Pet Nutrition

[Teh One Who Knocks]

So, we are switching foods for both our dogs now (switching Thor to a different puppy food and switching Pepper to adult food) and was just wondering what you guys with dogs feed your pets. Or even what do you feed your cat(s) if you have those too/instead.

When we got Pepper, we thought we had picked out a good food for her (Nutro Natural Choice Large Breed Puppy) and we kept her on it for a few months and then we started to do some research. We had no idea that there was so much freaking garbage out there masquerading as pet food. So, after a lot of research we decided on Artemis Fresh Mix puppy food and she really liked it but the biggest problem is, nobody sells it around here. It was fine when it was just Pepper, but now with Thor, I haven't been able to get a handle on how fast the food disappears and almost ran out twice now. So we did some more research and I think we found something even better and I can source it locally (at Petco and a couple of the independent places as well). I am still ordering it from where I was getting the Artemis food, but at least now if we run out, I can get some here as well.

And with Pepper, we did some double research because not only did we wanna get her a good adult food, she also has a relly sensative stomach and it really makes cleaning up the yard even more unpleasant if you know what I mean. So, we finally settled on Merrick dog food....their classic puppy food for Thor and since it seems like a lot of dogs that have sensative stomachs have trouble digesting grains, we are switching Pepper over to the Merrick grain free line of food, and it has already seemed to make a huge difference in her.

Sure, the food costs more than the crap you can buy at the grocery store, but after looking at all that stuff, there's no way I would feed either of our dogs that garbage.

And if you are looking for a place to get food from, I get mine from chewy.com because there is free shipping over $49 and there's no sales tax for most states. Check it out if you are looking for a place to get good pet food and supplies.

Classic Puppy Food
http://i.imgur.com/ZhEDoDk.jpg


Grain Free Adult Food
http://i.imgur.com/pRHH5u7.gif
(This comes in 5 different flavors...going to try out the duck next)

[PorkChopSandwiches]

We use this because it's grain free. Grain is just filler, which ends up costing you money for no health benefits.


http://www.nutrisourcedogfood.com/purevita/grain_free_bison

[PorkChopSandwiches]

We ended up with this one after trying quite a few. This leaves them with a shiny coat and the don't smell like "dogs" it's amazing how different they will smell from different foods. Are dogs are inside/outside so the smell is an issue for us.

[Muddy]

You can buy all that high dollar stuff, but I had a vet tell me pound for pound Purina one was great food. They use good cuts of meat and all that shot .. Dogs dont need an optimal diet neccesarily.. In the wild they eat what they can and live long..

[Muddy]

Lance, I'm sure you know this.. But if not i'll say it.. When you change up foods dont do one type of food one day and then a totally different food the next.. Thats what makes their stomachs upset.. You have to ween the dog off the old food and on to the next with mixing 70 old, 30 new one day, 50/50 the next day- then 30old 70 new the next day, then all new after that ( as I've been told by the breeder..)

If you dont want my advice tell me and I wont post anymore in here.

[Muddy]

Also i like to punch Luke a few times in the head when he eats my socks.. socks are about 30% of his diet..

[deebakes]

Our dog has been on "blue buffalo" since the beginning and she seems to like it.

http://www.bluebuffalo.com/wilderness

We just buy it at petsmart :shrug:

[Loser]

Look at the ingredients. If it has corn anywhere, pass.

Taste of the Wild High Prairie Formula is what I use.


This site is pretty much spot on with what's good and what's not.

www.dogfoodadvisor.com

Remember, most big box store dog foods use byproduct, which is shit.

[Teh One Who Knocks]

We use this because it's grain free. Grain is just filler, which ends up costing you money for no health benefits.


http://www.nutrisourcedogfood.com/purevita/grain_free_bison

We were advised not to give grain free food to our puppies only because they are giant breeds and grain free food is usually higher in calcium which upon doing the research, we found that more than 1.5% calcium in food is bad for the giant breeds as they are growing. That's why we are just now switching Pepper over to a grain free food. But you are right, grain is nothing more than filler and it is usually right at the top of the ingredient list of all the crap foods. It's why they are so cheap.

Never heard of that food, but after looking it up on the Dog Food Advisor site, it looks like a decent food, they give it 4 stars.


You can buy all that high dollar stuff, but I had a vet tell me pound for pound Purina one was great food. They use good cuts of meat and all that shot .. Dogs dont need an optimal diet neccesarily.. In the wild they eat what they can and live long..

No offense, but vets aren't the first people I would ask about dog food recommendations. They're doctors, not canine nutritionists. Purina One is crap food, only one part of their entire Purina One product line rates more than 2 stars.


Lance, I'm sure you know this.. But if not i'll say it.. When you change up foods dont do one type of food one day and then a totally different food the next.. Thats what makes their stomachs upset.. You have to ween the dog off the old food and on to the next with mixing 70 old, 30 new one day, 50/50 the next day- then 30old 70 new the next day, then all new after that ( as I've been told by the breeder..)

