I would never trust the advise of someone who works in a pet store...I believe it is up to us to do our own research.

Whole Dog Journal does food reviews every year and I respect their opinion as they do not take any advertising $$$. I also love many of the articles they publish.

Whole Dog Journal's 2010 Dry Dog Food Review

I know what you mean about discussing dog food again. I went through SO
many different types. Jackson ate Nature's Variety Instinct from last September
until this month. He did really well on it. We switched to Fromm Surf and Turf
for about 2 months in between just because we had gotten a free sample and
my picky dog gobbled it up like crazy! But his eye boogers got really terrible--
I still don't know 100% if it's environmental or food related, but they got
significantly better when putting him back on NV. I think he gained a bit of
weight on the NV tho (the fat content is around 22%, whereas Acana is like 17%).
He didn't outgrow anything, I'm thinking it was just muscle mass. (12lbs to 16lbs).

Anyways, after discovering Acana, I really wanted to try it out. For one, it was
more food for less money... the Acana is nearly $14 for 5.5lbs, whereas NV was
only 4.4lbs for almost $18. I just really like the Champion Pet Food company
and trust what I'm feeding him. I'm hoping Acana will be our food for a while,
and we've been rotating between bags of Grasslands and Prairie Harvest. It's
less fat content and about 33% protein (I believe). I feel that's the perfect number
for Jackson because he's a fairly active dog (gets atleast 1 walk a day, goes to the
dog park 1-3x per week, plays a lot of fetch/frisbee outdoors, etc). But he's not
overly active, like a Border Collie would be, for example, so I don't feel protein
in the 40 percentile is completely necessary for him! But I don't know. It's just
what I feel comfortable with, and best of all, he really seems to enjoy his food.

I give a :thumbup: for Acana! Jackson's doing really on it. He poops usually
2 small firm poopies a day, they don't smell THAT bad, sometimes he only poops
once, depending on how many treats he gets for the day. But overall, I just
really like Acana and would recommend it to anyone! I still have a half bag
of our NV Instinct yet and I have been feeding it to him when we go visit
at my dads house to finish off the bag. :) So I do still like the NV too.

I'm with ya on that one, Sista! My PetSmart carries all junk food. I am a smaller community and that may be why. I have read that some of the other stores carry higher end dog food.

But still, the employees in my store wouldn't be informed nearly enough to make me feel good about taking their advice. It is best to do your own research and then sample.

I did the exact same thing, got sample of Wellness, TOTW, Chicken Soup, DVP Natural Balance, and Solid Gold. All good foods and I left it up to my dog to decide which flavor she liked.

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

Mine loved the FROMM Surf and Turf which is grain free and you cant possibly get any smaller kibble size, it is TINY.

With their liver issues we had to switch to something with lower protein and they are now on Innova small bites and they really like that as well!

Good Luck I know how hard it is to find something you like

I was just going to ask you if you tried Acana yet but Britster beat me to it:). Acana has been the resolution to many of our picky yorkie eating problems.

We absolutely love Acana and everything about it!!!
Smileys-
Snick & Viv

I've never heard of that, I will check it out. Thanks!

I do feed canned food as well. We buy the Nature Variety homestyle. They will not eat the food dry. We also mix in green beans. They are eating the green beans and wet, but leaving kibble.
I will also read on the Lifes abundance. Thanks!

No we don't have Pet value or TSC. We always buy from Complete pet mart, but a new place just opened and we called and they do offer samples on quite a few of their foods. So we are going to see what they have.
We called most of the companies on the sticky about samples and I think Artemis & Eagle were the only two that said they had them. We have tried Eagle before though.

I don't buy any food from Petsmarts. We buy from Complete Pet mart which is different. They have more of the high end food. They don't have samples though, which I was surprised. So this new high end store just opened and they said they do have samples, so we are going to get different ones and see what happens!

Well that's good that you found a place that will give samples. If you go to Taste of the Wild website it does have a store locator for you if you are interested.
Good luck!

I'm hoping to get samples of the Acana and Fromm actually. I don't think our three need the 40% either, I wouldn't think. They are not that active, so I'm concerned if that would be ok.
Is the kibble small on NV Instinct? We have only bought the Prairie.

I checked that out. It lists a lot of stores around me actually, can't believe I've never noticed it. I love their packaging!
How is the kibble size?

I was just checking their site and it doesn't list any retailers in Ohio for the Acana, only Orijen! :(

Stop switching dog foods. Dogs do not get bored with their food. Choose a good dog food and stick with it. If your dog does not eat all of his food within a few minutes you are probable feeding him too much and the smaller the dog the more likely a person is to feed too much. Those little tykes need very little food (around 225 calories for the average adult Yorkie). If you give them treats or anything else you have to subtract that from their food. The smaller the dog the more likely people are to feed too much. The average adult Yorkie needs 1/4 to 1/2 cup of a high quality food (that's 1/8 cup (two tablespoons) to 1/4 cup (four tablespoons) twice a day). That is if you don't give him anything else. Some may require even less than that. If your dog is maintaining his weight and is healthy, he is probably eating enough. Most people feed their dogs too much. One of my dogs eats half the amount suggested on the bag and has thrived on it for two years.

Well, I disagree. Maddy is a VERY picky pup. She gets bored easily with her food and will turn her nose up and just not eat. I have tried many different high end brands and have just recently found one she will eat without either her playing with it or simply ignoring it. Not ALL dogs are the same. Maddy sometimes will eat half her food and leave, or eat all the food -- or even take one bite and walk away. I don't think this shows overfeeding.

Anyways, Maddy is now on Fromm Duck and Sweet Potato. If you are unable to get samples around you, I will pick up a sample at the place I get Maddy's food and send it to you, if you like. :) Maddy needed a food that was easy to digest, but yet palatable. She was diagnosed with HGE and needs to be on a lower protein diet (she was on EVO Red Meats prior). She refused Innova, Taste of the Wild and California Natural. But she has really taken to the Fromm. Fromm still is about 24% protein and not TOO expensive (cheaper than the EVO, that's for sure!)

Let me know if you want me to pick up some samples for you. :D