Is any dog food good?
 

After reading all of these posts I feel like people think no dog food is good at the stores. I absolutely do not have time to make him food and I have had yorkies before who did perfectly fine on foods like Purina. Are all these foods bad, or are people being overly cautious?:confused:

Mine have always eaten dog food. I know growing up our dogs ate alpo or gaines burger as there wasn't the selection of good foods there are now, and they all did fine. I do like mine to eat a good food. Mine eat California Natural canned.

is canned better? Is wellness good? You know susan gave us sensible choice, but you can only buy it online, and he only eats it if we hand feed him. He is only eating about 1/4 cup a day of food. I just want to find something he loves.

Ive had dogs all my life and I dont ever remember any of them having life threatening or even remotely dangerous problems or diseases from eating regular dog food that you buy from a grocery store. I think that right now the fad is to buy all the natural stuff because its proven right now to be the best thing. Unfortunately not everyone can afford the best thing on the market. I, for one, feed my dog Purina Puppy Chow. It might not be the best thing for her, but its not going to hurt her at all and its what the breeder was giving her. I free feed her and she eats it and likes it fine. I am thinking about switching her to Iams though because I think thats a step up from Purina and our last dog was on Iams and did fine with it. Unfortunately, there is no store in my area that sells anything but what is sold at Walmart or Safeway so I have to buy in bulk when I go to Reno and havent been since getting my puppy. I dont buy the best of the best in everything I buy for my family and we seem to survive. Aside from feeding my puppy whats apparently the worst foods out there, I think the middle of the road brands are fine. But what do I know, really?

yes, my last dog ate purina for 15 years! He was a lively, healthy dog and never had any problems. I think the alot of these natural foods are a lot of hype, but that's just my opinion.:)

I am wondering the same thing. I don't have time to cook for him either. I've done it but it is too time consuming for my lifestyle right now. Right now he is eating Solid Gold Wee Bits. I've fed him Canidae as well and he seemed to like it. I think both foods are good for them and are reasonably priced. Since I only have one yorkie spending $7-10 on a 5lb bag every 3-4 months works within my budget.:)

I might just go back to Canidae because the weebits is too small for him now. All he does is swallows them and ends up eating too much...then he throws it back up.:(

Breeding seminars typically have at least one speaker covering nutrition, and at some point they will say,"If what you are doing works....don't fix it." If you are having problems experiment and ask for references. My personal opinion is to avoid moist foods for regular feedings. Yorkies are prone to plaque build up and the dry food helps control that. Poor breeding practice has given us a high instance of allergic reaction to foods and the pet food market reacts quickly to any opportunity for profit, they will provide anything we are willing to pay for.

In one seminar taught by Pat Hastings she makes a statement that the best dog and the worst dog, nutritionally speaking, that she has ever seen were fed the same brand of food.

I'm sorry but just because you think your dog is doing well on a supermarket brand doesn't mean they are. Would you eat chicken feet, beaks, feathers, beef testicles, hair, eyeballs and everything scaped up off the floor? That is what a meat-by-product is!! And almost every grocery store brand has by products in it and way too much corn or wheat gluten. Dogs really shouldn't have grain anyway, that is how they have so many allergies and itching problems. Dogs are carnivores, not ominvores. If the first ingredient in your dog food isn't a named meat or meat meal then it is not a great food for your dog. All the dog foods at the grocery store are fast food for animals, would you eat McDonald's every day for the rest of your life?? Just something to think about.

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well said... i think ignorance is bliss but i am not feeding Layla something i wouldn't put in my own mouth.

I do believe it is not just hype, but proven that quality foods definitely make a difference. Purina and Iams are not middle of the road, but bottom of the barrel foods. Pay particular attention to teh list of additives and you will find known cancer causing agents in many lower grade foods. Feeding kibble will not help keep their teeth clean when it essentially has garbage and sugar in it either. And kibble alone should never be relied on to keep Yorkie teeth clean. Yorkies are notorious for poor dental health. Either brushing their teeth or providing quality chew items such as natural Bully's or quality raw bones is essential.

