What dog food brands are you guys buying?

[Hostile]

What brands of dog food are most people here having success with?

I did some searching (most of the threads are 2+ years old) and came across some threads about various recalls (Diamond and Blue Buffalo) which are a little worrisome for obvious reasons.

EDIT: I saw mention in a thread about Southern State's brand of natural foods but the prices seem too good to be true- $30 for a 40lb bag? Most of the name brand "natural" foods are in the $50s for a ~30lb bag. I have 3 of their stores within a 15 mile radius so it's definitely convenient.

[auburnjosh]

I buy Fromm's grain free surf and turf http://frommfamily.com/products/four...free-surf-turf. My golden lost 15lbs from going no grain.

[MotownSVT]

Orijen/Acana here...

[STOICH]

Use to have the pup on Orijen, but switched to Taste of the Wild (Pacific Stream/Fish) after recommendation on reducing protein intake.

OP: Head over to Dog Food Advisor if you really want to dive into nutritional and quality info.

[hipster.]

I feed my dog Nutro Natural Choice Chicken/Rice formula. He has a sensitive stomach and is a bit picky about his dry dog food. It has a bit lower than average protein content, so I will usually add in boiled chicken to his dry food. Every now and then he gets an egg.

[dunhamjr]

we currently feed acana regionals 'grain-free'. probably been buying it for coming close to 18 months or so.

prior to that.

orijen
innova evo
costco/kirkland puppy formula

[pdoel]

I just switched from Science Diet to Halo (Ellen owned company). I figure if it's good enough for Ellen, then it's good enough for me.

[dunhamjr]

I just switched from Science Diet to Halo (Ellen owned company). I figure if it's good enough for Ellen, then it's good enough for me.

i would say switching from science diet to most anything else is a good thing... but i am not sure i understand linking trust to ellen about dog food.

sometimes celebs are only endorsing products from the $$... i know, i know its an amazing but true revelation.

hill's science diet dry
http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-fo...ood-adult-dry/
Hill’s Science Diet Adult dry dog food earns the Advisor’s second-lowest rating of 2.5 stars.

The first ingredient in this dog food is corn. Corn is an inexpensive and controversial cereal grain of only modest nutritional value to a dog.

Judging by its ingredients alone, Hill’s Science Diet Adult appears to be a below-average dry dog food.

Not recommended.

[pdoel]

I had actually switched to Science Diet about 5 years ago, because it was rated well at the time. Soon after, there was a similar thread to this on another forum, and people trashed it for the same reason (corn being main ingredient). But when i compared the make up of their preferred brand to Science diet, they were identical.

As for Halo, my comment about Ellen was more a joke. I actually researched it, and it got great ratings, and they highly recommend it.

As for Ellen, she doesn't just endorse it, she's part owner of the company. Most of the times when I hear that, I have the same reaction as you. However, considering Ellen is a Vegan (due to the treatment of animals), has rescued all her pets (and supports lots of rescues) and is just a HUGE advocate of animals, I have a bit more trust in her and this company, than I would with some other celeb.

[ssR32]

Switched from Science Diet to Blue.

Science Diet gave my dog some nasty ****s.

[TheGreenspanator]

Only thing I've gotten her to eat for more than a week or two at a time is Simply Nourish lamb and rice dry food.

Sent from my shoe phone

[Heffernan]

My dog has a bad digestive system so for the past year I have been making his food. Extremely low-fat, low-protein bland meals.

Rice, potatoes, carrots, peas, blueberries and a small amount of chicken.

He also gets strawberries every now and then and 100% dehydrated sweet potatoes for treats.

[dunhamjr]

My dog has a bad digestive system so for the past year I have been making his food. Extremely low-fat, low-protein bland meals.

Rice, potatoes, carrots, peas, blueberries and a small amount of chicken.

He also gets strawberries every now and then and 100% dehydrated sweet potatoes for treats.

truth be told, you probably think that food is bland but he is living a kings life.

for the treats, wouldnt it be cheaper to just buy a sweet potato and chop it up yourself?

[Heffernan]

truth be told, you probably think that food is bland but he is living a kings life.

for the treats, wouldnt it be cheaper to just buy a sweet potato and chop it up yourself?

Oh, don't be fooled, I know he is living the life. lol.

I do bake them myself, but sometimes I get lazy

[cwescapexlt4x4]

We have switched over to Costco's Kirkland Signature "Nature's Domain" and the dogs (German Shepherds) have had no issues in the change (almost a year now from Taste of the Wild at almost $15 less a bag).

