Which dog food have you found to be the best for your dog?

aagee · 07-01-2009, 09:55 PM

My golden retriever had been on Wellness for a year, when he suddenly started getting colitis from it. Different batch or formula change, presumably. Now I am looking for another good brand. Seems like Canidae used to be considered good, but people have been complaining about their formula change as well.

Suggestions, opinions?

Lolas_Dad · 07-01-2009, 10:04 PM

I know some will disagree with this but The one that she has been on now and since I adopted her Nutro Natural choice lamb and rice formula.

rosemaryninja · 07-01-2009, 10:28 PM

I really like Taste of the Wild. I know many other DFers have had good experiences with it too.

HersheyPup · 07-01-2009, 11:51 PM

I've always had good results from Royal Canin...several of their formulas and cat food, too. Taste of the Wild has been good as well as Merrick's.

MafiaPrincess · 07-02-2009, 12:02 AM

My guys looked good on Orijen, they look noticeably better yet on raw.

Puppy_love_122 · 07-02-2009, 12:07 AM

I like Taste of the Wild, its reasonably priced and my dogs do great on it.

Ludo the Monster · 07-02-2009, 01:54 PM

I have tried:

Orijen
Taste of the Wild
Canidae
B.G.
By Nature
Blue Buffalo
Purina One
Iams

The only foods Ludo will consistantly eat that doesn't correlate with other issues are Iams (odd, I know!) and B.G. Right now he is on Iams for the weight control but I want to switch him back to B.G. Buffalo.

CorgiKarma · 07-02-2009, 02:30 PM

Some brands that have worked well for Bailey have been Blue Buffalo, Wellness and Natural Balance.

Taste of the Wild is a good food, too, but Bailey really needs a weight control formula.

Sonn84 · 07-02-2009, 04:59 PM

Taste of the wild and Orijen work best for my bunch

Nargle · 07-02-2009, 09:50 PM

Basil started out on Iams when we adopted him, which he did horrible on. Thin fur, itchy skin, runny poo. We switched him to Blue Buffalo Wilderness, which he did a lot better on. He had a lot more energy, his coat got thicker and he stopped itching, but the runny poo was still a problem. Canned pumpkin helped a lot, but when we would forget to give it to him, he'd go back to having runny poo. After moving to Dallas, we discovered a whole new world of non-Petsmart/Petco type pet supply stores, so we had a LOT more options to choose from as far as dog food goes. Today we picked up a bag of Taste of the Wild, Prairie style or whatever, and were going to start switching him over from Blue Wilderness. I know he likes it, but I hope he does well!!

JSporty1 · 07-02-2009, 11:13 PM

My one year old pit bull mix has been on the following:

1. Purina One Puppy: Awful food. She had constant diarrhea.
2. Dog whisperer organic chicken puppy food: nothing bad to say about this food. It's kind of pricey, but she did better on it than on Purina one.
3. Innova EVO red meat large bites: her adult food. AMAZING!!!! It has completely transformed her physique, skin, and fur. She is so soft and silky now. She also put on quite a bit of muscle.

CrzyBritNAmerica · 07-02-2009, 11:24 PM

I've had Bridgette on Natural Balance for a long time now and we love it!

If I don't have any other treats she'll take kibbles as treats. We get either the sweet potato and fish or the duck and potato as she has food allergies. She's much, much less itchy from the NB and has a very shiny coat!

Kathyy · 07-03-2009, 01:15 AM

Sassy has been fed Iams, Science Diet, Natural Balance, Wellness, Pinnacle, EVO and Canidae at least and she is doing better on home cooked food. She is still itchy but she doesn't stink any more, her anal sacs don't fill up monthly and her ears are cleaner although they never were infected. I just thought she was a stinky hound dog, guess something in all those kibbles disagreed with her.

Max came here when I was feeding the Natural Balance and went through the progression from there. He never had the anal sac thing, never smelled bad but he is amazing on raw food. Even cleaner, fur quality improved and he became calmer within a month or so.

I never could get Max stablized on EVO feeding through 2 large bags. Now I think I was overfeeding. Oh well. All the other foods were fine poop wise, gas wise, dogs liking it and all that. Science Diet made the biggest poops as I recall.

