# Foods - What Are The Best Foods



## Shamrockmommy (Aug 16, 2013)

Dog Food Reviews and Ratings | Dog Food Advisor and dogfoodproject.com are good resources as well.


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## atticusmom (Dec 4, 2013)

Not sure if this helps but our vet recommends Hills Science Diet. 

To be honest with you I've known people who have fed their dogs the best money can buy only to have them pass on young and then there are folks like my parents who feed their 16 yr old Labrador nothing but Purina dog chow from the local small grocery store. So who knows?


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## RobertWhitney (Nov 30, 2013)

atticusmom said:


> Not sure if this helps but our vet recommends Hills Science Diet.
> 
> To be honest with you I've known people who have fed their dogs the best money can buy only to have them pass on young and then there are folks like my parents who feed their 16 yr old Labrador nothing but Purina dog chow from the local small grocery store. So who knows?


I always thought the same. My dog passed last week and would have turned 15 in Feb, and I always fed him Beneful which is Purina/Nestles. My little buddy also ate what I ate which was also mixed in with his food!! Once a week, on Sundays, I treated myself with - Family Steaks, Pot Roast, Rump Roast, etc. Of course he knew treats was under way. And supposedly even this is bad for them.

Poodles for the most part has a life expectancy 12-14 yrs.....! What bothers me is how these companies in question can have their products on the shelves and get away with it...!


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## brownlikewoah (May 3, 2012)

atticusmom said:


> Not sure if this helps but our vet recommends Hills Science Diet.
> 
> To be honest with you I've known people who have fed their dogs the best money can buy only to have them pass on young and then there are folks like my parents who feed their 16 yr old Labrador nothing but Purina dog chow from the local small grocery store. So who knows?


Sorry, but your vet is misunderstood. Science diet is considered to be a low quality food, it has lots of fillers, like corn & is not ideal. Yes, some dogs do fine on low quality foods, most do not. Most of the dogs on low quality dogs have allergy problems, are overweight, lack muscle etc. I am a groomer, and one of my customers has a yorkie who is 9 years old, and dying. Those dogs should be able to make it til about 14. She has been fed beneful her whole life, and now has kidney & liver problems, and is extremely overweight. 
Personally I'm kinda crazy and make my dog's food. We feed homemade raw diet. I feel much safer feeding this route with all the recalls that are always going on... my dogs get a varied diet of chicken, turkey, pork, beef, goat, lamb, venison, fish, plus fruits & veggies. I make meals up once a month & it's really satisfying to know exactly what they're eating, and seeing how excited my dogs are about meal time. 
If making it yourself is too much of a hassle, I do like the Stella & Chewy's premade raw frozen. All the premade raws are ground, which is not ideal since your dog doesn't get the benefit of chewing on the bones, but if in a pinch, I have some on hand. 
Remember, food is food. There is no such thing as "dog" food.


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## atticusmom (Dec 4, 2013)

I saw something online about feeding a raw diet and it didn't look too hard. I make up casseroles for our family ahead of time so I figured it would be similar to that.

So have any of you heard of Dinovite? I heard of it advertised on the radio the other day and wondered if any one had tried it.

As for our vet, he recommends Hills but not Blue Buffalo or other "organic" like foods. He said that Blue Buffalo hasn't allowed any testing to be done and therefore no one in the industry knows what is really in it....again I say "Who knows"?


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## Carley's Mom (Oct 30, 2011)

I think to feed a cheap , bad food would be like eating cake all day for every meal, but taking a muli-vit. along with it. I don't think it would be very healthy... 

I have always had healthy dogs, all my dogs have lived to be old. I do a few things and I don't plan to change. I don't give any shots except the law required 3 year rabie, I don't do heart worm prevention, I try not to ever give any kind of medicine, if I can help it. I feed the best foods on the market, I also feed some raw with bones. I don't use flea meds unless I see fleas or signs of them at bath time. I love my dogs and they are not stressed in anyway. 

