Dog Food

[jenclerm]

Hello all,

I am really have a hard time deciding on a band of dog food.. the pup is going to put on Pedigree by the breeder.. I heard that that brand is really crappy.


My best friends Dobermans are on Canidae but they don't have a puppy brand.

My boss suggests I put him on Purina puppy chow, but I have read really bad reviews, and also the first ingredient in that is corn.. read that was bad as well.

I looked into Royal Canin, but that was one of the brand names that was recalled in the dog food incident. And its too expensive for a small 15 LBS bag at 28.99!

This is the only thing left I need to get organized for my new Dachshund pup and I am really stuck on this one..


Please help! :msncry:

what do you guys recommend for a small breed pup?


thanks!!

Jen

 

[leema]

Ditch any dry food. It' all rubbish, as far as I'm concerned. Dogs are made to eat MEAT, not grain, and not cooked meat. Raw meat, raw bones, raw offal.

I have 2 small dogs and they eat a range of raw products such as: Chicken wings, chicken drumsticks, chicken carcassses, chicken mince, chicken livers, chicken necks. Lamb 'offcuts' (mostly fat), lamb necks, lamb kidneys, lamb hearts, lamb 'shanks'. Beef rump steak, beef mince, beef heart, beef liver. Pork hocks. Turkey necks, turkey wings, turkey drumsticks.

Some meals are big, so they have small meals the next day. E.g. a turkey drumstick is very big for my dogs, and if they have one, the next few days they will get small meals, mostly of mince.

Approximately, you should attempt to feed 80% meat, 10% bone and 10% offal.

If you need more information, please ask.


If you must feed a dry food, I feel they're all the same, as long as they have a meat as the first ingredient on the packet.

 

[stormi]

I wouldnt feed my dogs Pedigree (among other brands). I do feed dry kibble though.

I prefer those that dont have lots of additives/preservatives in. Also I dont like the ones that have 'derivitives of X origin' in as that is just the rubbish once the good part of X has been taken. I dont know what brands you get in Canada, so it's probably worth checking the labels (and once you choose a food check the label every so often. One food I used to feed changed to meat derivitives from the meat itself...I didnt realise till my dog started losing condition which made me check the label!).

The price of good food is high, but you feed less, get less waste and your dog will be healthier (so maybe you save on vets bills/meds too!) Usually the cost per kg is less for bigger bags (if you have somewhere to store it!).

I hope you find a food you are happy with :dogsmile:

 

[jenclerm]

thanks everyone for your suggestions. I am most likely going to try Canidae

http://www.canidae.com/dogs/all_life_stages/dry.html


Looks like a good brand, and the first few ingredients are meat.

My friend’s dogs are eating this and they are doing very well on it.

Jen

 

[stormi]

I dont think we get that brand here.

Yes, the first few ingredients contain meat. There is a difference between e.g. chicken and chicken meal. Meal is meat that is ground up with other things, e.g. bone and connective tissue (which can be in any proportion) and so isnt as good quality protein as meat itself. Whilst some companies may produce a 'good quality' meal I prefer to feed my dogs food that contain meat rather than meat meal and when that meat is dryed before being added to the dog food mix it's easier to now exactly what proportion of meat is in the food.

 

[snooks]

check out http://www.whole-dog-journal.com/

they have a yearly ranking of foods incuding commercial aafco guidelines if u subscribe but lots also for free. very well worth the low subscr. fee.

also www.dogaware.com has great resources

all the corn/grain stuff is baaaad imho. there are lots of goodd commercial foods, i prefer homecooked/raw but i understand not everyone has all that time.