If you dont want my advice tell me and I wont post anymore in here.

Yes, we know how to transition the food, especially with a dog with a sensitive stomach, but it's good advice to post for people that are unaware :) In fact, I think you were even told a routine that is a little faster than it should be for transitioning. We go 75%/25% (old to new) for 2 days, then 50/50 for 2 days, then 25/75 for 2 days, then completely new food. Pepper's on her last day of the 25/75 mix and tomorrow she will be completely on the Merrick grain free food.

And you can post wherever you want, everyone has an opinion and/or advice, that's why I started this thread. :)


Our dog has been on "blue buffalo" since the beginning and she seems to like it.

http://www.bluebuffalo.com/wilderness

We just buy it at petsmart :shrug:

We almost went with Blue Buffalo Wilderness as it's a highly rated food (5 stars), but I can't stand the people that work for Blue Buffalo and hang out at my local Petco and Petsmart :lol: They are rude and pushy.


Look at the ingredients. If it has corn anywhere, pass.

Taste of the Wild High Prairie Formula is what I use.


This site is pretty much spot on with what's good and what's not.

www.dogfoodadvisor.com

Remember, most big box store dog foods use byproduct, which is shit.

That site is awesome, a lot of good info on there, we learned a lot about the different kinds of foods out there and it greatly helped us narrow down the choices we have made when it came down to picking a food. :thumbsup:

[Godfather]

My golden is stereotypical in that he has some pretty delicate skin. In the summer especially when it's hot, he gets pretty red on his underbelly and his ears get infected. As a result we're pretty strict with his diet. No store-bought treats and his food is ordered through the vet. It's more expensive but there's really no alternative. For snacks he just gets raw veggies and mild cooked meat (usually leftovers), nothing spicy or rich. His favorites are banana and carrots :lol: Crazy animal. Goldens are completely food driven. I think he'd eat until he died if given the chance. At 11 years old he's still right in the ideal weight range which is fantastic because so many I see out walking are overweight.

For food he's currently on a hypoallergenic Royal Canine brand food for older dogs like this one. It's white fish & potato, I joke he eats better than I do. We've tried a few but for his skin this seems to be working well right now:
http://i61.tinypic.com/2hnv1nl.jpg

[PorkChopSandwiches]

You can buy all that high dollar stuff, but I had a vet tell me pound for pound Purina one was great food. They use good cuts of meat and all that shot .. Dogs dont need an optimal diet neccesarily.. In the wild they eat what they can and live long..

Dude, you need to compaire the ingredients, that food is garbage in a fancy package.

[FBD]

Just imagine how much more produce we'd have, and how much cheaper it'd be, if so many fkn farmers werent paid by the government to grow such ridiculous amounts of corn. Lately I've been just as disgusted by corn as I am by wheat...the shit is just not optimal digestive material.

[PorkChopSandwiches]

Corn is the main ingredient in most animal food. It's not good for them

[Godfather]

Just imagine how much more produce we'd have, and how much cheaper it'd be, if so many fkn farmers werent paid by the government to grow such ridiculous amounts of corn. Lately I've been just as disgusted by corn as I am by wheat...the shit is just not optimal digestive material.

No kidding. I recently watched a show on how fucked it is that so much of our sweetener are made out of corn, and it was pretty eye-opening. It's absolutely ludicrous from a practical point of view, it's by no means the most efficient (or healthiest) option. It seems kind of like how hemp is so superior to cotton for making clothing in terms of efficiency and sustainability, but it's had a stigma and legal issues for decades and those who control the industry have it by the balls... so we go with cotton

[PorkChopSandwiches]

Hemp was put out of business by the newspaper companies who owned the companies making paper from trees. Ridiculous

[redred]

http://i.imgur.com/pRHH5u7.gif


is it wrong to think that looks tasty :lol:

my dad uses a beef and tripe mix from a can with a handful of dried on top for his dogs ,seems to work for the dogs he's owned ,he trains and runs his own agility club for dogs
http://i.imgur.com/F7foE7t.jpg

[Teh One Who Knocks]

is it wrong to think that looks tasty :lol:

They're trademarked company slogan is "Food Worthy of a Fork" :lol:

[Teh One Who Knocks]

Look at the ingredients. If it has corn anywhere, pass.

Taste of the Wild High Prairie Formula is what I use.


This site is pretty much spot on with what's good and what's not.

www.dogfoodadvisor.com

Remember, most big box store dog foods use byproduct, which is shit.

http://i.imgur.com/1hv05go.jpg

We just switched Thor over to TotW puppy food. He was having some issues with the Merrick stuff that just don't seem to go away. Pepper is fine on it, so we're keeping her on the Merrick grain free for now, but we want to see if changing Thor's food will help him. Plus we found a local feed store that carries it and we are much happier to buy the food from a local place than going to the ginormous pet food stores of Petco and Petsmart. And the TotW is just about the same price as Merrick is anyway, which is helpful too.