[AutumnWynd]

So I went into our pet store this last week, and did not just run in and grab my usual Solid Gold dog food and cat food, but took time to look at what else is out there. HOLY WOW, there are a lot of choices now in the holistic, grain free, yada yada yada. A lot of new brands that I have never seen. If I had been a first time buyer going in there I would be confused on which is better. Well, even being a long time buyer of a good quality food, I am now wondering....am I still feeding whats best?? Or any of these brands offering something better then what I am currently feeding??

 

[StellaLucyDesi]

Believe me, the choices do seem endless! And even as a "long-time" pet feeder like myself it does become overwhelming! Lately, I've become of the mindset "find a decent food that works for your dog....good skin/fur, good stool, dog likes it, no eye goobers, etc.....and stick to it for a little while (like say at least 3 months). I do like rotation, so I might find at least 3 different foods to rotate with that meet the criteria of "working for my dog". I have fallen into the "constantly searching for the perfect dog food" trap myself and don't like the feeling it gives me. So....I've stopped the search! My dogs are eating Natural Balance atm and doing well on it, so I will continue with it for awhile. Solid Gold is a good food, and if it's working then you should be happy with it, just mho.

 

[kadylady]

Believe me, the choices do seem endless! And even as a "long-time" pet feeder like myself it does become overwhelming! Lately, I've become of the mindset "find a decent food that works for your dog....good skin/fur, good stool, dog likes it, no eye goobers, etc.....and stick to it for a little while (like say at least 3 months). I do like rotation, so I might find at least 3 different foods to rotate with that meet the criteria of "working for my dog". I have fallen into the "constantly searching for the perfect dog food" trap myself and don't like the feeling it gives me. So....I've stopped the search! My dogs are eating Natural Balance atm and doing well on it, so I will continue with it for awhile. Solid Gold is a good food, and if it's working then you should be happy with it, just mho.

This is exactly what I am working towards, finding at least 2-3 foods that work good for my dogs. I'm enjoying rotating kibbles and I think the dogs are too. And I totally agree with your mindset of find a decent food that works well for your individual dog. I recently just tried a 5 star food with Luke (Back 2 Basics) and just didn't work well for him. I'm sure its a great food, just not for Luke.

 

[wolfsnaps]

The kibble companies are noticing the trend of grain free, holistic, natural, etc. dog foods becoming more popular. One by one, these companies are rolling out new foods with these new buzz words on the packaging. Just be careful because they are not created equally. I would say rotate kibble and watch those ingredient labels and you should be fine.

 

[luvmyfurballs]

Not all dogs can take a rotation of foods...2 out 3 of my dogs couldn't do it without some serious pooping problems. I was just in the pet store yesterday looking at all the food...I get tired, so I stay with what I use and works for all the dogs.

 

[saitenyo]

I'm all for rotation feeding. I've narrowed down my options for my future dog to several different foods I like since I don't think there is one "best." Variety allows the dog to benefit from the different pros of different foods.

 

[georgiapeach]

Even if you rotate, some dogs need a gradual transition to each one toward the end of the previous bag. Other dogs have cast iron stomachs and can take the swith cold turkey, but not many. When I switch foods with Potsie (almost a cast iron stomach, thank God!), I give him an Accidophilis tablet for the first few days, which alleviates the gas he gets at first.

 

[hargyle]

Before we brought Loki home I did a lot of homework on dog foods .... I would say almost all are nearly the same just different vitamin/protein/filler ratios and obviously different protein sources but in the end all saying the same thing. Switching Loki has not been an easy ride but we are getting there, I don't foresee too many rotations in our future ... poor guy. I basically go with the thought of .. If I don't understand whats in it, or if it sounds like something I wouldn't eat, I'm not about to feed it to my animals.

But you are most certainly right, its a sea of foods, brands, flavours and formulas one could drown if they didn't know what to look for ... I had this feeling the first time I went and then decided to do my homework.... GLAD I didn't just walk in and buy something ... would have ended up on pedigree or WORSE ... Beniful *shudder* haha (kidding ... kind of)

 

[NewLabDoodle]

Yea, now that I am reading a lot of these boards and other information about the 'best' dog food, it does feel overwhelming.

When we first got our puppy, I had no idea you could even feed raw food, or knew nothing about grain-free options etc. Luckily, we at least knew we wanted him to be as healthy as we could manage, and took someone's recommendation to feed Blue Buffalo (knew we at least wanted to avoid the 'meat' by-product & corn-based cheap food). Now moving forward from BB, which is a good quality food, my next step was to be sure that we rotate in some new protein sources and new brands, so that no weird allergies develop, and to give him something new to eat (the same chicken and rice for almost a year! yikes) :\ This is where the forums and other research really started to come into play.

So far so good, the new grain-free Acana kibble has been an easy switch with virtually no GI issues. Within a day of switching (started with just mixing in 25% of the new Acana), he was already favoring the new food, and everything is solid, as it were. Going from chicken to fish has posed no problems, and it seems he is just excited about something new in his bowl! I'm already mixing over 75% of his new stuff in less than a week's time, so we may be lucky in him having an iron stomach.

