Healthy Dog Food?

jesi

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Ive been trying to get my animals all on healthier foods since I learned that the foods that I *thought* were good (AKA Iams, etc)are junk. I think Ive got my cat and kittens worked out... but now I have no idea what is good for my dogs.

I switched them from Iams a year or so ago to Beneful... but im still not sure if this is healthy for them... Ive tried looking up healthy dog foods on the internet and also did a search here and didnt see much so if there is already a thread Im sorry!

Anyone have any ideas as to which foods are the healthiest and/or what to look for in top ingredients for dog food?

TIA
 

nekochan

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IMO Beneful is even lower quality than Iams...

Here are some better quality brands of dog food:
Natural Balance
By Nature Organics
By Nature Brightlife
Wellness
Innova
Nature's Variety
Pinnacle
Orijen
Canidae
Evangers
Fromm Four Star Nutritionals
Merrick
Timberwolf


As for ingredients, you want to see a NAMED meat ingredient (meaning not just called "meat") as the first ingredient such as chicken, chicken meal, turkey or something similar. The best foods will have named meats for the first several ingredients. If the food has for example "chicken" as the first ingredient and then several types of grains after that it could actually likely contain much more grain than meat. Personally I stay away from corn, wheat, or soy in dog foods and also avoid anything called "meat" or "by-products" or "digest" or "animal".
 

white cat lover

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I look for:
no by-products
named meats/other ingredients....no "animal fat" type stuff

I bought Taste of the Wild for my dogs, which is also a grain free....to me that is another benefit.

A food like Diamond Naturals, IMO, is higher quality than Iams. Cheaper, too.
 
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jesi

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oh wow my poor dogs!!!!

Ill switch them promptly Thank you for the list and advice! I cant believe I switched them to something even worse!!!! yuck.

I really like the look of the ingredients in Orijen... Ill check out the others too... THanks a lot!
 

sharky

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Mine eat orijen and I am going back to wellness core( the reg is good but grainy for what you pay) .... they are pooping way more on the orijen ...

Depending on your needs
Nutro max , Diamond naturals and Chicken soup are all good quality at a decent price
Costcos premium is a great buy and there organic is a good food at a good price

With dog food as with cat food some need high high end ( no grain ) other can tolerate things like wheat ( second in digestibility only to rice but one of the TOP allergens )..

I use no grain now due to having to dogs with chronic illness .... I do recommend canned / homemade or raw as part of a dog diet
 

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There are a couple of simple rules that help get you started on this path.

1) If it's in a supermarket, it's probably not very good.
2) If it has corn in it, it's not one of the better brands.
3) If anything other than some kind of meat or meatl meal is listed as the 1st ingredient, it's not one of the better brands.

It's possible to have a long and complex discussion about dog food ingredients, but these 3 simple rules will eliminate a LOT of brands that contain cheap cereal fillers instead of protein.

Good luck!

PS I am a fan of Canidae!
 

lorina

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I feed Chicken Soup dry to my dog and his coat is fabulous.


For canned, I admit I feed mostly Science Diet (I get it at such a good price through work, it's hard to resist, and he does well on it), and occassionally Canidae. Sometimes I get a Natural Balance roll to mix things up a bit. And he gets a couple baby carrots with each meal.

I'd consider switching him to Canidae dry, but it's more difficult for me to buy than Chicken Soup. At our local Pet Supplies Plus, Canidae only comes in a tiny bag that'd only last a few weeks, or a 40 pound bag that'd probably last me the better part of a year and I doubt it'd be safe to feed at that point.
 

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My favorite brand of pet food is made by a holistic veterinarian and sold online at BestFoodForYourPet.com. It's an all natural pet food made from human-quality ingredients. And made in the U.S. (never involved with a pet recall!).

You can watch a video about "The Truth About Pet Foods" online and check out a dog food comparison that will show you quite clearly that Beneful is NOT your best choice.

I also like the fact that this pet food is shipped directly to you within just a few weeks of being made. Who knows how long Beneful has been sitting around a warehouse before being put on your supermarket's shelves? How fresh can that be?
 

sharky

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Originally Posted by Lindsey

My favorite brand of pet food is made by a holistic veterinarian and sold online at BestFoodForYourPet.com. It's an all natural pet food made from human-quality ingredients. And made in the U.S. (never involved with a pet recall!).

You can watch a video about "The Truth About Pet Foods" online and check out a dog food comparison that will show you quite clearly that Beneful is NOT your best choice.

I also like the fact that this pet food is shipped directly to you within just a few weeks of being made. Who knows how long Beneful has been sitting around a warehouse before being put on your supermarket's shelves? How fresh can that be?
Just FYI ... my vet took a look at it and said better can be had a a big box store( fyi she has a degree in animal nutrition)...

Most of the better food s have expiration dates and if called will tell you when that batch was made ... I called on several one time ave sit time was 1-2 months ( including transport , where house and pet store time
 

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Originally Posted by Lorina

I feed Chicken Soup dry to my dog and his coat is fabulous.


For canned, I admit I feed mostly Science Diet (I get it at such a good price through work, it's hard to resist, and he does well on it), and occassionally Canidae. Sometimes I get a Natural Balance roll to mix things up a bit. And he gets a couple baby carrots with each meal.

