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Post by RealPitBull on Jan 13, 2008 18:23:04 GMT -5
Bigbullwill asked about dog foods.....
Anyone care to post?
I feed Solid Gold.
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Post by sidthemuss on Jan 14, 2008 2:42:32 GMT -5
Innova "Evo" kibbles 3 times a day and once a day i add a can of either 95% rabbit, beef or venison by Innova Evo as well. for treats i use bully sticks (costco caries a 12 pack of the 12" for 17 bucks) Innova and Candidae health bars and his bedtime treat is 100% duck or bison jerkey my dog eats better than i do
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Post by mastiffsj on Jan 14, 2008 13:52:47 GMT -5
Mine eat Wellness but I supplement with the Solid Gold Green Cow Tripe, it's done wonders for everyone!
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Post by pettoprincess88 on Jan 22, 2008 15:16:46 GMT -5
I always wondered what is a good dog food to feed dogs? Right now, I live with my parents and dont work so......... they are fed a lower quality food (ahem Iams) and I feel bad about it but u dont know how badly my dad wants to go cheaper. im like there's no way cuz cheaper than that is those crappy no good corn as first ingredient foods!!!! yes i need to work... i think as soon as summer comes. I will work to save for my university classes plus some good food for my dogs. this is my last semester at the junior college so i have all summer to save for fall classes at an university which is unknown to me at this time....a heh my dogs have shiny coats but i know a better food would be best
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Post by RealPitBull on Jan 22, 2008 15:38:50 GMT -5
Some foods I recommend:
1) Solid Gold 2) Innova 3) TimberWolf Organics 4) Orijen 5) Dr. Harvey's
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Post by valliesong on Feb 1, 2008 17:19:03 GMT -5
I feed Canidae/Felidae, Nature's Variety, Solid Gold, Neura meats (canned), and Innova to my dogs and cats. Sometimes I mix in raw eggs, plain yogurt, or cottage cheese. I give Old Mother Hubbard biscuits and kibble as treats, as well as fruits and veggies, which they love.
Wellness Fish and Sweet Potato gave my dogs soft stools (didn't try the other varieties), TimberWolf is not available locally, and I've never even heard of Orijen or Dr. Harvey's.
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Post by michele5611 on Feb 3, 2008 19:52:40 GMT -5
I have been feeding raw/barf for the past 4 years however, have used canidae, innova-evo, flint river, and timberwolf.
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Post by AmyJo27 on Feb 8, 2008 22:41:45 GMT -5
I personally dont feed my dogs this but what about Purina Dog Chow. I have heard it is healthy and cheap. Is is really all that healthy?
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Post by emilys on Feb 10, 2008 0:43:39 GMT -5
I'm now feeding California Natural, because it has the fewest ingredients of all the kibbles. Expensive, but all my dogs seem to do well on it. Better than on Canidae, which is another quality brand, and on Innova (made by the same company)
When calculating costs, consider that you have to feed MORE of the cheaper brands. Even if you pay less for a bag, your overall costs may not be that much more. And the cheaper brands have lots of crap in them that dogs don't need and can't digest. Bigger poops.
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Post by valliesong on Feb 10, 2008 3:20:27 GMT -5
I personally dont feed my dogs this but what about Purina Dog Chow. I have heard it is healthy and cheap. Is is really all that healthy? I'd personally never put Purina Dog Chow and healthy in the same sentence. Purina, Hills (Science Diet), Iams, Alpo, etc. have big advertising budgets, but make their foods with cheap ingredients that aren't fit for human and (in my opinion) pet consumption. They use by-products, corn, grain fractions, and other low-quality, cheap ingredients and fillers. If an ingredient is not approved for human consumption and/or has no nutritional value to the dog, I don't want to be paying for it, and I don't want my dog eating it. You are much better off sticking with the foods suggested in this thread. They may look more expensive on the surface, but you will need to feed less and they are much healtier for your pet. For example, I can often get a 40# bag of Canidae on sale for $27. Each of my dogs only eats 1.5-2 cups a day. With the grocery brand foods (and Science Diet, Royal Canin, etc.) I would have to feed 4 cups a day for the same nutritional value. Not to mention the quality control is not there for the cheaper brands, which is dangerous with all the food recalls!
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Post by Courtney on Feb 24, 2008 13:04:51 GMT -5
We feed our adult dogs primarily home-made food, which usually consists of bison and vegetables, and we supplement this with high-quality, natural, dry food
My 11 week old pups are currently being fed a large-breed puppy food at the recommendation of our vet
What is it about the large-breed formulas that prevents them from growing too fast?
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Jay
Member
U.S ARMY RANGER
Posts: 47
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Post by Jay on Feb 28, 2008 20:07:10 GMT -5
i feed orijen and eagle pack. sometimes i mix this all natural dog stew (chichen, lamb, carrots, peas, broth) with his food
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Post by marty on Apr 1, 2008 21:34:15 GMT -5
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Post by valliesong on Apr 2, 2008 9:11:43 GMT -5
Whole Dog Journal does a good dog food review every year.