I also want to add that most of my dogs have come from a re-home, adult when I got them, not had the best of care until they came into my home ect. I have been able to turn each one around.


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## peppersb (Jun 5, 2011)

Most people will probably disagree with me, but I feed vegan kibble (v-dog.com) plus 1/4 pound of meat, fish or eggs per day--sometimes raw, sometimes cooked. My meat (poultry, beef and bison) is purchased directly from farmers who treat their animals humanely and do not use antibiotics or added hormones. I think my meat is safer for the dogs than the stuff that goes in dog food, even the better dog foods. I am strongly opposed to the cruelty involved in factory farming and do not wish to support it in any way. (If you are not aware of the issues, take a look at the film Food, Inc. or the book Omnivore's Dilemma.) 

My dogs do very well on this diet. My groomer was just talking about how beautiful and thick Cammie's coat is. Also, I have had a friend's poodle staying with me during the day while she works. She's been eating our food for the past few months, and even eats the v-dog kibble at home on the weekends. My friend says she has noticed a definite improvement in her dog's coat since switching to our meal plan. Previously her dog ate just kibble. Not sure what brand, but I think it was one of the better brands.


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## Shamrockmommy (Aug 16, 2013)

this topic is a hot can o' worms  We attach a lot of emotion to feeding others.

I think ultimately you feed what works for your dog and your budget. I could not bring myself to feed the cheaper foods. I dog-sat for a dog who ate baneful and the food stunk up my pantry!! I put it in the garage and it stunk up the garage. It was a rotten, chemical smell and for one, I couldn't stand the way it smelled and I also didn't like the piles that came OUT of the dog afterwards, the gas, the bad breath. No thanks.

That might not bother other people, but it does me. I don't want stinky breath, farty dogs in the house with me.

I've fed every way to feed a dog with the exception of vegan/vegetarian, which I feel is completely inappropriate for a dog. They NEED meat. 

After having tried raw, cooked, pre-made raw, raw premixes, dry, canned, dehydrated, crock potted, I generally keep coming back to Fromm (grain free only) plus either the honest kitchen or crock potted meat/veg mix with added calcium to balance the phosphorus in the meat. They do their best on it. 

I mostly raw fed my first dog and he passed at 14 of heart failure. My 2nd dog got a vast mixture of all the types of feeding and she passed at 13 of the same thing. 
I'm not willing to try science diet or purina to see if it will help them live longer because I can't tolerate the things that go with feeding those foods (gas, dire-rear or huge poops, bad breath, etc.). 

So basically it's all personal experience. I groom a 20 year old toy poodle who eats nothing but science diet w/d since he was 7 and he's healthy and active still! So maybe something's to it, but I dunno. He poops a ton LOL.


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## DreamAgility (Sep 2, 2013)

We have tried so many different foods for Dreamer to get some hair growth and weight o bher. Wen we got her, we.put her on taste of the wild puppy. No weight, just hair growth. Moving her to diamond because it ad more fat protein(supposedly) thn she lost hair growth and weight. Moved to nutrisource. Nothing but shiny coat. 
So, costco brand we moved to. After 6 months on that and no luck, we switched to a different costco food-Natures domain. Within a few days on that she had some sort of hair explosion/growth spurt/weight gain. We swiched nearly 2 weeks ago and I have never seen her look so great. 
I think Natures domain is made by Taste of the Wild for costco. When We first got my Aussie, the show breeder said to use Nutrisource along with raw beef bones. Later on she switched to Taste of the wild and advised us to also. These two foods have made my Aussies coat thick(hardly brushable!) and shiny, and it got rid of our tpoos tearstains. I don't know why it wouldent work for Dreamer, and after all that Natures domain worked and its got basically the same formula!
We would feed raw but my Aussie a such a sensitive tummy it makess her sick.


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## marbury (May 1, 2013)

Carley's Mom said:


> I don't do heart worm prevention.