But now the more I do my homework, this whole raw meaty bone approach just sounds like it is the ultimate 'top notch health food' for our dog. Now I'm overwhelmed with possibilities for 'toppers' for dehydrated or freeze-dried raw, and eventually want to truly embrace the full raw program (even more research, yow!).

Logistically, full raw just is not doable yet, so the new hurdle is deciphering between the 'over-hyped'/over-priced premium food, and something just as healthy without breaking the bank.

I know I'll continue learning and fine-tuning this meal thing for a while, so I'm just impressed with all the knowledge that is being shared on these boards and beyond. It's good to know that people care about the well-being of their pets, and by sharing our info I'm confident that the brands that are trying to 'take advantage' of pet owners will be singled out and cast aside for what they are, leaving us with a more manageable array of options for the benefit of our pets.

Hmm, sorry for the wall of text.

 

[Amaryllis]

I think people forget something about dog food and nutrition. For a human, a glass of milk is very healthy. Lots of protein and other good stuff. Unless you happen to be lactose intolerant, like me, in which case a glass of milk is 2 hours in hell. So just because something is healthy doesn't mean it will agree with every single dog.

However, just because McDonalds doesn't bother me like milk does doesn't mean eating McDonalds every day is a good idea. It's still McDonalds. The same goes for low end dog foods like Beneful.

 

[Bateman]

I also had the same problem when I first started weening my Border Collie and myself from Iams Smart Puppy. It was the brand that his breeders had been feeding the puppies but recently, I've noticed that he has not grown much in recent months. So I started thinking maybe it was his food.

I ended up settling with one of the all life stages bags by Orijen. At first I was happy with it. It meant he didn't need as much daily as the Iams I had been working with so it pretty much compensated for the cost of chow. However, after looking this forum for a couple hours, I stumbled across concerning issues with the brand. I feel as if I'm back to stage one. So I understand your frustration.

I'd love to go to feeding raw but I would need more time on my hands to prepare. Also obvious research would be required and I would have to get over my worries about raw food too!

 

[Mheath0429]

Bateman, Origen really is a fantastic food. If it agrees with your dog, then stick with it. I have two siberians and it works great for them, I personally feed taste of the wild for a few reasons.

1. It is grain free and thus my female sibe doesn't itch anymore!
2. It has so many diffent flavors that I can grab a different bag and rotate kibble without worrying if the pups will get diarrhea.
3. It is affordable, about 45 for a 30lb bag. Considering my full grown female sibe eats att 1.5 to 2 cups a day, it goes a long way.
4. The company is more than willing to send multiple free samples to prospective customers, just email them.
5. It goes great with my rotation of The Honest Kitchen Keen, which is dehydrated raw.

I don't believe in true rotation with dogs because it can cause too much digestive upset, thus taste of the wild has been great for keeping the pups interest!

 

[Goldens&Labs4Me]

I also had the same problem when I first started weening my Border Collie and myself from Iams Smart Puppy. It was the brand that his breeders had been feeding the puppies but recently, I've noticed that he has not grown much in recent months. So I started thinking maybe it was his food.

I ended up settling with one of the all life stages bags by Orijen. At first I was happy with it. It meant he didn't need as much daily as the Iams I had been working with so it pretty much compensated for the cost of chow. However, after looking this forum for a couple hours, I stumbled across concerning issues with the brand. I feel as if I'm back to stage one. So I understand your frustration.

I'd love to go to feeding raw but I would need more time on my hands to prepare. Also obvious research would be required and I would have to get over my worries about raw food too!

Bateman, if Orijen is working for your dog, don't worry.

You can research and read and look until you are purple--and somebody is *always* going to have something negative to say about each brand. No brand is perfect and not every brand works for every dog. So finding one that works for your dog is the most important thing. Otherwise, you'll drive yourself crazy with all of the what ifs.

 

[Abbylynn]

Bateman, if Orijen is working for your dog, don't worry.

You can research and read and look until you are purple--and somebody is *always* going to have something negative to say about each brand. No brand is perfect and not every brand works for every dog. So finding one that works for your dog is the most important thing. Otherwise, you'll drive yourself crazy with all of the what ifs.

This ^ ..... ^ ...... ^ I am one who studied dog foods for "months" on www.thedogfoodadvisor.com ... and was driving myself nuts trying to choose because all my dogs had some sort of issue or allergy! What a mess! I have now found that 4Health and TOTW are best for my dogs. Although I have to admit I have one dog whom I just purchased Blue Buffalo Basics for ... who will "not" eat the better dog food without adding canned Alpo as a topper! Lol! :/

I agree ... Whatever works best for your dog ... as long as they are staying healthy ... go with it.

 

[Jordan S]

Don't get caught up in the whirlwind, you'll never get out, lol. Solid Gold is fine and has good quality ingredients so if your dog does well on it, by all means stick to it.