Guess my dogs are easy keepers but even easy keepers do better on some foods than others.

dakotajo · 07-03-2009, 01:34 AM

I switched Dakota to Eagle Pack Holistic and it's amazing how soft and shiny her coat is and she looks so healthy

wolfsnaps · 07-03-2009, 04:35 PM

My dogs have impressively good tolerance to changes in food, which is good because I change their food a lot. I am not saying this is a good thing or a bad thing, I just give them different foods.

My dogs have been on raw, but with different issues, I do a high quality kibble and raw treats (beef ribs, pork necks, etc) and they seem to do very well on this. PLus, they have a lot of doggy fun with the raw stuff they get.

Kibble wise, they have run the gamant: When we first got the big dog my husband insisted on *gasp* Kibbles 'n' Bits. That only lasted for one small bag and a few cans because I did not allow that food to be fed to MY dogs. They have progressed from Purina Dog chow, Pedigree, and Iams; to much better foods like Natural Balance, Wellness, BLue Buffalo, and Taste of the Wild. I think I might keep them on TOTW for a while. I like that it is grainless and the price isn't as bad as some other grainless foods.

I usually add yogurt and an occassional raw egg to their kibble.

Hope this helps!

LuvMyAngels · 07-03-2009, 06:33 PM

Buster, almost 5 month old Saint Bernard has been on
Alpo-nasty, canned stuff. He didnt like it either.
Iams- temp. switch, couldnt get to the feed store the night we brought him home & needed something since he hated the Alpo (he left the canned food in the bowl, eating only the dry Iams)
Exclusive- constant diarrhea, gas, dry, itchy skin.

The thing all these foods had in common...corn.

We're now in the process of switching him to Taste of the Wild. He loves the taste, he's actually excited at meal times now. He finally has solid poop, the itchy skin is easing and he's not stinking me out of the house anymore. We're only 1/2 way through the transition. I think its safe to say his body does not like corn...

skim7x · 07-03-2009, 10:49 PM

As soon as I got my puppy, I switched him from the Science Diet crap they were giving him at the shelter to Blue Buffalo. However, his stools were pretty darn hard, so I switched him to Innova large breed puppy food, which he is doing great on. A couple times he has had soft/runny stools, but once was probably due to a raw-hide he ate, and the other might have been caused by some cat food he stole at my friend's apartment.

Another good one is the Chicken Soup for the Puppy Lover's Soul. I have a friend who gives that to his dog and its working very well.

Bellasmom · 07-04-2009, 07:25 AM

When I got Bella she was on Nutro Max Puppy Food and had very soft poops on it and was throwing up at least every other day. I gradually switched her over to TOTW. She liked it very much. However she had liquid diareah on it that never cleared up.

So I tried her on Chicken Soup For The Puppy Lovers Soul. She liked this one too. However she had soft poos and runny poos and it never got better than that.

So next I tried CN. She couldnt keep it down. Finally I was so tired of running back and forth to the city (120 miles round trip, gas $4+ gallon) that I went to Wal-Mart ( I only have to travel 10 miles there) and bought Puppy Chow. She never let me switch her over gradually. She was picking all the Puppy Chow out of the bowl and eating only it. By the third day she had solid poop for the first time since I had got her. I was elated. She did great on it. Looked great and was healthy.

Now that she is an adult I have her on Purina One and she is thriving on it. She has a shiney, full coat, clear beautiful eyes and a great disposition. She has never had to see a vet except for a well visit.

shets114 · 07-04-2009, 07:41 AM

I've tried many from the low end to Orijen. The one that keeps my dog at a good weight and performance is VF Complete Performance formula.

You don't have to break the bank to buy a good food. All most companies are selling you is marketing anyway.

Equinox · 07-05-2009, 11:24 PM

When I got Trent, he was on Nutro Large Breed Puppy. I bought a bag to keep feeding him for a while and to make a transition. I didn't like the shape or size of his stool, but his breeder has all of his dogs on Nutro, and they seem to do fantastic on it. While I think there are definitely food brands to avoid, I also think that the best food out there is the food that's best for the dog.

However, Trent is on Orijen Large Breed Puppy and his poop has firmed up and is no longer a sickly orange color.