What do you feed your dog?

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yusqueya	What do you feed your dog?		Lead	[-]
Posts: 395 07/01/09 11:56 PM	Hi everyone - I'm relatively new on the boards, and did leave a quick introduction in the Daily Dog forum. Please forgive me if this is a repeat question (and feel free to point me in the right direction!). I'm just wanting to get some feedback about what everyone is feeding their dogs these days? I lost my special girl last year to cancer of the spleen, and she wasn't even 12. Although she was on Science Diet and Medi-Cal for much of her life, I'm concerned that processed dog food may have contributed to her condition. We're getting a new puppy sometime in the near future, and I want to start out right with the right food. I'd love to hear from you about brands you love, and whether you make your own, etc. I'm a little wary of going the homemade route, because of the time involved, and also because I'm a vegetarian and am not interested in dealing with meat! Any assistance would be most helpful, I'm not even sure where to start with research!
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Sharon		#1	[url]	[-]
Posts: 1056 07/02/09 12:18 AM	Welcome! My Jasper passed from spleen cancer as well, at a fairly young age. I think, unfortunately, it's becoming more common in some breeds and mixes. I've never heard of a diet link, but I am not an expert in any way. I am sorry for your loss. She had a sweet face and lovely little eyebrows. One of my dogs is allergic to chicken/ turkey etc, so I feed a rotation of fish/ red meat based kibble. I rotate between ProPlan Sensitive Stomach (Salmon based) and Solid Gold Wolf King (Salmon/ Red meat). I supplement with some fish oil and glucosamine/ chondroitin. Sometimes canned plain pumpkin. I don't feed raw, but many here do. My dogs do really well on this food mix. Coats are shiny, no ear guck, good solid output. All the things we dog owners notice. I saw your other post as well. What type of dog are you looking to add to your family? Sharon
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cdturner		#2	[url]	[-]
Posts: 7985 07/02/09 5:15 AM Moderator/Rescue	I switch foods often. I'm really fortunate that there is a small store 5 minutes away that carries many of the more natural dog foods. Foods that I've fed include Avoderm (current) Pinnacle Verus Canidae Innova Evo Wellness Flint River Ranch Taste of the Wild California Natural I'm sure there are others, but you get the idea. Before I found this store, I fed Eukanuba, which is available at PetSmart, a little further away. Carolyn, Chester, Mandy, Matthew, Sam, Lily
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SW845		#3	[url]	[-]
Posts: 20797 07/02/09 6:15 AM Professional Trainer/Owns Board	There has never been a better time to feed a dog! There are SO MANY great products out there. Here's the deal: Some dogs so well on every food. Some dogs do poorly on every food. No matter what you feed, some group - and you can find them all on the Internet - will tell you that you are INSANE and you are KILLING YOUR DOG!!! I'm sorry you lost your companion and splenic cancers do seem to be getting more common. No one knows why yet - to my knowledge. Many people have guesses that they state as fact. What I will note - gently - is that, while I don't know the size of your lost friend, 12 is a decent age for a large dog. I've lost some older, I've lost some younger. It's always hard and it is always comforting to think that we can make some change to control the outcome next time. So... do your research and feed what you consider to be the very best food you can get and afford. I also add in "real" food, feed some raw, feed some cooked and sleep pretty well at night. Hope that helps. Sarah Wilson Your dog can change but you have to change first.
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we2ding		#4	[url]	[-]
Posts: 12 07/02/09 6:53 AM	What do you mean by "Real" food? And what should you look for when purchasing a dog food?
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Crocodile		#5	[url]	[-]
Posts: 172 07/02/09 7:35 AM	Croc is picky and has a sensitive stomach, he won't eat most kibbles or many treats, and he gets diarrhea pretty easily, so it's taken us a while to figure out what works for him. Right now he seems to do well on: a.m. Evo kibble (we alternate the chicken and the red meat) mixed with a little canidae canned. treats: ideally plain boiled chicken, sometimes liver treats from the store or cheese. p.m. Evo kibble with some kind of protein (scrambled egg, grated cheese, scraps of whatever we're having for dinner if it's appropriate) and some kind of whole grain or vegetable (peas, broccoli, sweet potato, brown rice, whole grain bread). bedtime: a sterilized bone stuffed with a little more canned canidae food. he's only been home 6 weeks so if there are long term side effects of these we won't know, but this seems to be working, and the vet approves.
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kchriste		#6	[url]	[-]
Posts: 7552 07/02/09 9:45 AM Trainer/Senior Member	I feed my corgis Eukanuba for Dachshunds with a little canned pumpkin (for fiber) and a little plain yogurt, and an Iams biscuit at bedtime. I don't rotate because that seems to cause tummy upsets. They get less than the label recommends, to maintain their waistlines. They are 7 and 10, and when they had their annual vet visit last month, the vet (new to our practice) fell all over herself exclaiming how wonderful they looked.
