# Food Types



## makato (Jan 1, 2013)

I've had my girl on Iams since we brought her home about 4 months ago, but we just got a new little pup who was weaned to Royal Canin. I don't want to continue to use two brands, I'd like to switch one of them over to the other's food. Any opinions on which is the better brand?


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## julietcr1 (Nov 10, 2012)

I use this site to help me evaluate the quality of dog food
Dog Food Reviews by Brand


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## Sookster (Apr 11, 2011)

Ditch them both. You can find much better quality food for about the same price. The link above is a really good one. 

If you want brand suggestions look into these: 

Fromm
Canidae
Orijen/Acana 
Blue Buffalo 
Wellness

There are many others that I'm forgetting, I'm sure other people will add to the list. If you want to know why, well just google it. This is a good website: The Dog Food Project - How does your Dog Food Brand compare? 

but there is loads of information out there (and on this forum) on choosing a good kibble. Do some research, and congrats on your new pup!


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## gharrissc (Jun 12, 2012)

I feed my guys here Orijen and they do well on it. Some people say it's too pricey,but I think it evens out personally.


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## Ladyscarletthawk (Dec 6, 2011)

Fromm's and honest kitchen are what I feed. That said I'd look up bad dog food ingredients in dog food on dog food project website and see how many and how bad are in those two foods. However that being said when I fed royal canin I actually saw the results that were stated on the bag.. I had fed SD, pro plan, and bil-jac at the time


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## makato (Jan 1, 2013)

Thanks for all the tips everyone! I'll be honest, I am VERY new to dogs. I've been around the block with birds, but after years of looking and considering, I finally got my first pup this last fall. And I was so in love that I had to get a second. And they are super cute together!! So I'm still new and trying to figure out what's best.

I spent a few hours digging around that review site mentioned above, and was deciding between a number of foods. I finally decided on one to order. It has a five out of five star rating, has a good meat content (chicken, turkey, and salmon) and is formulated especially for small breeds, which both of my girls will end up under 6 pounds. Has anyone tried Horizon Amicus, grain free? The other two I was debating between was Fromm and Earthborn, 4 and 5 star ratings, respectively.


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## Ryker-&-Canyon (Dec 12, 2012)

I use Fromm for kibble and Evanger's canned. I plan to add Honest Kitchen in also. Currently I leave the Fromm out for them (they are only @1 and 1/2 lbs) and give them Evanger's for breakfast. I will be giving Honest Kitchen for dinner. They were on Pro Plan from the breeder, they absolutely love Fromm and Evanger's. I have sample packs of HK Love and Embark that I will have them try.


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## Marcoislandmom (Mar 15, 2012)

I used to feed kibble, but now I feed my 10 month old pre-made raw. Add to it Sojo's freeze dried grain-free and some bone. Her stomach, which has always been finicky, is now very stable. No more diahhrea. Her BMs are small and compact. Wish I had made the change earlier. I started with Basic Instinct pre-made frozen raw however now use a local processor who supplies duck, venison and beef. Also get green tripe in frozen form. I am feeding 3 lbs per day with 80% muscle meat, 10% bone, 5% liver and 5% other organ meats. She doesn't like the texture of liver so I have it ground. Still keep it raw. She has so much energy, her coat is much better and growing fast.


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## CT Girl (Nov 17, 2010)

I also feed commercial raw to my toy, Aunt Jenni. You are making a huge step up in nutrition going to a better quality food. My toy on raw has never had the runs and has only thrown up twice when my mother in law sneaks him food he should not have. If you are not ready to consider raw think about giving your dog a raw meaty bone a few times a week. It is great for their teeth which since you have toys you need to be extra vigilant about dental health.


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## msminnamouse (Nov 4, 2010)

If they're doing well on Royal Canine and you're happy with the results, why switch? It's all about how your dogs are doing, not so much what other people think. We don't see your dogs, you do. So what do you feel is working for them?