[VR6GURU]

I have been feeding my dog Wellness since I got her, but I'm thinking about switching to Lotus

[VW1.8Tsunami]

Blue Buffalo - Salmon and Potato, she can't eat the chickent/turkey. It tears up her stomach. I may try the Kirkland brand. Seemed to get good reviews.

[Das Pike]

Also Blue Buffalo here for our akita. And for our cat actually. No problems in 4 years we've been feeding them.

[OrdinaryGirl]

Blue Buffalo - Salmon and Potato, she can't eat the chickent/turkey. It tears up her stomach. I may try the Kirkland brand. Seemed to get good reviews.

Check the numbers on the bags if you do - up here a lot of its been recalled recently. We had our dogs on a 50/50 mix eukanuba natural lamb & rice (not the wild naturals!) and Kirkland signature chicken and rice. The second dog came to us on 100% kirkland and ours was 100% eukanuba. We thought we'd slowly switch first dog onto it since its way cheaper and he really liked it - and it got good reviews. Even over the space of a month I couldn't get him onto more than a 50/50 mix, because he kept having tummy issues so we decided hed just stay on eukanuba and the other dog could eat both. Then she started having tummy troubles too, so I weaned them both off it and only on eukanuba and canned (blue naturals homestyle dinners). No more tummy troubles. Then I found out about the recall, and checked the number on the bag of kirkland. We have a recalled bag.

The recall was for salmonella but it would explain their tummy troubles. I also read on that dog food advisor site that the kirkland stuff is lacking in probiotics anyhow so I feed them plain 2% yogurt a couple times a week (our trainer suggested it for the tummy upset). Now that there's no more Kirkland, no more diarrhea. It might just be our dogs as we know our first dog is prone to tummy upset, and it seems the second one is too (have to be really careful with treats, so now I make them).

[cwescapexlt4x4]

Keep in mind there is the Kirkland Signature and the Kirkland Signature Natures Domain (higher quality) products. My Wife is picky about the dogs food and was pleased with the KS ND line and the extra $$ we save per bag doesn't hurt either!

[OrdinaryGirl]

Keep in mind there is the Kirkland Signature and the Kirkland Signature Natures Domain (higher quality) products. My Wife is picky about the dogs food and was pleased with the KS ND line and the extra $$ we save per bag doesn't hurt either!

Apparently we have a very limited selection at our local Costco! We only have the signature in 2 flavors...and no other dry food choices. I feel like most ppl around here probably don't buy their food at costco. There are a lot of high end/independent pet food/supply stores in our town.

[cwescapexlt4x4]

Apparently we have a very limited selection at our local Costco! We only have the signature in 2 flavors...and no other dry food choices. I feel like most ppl around here probably don't buy their food at costco. There are a lot of high end/independent pet food/supply stores in our town.

yeah, the higher KS bags are RED and BABY BLUE (IIRC) and the bags are more "plasticy" like the Taste of the Wild.

[VILESTENCH]

We were feeding our Dane Eagle Pack Large and Giant Breed formula, but have since switched to Taste Of the Wild Pacific Stream formula because it's grain free. I can see a huge difference in his #2s.

Every other day he gets a Nature's Variety Instinct Raw Chicken patty.

If I could afford to feed him an all-raw diet, I would.

We also give him a little salmon oil on his dry food.


Treats-wise, it all depends.
I bought a dehydrator 2 years ago, and I give him Sweet potatoes and Banana chips. He gets elk and venison jerky when someone kills something.
We also give him Nutro treats, when he's at my parents' place they give him the Rachel Ray Just 6 treats, and my wife bought him some of the MilkBone Healthy Favorites treats that he seemed to like.

[20vturbslo]

German Shepards were getting Blue Buffalo, turned out to be too rich for them, so we went to Natures Recipe.

Cats get Nutro indoor.

Pleased with all three brands

[BsickPassat]

Flint River Ranch: Lamb, Millet & Rice



With an extra shot of Dogzymes Probiotic Max

My golden is nice and healthy.

She gets the clean bill of health every year from the vet (and likes the fact I give her the extra probiotics).

The local kennel/golden retriever breeder also complements me on her coat and her overall lean build.

other people have complimented her on her coat.

Now... dogfoodadvisor doesn't give the food a great rating... but my dog is healthy on her current diet.

And.. she's a lot better on her current diet compared to Wellness Super 5 Mix Large Breed Puppy Health (I had a lot of soft stool problems with it)... then tried FRR Original, got a little better, than FRR Trout & Potato, got a little better... to where I am now.

