# Dog food help?



## SuperMiguel (Feb 2, 2015)

Hello im a new owner of a puggle (5 months), and im just wondering what kind of food do you guys feed your dog? The vet recommended Royal Canin, but reading the reviews is not that great (and seems like alot of vets recommend it because they get commissions on it?)... any opinions on this?


----------



## Dog Person (Sep 14, 2012)

I have fed Zoey a few foods in her short 2 1/2 years. She started with Orijen, then Pinnacle, 4Health for a while, Annamaet and now Farmina. She has done best on Annamaet and Farmina but every dog is different.


----------



## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

There are TONS of options for good food. 

Will you be shopping at a supermarket, a chain pet store like PetSmart or PetCo, at an independent pet store, at a feed store like Tractor Supply or Rural King, or online? (Or any combination of these; basically, this will narrow down what foods are available to you)

What is your price range? For a puggle, a 30 or 40 lb bag might be too big unless you have freezer space to store some so it doesn't go bad in the time it takes to use it up. Those big bags tend to be cheaper per pound though. 

Some widely available mid-priced brands that I like are Earthborn Holistic, Pro Pac, Sportmix Wholesomes (only comes in huge bags though), Eagle Pack, and Fromm Classic/Puppy (a bit harder to find but easy to get online). A step higher on the price scale, I like Wellness and Acana.


----------



## Remaru (Mar 16, 2014)

I am using Sportmix Wholesomes for most of my dogs (the Chicken and Rice, they seem to do best on it). My large breed puppy is eating Muenster Naturals Large Breed and so is my oldest son's tiny dog because for some reason she started refusing her food, I think she was just bored. I think Muenster is harder to find but our local Pet Supplies Plus carries it (and many other harder to find foods). You can order it online. I think I may try the grain free variety next time, or perhaps the chicken and pork. Lad is doing very well on it though, he wasn't doing so well on the Fromm Large Breed Puppy.


----------



## Dog Person (Sep 14, 2012)

Another dog food that seems pretty good but may be a little harder to find is Victor. I fed Zoey a bag of the grain free all life stages and she seemed to like it. I stopped feeding her the Victor because it was higher in ash then Annamaet and Farmina which are both slightly below 7%. Zoey was suffering from UTIs and I read online that ash may contribute to crystal formulation.

It had 30% or so protein, somewhat lower fat, grain free if you want/need that, most of the protein (75% ?) comes from meat and if I remember correctly all USA sourced ingredients.


----------



## sydneynicole (Apr 2, 2015)

If you are looking for an economical approach to healthy dog food (I am speaking as a college student who owns 4 large dogs) I would recommend checking out alphadogfood (.com) I feed the grain free whitefish/duck formula. If you check it out you will probably be pretty shocked at how good their prices are.

Before, I had my dogs on Pure Balance which can be bought at Walmart. I switched between the bison and salmon formulas and all my dogs did great on it.

As people above me have said, it all depends on your price range, where you plan to shop, and your dog's needs


----------



## InkedMarie (Mar 11, 2009)

I feed ground raw but kibbles I like are Farmina,, Dr Tim's, Annamaet & Nature's Logic.


----------



## SuperMiguel (Feb 2, 2015)

So i stared feeding him Blue Buffalo and mixing blue buffalo wet food, so dry+wet not sure if this is good but he loves this combination, he was pooping a bit wet few days ago but now he is doing better...

How good/bad of an idea is to change the wet food flavor so he doesnt get bored?


----------



## InkedMarie (Mar 11, 2009)

You might want to google for Blue Buffalo & problems. It's not a food I'd feed. You asked what food we like and feed but you didn't follow any of our suggestions.


----------



## SuperMiguel (Feb 2, 2015)

Blue buffalo is bad?? I tought it was top of the line  At least thats what it says on few sites that its one of the best foods sold in petsmart


----------



## SuperMiguel (Feb 2, 2015)

Shell said:


> There are TONS of options for good food.
> 
> Will you be shopping at a supermarket, a chain pet store like PetSmart or PetCo, at an independent pet store, at a feed store like Tractor Supply or Rural King, or online? (Or any combination of these; basically, this will narrow down what foods are available to you)
> 
> ...



I dont have a price range, and yes local shops like persmart


----------



## 5 s corral (Dec 31, 2007)

blue buffalo is over rated and most of the people who have used it say there dogs poop a lot


----------



## pandification (Apr 15, 2014)

We use 4Health here!


----------



## SuperMiguel (Feb 2, 2015)

5 s corral said:


> blue buffalo is over rated and most of the people who have used it say there dogs poop a lot


This happens with all their food? including their wilderness line?


----------



## SuperMiguel (Feb 2, 2015)

wow i have read so many bad things about blue  sucks i have a big bag and about 10 cans of its wet food  but yeah my puppy is pooping a bit wet which seems to be a common thing with blue  any recommendation on which brand to get at petsmart? i hate to keep changing foods isnt that bad??


