# Mixing brands of dog foods?



## Maggie&Noah (Dec 18, 2007)

With all the "best" dog food discussions, I'm wondering if mixing 3 different brands is a bad idea or not. I've been mixing Castor & Pollux Ultramix Puppy Formula and Solid Gold Hundchen Flocken Puppy Food, and my two Miniature Schnauzers have never looked better (6 months old, active, healthy, no allergies, and no feeding problems...unless you count always wanting more a problem. I started with just the C&P Ultramix, and later added the Solid Gold because I was going to switch, but they liked the combo better than either one by themselves.) I got a sample of Natural Balance UltraPremium Small Bites for Small Breeds and am thinking of mixing all 3 (they love that too). Why? I guess I just want to cover all bases and make sure their food is the best of the best without me making it myself (not much time and don't know enough about preparing a nutritionally balanced diet for dogs). Maybe I'm nuts. Any thoughts on this approach? Should I leave well enough alone or give it a try? I know I can always go back, but don't want to do something that isn't a good idea. For reference, these are the ingredient/nutritional breakdowns of the foods:

Castor & Pollux Ultramix Puppy:
Chicken, turkey, chicken meal, brewers rice, ground whole grain barley, oat groats, menhaden fish meal, turkey meal, potatoes, chicken fat preserved with mixed tocopherols (form of vitamin E), rice protein concentrate, dried beet pulp, dried carrots, dried bananas, dried papaya, dried apples, ground flaxseed, natural chicken flavor, salmon meal, potassium chloride, salt, dried blueberries, brewers dried yeast, choline chloride, dried egg product, L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), zinc proteinate, copper proteinate, manganese proteinate, vitamin E supplement, ferrous sulfate, zinc sulfate, zinc oxide, copper sulfate, niacin, vitamin A supplement, calcium pantothenate, manganous oxide, thiamine mononitrate (source of vitamin B1), riboflavin supplement (source of vitamin B2), pyridoxine hydrochloride (source of vitamin B6), biotin, vitamin B12 supplement, vitamin K1 supplement, sodium selenite, folic acid, calcium iodate, vitamin D3 supplement, cobalt carbonate, yeast culture (saccharomyces cerevisiae), dried enterococcus faecium fermentation product, dried lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, dried aspergillus niger fermentation extract, dried trichoderma longbrachiatum fermentation extract, dried bacillus subtilis fermentation extract and fermentation solubles.

GUARANTEED ANALYSIS
Crude Protein, min………………..…………………28.00%
Crude Fat, min………..…………………………… 13.00%
Crude Fiber, max………..……………………………3.50%
Moisture, max………...………………………………10.00%
Calcium, min……………………………………………1.00%
Phosphorus, min………………………………………0.90%
Omega 6 Fatty Acids, min………………………… 2.00%*
Omega 3 Fatty Acids, min……………………………0.20%*
Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA), min…………………0.05%*

Solid Gold Hundchen Flocken Puppy Food:
Lamb, Lamb Meal, Millet, Brown Rice, Cracked Pearled Barley, Oatmeal, Rice Bran, Menhaden Fish Meal, Canola Oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols), Flaxseed Oil, Garlic, Amaranth, Blueberries, Dried Chicory Root, Carotene, Choline Chloride, Vitamin E Supplement, Iron Proteinate, (a chelated source of iron), Zinc Proteinate (a chelated source of zinc), Yucca Schidergera Extract, Copper Proteinate (a chelated source of copper), Manganese Proteinate (a chelated source of manganese), Potassium Iodide, Thiamine Mononitrate, Ascorbic Acid, Vitamin A Supplement, Biotin, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Sodium Selenite, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (vitamin B6), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin, Vitamin D Supplement, Folic Acid.