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msquared		#7	[url]	[-]
Posts: 4222 07/02/09 11:10 AM Senior Member	My 56 lb goldendoodle gets Eagle Pack Holistic Select Lamb and Oatmeal, and my 9 lb Pom gets Euk small breed adult. I also mix in "real" food--they get a little pumpkin or yogurt or cottage cheese with their kibble, and I'll use leftover chicken or steak for high value training treats. They also get a cookie at bedtime--mine love the EVO biscuits. Molly's 7 and in very good shape, she's been on Nature's Variety, Solid Gold and Nutro previously. We've stuck with the Eagle Pack for awhile now. It doesn't seem to upset her stomach ever, and she has relatively small and firm poops for a dog of her size.
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EttaMae		#8	[url]	[-]
Posts: 4484 07/02/09 11:30 AM Senior Member	I currently feed Nature's Recipe, which is considered a mid-range type food. I have fed Purina One in the past (from the grocery store and considered not an amazing food by many folks) and my dogs looked amazing on it. I still felt guilty feeding it, though, and like I put my pocket book before my dogs, even though I got good results. I am not as thrilled right now with the Nature's Recipe even though it touts all kinds of things like no corn, wheat and other whatnots that are supposed to be "bad" for dogs. Like Sarah said, there is no best food out there and there is lots of propaganda (I am a victim considering my guilt over feeding a food my dogs did well on) and confusing myths regarding what's best. Too much research can leave you wondering if your dogs are better off just not eating anything, as there will be a website telling you that xx ingredients are good and another telling you that dogs will die if fed xx. I am not a nutritionist or a vet, but I think "meal" and "By-products" are good things and I don't care if my dogs' food is human-grade or not. It all gets cooked up the same way and I think brains and livers and intestines and all are probably healthy for them, if unappetizing to me personally. And you'll find thousands of people who aren't experts, either, who disagree with me. If anyone can claim they're alright... So can I. --James McMurtry
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yusqueya		#9	[url]	[-]
Posts: 395 07/02/09 11:36 AM	Thanks everyone - this has given me some excellent places to start my research. It's good to know what brands people are having success with. I wanted to clarify my statement about the cancer/food relation as well - I didn't mean to imply that spleen cancer is caused by diet. Or that my dog was overly young...it was just very sudden and she had no other health issues at all, so she never seemed like an "old" dog, you know? Anyway, I've just been hearing about so many dogs passing away at really young ages - 4, 5, things like that. My husband and I are very careful about what WE eat because we believe that diet is directly linked to all sorts of nasty diseases. He and I were discussing it yesterday and both agreed that it only makes sense that we put as much thought and care into what we feed our dog as to what we feed ourselves. Hope that makes sense? It's good to know there are some good quality, natural brands out there for me to take a look at. We have a lot of specialty pet supply stores, and big box pet supply stores, in our area, so finding them shouldn't be a problem. Oh, and we're thinking of some mix of Lab, Shepherd, or Husky. Not ruling other breeds out though, of course, what's most important to us is the right personality. We saw a shepherd/husky (with maybe a little Akita) at the shelter last week, and he was lovely! If it wasn't for the fact that we'd really love a female and that we've got two vacations booked in the next 2 months, we might have tried fostering him!
