What are you feeding your dog?

[deerminator]

And why? Or has this thread already been done? If so point me toward it please. A poster's comment that Science Diet was a poor quality food, without much nutritional value, to feed our Beagle got me to doing research on the Web to learn more about the differences in food. Believe me, there's a lot out there on this topic. I'm interested in what FMers feed their active dogs and why? Our dog may only weigh 23 pounds but he's active as heck and I want to make sure he's getting what he needs in terms of nutrition. The vet seems to think Science Diet is good for him so I want to hear alternative viewpoints on what others might feel is better.

[tsande00]

We feed our lab Purina One. Expensive, but since we got him from the humane society his coat has turned from ragged and brownish tint to thick, dark black, and shiny.

EDIT: Oh and I gave him a frozen crappie I found in the bottom of my bucket as snack the other day (must have missed one when cleaning fish). Any harm in that? He sure loved it.

[no bait nate]

check out the Nurto web site. we feed our pup the Max puppy and she has been doing great on it. very good coat and hard bombs in the yard. also, if ya watch the weekly ads from fleet farm it goes on sale about every three weeks which is nice

[Catfish_Nuggets]

From what I have read, Vets actually don't know much about dog nutrition and they get promotions to sell Science Diet (You pay for the name nowadays). The major brands seem to take risks on some of the ingredients they add; for instance most of the major manufactures have Ethoxyquin, menadione, BHA and BHT. In fact Ethoxyquin is used in preserving fish so you have to be careful when it says 'fish meal' or something like that. I have read that Chicken Soup for the Dog Lovers Soul and Wellness brand avoid all of the aforementioned things that are not approved for human consumption by the USDA.

Check it out for yourself at:

http://www.yourpurebredpuppy.com/health/articles/feeding-homemade-dog-food.html

[HopkinsFishN]

Agree on the vet deal...they get cuts supposedly from Science Diet. I actually worked at a pet store for a while and was taught pretty well about dog foods and ingredients. I have always feed my dog NUTRO, he his the healthiest 8 year old dog ever I'd say...great shiny coat and healthy as can be.

[BoxMN]

Have gotten good info from a vet (not mine, different state) who is avid hunter/angler and really does get into the research on things, including foods and pet diets. He never really gave recommendation on brands, but what thigs to avoid for certain conditions. Anyway.... one thing I gleaned from his info was that larger companies (I feed my dogs Iams) spend more on quality control and consistency than some smaller manufacturers can afford. Therefore, they are checking and QA'ing each batch, not just once a week/month, etc.

I use Iams Large Dog formula for my 80 and 55 pound golden/lab/husky mixes. My vet says whatever I am feeding, to keep doing it. Good teeth and good coats, and good weights. Maybe genes, maybe food, who knows. I just wish they would retrieve a duck, but nope, they only like fishing or chasing grouse or squirrels! ha!

[Bowfin]

I feed my 10 year old lab Diamond Brand Senior Formula.

I feed my 11 month old lab Native Brand #3.

[Ralph Wiggum]

Eagle Pack.

I caution about reading too much about what you read on dog food websites. While most vets aren't nutrition experts, neither are most of the people who comment on dog food online.

[deerminator]

Thanks for the input guys and I agree, I take it all with a grain of salt. I know the vets likely get money from SD but it seems to be working for the Beagle. He's growing, healthy and his coat looks great. I get lots of comments about what a good solid muscular looking dog he is. Seems to be working but that said, it's also good to check out other options.

[zepman]

Eagle Pack.

I caution about reading too much about what you read on dog food websites. While most vets aren't nutrition experts, neither are most of the people who comment on dog food online.

I totally agree. Seems people are more interested in the ingredients in the food they give their dogs than they are in what goes down their kids mouths.

Diamond here...because my dogs like it and they're doing great on it.

[catchphoto_filet]

pedigree! I use the same for during hunting season and winter. To me long as a food has proven itself to me over the years, gives the dog good health, nice coat I see no reason to change. I dont believe in organic food for dogs or anything crazy like that. A dog licks its you know what so I doubt it cares really what the food tastes like. Dogs just like to eat in general. Long as you feed it a respectable brand name to me they are all the same. IMO

[PerchPounder]

Canidae All Life Stages although I am considering a change just not sure to what yet. If you search for dogfoodanalysis.com they reviewed more dog foods than I knew existed and rated them and explained what is good and bad about each one.

[croixflats]

I have raised all my dogs on purina, the green bag, and they all have turned out great with great coats and intellagence. I am sure there is better but really if ya spoil the dog like I do they will gwt what they need. My dogs are are beyond the norm maybe tyhat explains why I think I am so smart.

