Fleet Farm Food?

[Scott M]

Was over at Fleet Farm tonight checking out dog supplies...getting ready to expand the family here in a couple months. After looking around at PetCo and PetSmart, let me say Wow. Amazing price difference on the same stuff. I have no qualms about leaving my money at "The Man's Mart."

But I do have one question. Fleet Farm has their own food, and its pretty inexpensive. My only question is, if the ingredient labels are the same, should I worry about feeding their food? What should I look out for in dog foods if the ingredient tags are identical percentage and list wise.

Thanks for any input.

[sjburnt]

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[SHOOTECOGO]

I feed my GSP the Fleet Farm food and he does just fine with it. He doesn't have any more excrement volume than what I would consider normal. When I got him as a pup he was on an expensive name brand food, and had loose stools several times a day. Since I switched him to FF brand, smooth sailing. I just couldn't see spending the extra money for something that looks the same when you read the labels, plus I don't care what the next guy thinks, as long as my dog is happy and healthy.

[fishin58]

I asked the lady at FF and she advised me not too buy it!! She wasn't pitching there own product, she said it leads to poor health. I took her words too heart..She did recommend a more expensive brand, I do not recall what it was though. I feed my kids Kibbles and Bits, they like the taste and it seems to have a pretty good nutrition content.

[311Hemi]

 Originally Posted By: fishin58

I feed my kids Kibbles and Bits, they like the taste and it seems to have a pretty good nutrition content.

I am trying to stay out of the dog food topics as all they do is get everyones opinions....but (and not 100% sure your serious unless by kids you mean your dogs) did you know Kibbles and Bits contains propylene glycol?

I know the FDA considers it "generally recognized as safe".....but do you really want your dog eating that?

Just wanted to mention that. Do your research on ingredients and feed what you think is best for your dog (or kid!!).

[2thepointsetters]

Fleet Farm Sprout Ultra 30 is the only dogfood I use. It has the same protein and fat %'s as all the other expensive brands. Check the ingredients they are really good for the dog. Bill Holtan (pro trainer) highly recommened it to me a few years back and I have been really impressed with it.

[lawdog]

My black lab lived to 13 years and only ate Ultra 30 his entire life. My breeder actually recommended it, he had all his dogs on it. I live too far away from Fleet Farm now, but if I was still close, the new dog would be on Ultra 30 too! Its good stuff.

[Tom7227]

311 Hemi hit the nail on the head. You can go back through this forum and find numerous postings about different dog foods. I was an Iams or Science diet guy until I saw the sources of their protein and read a bit about how they can use some from some sources but have trouble with others. I've switched to Native simply because their ingredients are based on animal rather than plant sources. The dogs eat meat, not corn as far as I know. As for the loose stools - that can also be due to too much food, changing foods too quickly, or too much protein and not enough exercise.

In a previous thread there were some references to a woman that has established a grading system. Some of the more popular brands did very poorly in that system. But then I looked at how points were tabulated and I sort of lost faith as it seems that it's bent a lot towards organic things and other values that I really can't see as valid.

In my opinion the choices get awfully comlicated. Maybe the best advice can come from your vet. Age of the animal, condition such as being overweight etc. are all things that probably should go into the decision.

[killerloop1]

not to hi ack here, but anyone have knowledge on NUTRO????

[houndheaterguy]

I switched to Native this year for 3 reasons. Their food is NOT "chicken by product" but "chicken meal". This means all of the chicken MUST be all meat with no bones, guts etc.

The other reason is they do not use corn and all of their product is grown/raised here. Nothing imported or made in Canada so QC is less of a risk. I buy 10 bags at a time and pay about $24.00 a bag and am a member of their breeder program. This means you sign up and get a number. My hunting buddies an I split up the 10 bags each time we buy. My vet saw my dogs last fall and marveled at their shiny coats....used to feed Ultra and Diamond. Killer

[Pyrex]

I feed my brit Diamond, recommended by a highly respected trainer, he said to feed the "puppy Diamond" for the higher protein for my high energy dog, that way she wont slow down too much in the field, also to keep her on the puppy food for life, smaller bits for easier digestion. she seems to like it, (of course I've seen her eating lint, and she seemed to like that also).

[Hammer Handle]

Fleet Farm has good dog food.

Check the ingredients. A lot of times you "pay for the name". Many times, the food is made by the same company and have the exact same ingredients...just a different package.

Working in the business of supplying products to manufactures...I see it all the time.