44 replies to this topic

[puckmonkey]

I am trying to find a really good dog food to feed my AID, Ed. I have done some online searching but it is overwhelming so I thought I would ask you guys what you feed your dogs and what you would reccomend. He only has two special issues and they arent really that bad either. One is his teeth arent as healthy as they could be (the vet said that it might be because of poor nutrition, but I thought I was feeding a good food) and the other problem is he gets occasional raw spots on his legs ( The vet said they are nothing to worry about because they heal pretty fast and he doesnt seem to be bothered by them, but they bother me that he gets them in the first place). The vet reccomended Science Diet but I think that's just the same as Pro Plan in my opinion so, any information you could provide would be helpful. Thanks!

[judyk]

We feed our kids Chicken Soup for the Soul -- or something like that. We also use Iams. They don't get any canned dog food. I cook chicken breasts and beef roasts and cut it up, mix it with a bit of broth - either chicken or beef. They also get some raw food, veggies and eggs. Shadow still gets hot spots on her back leg - we're nursing one now - it's allergies. We have a cream that we put on it but she literally licks the hair off her leg. Back to the diet, we mix it up - I get bored with eating the same things so I'm sure all of our kids do too. All seven of ours have eaten this way with absolutely no problems. We do get their teeth cleaned once a year too and Larry brushes them also. Don't know if you're interested in what we do, but I thought I'd throw it out there. Everyone on the group is different, as are the dogs, so whatever is going to work for your house and animal!!

[woodrat]

Dog food is such a tricky subject. There are so many people who swear by many different things and it seems like the more you read about various foods and what's 'best', the more confusing it gets.

I've spent a lot of time reading up on http://www.dogfoodproject.com/ and found it to be very helpful as far as narrowing down what my best options were. Ideally I'd prefer to be feeding raw, but I don't have the freezer space for it and it is just too expensive to buy pre-made raw diets.
http://www.dogfoodan...g_food_reviews/ is also good

Personally, I use grain free kibble (since I got T I've been using Acana and found it to be very good, though pricey), but it is very high in potato which I'm not a huge fan of. Both my dogs do well on it, but I know dogs that are prone to itchy feet/skin (due to the excess starch (I believe) in potato-based foods) whose issues were able to be cleared up with a raw diet. I also mix in various canned foods to my guys' meals for variety and they get different chews/bones from assorted animal sources almost daily which helps keep teeth clean.
I also know a lot of dogs that are on Chicken Soup for the Soul who do very well. Another good and comparable one is Canidae.

Judyk is right, it really boils down to finding what fits right for you and your dog.

I will say, though, that vets are notoriously not a great source of nutritional information. Pretty sure Science Diet pays them quite a bit of money to endorse SD products (and nearly all of them do!), which is highly suspect considering corn is one of if not the the primary ingredient in many of their formulas. Not to mention 'chicken by-product meal,' aka beaks/feet/etc. Yum!

Edited by woodrat, 28 December 2011 - 08:17 PM.

[Nessa]

We use http://flintriver.com/ dog food. It's really fantastic food. It doesn't have that dog-food smell, and is fresh baked. Her coat is extra shiny and soft because of it, too. I don't give her anything with "meal"in it; chicken meal, corn meal, etc. Everything is natural, and generally I give it a little taste test to make sure it's not awful.

[Karen]

There have already been extensive conversations on this subject. You should do a search.

[Starghoti]

As Karen said, there has been extensive discussion on this topic.

My rule of thumb- after reading the ingredients, would I be readily willing to eat it every day???

[maria]

We use http://flintriver.com/ dog food. It's really fantastic food. It doesn't have that dog-food smell, and is fresh baked. Her coat is extra shiny and soft because of it, too. I don't give her anything with "meal"in it; chicken meal, corn meal, etc. Everything is natural, and generally I give it a little taste test to make sure it's not awful.

My sister just found out about this food and is VERY happy with it! I use Innova but may try this dog food from flint river.....I also mix in meat and veggies etc.

[miz molly]

I use Canidae. My Boarder Collie had horrible hot spots on her back. I must have tried at least 5 different foods including Chicken Soup for the soul, and Science diet. I finally hit on Canidae and all of the hot spots totally disappeared and have not returned. (It's been over a year). I also mix chicken broth or beef broth, or duck broth etc, and raw veggies etc. that I make, to change things up a bit. I have to admit this is NOT a daily thing, but more like 5 X a week. AND those nights that I don't add the fancy stuff, I just add a bit of water. Each dog is so different as to what their allergies are, you really have to just try different foods to see what works for your pup. Good luck.

[Starghoti]

Oh yeah, and my sr.Dog, Mina, has such allergies- I have to basically feed grain free (she can't have Wheat, Corn, Soy, Barley, Sweet Potatoe, Spelt, or Strawberries or she will chew herself Bloody.) So I really read labels and analyze the ingredients. I feed semi-raw diet, with turkey necks and chicken legs and fresh vegetables and sea-greens and such. Along with kibble like http://www.naturalba...ulas/PandD.html and http://www.nutrisour...ucts/gf_chicken

[Karen]

I feed semi-raw diet, with turkey necks and chicken legs and fresh vegetables and sea-greens and such. Along with kibble like http://www.naturalba...ulas/PandD.html and http://www.nutrisour...ucts/gf_chicken

I was really surprised when my dogs scarfed down the Kombu I had left over from making dashi. They love the stuff. Roasted kale, too. I give them the veggies when I make stock, and they like that a lot more than fresh, and I use blueberries as training treats. That's not all they get, but it's just some more ideas.

