[chamoisee]

I don't want to waste money, but I do want all the money that I spend on dog food to actually benefit and nourish our new addition to the family. She is a Jack Russel Terrier.

I took her with me to the store and let her sniff various brands, and she showed more interest in some than others, but....no clearcut choice other than she seemed to prefer...I think it was Beneful and Iams, to the other brands. She is really a nice little dog (mature, not a puppy) and I want her to live as long as she can.

 

[troy n sarah tx]

I personally like Science Diet for my puppies (chihuahuas and toy terriers), however, my big dogs I used to have (mastiffs) loved Iams. I would suggest going with one of these two.

Sarah

 

[Corgitails]

Beneful and Iams both have a lot of additives and a heck of a lot of corn. I'd check out the info here:

http://www.dogfoodproject.com/

A JRT's not going to eat a whole lot, so even the most expensive super-premium brands are going to be fairly affordable long-term.

 

[Rogo]

Madison Avenue can sell anything, proven by how folks purchase.

A long time friend feeds like her parents did, the cheapest feed in the store. Her dogs are healthy, no vet bills. The youngest they've died is 15 years.

The big, expensive names have been on the recall list.

Those who feed raw and buy the meat in the supermarkets take a chance due to all the meat recalls. Knowing how that meat was fed when it was alive would prevent me from buying it for the critters or me. Buying from local farmers whose ways you know of doing things or raising your own is much healthier.

I free choice feed a dry kibble, not a national brand, only sold in the southwest. They don't cut corners by purchasing ingredients from overseas. Therefore, they're not on the recall list.

There's no BHA, no BHT, no ethoxyquin, no corn, no soy, no wheat. A 40 pound bag lasts my 60 pound American Pit Bull Terrier over 2 months. $17. Less in other areas.

I also feed food grade diatomaceous earth (DE). Keeps them healthy. They don't know what a vet looks like. Same for the large livestock and poultry.

I haven't heard of many of the conditions I've seen posted in these forums. Sorry some of you have had to go through that.

Choices, we all have them.

 

[Beltane]

Read the ingredients and look for something without meat 'by-products' and without corn. (Without artificial preservatives is good too).

I would certainly compare the ingredients on IAMs ~ you can certainly get a much better food for the money IAMs is asking IMO.

 

[jen74145]

Absolutely read the ingredients... and head to your feed store. We found a locally milled food there that is primarily meat with some good "extras' thrown in, at a very affordable price. We have six dogs, and no one has any objections to it, stomach or taste wise.

 

[Maura]

If Iams is the best you can afford, look for Canidae, I don't think it's much more expensive, but is much better.

I dog that size can probably do very well on a chicken wing in the morning and one in the afternoon.

 

[KimM]

http://www.naturesvariety.com

 

[Guest]

This is the brand I get:
http://www.zachsdogfood.com/

No corn, no soy, no preservatives, and affordable.

 

[HOTW]

Don't rely on her sniffer most of the companies spray the food with fats and flavors to attract the dogs to the food. No corn ,wheat ,or soy ,no dyes, and ni meat by products . By Producst are OK but they have to have a meat identity like chicken or lamb etc. Avoid cheaper brands you do pay int eh long run with bad teeth, overweight etc. Most dogs that live longer seem to be fed a lot of table scraps and raw bones I have noticed. Our dogs growing up were fed this way and were healthier than the ones I have had as an adult when the dog food companies and vets tell you don't feed scraps. Read up on BARK and apply some of those principles with raw bones and you will probably see a healthier dog. Right now I purchase Evo as a dry food but feed my dogs a homecooked diet with a supplement and their teeth and breath are getting better! So I will never go back to a dry diet exclusively and never a run of the mill food.

 

[Janis Sauncy]

I used to work in a feed store and became an avid label reader when it came to pet food. Also, I learned a lot talking with customers and the feed reps.

I absolutely agree about the no-corn, wheat or "by-products" advice being given here. One of my dogs breaks out in hot spots if he eats anything with corn in it and the rest of my dogs and all my cats look really good on the quality food they get.