Where do you live? In Georgia that is not an option. I've watched far, far too many dogs die slowly from heartworms at the clinic. I know you're not going to change, but I feel it is important not to recommend this method to other dog owners, especially not in the southeastern US. It's playing russian roulette with your dog's health. Not over-vaccinating, no using commercial flea products, feeding raw etc. I completely understand. But heartworms are completely preventable and the medications available have virtually no side-effects (except complimentary intestinal parasite deworming in some cases and potential seizures in some herding breeds) versus the devastating effects of playing host to those horrid worms.

This isn't intended to be personal, I just want to be sure that the issue is represented from both sides so new owners don't read that and think that it's OK to choose not to use HW preventatives in all areas. That certainly wouldn't fly in Georgia, at least! Northern states used to not even bother with it, so if you're up there I'm sure it's more of an option than down here.


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## liljaker (Aug 6, 2011)

I also believe that spending a bit more and doing the research on the best foods (after all, we are what we eat, right?) saves vet bills and provides for a longer healthy life for our pets. Basically, I could never feed my dogs anything you could buy at the grocery store.....and heck, I have even TRIED to see if there was a treat I would get for Sunny, or a chew, at the Jewel (our local grocery) where I shop for groceries and after reading the ingredients or seeing where it was made, I just can't bring myself to do it, and stick with high grade, made in USA/Canada sourced foods. I may upset people but just read some back issues of Whole Dog Journal and you will agree.


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## Jamie Hein (Aug 17, 2013)

I strongly feel raw feeding is the safest and best way to feed. It may not be the easiest, unless you purchase premade raw food, but I think it is the best. Why? Here are my reasons:
1. Kibble does not clean teeth. This is just a myth. Raw meaty bones do clean teeth. 
2. Dogs are carnivores, they do not require vegetables or fruits to thrive. 
3. Many, but not all, kibbles contain lots of grain, vegetables, china sourced meats, contaminated fish, sugars, dyes, chemicals. 
4. Watching your dog eat raw food is fun, you can see they are enjoying it. 
5. Raw food provides extra mental stimulation
6. Less poop!!! 
7. They get the moisture they need 
8. It is easier to digest. 
9. My first dog died from cancer. She had almost no white blood cells left the last day of her life when they did a blood draw at the vet. She ate Beneful or Kibbles & Bits. She always had gas, was overweight, bad teeth, lumps all over her body. She got plenty of exercise living on a farm but that didn't matter because she was eating what I consider worse than McDonalds food. At least McDonalds uses identifiable meat. Beneful uses "meat and bone meal". Her death taught me a lesson- research what you feed. Some dogs do great on the crap but many do not. As a groomer, I see many dogs coming in with skin issues, ear infections, bad teeth, and obesity. 99% of the time the owner is feeding a "bad" kibble. 

If you are going to raw feed your dog and not buy premade, it can be difficult starting out. Doing the formulations and teaching your dog to not be messy when he/she eats, and sourcing organ meats can be difficult for some. I've posted links on raw food here before but I'll post them again in case anyone is interested: 

Yahoo Groups

Raw Fed Dogs

Raw Fed Dogs - Natural Prey Model Rawfeeding Diet

Practical Answers to Practical Questions About Raw

I hope this helps. Raw isn't for everyone, just do what you feel is best after you do some research


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## Poodlebeguiled (May 27, 2013)

The Dog Food Project - How does your Dog Food Brand compare?

A very good resource to learn about nutrition. 

The word, "meal" is a good one. It means the water has been taken out to reduce the weight so you get more straight meat for the money. So, a lot of foods will list for instance, "chicken, lamb meal, turkey meal," and that's a good thing. It should tell what meat it is, not simply say "poultry." Corn is not the enemy. Dogs can digest grains better than was formerly thought. I read some recent science where they are seeing that dogs have evolved to digest grains better than they once did. 