[pwm]

We've got two active dogs. A Pit with a sensitive stomach and a mutt with a stomach of steel. They were both on Natural Balance, but the relatively low protein meant we had to give the pit too much to get her what she needed. The fiber just tore through her. The little mutt was fine on it.

I went to a local pet food/supply store and the guy recommended one of the high protein diets. We opted for Blue Buffalo Wilderness. Our pit's stomach issues are gone.

We actually used to feed the pit a raw diet. Chicken, turkey, sweet potatoes, cottage cheese, yogurt, eggs, etc, but it became a nightmare with the addition of the second dog. I was spending every other Sunday chopping up whole chickens and boiling sweet potatoes. I'd love to go back to it, but the amount of food the pit went through was staggering for a 55lb dog. If she wasn't eating close to 2 pounds of meat and another pound of potatoes daily she'd puke bile because she burned through everything already. Since they were eating only fresh human food, and meat at that, our dog grocery bill was over half of ours. It was hard giving it up though.

[VW1.8Tsunami]

I went to a local pet food/supply store and the guy recommended one of the high protein diets. We opted for Blue Buffalo Wilderness. Our pit's stomach issues are gone.

That's good to hear. My pit has stomach issues and she has been on Blue Buffalo Basics but can only eat the salmon formula. A few pieces of the cat's BB Wilderness dropped on the floor and you would think that my pit had just discovered crack lol. I was going to test the waters with it next go round so your report makes me less uneasy.

[mk4321]

Chicken Soup for the Dog Lovers Soul.

[kryptonik]

My dog is currently eating the Blue Buffalo Wilderness Salmon food. Though, I think she likes the Merrick Before Grain better.

[pwm]

Chicken Soup for the Dog Lovers Soul.

My last dog got really really sick off that stuff. It was during all those recalls and she was hospitalized for a few days, had her stomach pumped, etc. She pulled through (after a $700 bill of course), but it was actually that experience that led us to switch to the raw diet for 3 years. I figured if she got sick, I was getting sick since we ate from the same chickens, yogurt, potatoes, etc.

[pwm]

Oh, and to anyone with an inherent distrust of large corporations and mainstream dogfood when it comes to pet food, Proctor & Gamble (through Iams/Eukanuba) actually owns Innova (Innova, Evo, California Natural, Healthwise, Mother Nature and Karma).

Apparently the product hasn't suffered yet, but I've heard concerns its only a matter of time before P&G starts tinkering while searching for hidden profit.

[dunhamjr]

My last dog got really really sick off that stuff. It was during all those recalls and she was hospitalized for a few days, had her stomach pumped, etc. She pulled through (after a $700 bill of course), but it was actually that experience that led us to switch to the raw diet for 3 years. I figured if she got sick, I was getting sick since we ate from the same chickens, yogurt, potatoes, etc.

so for 3 yrs the dog was the appointed 'royal food taster'...

[pwm]

so for 3 yrs the dog was the appointed 'royal food taster'...

Yeah, she was an old dog when we got her so she had an awesome final few years. Abuse case, used for breeding and possibly baiting. When we got her wekept her on kibble but upgraded to what we thought was better. She got real sick as a result so she spent the next few years eating like a queen. I'd hack up chickens every other weekend and freeze them in baggies. Wings, breasts, drumsticks, guts....she loved it. Ground beef, and stew meat too. She'd get a scoop of mashed sweet potatoes, a dollop of yogurt or cottage cheese, and a bunch of meat. She loved it and never had another issue until cancer got her.

We did the raw diet with our next pup, but an active pit puppy was doing a number on us. 2 pounds of meat a day plus all the other stuff was ending up around $7-$8 a day to feed her. When we got the second dog we cried uncle and went back to a premium kibble. If we had a less active dog we'd probably go back to raw, but our pit burns through every calorie you throw her way. The crazy part is she isn't food driven in the slightest.

[spkn^GRMN]

I feed a brand called 4Health which is sold exclusively at Tractor Supply. It's rated 4 stars by Dog Food Advisor and costs $30 for a 35lb bag, but TS runs specials once a month for $5 off. You can't beat 35lb 4star for $25! It has improved both my dogs coats and teeth plus less poop since they absorb the nutrients instead of them running through their system and out the back end. Activity level has also risen.

There was a short recall for possible tainted food months ago but everything is ok.
http://www.tractorsupply.com/4health...lb-bag-6009468

Highly recommend!

[brownhornet]

our first dog loved the sh!t out of kibble & bits.....lived to the ripe old age of 16.

had a bluetick that was a garbage disposal and ate anything put in front of him.....was not brand loyal.