I eat a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast every morning when I really would rather have Cocoa Puffs. Just because your dog "sniffs" out what you think it would like doesn't necessarily mean it will be the best and most healthful choice.

Janis

 

[donsgal]

I don't want to waste money, but I do want all the money that I spend on dog food to actually benefit and nourish our new addition to the family. She is a Jack Russel Terrier.

I took her with me to the store and let her sniff various brands, and she showed more interest in some than others, but....no clearcut choice other than she seemed to prefer...I think it was Beneful and Iams, to the other brands. She is really a nice little dog (mature, not a puppy) and I want her to live as long as she can.

Everyone who tries it says that a raw food diet is without a doubt the best way to feed your dog. Google the B.A.R.F diet online for more information. It is expensive and more time consuming than opening a bag of "animal by products" but it is much better for your dog, I am told.

Otherwise, I would recommend that you go to a very good PRIVATELY OWNED (not a chain) pet store that has been in business for several years and ask them what they recommend. Read lables. Dog food containing the afore-mentioned animal by products should be avoided as should corn additives (due to GMO as well as allergic reactions), and wheat as fillers. The best dog foods will run about $30 for a 40lb bag. I have heard that Innova is a very good brand, but have no personal experience with it.

donsgal

 

[donsgal]

I used to work in a feed store and became an avid label reader when it came to pet food. Also, I learned a lot talking with customers and the feed reps.

I absolutely agree about the no-corn, wheat or "by-products" advice being given here. One of my dogs breaks out in hot spots if he eats anything with corn in it and the rest of my dogs and all my cats look really good on the quality food they get.

I eat a bowl of oatmeal for breakfast every morning when I really would rather have Cocoa Puffs. Just because your dog "sniffs" out what you think it would like doesn't necessarily mean it will be the best and most healthful choice.

Janis

Labs are the absolute worst for corn allergies. Once I saw a black lab with NO HAIR on its butt at all and found that when the owner switched to a no-corn food the allergies cleared up virtually over night.

donsgal

 

[Guest]

Labs are the absolute worst for corn allergies. Once I saw a black lab with NO HAIR on its butt at all and found that when the owner switched to a no-corn food the allergies cleared up virtually over night.

donsgal

My BC can't handle any soy at all. It makes her throw up all over the place.

 

[Rogo]

=== The best dog foods will run about $30 for a 40lb bag. ===


Strongpoint Naturally Senior (I feed the Senior to all ages. If I go over 20% protein the dogs fight and have behavior problems.)

40 pound bag $17.

20% protein

No wheat. No soy. No corn. No BHA. No BHT. No ethoxyquin.

lamb meal

ground rice

oatmeal

chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols, citric acid and rosemary extract)

beet pulp

fish meal

flaxseed

dried egg product

brewers dried yeast

chicken liver meal

yeast culture

potassium chloride

salt

lecithin

garlic

vitamin A supplement

vitamin D supplement

choline chloride

vitamin E supplement

ferrous sulfate

dried aspergillus oryzae fermentation extract

zinc oxide

manganese oxide

copper sulfate

zinc amino acid chelate

iron amino acid chelate

manganese amino acid chelate

cobalt amino acid chelate

potassium iodate

niacin

calcium pantothenate

riboflavin

biotin

vitamin B12 supplement

thiamine mononitrate

pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6)

sodium selenite

menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of vitamin K)

calcium iodate

folic acid

cobalt carbonate

yucca schidigera extract


NOT ON THE RECALL LIST! They don't buy ingredients from overseas like the big guys.

I've had dogs all my life. I'm almost 70. I've always free choice fed. I can put any dry kibble down for my dogs. They've never refused any feed. No treats are fed. Nothing is fed from my table, only the bones after my meal. None of my dogs have ever had the problems spoken of here. I've had no vet bills. I've used the present feed for quite some time due to it not having soy or corn.