At any rate, primarily, there should be a lot of meat and grains shouldn't be used for the purpose of being a filler, but instead, some nutrients and some roughage is good. Bone is very important. If you feed a home made diet with just a lot of meat, there will be many essential nutrients missing. That's why a raw meaty diet including bones is good. By products don't specify what it is your dog is getting, so that should be avoided. 

There is controversy as to weather dogs are omnivores or carnivores. I think physiologically, they're carnivores, meaning their digestion, teeth and jaws are that of a carnivore. Behaviorally, they're omnivores and will eat other things like vegetables, grains etc. I don't think those things hurt but they're probably not necessary. Meat, meat, meat. Look for kibble with lots of meat. I like Taste of the Wild, Canidae, Chicken Soup for the pet lover's soul is decent. There are others too. I was feeding a pre made raw, Nature's Variety. But have just put them all on Canidae for now. I skip around. I haven't done raw meaty bones, which would probably be best. I did it for a short stint a few years back and one of my dogs almost choked to death. Scared me off. But I realize that's rare. And they can choke on kibble too. I started with little chicken wings and well....I just haven't gotten back to try it again other than pre made.

Forget what vets tell you about nutrition. They know medicine but apparently get about 2 weeks worth of nutrition in school. If they recommend Science Diet, that just goes to show. They probably get some kind of kick back. It's disgusting. There's like_ no _meat in that crap. Anything in the grocery store is pretty much garbage.


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## atticusmom (Dec 4, 2013)

I started our spoo out on Blue Buffalo but ran into someone at Petco who showed Pomeranians and she recommended the Costco version, so we tried that and he likes it but he does poo a lot.

Does anyone have any advice on how to transition from kibble to raw?


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## Jamie Hein (Aug 17, 2013)

I transitioned cold turkey from kibble to all wet food- was feeding wet and kibble. From wet food I went to cooked food- Deli Fresh (not the greatest but thats what I did, you could just have cooked meats) and I started adding in small chunks of raw chicken breast. once they were eating that I went to bigger chunks of chicken breast. You stick to something simple like chicken until they are good on that- no runny poops or anything. After that you can add in a thumbnail amount of liver and slowly bump that up to the percentage it should be for your dog's weight. Then you can add in other meats like beef, venison, pork and lastly add in other organ meats. Some organ meats are to be feed as muscle meat: lung, heart, gizzards.


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## Caniche (Jun 10, 2013)

Admittedly, our family dog (poodle mix) lived off of Purina her entire life and had a regular treat of chocolate chips (she was about 10 pounds) and she lived until she was 16. But to be honest, we didn't know anything about pet food back then. 

Now we feed Fromm's (I'm switching to Wellness Core Small Breed because it has glucosamine and chondroitin already in it) and no chocolate! 


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


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## Carley's Mom (Oct 30, 2011)

Marbury, I live in East Tn. I have done some research and decided not to use HW prevention. I know there is always a chance my luck may run out, but I will follow my heart and what I think is best for my dogs. For those that do want to use it, I try to educate everyone to at least stop use in the winter months.


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## Chagall's mom (Jan 9, 2010)

More food for thought. 
Five Foods You Should Feed Your Dog | Dogs Naturally Magazine

Do you feed your dog raw food? Kibble? Cooked or dehydrated food? A mixture of more than one? Regardless of what you feed, it’s always a good idea to take a step back every now and again and decide whether your dog could use a little nutrition boost. Sound nutrition is the first step in providing a healthier lifestyle for your dog, so let food be thy medicine! Here are five healthy food items you might want to add to your dog’s diet....


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## Carley's Mom (Oct 30, 2011)

Chagalls, I loved your post. I am feeding a mix of Raw, Kibble, Cooked and Dehydrated foods. I could check off every thing on the list of the five things as well , except Milk Thistle. I will check into that. Thanks!