A quality food does not have to be ridiculously expensive either. And with a quality food, 1/4-1/2 cup for a small dog is all they need. If you look at the recommended feeding amount of Purina (for example) as compared to Canidae there will be a substantial difference because Purina has very little meat and mostly filler and junk, compared to the good ingredients in Canidae. So, if you base the price of the bag divided by how many feedings you get out of a premium brand, the premium brands are not more expensive.

Is any dog food good?
 

I am as confused as you are. My Maltese ate Casear's and lived to be 16 because of heat stroke. They say this is the worst food to feed. He was always healthy, happy, full of energy. Look at the products in our food.
When I was a kid, Daddy, was a cook in the Marine Corp. for 30 years, he cooked chicken feet, it was cleaned very well and delicious, hog brains and hog testicles that he put in corn bread. I am a very healty 64 year old.
Tricksie is on Pedigree wet with Innova EVO dry, the Vet said that she is so healthy, keep on the same diet.
I think a lot of us just get to carried away with stuff.:eek:

I used to feed Scooter Purina One until I started noticing his coat becoming more wirey. It would look great after we got back from the groomers but as time went on, I could tell something wasn't right. He had itchy skin and stopped getting excited about meal-time. My next-door neighbors have a dog that needed to see a specialist. The specialist switched the food they gave their dogs to Wellness. After talking to them about what a difference it made, and knowing what was going on with Scooter, I decided to try Wellness.

At first, I didn't know what to think but I swear there is a major difference. Scooters coat is back to being super soft (without any products) and he loves his food. I know you don't think there is a difference now but once you switch, you will never go back. Scooter started on Wellness Just for Puppy but now that he is growing up, I am transitioning him to their adult food. When I visited family recently, their dog loved Scooters food so much that now they have switched their dog to it as well. I think you should give it a try. It takes a week or two minimum to see a change but you will see it.

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup: for Wellness
:thumbdown Purina/Purina One

This is a great post! :thumbup:

For the person who asked - Wellness is a GREAT quality food. Franklin and Maggie are on Wellness and I love it!

in my opinion.. it doesn't matter HOW well your dogs are doing on that food (fi you can call it that) but LOOK at what the ingredients are.... i'm sure the quality if the EVO is balancing the crap of the Pedigree and for that your pup is very lucky.

Wellness is a good food. I know mine loved the Sensible Choice but it was so hard to find and it was involved in a recall so I switched to California Natural.

still though he will only eat out of our hands. He is always like "i could take it or leave it" about food.

I think thats alittle over reacting. I mean not every dog food out there is made up of chicken feet and beef testicles. There are some good middle of the road quality brand dog food out there. Nobody said they were feeding their puppy/dog Beneful. Purina wasnt even one of the brands in the big petfood recall earlier this year! Or was it Pedigree? I dont remember now. Or both? Regardless, I dont think we're implying that we should hand our puppies/dogs food with eyeballs and beaks in it. I cant imagine that someone would spend upwards of $800+ on their dog and not be able to purchase something halfway decent for their pet.

Wow, this is actually a very good post and makes COMPLETE sense! Okay, you got me. I guess Im wrong.....Hmmmm, I am going to be Seattle tomorrow and maybe I'll have to find a store to compare the brands..Good post. Thank you for breaking it down for me. Seriously. It got me thinking.

I just think that I hear so much about homemade food, and not everyone has time for that. Some may also not have the money to spend on some of these brands of food. I just want a nice healthy food that won't cost me tons. :D

Homemade cooking can be very easy. Just spend a couple of hours one weekend making meals for the whole week. You just separate them into little bags and freeze. I don't homecook but I think I could find time. As far as price goes...

Also, Yorkies are so small. I spend anywhere from 9-12 dollars for Maggie's food and 10-13 dollars for Franklin's food. That's only a couple of dollars more than a bag of grocery store food once a month. To me, it's not that much extra cost but SO MUCH more worth it. My babies are my life so I want them to have the best quality food so that they can be as healthy as possible. If they are healthy, they are less likely to develop more serious complications that could cost much much more later down the road.

