Dog Food Recommendations?

 
rberq
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Post by rberq » Wed. Jul. 20, 2016 7:44 pm

We feed our dog a Purina canned food labeled “formulated to meet the nutritional levels established by the AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profiles”. So in theory it provides complete balanced nutrition. However, the package recommends about three cans a day for our 65 pound dog, whereas she has been stable for many years on one can (plus she eats dog biscuits as treats). I believe three cans daily would leave her fat and bloated, though like any dog I’m sure she would force them down. Are her vitamin and mineral and protein needs met only with a full three cans? In other words, is the food “diluted” with useless fillers, so the “complete balanced nutrition” claim is true only when excessive quantities are fed? The dog is now old and sickly, and we started supplementing her canned food with about half a pound of beef daily. It has perked her up and strengthened her noticeably – maybe wishful thinking, but I think it’s real.

What foods do others here use and recommend?
Thanks for any insight you can provide.


 
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Post by johnjoseph » Wed. Jul. 20, 2016 8:41 pm

My dog gets rice, green beans, carrots and boiled chicken 4 times a week and has dry food the rest of the time. He is 10 years old and in great health.

 
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Post by titleist1 » Wed. Jul. 20, 2016 8:46 pm

i try to stay away from the big brands, their food quality isn't as good as some smaller companies. I had been feeding ours Merrick grain free dry and canned but they were bought out by purina recently. Maybe its my imagination but the dry food seemed to look different recently and the dog didn't eat it all at once like she did before. I switched dry food to Elm and the dog is back to eating is all at once again. The Merrick canned seemed the same and the dog didn't slow down eating it like the dry so I still buy it.

Some of the merrick canned looks good enough to eat myself....they have whole chicken wings and thighs along with some veggies in some of the recipes. Looks better than dinty moore stew!! :lol:

 
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Post by coaledsweat » Wed. Jul. 20, 2016 9:44 pm

I have a big dog, mostly chow. He got pretty big, about 80# and the vet said not good. For years I bought the Hills healthy weight prescription food from the Vet, stuff cost a fortune. Fed him one cup of the dry and a third of a can bean based gook twice a day. Well he was so healthy he's 14.5 years old, deaf and has thyroid and hip problems, the costs of perscriptions made me do my homework. He has been on Beneful healthy weight dry and Purina Smart Blend ground chicken and rice and beef and rice (I figure he might like the change in pace :) ). Weight stayed right at 60# and he loves it and I'm saving a fortune. They had a gravy based blend of the two canned products, I don't think it agreed with him. Stools were very loose.

 
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Post by lsayre » Wed. Jul. 20, 2016 10:09 pm

Bil-Jac is a moist chow mix which seems to be of very high quality. But then, they are local to me, and I'm biased. It must be refrigerated.

http://www.bil-jac.com/

 
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Post by warminmn » Wed. Jul. 20, 2016 10:40 pm

just make sure the food has meat based protein and not veggie protein. There are lots of crappy brands out there.

Every animal is different. If your dog gets fat on three cans its too much. If their hair looks good and healthy and not stringy, course, dry, etc., it is always a good sign.

 
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Post by gaw » Thu. Jul. 21, 2016 12:51 am

We switched from Taste of the Wild dry to Blue Buffalo dry a few years ago. My boy will be 16 in September and the girls are both 7, our vet says they are all in good shape. I don't feed our dogs any food with corn in it and if it is totally grain free that's even better. Thats my opinion.

Someone who works at a pet store once told me the Merrick rep would open a can of their food and start eating it to prove how good it was. Too bad they sold out. I am not a big fan of Purina. I just think they make a cheaper product. If you look at the label you will find most of your premium foods are more calorie dense and higher in protein.


 
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Post by davidmcbeth3 » Thu. Jul. 21, 2016 1:05 am

All my dogs that I had just got table scraps and leftovers ... lived to 15 yrs old (the dog).

 
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Post by Rob R. » Thu. Jul. 21, 2016 5:16 am

I feed mine Taste of the Wild. It is grain free, and I believe the main meat is bison. Both dogs do very well on it.

 
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Post by lsayre » Thu. Jul. 21, 2016 5:54 am

The Bil-Jac website states that 5 lbs. of chicken go into every 6 lb. bag.

 
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Post by waldo lemieux » Thu. Jul. 21, 2016 7:02 am

If your dog is very active and is free to roam outside whenever it wants( we have always had an invisible fence w/ about 3 acres fenced in) you can feed them all the grain you want but I always add a raw egg an a squirt of veg oil on top and two for growing pups. And of course all the meat scraps you can give them.... Bottom line is you gotta watch the carbs and give them as much protein as you can afford. Most importantly, access to unlimited water, even if its out of the toiley :D

 
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Post by top top » Sun. Apr. 23, 2017 8:11 am

Back in the late 80's early 90's I had access to all the major premium foods at no cost. Science Diet, Iams, Purina, plus a couple more. Back then the premium dry foods retailed at about $1.00/lb. Raised a couple working dogs as well as some pets on Purina Growth, then switched them to the adult Purina Pro Plan. They all did great and stayed healthy. But it is expensive to feed a big dog that stuff if your paying full retail.

Since then I have been getting Black Gold from the feed mill. It is made in Minnesota and my feed store carries three grades. High fat content for working dogs, medium for the average pet, low fat for older sedentary dogs. All the dogs really like it, if we run out my wife will pick up some Beneful or Purina until we get to the feed store. The dogs turn their nose away until they get hungry enough. Then if we put some Black Gold in the bowl and cover it with the cheap stuff they just dig through it and only eat the Black Gold. As a bonus, the dogs eat less than if you feed them the cheap foods, and their digestion is much better.

I never used much canned food, so I cannot comment on it. With the dry food we leave it out all day, the pets eat what they want whenever they want. They don't overeat and they stay a good weight. Working dogs of course would be more controlled. The only suggestion I have is avoid the cheap stuff. They eat more of it, negating the price difference, and their health will suffer.

We had one older mutt that was losing his teeth, we took him aside and gave him softer food until he passed. A little terrier that belonged to my son. About 18 years old and 12 lbs, and the little ba$ta%d bit me every day for two years. He even intimidated the 75 lb black lab. He would sit by the porch door, the lab would run up the steps full bore trying to get past him. The little guy would always bite him on the hind leg as he ran by. He would also lay on the floor and block the living room. The lab would actually jump over top of a big recliner just to avoid the little mutt. Occasionally you would hear them "fighting". The lab would put one big paw on his head/neck and hold him down. The little guy would carry on something fierce until the lab would let him up, and he was always careful not to hurt the old boy.

 
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Post by freetown fred » Sun. Apr. 23, 2017 8:19 am

Regular old dry PURINA for all my Lab dogs. 50-70 lbs each. All have lived to 15-16 yrs. Long time for big dogs. :) Very rarely table scraps.

 
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Post by Homesteader » Sun. Apr. 23, 2017 8:32 am

I also fed my last Golden plain old Purina. She lived to be 15. The Golden I have now I'm feeding Taste of the wild which is grain free and I was told that was the way to go. Much more expensive than Purina and it smells like s#%t so it must be good.

J.L.

 
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Post by Rob R. » Sun. Apr. 23, 2017 10:54 am

Rob R. wrote:I feed mine Taste of the Wild. It is grain free, and I believe the main meat is bison. Both dogs do very well on it.
A few months ago we switched to a grain free food made by Nutrena. The Taste of the Wild food was fine, but was becoming a pain to source. Nutrena products are sold at my local feed store, and the dogs & chickens are doing very well on their foods.


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