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KellieB		#10	[url]	[-]
Posts: 4513 07/02/09 2:46 PM Senior Member	So many choices! I currently feed about 1/2 and 1/2 kibble (Taste of the Wild and Fromm 4 Star), and a premade raw (Ultimate Diet) to my 9 year old Doberman. He seemed to be really hungry on just raw, and the kibble in the morning keeps him satisfied I'm finding. I recently switched my 12 year old Lab to straight raw and allergies that have plagued her all her life have strinkingly decreased to just seasonal, which we're thrilled about. I think you're right in thinking that diet affects other aspects of health and vitality, and there are so many choices out there whether you want to feed all kibble, all raw, cooked, make your own, buy mixes or premades, there's something for you. I know what you mean about 12 not seeming old in an otherwise healthy dog. Sorry you lost your friend. Can't wait to meet your future buddy. Some is better than none. ~Kellie
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Isis2x		#11	[url]	[-]
Posts: 3901 07/03/09 2:19 AM	Just my amateur two cents here... I had switched my guys to grain-free after the whole dog-food fiasco a couple years ago. Russ (all of 11lbs MAX, JRT/Chi mix), contrary to the whole high-calorie grain-free idea, could not keep weight on when I was feeding the Go! Natural grain-free food. The amounts needed to keep weight on him were ridiculous for the food. Along came Dezi, and I had everyone on Orijen. All three boys were doing well on it for over a year, but in the past few months I've noticed a decline in Tai's coat (Pomeranian), so I thought I would try switching them back to the Chicken Soup that Tai has always done well on. I was hesitant due to a suspected allergy in Dezi (ear infection as a pup that I attributed to treats I was feeding him), but thus far, fingers crossed, it's been okay. I'm hoping that I can keep all three dogs on the same diet, and I know Tai does well with the Chicken Soup - which is readily available at a lot of pet food stores. The Orijen I had to buy at a few specific stores ---- though I still get the CS from the same feed store just up the road, so it's not a big deal, it's just more readily available here than the Orijen is. All dogs are so different, you'll find what works for you!! Russ and Dezzer (barring allergies on Dezi's part) pretty much have iron stomachs.... It's just Tai who has the picky digestive system for me! He absolutely could NOT eat Canidae, despite the recommendations, for example... Finding him a good food is my primary goal. ~Thia (my site) Tai, Russ, Dezi, & the Kitties
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Dunbartonlass		#12	[url]	[-]
Posts: 340 07/03/09 8:04 PM	I have always fed Hill's Science diet and as they got older they all switched to one of the Hill's Prescription diets. All pets lived to a good old age - Lab 18, Cat 23, other cat 17 and current dog 13/14 and still going strong. My current guy is on Hills k/d as he has kidney disease, but he has been living with this for the past 6 years and has managed to maintain good kidney values when we do his blood work, this is managed only with diet. So personally I have no complaints with Hill's food. I have a friend who had a dog that had terrible tummy troubles - lose stools and vomiting. They tried all kinds of high end foods that either didn't help or made the problem worse. They ran out of food on a weekend and someone in the family picked up a small bag of plain old Purina - not the greatest food when you look at what is in it, but it agreed with the dog and tummy troubles where solved. So that said you go with what works for the dog.
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swtscorpioxoxo		#13	[url]	[-]
Posts: 510 07/04/09 1:24 AM	I only feed holistic foods. I rotate among different brands for variety and right now I'm feeding Eagle Pack Holistic Duck & Oatmeal. Others that I've fed and really like are Fromm, Before Grain and Orijen.
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jemini574		#14	[url]	[-]
Posts: 674 07/04/09 8:29 AM	Budget wise, I can't spend the money for the really high end super premium dog foods, but I try to buy the best I can within my budget. I have found that Diamond Naturals dog food fits that pretty well. There is no corn or wheat in it, and it has gotten a good rating on dogfoodanalysis.com. It costs between 16.99 and 19.99 for a 20lb. bag, depending on where I buy it (it's cheaper at Tractor Supply than at the pet store). That cost is actually LESS than Iams and Purina ONE, which I have fed before and Diamond is a better quality food. Jeni "A dog is not almost-human, and I know of no greater insult to the canine race than to describe it as such." - John Holmes
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Tundra Ice		#15	[url]	[-]
Posts: 1733 07/04/09 9:57 AM	yusqueya First of all, please accept my deepest sympathy for losing your girl to cancer; we lost our first Samoyed to that and it was devastating. Because of Tundra's cancer, I'd started to do some research on foods. The results of that research is that I avoid foods with corn, wheat, and other ingredients that process as sugars. We have fed numerous foods; my current food is Natural Planet Organics. I'm also a huge fan of Blue Buffalo and Eagle Holistic (Fish, duck or chicken) I've also been happy with Innova Evo and just plain Innova. There are a ton of different foods out there and there are a ton of good foods. In my mind, there is really no "right" or "wrong" answer so long as you follow this general rule. Avoid foods with fillers. If corn/wheat are in the top few ingredients, I would take this as a tip off that there is a lot of filler in it. There are a couple of other ingredients/chemicals (I think) that you need to avoid but I'm still in that "I just woke up" mode and cant think of them off hand. I'll re-post if I do. If a dog will not come to you after having looked you in the face, you should go home and examine your conscience -Woodrow Wilson Windy, Taiga, Breeze, Reggie Denali
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Julians Linen		#16	[url]	[-]
Posts: 209 07/05/09 1:52 AM	I feed Taste of the Wild to most of my crew, and Aesop gets some sort of food with grains in it mixed in as well (he has digestive issues if he's on strictly grain free, no matter which brand) . Currently he's eating Halo Spot's Stew, salmon formula. We're trying Innova next, if they ever get a not 40 lb bag in, as it's sold at the same store the TOTW is. Grabbing food at different stores is annoying, particularly when you need to stock up on both on the same day.