Sorry.. got cut off by the time limit.

I don't mean to offend you but I never have understood why people think strangely of me for feeding my dogs top quality food. Some people put quality gas or car products into their car. Why not do the same for a LIVING, breathing, priceless companion? You likely have paid upwards of 800 dollars for this dog (depending on where you are, obviously) - not to mention the hundreds for bedding, toys, clothing, etc. Why not do what you can to make sure your dog will live as long as possible? To be more practical - you want to take good care of an investment so that it retains it's value.

I do not eat crap and I do not expect my babies to. If eating well has a positive effect on OUR bodies than obviously, it will have a positive effect on THEIR bodies. It's simple.

I sympathize because it gets confusing for the average pet owner to wade through. Kibble isn't good enough for canned feeders, canned isn't good enough for home-cooked feeders, home-cooked isn't good enough for raw feeders, and raw feeding is discouraged by the government. I think you just have to do what research you have time for and make the best choice for you.

Growing up, all our dogs at the cheap stuff and all lived to "ripe old ages" of 15 and 16, but every single one of them that I remember got a strange lump on them late in life and died of cancer. Did food play a role?

I've been feeding Canidae all life stages kibble for a while because it usually shows up on the list of approved dog foods by publications I respect, including The Whole Dog Journal. I had the same concern about mine just picking at it, so I found a high-quality canned food (Merrick's) to add to it. I give a quarter cup of kibble and a teaspoon of Merrick's twice a day, and they wolf it down.

Expensive? They eat a half a cup a day. How expensive can that be?

Good luck, but I would definitely recommend staying away from the grocery store foods for the same arguments others have had here.

:thumbup:I want the best for Izzy but at the same time I have to do what is best for our lifestyle.....and yes, feeding a yorkie is not that expensive when they only eat a 1/2 cup a day. I only buy his food once every 3 months.

Dog Food
 

Leo is an IAMS dog food eater. I inquired with my vet. It is a better food then some out there. I tried Leo with a couple different ones before I settled on Iams. I tried the Walmart brand and Leo ate it. However, I read the contents and that was one reason for the switch. My Vet recommends Eukinubia or Royal Canine. I can't say which is best, but I am happy with IAMS. I also mix the wet with dry one a week as a treat. Leo is happy and so is his family. :D

I forgot to add one more thing....I posted the other day in this forum that I was going to go back to feeding Izzy Canidae because of the small kibble thing with the Wee Bits. Yesterday, I realized that I was completely out of food for him. With it being Sunday at 7p, nothing was open that was close to me. So I went to this specialty market (similar to whole foods) and picked upa 1.5lb bag of Newman's Own Organics (Adult Dog Formula) That was all they had. I just knew he was going to throw up because I did not have any of the wee bits left to mix with the new food. So I gave him a small amount and no throwing up! On top of that he gobbled it up! I had never seen him eat food like that before. First I thought it was because he was hungry.....but this morning I put his food out and he ate it within 15 minutes...still no throwing up! Usually he waits a while before he eats. So I guess its safe to say that he really likes this food and it seems to agree with him so far. The ingredients on the package start with Chicken, Organic Barley, Organic Oats etc. This might be a keeper...what do you all think?

VERY well put!! :thumbup::thumbup: EXACTLY what i wanted to say! ;)

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Exactly, Mike!! ;)

Hi there...I totally agree that choosing a dog food can be very confusing to say the least. I feed Kali and Mica Innova which from what I understand is one of the best dry dog foods out on the market. I live in Canada and have to buy this at what would essentially be called a doggie health food store. They are doing well on this food so far. I think Wellness is another good one too.

I found a great Puppy food BY Nature . My breeder actually gave her babies the puppy chow crap... I knew it was not healthy, but, since Suzi had been on it I mixed the new food with the old. Suzi did have flaky dandruff problem too, however, since switching, it has went away. I am a believer that a quality pet food makes a dramatic difference:D