Crude Protein 28%, Minimum. Crude Fat 14%, Minimum. Crude Fiber 4%, Maximum. Moisture 10% Maximum. Calorie Content (calculated) Calories (ME) 410 kcal/cup 4375 kcal/kg

Natural Balance UltraPremium Small Bites:
Chicken, Brown Rice, Lamb Meal, Oatmeal, Barley, Duck Meal, Potatoes, Carrots, Chicken Fat (preserved with natural mixed tocopherols), Tomato Pomace, Natural Flavor, Canola Oil, Brewers Yeast, Salmon Meal, Salmon Oil, Whole Ground Flaxseed, Potassium Chloride, Choline Chloride, Taurine, Spinach, Parsley Flakes, Cranberry, Lysine, L-Carnitine, Yucca, Kelp, Vitamin E Supplement, Iron Proteinate, Zinc Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Potassium Iodide, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B-1), Manganese Proteinate, Manganous Oxide, Ascorbic Acid, Vitamin A Supplement, Biotin, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Manganese Sulfate, Sodium Selenite, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B-6), Vitamin B-12 Supplement, Riboflavin (Vitamin B-2), Vitamin D-3 Supplement, Folic Acid (Vitamin B).

Crude Protein 23.0% minimum
Crude Fat 13.0% minimum
Crude Fiber 3.0% maximum
Moisture 10.0% maximum
Omega 3 Fatty Acids 0.5% minimum
Omega 6 Fatty Acids 3.0% minimum


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## Inga (Jun 16, 2007)

I don't know why that would be a bad thing. I don't necessarily mix 3 different foods but I do rotate through multiple different brands so eventually they (my dogs) are eating all of the different types of food. Personally, I think if your dogs look and feel good on it, why change?


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## dusty&lulusmom (Jul 30, 2007)

I also can't see it being a problem. As long as there does not seem to be any adverse affects ( loose bms, vomiting, allergies, etc). I am currently feeding 1/2 homemade food and 1/2 solid gold. I wanted to switch the kibble to EVO so I began mixing the solid gold and EVO, I feel the same way you do, the dogs love it and are doing fine. I may continue just mixing the two. I checked with the owner of the dog food store I go to (he is quite knowledgeable) he admitted that he actually does the same thing with several kibbles.


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## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

Something I read said not to mix, but to switch foods periodically instead. I forget what the reasoning was. But that's just one opinion. Anyway, if your dogs are doing well with your strategy, I see no reason to change. I don't mix dog food because my dogs are so large that I need to buy the really huge bags, and it's just too much hassle to pour some of one bag into the container, then some of the other bag, etc.....too heavy! I do mix my cats' food, though. If it works for you and your dogs, go for it!


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## briteday (Feb 10, 2007)

My dogs eat raw and I often mix several leftover bits to create an entire meal. And I mix two dry kibbles for my cat's night meal, she is on raw during the day. If it works then why mess with it?


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## Shaina (Oct 28, 2007)

The only reason I could see for switching between the brands instead of mixing is that there's a theory out there that dogs may develop and allergy to a certain ingredient over time. The idea is that by switching food periodically, you give their systems a "break" and they are therefore less likely to develop the allergies.

As I said, it's just a theory...I haven't seen any conclusive proof. I'm currently doing the switch thing because (1) it seems to work for my dog and (2) I only have one dog, so buying one large bag of a food is a lot cheaper than buying two smaller bags of different foods...she doesn't eat it fast enough to buy two big bags at once.


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## RonE (Feb 3, 2007)

The only possible problem I see with mixing three foods is that, if the dog ever DOES develop any food-related problems, you wouldn't know which one was causing it.


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## dusty&lulusmom (Jul 30, 2007)

I do agree that you have to be cautious of allergies. My homecooked food does not contain any grain and I plan on switching from solid gold to EVO. I will probably mix or switch the EVO red meat and poultry, neither contains grain. I have three dogs, one dog seems to get a bit itchy from food or treats with wheat. We seem to be ok since we have eliminated this.


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## Maggie&Noah (Dec 18, 2007)

RonE said:


> The only possible problem I see with mixing three foods is that, if the dog ever DOES develop any food-related problems, you wouldn't know which one was causing it.


Good point. I hadn't that about that. Thanks everyone for the input!


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## Chloe'sMom (Mar 21, 2008)

I know this is a super old post, but I read somewhere that mixing different types of dry food is not good because of the different vitamin/mineral contents of each food. Your pup may be getting an overly large amount of one particular type of vitamin etc...something along those lines anyways.


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