The age old question...What's the best dog food?

1623 Views 11 Replies 8 Participants Last post by nico8, Jul 21, 2009

nico8

Discussion Starter · Jul 16, 2009 (Edited)

I rescued a 2 yr old Husky/mix about a month ago. When i first got her she was woefully underweight and her coat left a lot to be desired(CONSTANT shedding and not as soft,shiny as it should be).I started her off on Blue Buffalo Lamb and Rice formula and added some extra meat to her food with every feeding(ground beef and chicken livers mostly).She's gained a few pounds but still has a ways to go and she doesn't seem to really like her dry kibble.I've since read about a few different brands including: Solid Gold, Wellness, and Orijen.I want to feed my dog the best food that's available and price is no object. I'd really appreciate some input from anyone that's used these brands or any comparable brands...any help would be appreciated.

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shortstack

· #2 · Jul 16, 2009

Well of course there is going to be some discussion of different dogs do well on different things.. a lot of raw and home cookers here..
Orijens and innova EVO are grain free 6* (dog food anylisis) rated foods with around 42% protien.. SOme dogs don't do as well on this as they can and it can be pricey

We are actually discussing a few other brands in a few other threads.. You should also check out dog food anylisis.. find doofs you think you liek and can get in your area and come back to compare..

The only other thing i have run into is some dogs do't do well on wellness super 5 (others do super!) Really you may have to try a few to get it right.. Do you want to feed a grain free?

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nico8

Discussion Starter · #3 · Jul 16, 2009

Yes I've been to dogfoodanalysis.com and loved all the info...very enlightening. I definitely would like to switch her to a grain free after reading about different food allergies relating to grains but just don't know which direction to go. I'd also like to be able to feed her raw but I'm a student and don't have the time to dedicate to a completely raw diet. Ideally if i could find a good grain-free brand of kibble I'd be able to supplement that with various raw items.(any tips on those raw items would be great...I'm new to all of this)Thanks again for any help or tips...it's much appreciated.

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nac1089

· #4 · Jul 16, 2009

I have my dog on Innova EVO right now and she's loving it. I rotate her food usually after every bag just so she has a variety and stays interested in the food. I plan on trying TOTW and maybe even Orijen.

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shortstack

· #5 · Jul 16, 2009

perhaps along with the advice people give they could tell you about how much they pay per bag (beings that you're a student) so you can really work that into your formula..

i know that in my areas orijens goes for around $60 for a 29.xxx lb bag.. Its one of the foods i would seriously consider if my boys weren't on raw..

i know a few others to really consider would be Innova EVO, TOTW, Wellness CORE, Merricks Grain free (?)

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nico8

Discussion Starter · #6 · Jul 16, 2009

Yes I've heard very good things about Orijen Regional Red as Innova Evo Red but neither of them are available to me locally and the price tag is a bit high. I do however have access to TOTW(very good price at $44/30lb) and Wellness Core(about $60/26lb).If Orijen,Evo or any other brand really is heads and tails above the rest then i will definitely make the sacrifice and order them offline.

I'd like to be able to get her a kibble thats high enough in meat/protein content that i won't have to continue to add meat to her dry food but like I said I'm new to this and if it really is best for my dog for me to add raw ingredients I will gladly keep adding it.

Thanks for the replies thus far.Nico appreciates them too.

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Dogluvr

· #7 · Jul 17, 2009

nico8 said:
Yes I've heard very good things about Orijen Regional Red as Innova Evo Red but neither of them are available to me locally and the price tag is a bit high. I do however have access to TOTW(very good price at $44/30lb) and Wellness Core(about $60/26lb).If Orijen,Evo or any other brand really is heads and tails above the rest then i will definitely make the sacrifice and order them offline.

I'd like to be able to get her a kibble thats high enough in meat/protein content that i won't have to continue to add meat to her dry food but like I said I'm new to this and if it really is best for my dog for me to add raw ingredients I will gladly keep adding it.

Thanks for the replies thus far.Nico appreciates them too.

TOTW and CORE are both nice kibbles. Orijen, EVO, TOTW, and CORE are all great foods that have a high meat content, so it's not a must to add meat to her dry food, unless you'd just like to spice it up for her. www.k9cuisine.com sells dog food, and they ship for free on orders over $50, so that might be an option for you if you'd like to feed a food that's not readily avail in your area.

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spookydee

· #8 · Jul 19, 2009

I have had great sucess with tAste of the wild, Wicket my one dog has a very sensitve tummy and he does great on this diet..
I would love to feed raw someday though....
there are alot of great foods out there....but it also depends on how your dog adjusts to it as I found out with Wicket....Spooky my other dog doesn't matter what I feed him he does great on it....

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luvntzus

· #9 · Jul 20, 2009

I think Orijen is one of the best kibbles out there; definitely better than Wellness and Solid Gold. I also really like Eagle Pack Holistic, Fromm 4 star and Before Grain.

http://www.holisticselect.com/HS_Home.html

http://www.frommfamily.com/

http://www.merrickpetcare.com/store/bg_dry_dog_food_1.php

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schnzrlvr

· #10 · Jul 20, 2009

Both of my dogs are doing great on Natural Balance right now. I've been feeding them the Original formula (blue bag) for about a month. It's an All Life Stages food, so my 7-yr. old Miniature Schnauzer and 10-month-old Shepherd can finally eat the same food. We have tried a few different high-quality brands over the last year but I think we have finally found THE food for them. They love the NB and are looking wonderful on it.

You'll get a thousand different viewpoints on what is the "best" food. When you find something that you're happy with, and your dogs are doing well on, then stick with it.

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deege39

· #11 · Jul 20, 2009

I say that finding the "best" dog food for your dog, is kind of like a "trial and error" process, is it not?

I know when I adopted Donatello, I went through four different kinds of dog-food, then found he had a "corn" allergy, then I switched him to a "corn free" food, and he's doing amazing on it...

If takes trying a few different brands of food, then I think it's best- I've heard people say, "THIS IS THE BEST DOG FOOD ON THE MARKET." then I heard another person say, "MY DOG DID TERRIBLE ON THAT BRAND." Heh, dogs are different that's for sure...

I wish Donatello didn't have a corn allergy, because I'd sure has Hell be buying a cheaper brand right now...

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nico8

Discussion Starter · #12 · Jul 21, 2009

Thanks for the advice guys. I just went and picked up a small bag of Wellness Core. Petco was running a special on it so i figured why not... I've got a feeling that I'm going to try a few other brands out(Orijen,TOTW,maybe EVO) just to see what works best for Nico before i settle on one. I'll keep ya'll updated on how she does switching from the Blue Buff to Core...thanks again for the responses.

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