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## tnedator (Aug 1, 2013)

When I was younger and had dogs growing up, we fed them purina mostly. Puppy chow to start, then regular food. Thinking it was "high quality." This was in the '80s and early 90's maybe. All of our dogs lived fairly old for their breeds. 

Then, shortly after getting married we got a mini poodle and then a year later another, and we decided we need to feed them better than was at Wal-mart, and I think we went to Eukanuba (sp??), and then over the years, changed the foods, such as after the Melamine scare, when virtually every brand out there had a recall. After that, we switched to Hills naturals which claimed all US ingredients. As time went on and our Mini's were getting older, we wound up switching them to Hill's prescription formulas for various reasons. We lost the male earlier this year at 14, but the female is going strong (if seeing and hearing isn't important). 

Now, I have a young Spoo and since my awareness is MUCH higher than before, I wanted to find a food that would both be high quality in terms of ingredients, but also as least likely to be recalled as possible (any food, human or pet, can be recalled). 

I spent a ton of time on here, other forums and the web in general reading about raw diet and have a friend doing it. For various reasons, including not wanting to switch my 15 year old mini to it and also knowing that the smell of it would driver her crazy searching around for the meat, we have opted not to go the raw route. That left me having to choose a high quality kibble. 

In the end, I settled on Fromm's for a few reasons. Generally speaking, you only read good things about them online. They claim to never have had a recall and many of their ingredients are delivered daily from local Wisconsin farms (I know some ingredients aren't local). I emailed about six or seven of the "high end" kibble companies with questions about feeding a young spoo and Fromms and Orajen (sp??) were the two that came back with the least canned response and answered followup questions quickly and thoroughly. Their reps really seemed to know what they were talking about in regard to canine nutrition. 

In the end I opted for Fromms because they hadn't had a recall and seemed to rely more heavily on local ingredients. However, I think it was close to a toss up between those two.


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## Joelly (May 8, 2012)

I tried both Fromms and Orijen. Charlie won't even touch or lick Orijen. He preferred Fromms. Mine also do very well on Proplan Sport. I am glad I have two choices that Charlie would eat, just in case the other one is out of stock. Edison would eat anything if it fits in his mouth.


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## Joelly (May 8, 2012)

How do you feed coconut oil to your picky poodles? Charlie snobs at it. Help!


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## atticusmom (Dec 4, 2013)

There are 2 types of coconut oil. One kind smells very coconut like and the other has no odor. I have a friend that sautes with the non-fragrant kind and uses the other if she wants the coconut taste. So maybe trying the non smelling kind would work.


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## Jamie Hein (Aug 17, 2013)

I bought a lesser quality coconut oil: refined, not virgin. It doesn't have a strong coconut smell. My friend bought a higher quality virgin organic non-refined cold pressed oil, it smells wonderful! Kennedy and the cats like both. Non refined organic virgin is the healthier option. Kennedy freaked out when I first brought it out. He loved the smell I think! The cats also ran over to it. I've used the Spectrum brand and Dr. Bronners brand.


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## cocobolo (Jan 10, 2014)

Hmmmmm....much more "food" for thought. Sorry about that! I'm getting a real education here.


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## MrsKaia (Dec 3, 2011)

Yummy ... both my dogs, and myself LOVE coconut oil. I love to eat it just spread out on a sandwich  My dogs eat it right of the spoon. I also use it when I cook for them. I always use the virgin kind.


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## cocobolo (Jan 10, 2014)

The missus is now trying Hill's prescription diet, t/d oral health. I think this is as a treat for the dogs as they seem to like it, but the ingredients don't seem to be that great to me. Although Neo, our spoo, doesn't seem terribly enthused about it.
Brewers rice, whole grain corn, chicken by-product meal, powdered cellulose, pork fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid) .... and when it gets to the point that I don't know what it is I stop reading.
I'm beginning to think that with all the dinero we spend on dog food, we might as well make our own out of the really good stuff.


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