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## Sookster (Apr 11, 2011)

msminnamouse said:


> If they're doing well on Royal Canine and you're happy with the results, why switch? It's all about how your dogs are doing, not so much what other people think. We don't see your dogs, you do. So what do you feel is working for them?


To me, it's about so much more than "they are doing fine" and "what people think". It's about providing the best nutrition you can afford for your furry friend to help them stay as healthy as possible for as long as possible. It can take years for diet-related health problems to manifest, and many times by the time you realize there's a problem, it's too late to do anything other than manage it and hope for the best, where it would have been prevented by better (more species appropriate) nutrition from the start. 

Dogs can live on just about anything. But I want my dogs to do more than live, I want them to thrive.


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## SusanG (Aug 8, 2009)

Callie was fed puppy 4 Health but I slowly switched her over to Merrick dry and canned when she was about 8 months old. During Callie's first year she had several stomach problems. She was also very itchy, so I switched to Merrick grain free which took care of the itch problem. I had read you should feed the same food (brand) all the time, which I did (all Merrick, varying the flavors) but she was picky and still had some stomach issues. Then my groomer gave me an article about varying food being good for a dog. I looked on the net, several articles supporting that. It made sense, and I tried it. It made all the difference! Now I keep her to half kibble (grain free, mostly Merrick, but sometimes Orajen or something else natural high quality) and half canned which I vary day to day (only good, natural like Merrick, Canadae, Blue, Evangers, Wellness - depending on flavors she likes) Her stomach problems have disappeared, she eats better and looks great.

I wouldn't switch around too much while your puppies are young, because growing puppies need a slightly different formula of fat, protein, etc than adult dogs.


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## msminnamouse (Nov 4, 2010)

I said well, not fine. They're different. What people feed is largely opinion based. It's up to everyone to do what they feel is right by their pets. My 5 year old rescue mini is going great and my 12 year old service dog is as spry as a puppy. (Long term results since I've had her her whole life). They're both doing extremely well on what I feed them but what I feed them wouldn't be agreed with by everyone one and probably isn't for every individual dog because each has unique needs.


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## Sookster (Apr 11, 2011)

msminnamouse said:


> I said well, not fine. They're different. What people feed is largely opinion based. It's up to everyone to do what they feel is right by their pets. My 5 year old rescue mini is going great and my 12 year old service dog is as spry as a puppy. (Long term results since I've had her her whole life). They're both doing extremely well on what I feed them but what I feed them wouldn't be agreed with by everyone one and probably isn't for every individual dog because each has unique needs.


Dogs do have different needs, which is why I'm always hesitant to give "brand" recommendations. It's really about what your individual dog does best on. However, most nutrition information, at least that I'm giving, is not solely opinion. It's based on scientific papers and research into the area of nutrition and based on research I've done and information I've read and received within my field of study (Animal Science degree with an emphasis on nutrition). Nutrition is a science, and that's not opinion based. 

Are grain free or grain inclusive foods best? It's debatable, based on the research that's out there. Are chemicals such as artificial food dyes, artificial nutrients (example, synthetic Vitamin K), and many preservatives (example, BHA or Ethoxyquin) harmful, causing carcinogenic effects and organ disease/failure? There is hard evidence that this is true. So yes, SOME of it is opinion, but not most of it.

ETA: I don't want this to be an argument so I won't comment on this particular subject again, just wanted the OP to be clear as to where I am coming from with my advice. This is a public forum, and everyone is entitled to their own opinions. The beauty is that we can share them and, hopefully, someone else can benefit fro them. I hope the OP finds the perfect kibble for their furry family.


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## msminnamouse (Nov 4, 2010)

Since there's hardly any scientific study done on raw vs. cooked and prey model vs. other diets, and what there is isn't favoring prey model or raw, it's funny you bring up science in your current post and "species appropriate" in your previous post. 