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BarnCat		#17	[url]	[-]
Posts: 2457 07/05/09 5:10 PM Veterinarian/Moderator	Hi there I am a big fan of some of the MediCal and the Science Diet products and feed them to my own dogs/cats - so don't rule them out. I have not seen any links between diet and hemangiosarcoma - it is just a horrible thing that can happen to any dog at any age - although larger breeds and GSD's and their mixes are most common. The science that goes behind both of those foods and particulary the Science Diet products is more than ANY other food company. So you can be assured that what you are feeding is good. Science Diet has some amazing peer reviewed science out there with respect to nutrition and aging and longevity. THey have researched it to the nth degree. They actually look at the DNA of the cells of older dogs and figure out WHAT is needed to keep the cells healthy - and if the cells are healthy so is the dog. It is very neat science - they actually test their foods at the cellular level - nobody else does that. Their brand name is well named - Science Diet. I was not a huge SD fan for years BUT I have learned more and I like what I see. Their J/D food - joint food - is very cool - how it is made blew me away when I first learned of it - they actually looked at what is the cellular differences between dogs with arthritic change and dogs without arthritic change and then they added "stuff" to the diets to see if they could make the arthritic cells look and act like non-arthritic cells. This is very unique and innovative science - many of the SD diets are formulated that way. Very impressive research and the proof is in the dog so to speak - dogs thrive on the SD foods. Lots of newer companies on the market with a natural or holistic approach BUT and this is a big BUT for me - there is very little research into them. So it is a buyer beware market - I want a food that has passed some outside testing before I will look at it. ORIJEN is just such a food - has been independently tested and passed muster. SO much so that it was declared Pet Food of the Year recently. Two of my dogs eat this and are doing great. IT is hard to know what to feed and you can hear a million different opinions - I try and stay current with my food information but it changes constantly. Take Care, Alix
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kchriste		#18	[url]	[-]
Posts: 7552 07/06/09 10:50 AM Trainer/Senior Member	"Lots of newer companies on the market with a natural or holistic approach BUT and this is a big BUT for me - there is very little research into them." (Barncat) "I am not a nutritionist or a vet, but I think "meal" and "By-products" are good things and I don't care if my dogs' food is human-grade or not. It all gets cooked up the same way and I think brains and livers and intestines and all are probably healthy for them, if unappetizing to me personally. And you'll find thousands of people who aren't experts, either, who disagree with me. " (Etta Mae) I totally agree with both of these statements. Oh, and all of my pets have lived to their mid-teens, and they have been fed a variety of foods over the years, including grocery-store foods. (and EttaMae-- a friend of mine talked to a Purina rep, and they told her Purina One and ProPlan are basically the same food sold in different places. If your dogs did great on them, they are good foods for your dogs) Last Edited By: kchriste 07/06/09 10:55 AM. Edited 1 time.
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finnsmydog		#19	[url]	[-]
Posts: 10679 07/06/09 11:25 AM Senior Member	I judge "how my dogs are doing on the food I am feeding" by looking at my dogs ---- are their coats shiny (They can get dry skin/dandruff)? Do they seem to have good energy level? Are their poops nice and tight (rather than soft and fluffy)? Other than that, the only other non-expert thing I do is that I rotate their proteins around once in a while. I have kept a couple of proteins that my dogs have not been fed (buffalo and rabbit for me) just in case I need to go to a new protein in an allergy situation), but I may go through a couple of bags of chicken (I am right now feeding Merrick BG but have fed Natual Balance, Nature's Variety, California Natural, Wellness -- my dogs did not do well on, Nutro -- my dogs did not do well on, Innova Evo, to name a few) and then switch to beef, or salmon, or lamb. I do this mostly because I get bored with feeding the same thing and I am projecting that feeling onto my dogs. My dogs' kibble get mixed with pumpkin, yogurt, canned food, carrots and green beans, eggs, cooked chicken --- from time to time. I have also noticed that Eukanuba seems to be a popular brand with sport people that I know. Kei, Finn finn and Lulu Lucy
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yusqueya		#20	[url]	[-]
Posts: 395 07/06/09 4:10 PM	Thanks everyone - again, I just want to say that I really appreciate all of you weighing in on this issue - I know that it is somewhat personal and everyone has their own preference. But you have given me a whole bunch of wonderful ideas of where to start looking. I'm hoping to be more involved on the boards over the next few months (aside from just getting my own questions answered!). I have a business trip coming up this week that is making life rather hectic, but hopefully after that things will settle down and I'll be able to contribute more. Thanks again! =)
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