----------



## Kathyy (Jun 15, 2008)

Usually a new food will cause a bit of a problem with stools at first. Try feeding him a bit less food until his stool quality improves and feed more if he starts to get skinny but stay at the same level if he continues to grow without extra squishiness on his frame. Most dog food bags suggest feeding a lot more food than the dog actually needs. Some dogs poop out extra food and that stool may or may not be soft and some dogs get fat. 

Maybe BB isn't the best kibble out there but just keep your eyes peeled for any evidence that this batch is trouble. BB may have had trouble in the past but that doesn't mean THIS bag and cans are less than they ought to be. If at the end of that bag he is in great shape then consider buying another, if there are any clues that this isn't the best food for him buy a bag of whatever is next on your list. Keep that list of foods handy, most people end up trying a number of foods before finding the right one for their dogs.


----------



## SuperMiguel (Feb 2, 2015)

Kathyy said:


> Usually a new food will cause a bit of a problem with stools at first. Try feeding him a bit less food until his stool quality improves and feed more if he starts to get skinny but stay at the same level if he continues to grow without extra squishiness on his frame. Most dog food bags suggest feeding a lot more food than the dog actually needs. Some dogs poop out extra food and that stool may or may not be soft and some dogs get fat.
> 
> Maybe BB isn't the best kibble out there but just keep your eyes peeled for any evidence that this batch is trouble. BB may have had trouble in the past but that doesn't mean THIS bag and cans are less than they ought to be. If at the end of that bag he is in great shape then consider buying another, if there are any clues that this isn't the best food for him buy a bag of whatever is next on your list. Keep that list of foods handy, most people end up trying a number of foods before finding the right one for their dogs.


Thanks Kathyy is is a good/bad idea to mix dry and wet food?


----------



## MelTruffles (Jan 27, 2015)

You can always return the food to the pet store you bought it from. Like others, I'm not a fan of Blue. I personally stay away from the brand entirely. 
Rather safe than sorry. 
I like simply nourish, I started feeding that to Truffles when he was a puppy.
He was having itching problems and I switched him to Acana Pacifica which is an ALS dry dog food. It smells terrible, but he likes it pretty well. It also made him stop itching (more oils in the skin?) and his has the silkiest butt hairs I have ever felt (sorry if that's weird..)
I also feed it to Sherman and he loves it. 

I don't think anything is wrong with mixing dry with wet. I did that with Truffles until about a month ago. I spent an 3 weeks slowly removing some of the wet food until it was all dry.


----------



## RonE (Feb 3, 2007)

SuperMiguel said:


> Thanks Kathyy is is a good/bad idea to mix dry and wet food?


Once you start doing that, be prepared to do it forever.

Most dogs aren't going to be happy with dry kibble once they've some extra goodies thrown in there. 

My lab and hound are, of course, the exceptions. They will eat anything that's standing still or not moving too fast.


----------



## SuperMiguel (Feb 2, 2015)

RonE said:


> Once you start doing that, be prepared to do it forever.
> 
> Most dogs aren't going to be happy with dry kibble once they've some extra goodies thrown in there.
> 
> My lab and hound are, of course, the exceptions. They will eat anything that's standing still or not moving too fast.


I dont mind doing it forever if it is beneficial... but if not i kinda mind...


----------



## SuperMiguel (Feb 2, 2015)

Mel&Truffles said:


> You can always return the food to the pet store you bought it from. Like others, I'm not a fan of Blue. I personally stay away from the brand entirely.
> Rather safe than sorry.
> I like simply nourish, I started feeding that to Truffles when he was a puppy.
> He was having itching problems and I switched him to Acana Pacifica which is an ALS dry dog food. It smells terrible, but he likes it pretty well. It also made him stop itching (more oils in the skin?) and his has the silkiest butt hairs I have ever felt (sorry if that's weird..)
> ...


wow so many brands  

now that you say itching, i see my dog scratching all the time around his neck i always thought it was because of his collar wondering if it has anything to do with the food...

What kind of wet food were you using?


----------



## SuperMiguel (Feb 2, 2015)

Do you guys even recommend any food sold in petsmart?


----------



## Dog Person (Sep 14, 2012)

I fed my last dog Authority, Purina One and Pro Plan and lastly Nutro Natural Choice - all from Petsmart. I don't shop Petsmart for dog food anymore because they really don't sell "better" grade of foods; maybe Castor & Pollux and Wellness is a step above in foods. But with that said I can go onto Chewy's website, buy Annamaet and Farmina which are supposedly much better foods for the same price or less per pound than Nutro and much less than Blue, Castor & Pollux and Wellness.

I think that if you want to shop Petsmart, nothing wrong with that. Some dogs need special diets and if yours doesn't then look at the Purina Pro Plan, Authority or Simply Nourish. They all contain corn and by products but there may be nothing wrong with your dog eating it and may thrive. Others may feed their dog it and the dog won't do well ... happened to Zoey on Orijen and Dr Tim's.

For me buying on Chewy is easy, delivered to my door, saves money and although I only am using those two brands of food right now they have a ton of food options. I ordered late in the day on May 5th and I received the order today.