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Post by apachehusky on Apr 3, 2008 13:21:36 GMT -5
The brands that are suggested here are not available in my area. What I can get is eukanuba, iams, nutro, and others too fancy and expensive. I'm trying to switch from home made/purina puppy chow combo to a better brand of dry food to control the stool quantity, even I feed my pup two meals a day still the stools are everywhere. I'm feeding 3 to 4 cups daily w/ boneless chicken, broth, rice,potatoes,carrots. The quantities are small portions, but it is a lot of work I want to feed dry only. Thanks for your help.
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Post by valliesong on Apr 4, 2008 18:15:31 GMT -5
The brands that are suggested here are not available in my area. What I can get is eukanuba, iams, nutro, and others too fancy and expensive. I'm trying to switch from home made/purina puppy chow combo to a better brand of dry food to control the stool quantity, even I feed my pup two meals a day still the stools are everywhere. I'm feeding 3 to 4 cups daily w/ boneless chicken, broth, rice,potatoes,carrots. The quantities are small portions, but it is a lot of work I want to feed dry only. Thanks for your help. What "fancy and expensive" foods are available in your area? Likely they are some of the same ones we have been discussing in this thread. I can't imagine feeding 3-4 cups of dry PLUS homecooked food. The dry you are feeding must be nothing but fillers. With a quality "fancy and expensive" food you will be able to feed half the quantity or possibly less, and see an equal reduction in stools. If the new food is twice as expensive, you will be making out the same cost wise and much better health wise. Not sure if all of these were mentioned above: Merrick, Wellness, Blue Buffalo, Halo for Pets, Pet Chef, Canine Caviar, Artemis, Taste of the Wild, Chicken Soup for Pets, Premium Edge, Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance, Petcurean, FirstMate, Honest Kitchen, and more were all approved by Whole Dog Journal. Add that to the Canidae, Solid Gold, Innova/Evo, Nature's Variety, etc. mentioned above. Check out the web for sites for these pet food companies. Most have listings of feed stores that carry their products. Most foods that you find at PetSmart and Petco aren't very good, and are very overpriced. Try to find a feed store that carries pet food and you should have better luck.
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Post by bullymommy25 on Apr 4, 2008 19:03:13 GMT -5
Oh man, we switched from regular Blue Buffalo, which is good on it's own, to Blue Wilderness formula for high-activity dogs about a month ago. I bet a lot of pit bull owners will say that their dogs operate at a higher energy level and it takes better nutrition to keep them healthy! Blue Wilderness is developed after the diets of wolves and is higher in protein. But since the switch, Stella's coat has turned almost velvety, and it glistens! She's actually a little calmer, but has the same energy level. Her poop is less smelly, too! And the cool thing is, Stella actually likes the taste. We give her meat, cheese, brown rice, and fruit all the time, so she is very picky. But she eats about 3 cups of this kibble every day, happily. And you know how dogs always go for cat food, cuz it's higher in protein? Well, with this kibble, our two cats will pick from her bowl (Elmo kitty is actually bold enough to stick his head under Stella's and eat from the same bowl at the same time, but he's a whole 'nother story...).
If anyone has doubts about paying the extra money for the real food, please remember that you would not raise your children on gummy bears and soda, which is really what Purina and the rest of that commercial stuff is to dogs. And you really do pay for it in your dog's senior years. Cancers, diabetes, liver failure, kidney failure, mental unbalance, all of these have been attributed to a lifetime of garbage food (in dogs and people). Not only does your buddy suffer needlessly, your vet bills will be astronomical. I pay about $20 (rounded up) for a large bag of food, and it lasts me several weeks. It really isn't a heavy financial commitment. Currently, I'm pregnant and high risk, I'm not working, so we're living on my husband's income only. We need to watch our expenses, so I totally get it. But this is just too important an issue!
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Post by RealPitBull on Apr 5, 2008 7:42:37 GMT -5
GOOD POST, Bullymommy!!!
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Post by windowdog on Apr 17, 2008 21:37:34 GMT -5
I read at some point in my life that too much protein and meat in a dogs diet is bad for their renal system and can cause a lot of health problems. It also said that grain based foods were actually good for dogs as long as they contained balanced nutrition etc.
Having said all that right now I'm working through the food the rescue group gave me gratis with the foster. It's Kibbles n Bits. I've never used the cheap cheap brand before (in the rescue's defense they're not exactly rolling in spare cash, the fact that they gave any food at all surprised me.) So I've been feeding the dog with it just so it doesn't go to waste.
But oh my lord is she a poop machine eating this stuff. I'm amazed her body can produce that much in a day. They also gave me a donated white 50lb sack of "kennel power" to use next. I know they're to be considerate but if this is the kind of stool output cut rate brands produce I think I'm going to go for higher quality stuff.
My family always used Eukenuba growing up, I haven't seen that listed as good or bad, any comments on it?
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Post by valliesong on Apr 17, 2008 22:02:21 GMT -5
I think Eukanuba is (currently) like Science Diet and Iams. It is waaaaay overpriced for what it is. You can probably get better prices on some of the foods listed above, and will need to feed less, etc.
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