petstore!

[etzbseder]

I am looking into my next dog food for Medjai. I am looking into AvoDerm, and was wondering what people think about the Oven-Baked Lamb one. I like the price and the ingredient list, just I could use more meat.

[bellabasenji]

I tried Blue B as well and Sahara did good on it. It is not available in the town that I live and so I researched and decided to go with Merrick's products. I like the fact that it is a family run business, they all have dogs and all the ingredients are good, no by-products and the business is very successful. I like the idea of putting apples, sweet potatoes, peas and carrots in the food, the fiber is good for dogs. Sahara does not seem to have any problems with her anal glands, and a big plus is that I can buy it locally at a pet nutrition store which is run by a local vet and his family.Yes, I was impressed by Blue Buffalo, but my Bella was not. Then, shortly after she had diarrhea and I had to take her off of it. (And, yes, I did it slowly... but the diarrhea started before I even got to full strength). You know there must be something in it she is sensitive to. She has a delicate stomach anyways... The only two dry foods I use are Purina One Chicken and Rice and Canidae. She seems to do the best on these, but it is different with each dog...

[tanza]

Canidae has just come out with new Grain Free foods for those interested and like/use Canidae

http://www.canidae.com/

[bellabasenji]

Thank you for the information. I will check it out, but I will be lucky if the store I have (I have to travel and hour away as it is) carries it...

[tanza]

Thank you for the information. I will check it out, but I will be lucky if the store I have (I have to travel and hour away as it is) carries it...

If not, you can most likely find a place on line and have it shipped

[ChaseandZahrasmom]

Indy's Mom (RNasto) turned us on to Prarie and the dogs love it! I have been using Innova EVO but Zahra had been having a lot of problems with anal glands so the vet told me to change her food and add some pumpkin to see if that would help, so far so good and I like that you can switch the selection around without upsetting your dogs stomach, once they are use to one kind of the food they can eat all of them.