I've seen how U.S. soy destroys the human's and critter's bodies. We have aflatoxin outbreaks every year in corn.

What I do works here.

As you can see, chamoisee, it doesn't matter what kind of critters folks have, none of us do things the same! )

 

[cricket]

IAMS, SD, Beneful are all what I call trash foods. If your dog has to eat and this is your only choice, IAMS is the best of the 3. I wouldn't feed my chickens SD or Beneful... However, like someone else said, if you can get IAMS, look seriously at Canidea or Flint River or a couple other mid-level foods.

There is a dinstinct difference between raw and BARF. BARF is, to me, complicated and worrisome and difficult and expensive. I know people who feed it and say once you get accostomed to it, it's easy. I never wanted to go through that kind of process...Heck, I hate cooking for myself! No way am I cooking for these big lugs!

Raw is also divided into catagories...according to what you feed. Like GM, I feed franken-prey as best I can. I pay $.12-$.47/# for meat. Kibble, for the equivilant nutritional base, is around $1.40/#. And just like kibble, I open a bag and put it in the bowls. I've always washed dog dishes so that wasn't anything new. I guess the only "new" thing is having people always wanting to come to my house because they think we are having BBQ's every weekend. I always explain that no, this is dog food. Personally I wouldn't eat the meat out of the stores but the chicken is OK for the dogs until the rabbits get to breeding.

 

[GoldenMom]

IAMS, SD, Beneful are all what I call trash foods. If your dog has to eat and this is your only choice, IAMS is the best of the 3. I wouldn't feed my chickens SD or Beneful... However, like someone else said, if you can get IAMS, look seriously at Canidea or Flint River or a couple other mid-level foods.

There is a dinstinct difference between raw and BARF. BARF is, to me, complicated and worrisome and difficult and expensive. I know people who feed it and say once you get accostomed to it, it's easy. I never wanted to go through that kind of process...Heck, I hate cooking for myself! No way am I cooking for these big lugs!

Raw is also divided into catagories...according to what you feed. Like GM, I feed franken-prey as best I can. I pay $.12-$.47/# for meat. Kibble, for the equivilant nutritional base, is around $1.40/#. And just like kibble, I open a bag and put it in the bowls. I've always washed dog dishes so that wasn't anything new. I guess the only "new" thing is having people always wanting to come to my house because they think we are having BBQ's every weekend. I always explain that no, this is dog food. Personally I wouldn't eat the meat out of the stores but the chicken is OK for the dogs until the rabbits get to breeding.

Yes there is a big difference between BARF and prey model raw. Unfortunately a lot of people have heard of BARF and so *any* raw diet is BARF. Makes it a little hard to do internet searches and find out about other types of raw diets. The best search for information would be to search for "dog raw diet" or something similar-that would give you a much broader range and then you can decide where to concentrate your efforts of research.

I am one of the people donsgal mentioned-I tried a raw diet and am still feeding it 8+ years later. Although I don't find it expensive or time-consuming at all now that I feed prey model (BARF was expensive-all the supplements-and very time consuming-grinding all the veggies, etc).

 

[armeda]

Hi I just ran across this pet food. It is quite expensive $39 for 25# of adult dog food. What's good are the ingredients. No bi-products, wheat gluten, etc. They buy their ingredients from small US family farms that don't use antibiotics, etc. So it is really helping the small farmers in this country. Their products have never been recalled. I may consider it if it moves closer to my area. It is sold at Petco and other stores.
http://www.petpromiseinc.com/care2.htm

Armeda

 

[chamoisee]

IAMS and Beneful aren't the only or best available choices, they're just the best that the local grocery store had. I got her a little bag of Purina for now (had to feed her *something* while making up my mind!) and sure enough, it's full of crappy ingredients! I'll go to the pet store and see what they have.

 

[HeavenHelpMe]

I love Solid Gold Hundenflocken. It's very hard to get here, though. My dog thinks it's filet mignon and lobster when she eats it.

http://www.solidgoldhealth.com/

Nutro is fantastic, too.