I'd consider switching him to Canidae dry, but it's more difficult for me to buy than Chicken Soup. At our local Pet Supplies Plus, Canidae only comes in a tiny bag that'd only last a few weeks, or a 40 pound bag that'd probably last me the better part of a year and I doubt it'd be safe to feed at that point.
you might consider investing in a pet food locker. i use one for my cats' kibble, & it does a great job of keeping it fresh.
this is similar to what i have - i have a 15 pound one for the inside cats, & a 25 pound one for the ferals' kibble.
pet food locker
 
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jesi

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Originally Posted by 2dogmom

There are a couple of simple rules that help get you started on this path.

1) If it's in a supermarket, it's probably not very good.
2) If it has corn in it, it's not one of the better brands.
3) If anything other than some kind of meat or meatl meal is listed as the 1st ingredient, it's not one of the better brands.

It's possible to have a long and complex discussion about dog food ingredients, but these 3 simple rules will eliminate a LOT of brands that contain cheap cereal fillers instead of protein.

Good luck!

PS I am a fan of Canidae!
Those are great guidelines, Thank You!!! I wish I had only found this site sooner. I think I really like the Wellness Core the best so far too by ingredients listed...


I fully agree about the beneful, thats why im definitley changing their food. When I looked at the ingredients... I was very unimpressed by what I saw (had not known before what to look for) and feel bad for feeding that crap to my boys~
 

sharky

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I really like Core it has a "normal " protein to fat ratio and higher omegas than many others ... it runs about 2$ a lb vs typical good premium of 1-1.50 lb
 

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I've been using Wellness CORE for Perky too and she's doing wonderfully on it. I just wish I could afford to feed it to my family's Cockers as well. They get Canidae since after some attempts to switch around we haven't found anything they do better on for the price.

About twice a week, I split a large can of Merricks between everyone. They just love those nights!
 

mlynn

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Beneful isin't the greatest dog food...it's main ingredient is corn...which isin't healthy for dogs and can cause food allergies, and it is also full of dies (to get the bright "vegetable" colors), preservatives, and other "ucky" stuff like animal by product (which is the waste product and "left overs"...and not healthy whole meat). There is a website called "the dog food project" I think it is www.thedogfoodproject.com but you may have to google as I am not sure. It lists the meaning of all the names of the ingredients on dog food bags to help consumers make informed decisions about their pets diets.

I would recommend a holistic diet if you can afford it...raw diets work wonders....I use Feline Fortune for my Asian Leopard Cat Hybird Suka...and it is really simple to make with ground meat....I am sure they have similar for dogs.

Canidae....is IMO hands down THE BEST dog food that you can buy in kibble form for the money. It is the only "good" dog food that also comes in 40 lbs bags instead of 10 or 20 lb bags...and the price isin't too bad....about 40 dollars for 40 pounds....which will last you longer then regular dog food as the lack of fillers and the better nutrition quality means you feed less and get more.

For a good mid grade food...I like natures recipie. It has some grains which are used for fillers but not as many...and it is corn free and preservative free and made with whole meat. It is not as spectacular as canidae or other brands like wellness or eagle pack.....but it is MUCH BETTER for your dog than ANY grocery store brand...even Iams. I think the last time I checked it was under 30 dollars...maybe 25ish plus tax for a 30 or 40 lb bag.

Nutro is also a cheaper good mid grade food but some brands of nutro like nutro max or nutro naturals are a premium food...similar to canidae....but the price isin't much better.....maybe more expensive instead of less.

There is also Chicken Soup which alot of people have had success with.

I think for the money canidae is a good choice...for a super premium organic food....but on a budget natures recipie is probibally the best you can buy. They sell it at most pet stores. I am going to switch back to Natures Recipie because my budget has changed and I can no longer afford to feed 4 medium sized dogs 4 cups a day of 40+ dollars a bag dog food. If you have one or two dogs it shouldn't be too hard to afford as it does last longer. 2 cups a day is usually sufficient....but my dogs are high active and in a doggy daycare 4 days a week so they need more calories.
 
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jesi

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I was lucky enough to find a pet "supermarket" that carries wellness core so I think that is what I will get the dogs on. Ill probably also supplement them a couple times of week on a wet food as well. Thank You everyone!!!
I just hope they like it!
 

nekochan

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Glad to hear it! CORE is a very good food. I was feeding it to my dogs until recently... Unfortunately my terrier had trouble with it because he's a senior and has some teeth removed and the CORE kibble is large pieces... Because of that and also because I wanted to try a potato-free food to see if it made any difference in my dogs' arthritis, so I switched my dogs to Nature's Variety Instinct recently instead. If it wasn't for that we'd still be using the CORE for sure!
 

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I'm surprised at your Vet's reaction, but you can't please everyone. This food is made by a very well known Vet - Dr. Jane Bicks - who served on the board of Cornell's Feline Health Center and was President of the Veterinary Medical Association in NYC.

The food is made in "micro-batches" and shipped within 2 or 3 weeks of manufacture.

But you're right that some commercially made pet foods sit on the shelf. Studies have reported some dog food is made 18 months before being sold in a pet store!!!!
 
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