[Missie2007]

...for my beloved, sweet pooch Missie....In order:

Came home from the shelter with a bag of (what else?) Science Diet.

Then transitioned to Nutro Natural Choice Chicken & Rice (she was having tummy issues so......)

The locally owned pet shop suggested California Naturals, but then protein/meat levels became a concern.

Next, I explored some of the Natura line with bags of Healthwise and one of my personal favorites, Innova Adult.

Alternated for the better part of 12 months between Canidae ALS and Chicken Soup and later, started exploring "grain free" options such as....

Instinct and Wellness Core soon to be followed by Taste Of The Wild. Wanted to see the contrast with grained products, so I returned to Innova and Chicken Soup....and now, finally, I've come back to Core Adult.

My personal opinion based SOLELY on MY dog and no one elses? My top 5 brands:

Wellness Core ******
Instinct*****1/2
Innova Adult*****
Chicken Soup****1/2
Taste Of The Wild****

EDIT: I LOVE Orijen, and would rate it as high if not higher than any food on the list, however for some reason, my dog's stools were just really soft and runny on it.

 

[nico8]

Seems like some good info from someone who's tried quite a variety of the higher end foods. I'm switching my pup Nico from Blue Buffalo to a grain-free as soon as i get through this first bag.I have Chicken Soup,TOTW, and Core available to me locally and i was seriously considering all 3 of them...I was just wondering,in your opinion, what put Core ahead of all the others?

 

[bostonsmom]

i'm new here....but I thought this was pretty neat.

So here is my dog's Food Journey

Came home on: Canidae Chicken and Rice Formula

Then we tried : Innova Large Breed Puppy

And then after still not having great results tried : Orijen

After an allergic reaction from older formula we tried: Wellness Simple Solution - Venison and Rice

Horrbie reaction to Wellness

Tried: Solid Gold Barking at the Moon, good results but couldn't stand the gas

Then switched to : Horizon Legacy

Finally got good results with kibble (Boston did really well with this kibble).

Started experimenting with raw. First Raw Mountain Dog Food.

Got bloody poops from that.

And then Nature's Vareity Raw. Ok, but spendy

And then we tried Paws and Claws Pet Pantry raw foods.

And then finally we started doing it ourselves.

Ratings * to *****

Horizon Legacy : *****
Orijen : **** (good results until allergic reaction)
Solid Gold BATM : ***1/2 (horrible gas)
Canidae Chicken and Rice : **
Innova Large Breed Puppy: **
Wellness SS: *


Raw Foods
Raw Mountain Dog Food : *
Nature's Variety: *** (good but pricey)
Paws and Claws : ****

Homemade Raw: *****




bostonsmom

Check out www.projectmutt.com

 

[Missie2007]

Seems like some good info from someone who's tried quite a variety of the higher end foods. I'm switching my pup Nico from Blue Buffalo to a grain-free as soon as i get through this first bag.I have Chicken Soup,TOTW, and Core available to me locally and i was seriously considering all 3 of them...I was just wondering,in your opinion, what put Core ahead of all the others?

To answer your question, I don't think you can go wrong with any of them.

Dogfoodanalysis.com has good things to say about each of the products, however, the general consensus is that TOTW is a slight notch below Core and Orijen. I do think though, that as far as grain-free is concerned, there's no better bang for the buck than Taste Of The Wild.

Blue Buffalo is good food, but is expensive for what you get. For roughly the same money, you can do better. BB, IMO, is a 4-star food at 5 star prices.

Back to your original question.....Core's approach to feeding is "everything in moderation". Basically, you don't have to worry about your average, moderately active dog getting too much fat, carbs and calories typically found in the higher protein/grain-free foods. I also am a fan of Natura/Innova since hearing a podcast with two company reps from their their manufacturing and operations describe the process from farm to bag in it's entirety. They really are committed to quality control and excellence. Moving on, Orijen is a Champion Foods product and again, a brand that is just superior to it's competitors in nearly every way.

Back to "grained" products, Chicken Soup and Innova are six of one, one half dozen of another, however, Diamond manufactures Chicken Soup and they're a group that's been in some trouble with recalls. Still, I feed CS will full confidence. Chicken Soup is also substantially less expensive for a product close to or on par with Canidae ALS and Innova Adult.

 

[CorgiKarma]

I've been considering switching to Wellness CORE for awhile now, and am glad to hear that your dog has done so well on it! I am currently feeding Wellness Super5Mix and they are doing great on it. I don't want to change their food right before we leave to go on vacation so I can see how they do on it. I just bought a 13lb bag of Super5Mix so once they finish that off I think I'll make the switch to CORE. Thanks for the post!

 

[nico8]

Yeah I got the feeling that I wasn't quite getting what I was paying for with the Blue Buff. For less money i could be getting TOTW(from a small ,family owned pet store that I would much rather support than Petco)and for roughly about the same I could be getting Core.

I think I'll start out trying TOTW(because of price) but if Nico's coat isn't where I want it to be after a trial run I'm going to try out Core. Thanks for the feedback and helpful advice...it's appreciated.

 

[Missie2007]

Yeah I got the feeling that I wasn't quite getting what I was paying for with the Blue Buff. For less money i could be getting TOTW(from a small ,family owned pet store that I would much rather support than Petco)and for roughly about the same I could be getting Core.

I think I'll start out trying TOTW(because of price) but if Nico's coat isn't where I want it to be after a trial run I'm going to try out Core. Thanks for the feedback and helpful advice...it's appreciated.

The good thing about Petco is that they now carry the Wellness line, including Core. I too, prefer to shop the local "Mom and Pop" pet shops, but a trip to the superstore IS convenient and it's nice to know they now have a section dedicated to Super-Premium food.

 

[echo8287]

My dogs came home on Purina puppy chow. They got switched to Canidae ALS(old formula), then some Innova red meat,Orijen fresh fish,Innova (the yellow bags), Merrick Cowboy Cookout(Ouch), Wellness Core. They did great on all the brands except the Merrick>runny and yellow. All the others work fine with no digestion problems. They are still on Core at this time. David