food question

[glenn57]

with all the different food choices out there is there anyone better than another. you can spend $14.00 at sams club for 50# or $35.00 at fleet farm for a fancier name f food. depending also who you talk to which ones are better than the next, what gives? my sheltie got kibbles&bits, now eubanka, my almst 11 year old lab gets the sams club generic thats relative to purinia and my 3 month chocolate eats nutri-source, which the kennel was feeding it. EXPERTS, throw me some of your opinions, please.

[glenn57]

OK, you dont need to be an expert. id just like some other points of view about dog food that might be better.

[setterguy]

Lots of good options out there, don't let price be your driving force. There are plenty of expensive foods out there that I wouldn't feed my dog. One of my dogs had a very hard time putting on weight, so I've tried a bunch. Some dogs respond differently. Only you will know how the dog is responding to different foods. For me I feed higher protein foods during the season, less fat and protein in the off season when they aren't burning as many calories.

[BLACKJACK]

All bags of dog food have the protein and fat content on the side of the bag, thats the first thing you should look at. I go with the higher protein and fat during hunting season and winter and for the lower protein/fat during the summer. Older dogs will gain weight more easily so they'll get switched over to the low cal stuff sooner.

I've fed the $10 a bag Walmart Old Roy and the +30 a bag Iams and Pro Plan. Now a days I've been going for the middle of the road $20 a bag Diamond dog food, my dogs do well on it, their coats are shiny, and they have several varieties so I can ramp up and down on the protein/fat as the season progresses.

Another factor is your living situation, with the cheaper dog foods old Fido will [PoorWordUsage] a lot more, if you live on a small town lot you'll be picking up a lot more [PoorWordUsage], the higher priced dog foods have a higher quality of protein so they produce less [PoorWordUsage].

[glenn57]

thanks guys, i think i got it. higher protien and fat when active. less in the winter when they lounge around.also the better the quality food the less dog doo-doo. kind of what i thought, but you have your vet saying this and kennel owner saying that, who knows. been kind of doing the way you guys suggested. thanks again.

[kentuck_ike]

another thing to consider with some dogs is the calories per serving. I was using Noutri Source and switched to Native because Native had higher calories (both had the same protien to fat ratio) and my dogs had always been a little thin.

Ike

[cw642]

Cal. per serving and Cal. per cup can be mistaken. Most dog food companies will go for a food that is easy to digest rather than a pelleted high Cal. per cup. I once heard a food rep. say he could cram 4500 Cal into a cup of dog food if they used pellets rather than an easier to digest chunk.

CW

[DRH1175]

A word of advice. Yes there are many great foods and many I wouldn't feed. You really do get what you pay for in food. That $30 of superpremium food in the end actually saves you money over that Menards food. Cheap food is full of fillers which in turn mean you have to feed twice as much to give your dog that same nutrition as a super premium food. It comes down to if you enjoy picking up [PoorWordUsage] feed the cheap food. Personaly pretty much any food you will find at Menards, Cub, or Walmart is not worth your money! Many actually have been linked to cancer in pets. There is a lot of difference in food. Ol roy, Alpo, kibbles and bits, purina budget lines.

Protein is the most important aspect of food. Look for a Chicken Meal, Lamb Meal, Fish meal etc... as the first ingredient. Not grain or by products.

There are many great foods for good money. I will recomend a few but again there are many great foods.

Nutro, Eagle Pack, Nutri source, pro pack, Natures Recipe, professional, Pet Chef, Royal Canin products, Are a few of the better priced super premium foods. These are all about $30 for 40lb and are excellent choices.

Honestly most people don't really know the difference and assume they are all the same. When in fact there are many foods out there that I wouldn't feed to anything but rats.

[DRH1175]

You mentioned Nutri source. That is an excellent food choice. Throw out all those other choices and stick to that brand. One of my personal favorites esspecially that you can buy a 35lb bag for at or under $30. It is also made in MN and can be bought most anywhere. Gander Mt, Chuck and dons and many of the other pet retailers.