Any Thoughts Or Opinions On These Dog Foods?

katzand

katzand

Well-Known Member
Hi All:

Curious if folks have an opinion on this list of Top 5 Dog Foods - Reviewed for 2012.

I have not tried any of them and wondering which would be a good one to start with.

The article lists Taste of the Wild as their choice for #1 Dog Food brand, when you can't make your own.

If you have tried two or more of these and prefer one over another, I'd love to hear why.

Kat
 
Dlilly

Dlilly

Honored Member
From what I've researched online, all of those dog foods listed in that article are pretty good brands!

I feed Delilah and my foster dog TOTW. Shiloh can't eat it because the sweet potatoes in it give her a yeast infection in her paws. Other than that, I haven't had any problems with TOTW. In fact, it has helped Delilah with her itchy skin!
 
sara

sara

Moderator
Staff member
I have fed all of them but Wellness, as they are now owned my Mars Corporation. Well, actually, I dont feed Blue Buffalo either, but Blue Wilderness, but I dont think I'm very happy with the amount of recalls this company has had. they obviously import ingredients from China.

I feed (dry food) Orijen, Acana, First Mate, Addiction, Fromm, Chicken Soup FTDLS, Merrick, Fromm, Natural Balance, Horizon, and Taste of the Wild (though again, this company has had alot of recalls, but none in the Taste of the Wild line).
 
tigerlily46514

tigerlily46514

Honored Member
GOOD ON YOU for investigating what IS in dog foods!!!!!:D I wish i had done that for my last dog...i did not know.:(

I like all of those dog foods,
but, i can not afford them for a to feed an active 50 lb dog. If i had smaller dog, i might be able to afford it, not sure.

also, that list contains mostly "grain-free" dog foods,:rolleyes:
which means they are full of potatoes.

Too much potatoes gives my dog horrible gas.:censored: And besides, the nutritional value of potatoes, rice, and oats, is pretty similar.

I feed my dog "Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul" cuz it lists FOUR meat products on top of ingredient lists, (hard to beat, really) has no corn, no crappy ingredients like soy, wheat, cardboard ("cellulose") poop ("animal digest") no byproducts (that is like, hooves and beaks)
no poisonous carcinogens, and, it is made in my nation. (america).
And it's only about $1 a pound if i get the big bag.:D:D:D

I also add a bit of whatever meat we eat that day on top of Buddy's kibble.....to make it interesting:D and to ensure he gets plenty of protein. We add fish, pork, chicken, beef, cooked eggs (he wont' eat raw eggs:rolleyes: ) venison, etc etc,
whatever we eat, we rinse off all spices, or cook it separately, and give him some, too.
(my dog balks at raw meat:rolleyes: )


I have lots of these charts, but Here is one of my alltime favorite dog food evaluation charts--->
http://www.petfoodratings.net/dogtable.html

cuz it indicates the PRICE beside the nutritional value. (most do not list that, so you have to go google each brand to discover if you can, or can not, afford it)
Remember,
some dogs you have to sloooowly swap out their dog foods from one brand to another, or they get diarrhea, etc.
 
Dogster

Dogster

Honored Member
Just to add:
I feed Shivon Blue Wilderness, Orijen, Natural Balance, Blue's Stew. I will also start feeding her Taste of the Wild, Addiction (dehydrated raw and canned), and Chicken Soup FTDLS.:)

Sara, I never knew Blue had so many recalls.... I need your advice. Should I still feed her the canned food (I don't want to feed her anything from China)
 
MissyBC

MissyBC

Experienced Member
I have fed two Wellness foods:

"Just for Puppy" and "Complete Health - Fish" (the ocean blue colour). Lots of flax seed in the Wellness line of foods... makes a neighbors' dog of mine really gassy at times (if he gets into the bin and eats too much of it (otherwise he's fine with it. He's a Black Lab, those dogs love to eat!!), and made my dog Missy really gassy. Ugh! :p Also, I don't think her tummy was too happy with it because it was too high in flaxseed for her liking. That's the only negative I have about Wellness kibble. (It is healthy! No doubt about that!)

Also, I am just starting Missy on "Taste of the Wild - Wetlands Canine Formula with Roasted Fowl" and she seems to love it! Doesn't bother her digestive system at all. I'm happy with it as well.

Hope you find a good dog food/foods that are healthy for your adorable dog and within your budget.

Also, @tigerlily: Thanks so much for posting that website - very handy!
 
tigerlily46514

tigerlily46514

Honored Member
i think Wellness is about as good as it gets for dog kibble!! :D IF YOU HAVE A DOG WHO WONT' GET GAS FROM ALLLLLLLLL THOSE POTATOES.


My dog gets gassy from the extreme amounts of POTATOES in Wellness, or any of the other "grain free" dog foods,

Not from flax seed.

Those "grain free" dog foods, replace any oats or rice with huge amounts of POTATOES, which, in large amounts, even give many humans gas, too. :cautious:

Nutritonally, potatoes are very very very very simliar to rice or oats, anyway. All 3 are starchy carbs.

But my dog doesn't get gas on rice or oats in kibble, nor small amts of potatoes.

but a bag full of potatoes, (with meat, etc, in it), wow, no way can we live with our dog!!!:sick:

plus, Wellness costs about 3 times what my dog food costs. FOR ME, it's cheaper to just add extra meat scraps on top of each bowl, than fork out that kinda cash for kibble.
 
sara

sara

Moderator
Staff member
Not all grain free foods have large amounts of potatoes. Some have legumes, some have sweet potatoes, some have peas. It all depends on the quality of grain-free foods you feed. My dogs get gassy from Orijen 6 fish, if fed that regularly, which is less than 20% potatoes, as they have 80% meat, 20% fruits and veggies, on Acana Pacifica, which is 60% meat, 40% fruits and veggies, they didn't fart alot.

Natural Balance LID, however, does have alot of "filler starches" either white potatoes, or sweet potatoes. BTW, sweet potatoes are better for your dog than white potatoes. SP have a much lower glycemic index than WP.
 
tigerlily46514

tigerlily46514

Honored Member
(legumes are BEANS, btw, also notorious for gas)

Sure there are other veggies in dog foods, but the largest part of the carb filler part of "grain-free" is almost invariably potatoes.

It'd be interesting to know if the 80% is pre-dehydration weights.(?)
Usually, it is. and meats are always 80% water, so once dehydrated, it is much much lighter.
 
sara

sara

Moderator
Staff member
Nope, the entire dog food, once all finished cooking and all that is 80% meat. My dogs stunk on that stuff!!! Usually it's proteins that cause excessive gas, unless their digestive system is sensitive to something else.
 
Dogster

Dogster

Honored Member
Shivon doesn't seem to get gas from potatoes (THANK GOD:sick:) And I also heard that sweet potatoes are better for dogs, they are, overall, healthier.(y)
 
LeviTheOutlaw

LeviTheOutlaw

Well-Known Member
I feed both my dogs and my cats blue buffalo dry food. They love it and when I have tried some different foods, Xena refuses to eat. So I guess we are going to stick with it for now.
However, Levi has a never ending appetite and he had gotten quite chunky becuase I was letting him too much. The vet told me I needed to feed him less calories. I knew if I just gave him less food, he would have a fit. He was already acting like I was starving him. So I cut back on his kibble and added in a good amount of thawed frozen veggies and then I mix in a large spoonful of pureed pumpkin. WOW!!! both Xena and Levi love it.

Has anyone heard of or tried Rotations dog food? www.rotationspetfood.com
 
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