----------



## sandgrubber (May 21, 2014)

IMO the whole dogfood business is full of hype and nonsense, designed to extract $$ from suckers who love their dogs.
It's far more important not to over feed than it is to buy some expensive food with a good sales pitch and a pretty bag.

I'd recommend reading this:
http://terriermandotcom.blogspot.com/2010/10/well-fed-dog-is-never-fat.html

Don't feel obliged to go for the high price stuff.


----------



## RonE (Feb 3, 2007)

It comes down to this. Every dog is a test dog and no two dogs have exactly the same food requirements. Therefore, recommendations from other dog owners are of limited value.

My last dog thrived on Purina One. One of my current dogs would, too, but I have two others who do not. It took a fair amount of trial-and-error to discover that all three do very well on Taste of the Wild, which is readily available in my area and relatively inexpensive. We also have other family dogs that are frequent guests and they eat TOTW, so it's very convenient. That doesn't mean it will work for your dog. 

Regarding the "hype" from the dog food business. Most of the brands I would feed my dogs don't advertise at all and are not available in the big box stores or pet stores. My favorite brands come from feed stores and my preferences come from paying attention to my own dogs and how they respond to different foods. 

Longevity is not a good measure of food quality. (As in, "My dog ate Purina Dog Chow and lived for 13 years.") There is much more to life than length. You need to pay attention to your dogs energy level, coat, teeth, stools (frequency and consistency) weight, joints, skin and so much more.


----------



## SuperMiguel (Feb 2, 2015)

sandgrubber said:


> It's far more important not to over feed than it is to buy some expensive food with a good sales pitch and a pretty bag.


I only feed my dog twice a day, morning 7am and night 7pm.. Usually in the morning he doesnt eat much, and at night he eats what it says on the package label,sometimes i worry he is not eating enough


----------



## Pia (Dec 17, 2014)

I wouldn't worry too much about the package label, the amounts there are more of a suggestion.
Besides, when you mix with wet, you can give a bit less of kibble. If your dog looks and acts healthy and his blood work is ok, I wouldn't worry, a dog won't starve himself just because.

Mixing dry and wet is said to be good in preventing gas build up and bloat, especially with super fast eaters aka vacuum cleaners (my dog), as they tend to swallow more air with dry only.
I mix dry and wet too, twice daily, 3/4 of the recommended amount of kibble and half of 6 oz can. Often add some lukewarm water as well, so that her meal gets some tasty gravy. She loves it, doesn't get gas problems, plus eats a little slower. Been doing that since Tina was 8 weeks old and she is doing great.

As for the food brands, started with Natural Balance both kibble and wet, but the NB kibble gave her itchy skin.
After some testing back and forth, we are currently on 2/3 Orijen Regional Red plus 1/3 NB L.I.D. plus half can NB L.I.D. various flavors and the itching has decreased to close to none. Orijen is heavy loaded with proteins, might be too heavy for some dogs' digestive system. NB lightens it a bit so that she gets enough of good proteins, but without an overload on her stomach and my wallet.


----------



## SuperMiguel (Feb 2, 2015)

So would changing Milo from Blue Buffalo life protection to Wellness Core Puppy be a good idea? 

Also im using blue wet food, im guess if i do change dry ill change the wet as well...

How should i make the transition?


----------



## Pia (Dec 17, 2014)

I don't know much about dog food yet, have had cats for the past 14 years and for some reason they didn't like Wellness, but cats and food is a completely different story.
I would buy one small can of Wellness, and the smallest bag of Wellness kibble. With the can food, I would add 1/2 can of it to the dogs Blue kibble and see if he likes it and doing well. If so, then you may be able to return the rest of unopened cans of Blue and exchange to Wellness. After a couple days, I would take a dog food container and mix 50-50 Blue and Wellness kibble, and go with this for one week. If everything is ok, the stool gets better in consistence and you see some decreasing in skin itching, then you can either switch to Wellness only, or just add more and more Wellness (in a large food container you can mix both brands well, then purchase and add only Wellness for a more smooth transition).
Also, 1/2 of 6 oz can added to kibble is a great meal, so you can put a lid on the can and use one can a day, or 12 oz over 2 days adding 1/4 with each meal. 
A 12 oz opened can will be fine in the fridge for a couple days, but with large cans I take the food over to a tupperware box with lid, so that it does not stay for 2 days in a metal can after opening.

If the itching and scratching is severe, this mousse has been working well for itchy skin on both my cats and the dog, providing immediate relief so that the spots don't not get irritated from scratching and cause more scratching and infection:

http://www.chewy.com/dog/douxo-chlorhexidine-climbazole/dp/110819

You can purchase it from the vet as well, but the price is much higher.


----------



## sandgrubber (May 21, 2014)

Here's some useful information about Blue Buffalo vs. Purina. Turns out the difference between poultry or chicken meal and by-product meal isn't clear cut . . . and that Blue Buffalo has apparently unknowingly made false claims because one of their supplier was selling them by-product meal and calling it chicken meal.

https://thesciencedog.wordpress.com/2015/05/08/whats-the-deal-with-meals/


----------