[Starghoti]

Here is a pretty good source/review

http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/

[Sherab]

We make our own, using SoJo's as the base. Have been for 10 years. We see a big positive difference in how this batch of GSDs have aged and our last batch. Since mad cow and the china killer fillers, I like knowing exactly what's going in.

[liz]

I am surprised you have so many allergy problems over there, have no problem with Shunka what so ever that way, but I do try to keep to the no unatural preservatives and colours. I have put him on senior biscuits and other food to try and get his weight down, he is looking much trimmer now, he put on a great deal after we had him neutered. His teeth are fine, very little tarter, I give him Dentastix and they seem to keep his teeth good, and he likes them. so at nearly 14 he's quite good for his age, and the way he is improving he'll be a much younger looking dog again! Wish it worked for me! I do give him glucosamine with his food, we have a brand called Vet's Kitchen, which has no artificial flavours or colours and this also seems to be helping him move a lot better.

As others have said before, it's sometime trial and error, same thing as my great niece bringing up her new baby, she is finding different midwives have different views, perhaps the one's who have had children aren't quite so rigid and perhaps Auntie Liz does know a little bit about it too!

[Allison]

My dog gets the runs if there are grains. He really cannot eat them, and I believe those hot spots are an extension of that type of allergy--fillers. Dogs do not naturally eat grain. But he does fine with all sorts of veggies and meat of course.

It is interesting to note that there was never such a thing as "dog food" until the 50's.

Just before space food sticks and instant breakfast.

[miz molly]

It is interesting to note that there was never such a thing as "dog food" until the 50's.

I was thinking of Friskies dog food as that is what I remember from childhood....so I looked it up. Here is what I found on Wikipedia....... Not that it really matters, I just thought I would take a lookie loo.

Friskies dry dog food was introduced in 1930^[1][2] or 1934.^[3] Friskies canned dog food was introduced in 1948.^[2] Friskies's dry cat food was first sold by the Carnation Company in 1956,^[4] as Little Friskies^[1] or 1958.^[3] In 1973, Friskies Mighty Dog canned dog food was introduced.^[3] Carnation and the Friskies brand were acquired by Nestlé in 1985.^[3][5]

I can only imagine what they used to put into the canned food. As I recall, processed horse meat was part of it........yuck!

[Allison]

I stand corrected. However, you can see that "dog food" was a later invention. They have lived wth us all these many, many years, and done well.

Was it Sherab or Chinatola who mentioned that the raw diet causes them to mature a little slower? Thanks so much for mentioning that very interesting point.

There is a lot of talk about the very high protein dog foods, causing pups to grow above and beyond their joints.

I am sure it is all fine, and whatever works for you and your dog, but good info, and something to chew on.... .

[miz molly]

I stand corrected. However, you can see that "dog food" was a later invention. They have lived wth us all these many, many years, and done well.

Was it Sherab or Chinatola who mentioned that the raw diet causes them to mature a little slower? Thanks so much for mentioning that very interesting point.

There is a lot of talk about the very high protein dog foods, causing pups to grow above and beyond their joints.

I am sure it is all fine, and whatever works for you and your dog, but good info, and something to chew on.... .

Allison, well said! I have noticed that "Charlie Two Step" is a profound foodie. I tested him on sweet potatoes and a tiny bit of pre-chewed chicken last night.....he went absolutely nuts and wanted more.... This morning it was yogart and fruit. Tolinka is a very slow, picky eater where Two Step scarfs his food. I think I am finally going to go back to the pre-fifties era and give the dogs left overs mixed with dry Canadea (sp?) dry food so that they get a more exciting diet. Thanks all for bringing up yet another important facts on canine diet.

[Starghoti]

I use these guys as my "yardstick" for foods. They are impartial and consider all the bad and questionable ingredients that go into the manufactured kibble on the market.

http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/

And I am with MizM, I think I will also include some of our leftovers (barring HIGHLY spiced and such..) with our kids' dinners.
They get a nice rounded breakfast usually

Typical Example- Turkey Neck (raw), a medium portion of high-end kibble, some red cabbage, half a hard boiled egg, some parsley, a little more chicken (raw/uncooked), turmeric and cinnamon, and Mina's bowl has her meds too..
Please pay no attention to the breadcrumbs - lol


But I have neglected their dinner- opting for basically just kibble. But I think they would Love to help me get rid of those pesky leftovers..

[Karen]

I never think of giving the dogs plain old leftovers. They get a lot of veggies, and sometimes they get lucky enough to get eggs, either whole or just yolk or white, and I save as much vegetable parings etc as I can and steam them for the dogs. A super good day includes salmon skin.

Years ago a vet told us, when suggesting we supplement our Bouvier's diet with vegetables because he was always so hungry, that dogs' short guts make it hard for them to fully digest vegetables. Since they don't chew their food, cooking it or chopping it with a food processor makes sense to me. Dogs eat the stomach contents of prey, who are often herbivores, quickly - it's that and the organs that get their attention first. This also make sense, since the animal's last meal would already be partly broken down for them.

I'm going to start giving them more leftovers, they will be so happy.

BTW, Danza ate two olives yesterday, calamatas. The first one, she carried around with her for awhile before finally taking the plunge. She came straight over to me for another one after that.

[miz molly]

BTW, Danza ate two olives yesterday, calamatas. The first one, she carried around with her for awhile before finally taking the plunge. She came straight over to me for another one after that.