[vister]

purina pro plan performance formula, the purple bag. the biggest thing is buying dog food made with more meat than veggies. look at what the bag contains. it should have a healthy dose of protein, protein that comes from meat. it is digested and absorbed better. just because a bag says it has a high protein content, doesnt mean its better dog food. the more spendy the dog food, the better the quality. typically!! if the dog is energetic, avoid 'ol roy! yes its cheap, but our dogs eat it like crazy and lose weight. not good for active animals. dog food containing chicken is usually better than beef

[ESmith]

iams large breed puppy, orange bag. not real cheap, but the ingredients and protein/fat % seem to be in line. there was some recent hubbub in the news about iams but I don't know what the issue was.

either way, my gsp has been on it since 8wks and he's now 7 mos, and there is nothing I would change in his manner or condition. "cleanup" is also very easy. Diamond used to run through him like stuff through a goose, but Iams firmed it up to the point where cleanup is much more tolerable.

[fishyspringer]

I have been feeding my springer Nutro Max Adult since he was about 2, is now 5 and is doing great. Nice shiny, healthy coat and lots of energy. But the energy could be just that hes a springer When I got him they were feeding him Iams, switched because his skin always seemed to be like it was irritated and a friend reccomended Nutro. I was told to watch the ingredients and the first couple should be a meat product, not a meat by-product. As that is everything from a chicken for example, that you or I would not eat. Also corn is not so good for dogs either, hard on thier digestive system.

[PGE-Hound]

Right now I am feeding the hound: Precise Large Breed (puppy). Shes 6 months and havn't had any problems. Her coat has been shiny and smooth since I brought her home. Check the HSOforum and there is a list of the ingredients.

I asked my Vet what to feed and he actually pushed for making home made dog food. He told me he feeds his dogs meat and vegetables (e.i. green beans). He said stay away from wheat products and over-sea made products. Only buy USA made!!!

[deerminator]

Thanks again for the responses. I am also reading through a book I already had called The Complete Healthy Dog Handbook. This book has a lot of good information on healthy issues and preventative care, not so much on food. But it does have some information here and there and dispels common myths. One being corn is harmful. It says most dogs digest corn just fine and that it does provide nutriotional value - complex carbohydrates, linolenic acids, and essential amino acids. And it says that grains and some level of undigestible fiber are necessary so less grains does not equal better for your dog. It also says that while meat by-products are definitely not as nutritional as meat, they are not allowed to contain roadkill, hair, hooves and so on by FDA rules.

It also has a good explanation on canned food, outlining what the terms from beef to beef flavored dog food mean. Basically, the simpler the description, the more meat. All it says about dried food is that meat needs to be one of the first three ingredients listed to get the protein your dog likely needs.

The book says in many places that bottom line, you need to determine with the help of your vet what levels of nutrition your dog needs based on his or her body size, type, age and so on.

[RumRiverRat]

Purina One Lamb and Rice.

I supplement with raw eggs and raw hamburger during hunting season.

Both my labs will graze on green beans from the garden if the plants grow out of the fence that surrounds the garden.

[MinnesotaMongo]

Purina Pro Plan - Shredded. Yeah, yeah, I heard all the stories, but my Springer looked skinny and dull until I put him on that. Yeah, he does have a HUGE belch after eating - but that's actually a little entertaining - he has good tone.

[mojogunter]

I have always fed our dogs Nutro Lamb and rice. The breeder that we bought our giant schnauzer from, feeds all of their dogs raw chicken. They claim as long as the chicken is raw the bones are not an issue. I chose not to follow their advice.

[Rick]

Do some research on Orijen. Fresh meats or fish and not loaded with grains.

Good Stuff guys.

[DonBo]

Seems to me I heard that Iams pulled their sponsorship from some dog trials a while back because it was for "hunting" dogs. If that's true, not sure anyone from HSO should be supporting them.

[FCspringer]

Yes the dog food topic. It is popular all over and offten. Bottom line is different foods do better with different dogs. I have fed so many different foods over the last 20 years. I was feeding PP performance not too long ago. I have tried, Dianond, Nutro S,P One, Iams, Maximum Nutrition, and on.

The problem I had was I had to feed different food for a dog here or a dog there. One would be on PP, another on ONE and so on. On Proplan Performance all my dogs got ear infection all the time, I would clean them all the time, use momentamax ect. After awhile I said enough its gota be the food. I switched to Native, The ear infection has cleared up on ALL, The coats softened up alot, that was another issue, coarse coats with sensitive skin. The endourance level is the same or slightly better and the stools are beautifull as stools go. I feed less, and get more food for the same price.

I am not a nutrition expert, just someone who takes what they feed thre dogs as serrious as I need to. With all the dogs doing well on one food I am now at peace with the world, not to mention not cleaning brown paste out of there ears every day. I plan on sticking with Native now for a while. Some said when they came out with it a presertitive in it gave dogs bad gas, they cleared that up right away and I have more gas then my dogs. But no it is not an issue anymore.

[Bowfin]

Seems to me I heard that Iams pulled their sponsorship from some dog trials a while back because it was for "hunting" dogs. If that's true, not sure anyone from HSO should be supporting them.

Is Iams run by "anti's"?

Native Dog Food is for hunting dogs. They sponser Pheasants Forever, Quail Forever, and North American Hunting Retreiver Association. I picked up some good coupons at last years Game Fair. My pup seems to be doing good on it.