If you want to pretend that our dogs are still wild wolves, unchanged in any internal way (which isn't true, we can look to their chromosomes, jaw musculature/structure and dentature to reflect their change in diets) then we can look to wolves for nutrition. The fact is, the wolves in captivity that are being fed commercial domestic dog diets are living longer than any other wolves. Animals in the wild rarely ever live to ripe old age. But in zoos, we do know how long they live and what they're being fed and their entirety of their health can be monitored. This is long term effects of their diet and the long term effects are promising on commercial dog food. This is why the American Zoo and Aquarium, Nutritional Advisory Group recommends that wolves in American zoos are fed thus. Only advising raw meat when luring animals, administering medication, and transitioning new animals onto the commercial diet.

We also do know what scientific study has shown about raw meat vs cooked meat. People claim different than proven fact yet they aren't able to back up their claims with studies and other forms of peer reviewed research. 

So in compromise, so that this doesn't turn into one of those long raw debates, I do say that we each do what we feel is best for our individual pets rather than dictating to others how each should feed their own pets. 

OP, if you want a professional opinion, the best person to ask would be a Veterinary Nutritionist. Their education and experience in the domestic dog nutrition field is unsurpassed. It's their specialty. You can find other nutritionists but it's no guarantee of quality of their information because the education varies to such a degree. Someone can go to a week long class (or less) and become a nutritionist. That amount of time is hardly comprehensive enough to cover such a large field.


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## Sookster (Apr 11, 2011)

I never mentioned anything about raw. Other's on this thread have, but you seem to be singling out my argument for comment here. You're absolutely right, there has been little research done on raw vs commercial diets or cooked vs non-cooked meat. It's a shame, but it's true. I suspect it's all a matter of funding. There are no "big pet food" producers marketing raw diets, so there is no money for the research. 

My mention of research and science is regarding plant-based vs meat-based diets and the effects of certain chemicals and toxins on the body. 

And I agree with your statement on veterinary nutritionists. They would be the experts in the field (though, I can imagine, extremely expensive for something as simple as a kibble recommendation). It's unfortunate that they are so hard to come by, and even more unfortunate that vet schools focus so little on nutrition and preventative medicine in general.


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## Oodlejpoodle's mom (Sep 11, 2009)

I feed Fromm four star and mix and match weekly, they have surf and turf one week, pork and applesauce the next, duck and sweet potato and so on. I only avoid the chicken as one of my girls had many allergies, we switched the house food numerous times over the first year due to chronic (blasting) diarrhea. Since we have been on Fromm (almost two years) the stomach issues are gone. They also get raw meaty bone for their teeth and all are thriving. The thing I like the most is that we are able to switch flavors.....every time I open a new bag it is like they are trying it for the first time.

Some people just do not want to spend the money on a good kibble, but in my opinion this is not something you should skimp on. Sookster has given some great advise.....the mouse not so much IMO.


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## Sookster (Apr 11, 2011)

makato said:


> Has anyone tried Horizon Amicus, grain free? The other two I was debating between was Fromm and Earthborn, 4 and 5 star ratings, respectively.


I'm not familiar with Horizon Amicus, but it looks to be pretty good. I'm glad you decided to try something different. Please keep us updated and let us know how they do on the new food.


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## LauraRose (Dec 26, 2012)

Lula eats Fromm Salmon Tunalini & primal raw nuggets turkey & sardine. 
We fed Liam Annamaet 26%. 


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## msminnamouse (Nov 4, 2010)

You said species appropriate and I've only ever heard that term when referring to prey model raw so I was assuming that's what you might have been talking about.



> There are no "big pet food" producers marketing raw diets, so there is no money for the research.


This isn't true. There are big pet food producers making commercial raw diets and more are coming out with raw formulas as well to jump on the cash cow. One, Nature's Variety, is in just about any Petco or Petsmart and available to most anyone. 



> Some people just do not want to spend the money on a good kibble, but in my opinion this is not something you should skimp on. Sookster has given some great advise.....the mouse not so much IMO.


I respect your opinion but what is your expertise in this field to determine who's giving good advice and who's not? Deciding on motivated reasoning alone isn't a way to determine fact from fiction.


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