# What kind of dog food do you use?



## Poodlebeguiled (May 27, 2013)

I currently use Canidae and sometimes Taste of the Wild. I switch around from time to time but look at the ingredients. I want to see lots of meat...a variety...a relatively high level of protein. 

I looked at Blue Buffalo red meat adult and the ingredients look pretty good. The word "meal" means they've extracted the water out of it so you get more straight meat with less weight and they list a few meats. I especially like to see these things in addition to the meat: 

Turmeric, 

L-Lysine, 

Taurine, 

L-Carnitine


Maybe I'll give that one a try.

I like this website. You might like it too. http://www.dogfoodproject.com/


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## Caniche (Jun 10, 2013)

Poodlebeguiled said:


> I currently use Canidae and sometimes Taste of the Wild. I switch around from time to time but look at the ingredients. I want to see lots of meat...a variety...a relatively high level of protein.
> 
> I looked at Blue Buffalo red meat adult and the ingredients look pretty good. The word "meal" means they've extracted the water out of it so you get more straight meat with less weight and they list a few meats. I especially like to see these things in addition to the meat:
> 
> ...


We tried Canidae but I heard the company was bought by someone not-so-reputable?

We've also been on Blue. Our small breeds didn't like the "life source bits" so it was a bit of a waste of food. Then our small poo mix developed bladder stones from a diet too high in protein. I think it's from feeding Blue Wilderness and giving protein treats. 

Now our adults are on Fromm. And Cash, 6 mos puppy, is on Wellness Core. He does great on it so when we run out I'm putting all the dogs on Wellness Core. 


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## Poodlebeguiled (May 27, 2013)

Caniche, check this out. I read something like this somewhere else, but can't find it now. Anyhow, it is possible that some other factor makes dogs prone to kidney stones or some imbalance. I have been feeding a pretty high protein to my senior dogs and they never had a problem with kidneys. I am sure more research will be done, but this is interesting.

DogAware.com Kidney Disease: Is a Low-Protein Diet Desirable or Necessary?

I look at the ingredients when I buy food. Today at the pet store, I was going through some different foods I hadn't tried. I did use Chicken soup for the pet lover's soul years back but it was kibble. I haven't used that much canned until lately, so I'm not as familiar with it. So, I discovered that I liked the ingredients in that one and also Merrick makes what looks like a pretty good food. I like plenty of protein and a variety of meats...lots of meat. I've done a fair amount of research on nutrition, certainly not an extreme amount though. These foods didn't have some of the ingredients I like but most. I looked at the Blue Buffalo canned and wasn't as impressed as I was by what I saw online. I think I was looking at dry maybe....don't remember now without going back. So, I skipped that one and looked at these others.


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## Ellyisme (Jul 17, 2012)

Hibbert eats Blue Buffalo, and I've never heard him complain about it. If I try and switch him to anything else, he gets really bad diarrhea.


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## outwest (May 1, 2011)

I used Blue Buffalo for over two years straight. My dogs were super healthy and I had not one complaint with the food other than the cost. I got annoyed that it kept getting more and more expensive. I switched to cost co brand and supplement with meat (canned, chicken, hamburger, left overs, whatever) and they are healthy still. If the cost doesn't bother you, I think it is a very good food.


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## Lou (Sep 22, 2012)

I feed 3 cups of blue wilderness kibble and 1/6 canned blue wilderness mixed in, plus 2 or 3 tbl spoons of plain yogurt and 1 tbl spoon of unseasoned canned pumpkin. That's our magic recipe after months and months trying to find something healthy that they'd like to eat. This works and they seem very healthy happy, perfect weight, good energy level and playfulness and their coat looks great (salmon blue wilderness helps with coat in my opinion) they are 55-60 lbs. 


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## PoodlePaws (May 28, 2013)

We are totally grain free - kibble and snacks. We feed Natural Balance Alpha - lamb, chicken, rabbit recipe. And they get fruit and veggies as well. 


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## MaddieB (Aug 14, 2013)

Apollo and Lou are GORGEOUS!!! Thanks for the tips, I might have to try that out. My boys always seem to like switching it up. One week they seem all about their food, and the next they're like "ehh..." it seems. I do occasionally give the yogurt as I heard it's really good for digestion and for their coats. I might have to start getting them their own container and adding a tablespoon or so to their food during feeding. I might try switching them to the salmon/fish option of their same food. I never even thought of how good fish could be for their coat! Which is important to me because Ivan's dad's coat seemed a bit wire like. Might have been because he had a loooong coat at the time and he was a chocolate standard, not sure if they have soft or more coarse fur. But I'm definitely going to check that out so thank you!

And Ellyisme same here with our standard Ivan! He's just very sensitive. At least he was as a younger pup. I switched from the higher protein option of the brand and it seemed to help him a lot. 

Bennett our tiny 6lb toy seems to be on the picky side. I feel like most smaller ones are picky little sh*ts lol. My parents mini back home is soooo picky. Little bugger won't even eat scraps of meat! Bennett eats Blue Buffalo, but he doesn't always seem that happy about it. He barely eats though since he's so tiny so maybe that's it!


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## MaddieB (Aug 14, 2013)

@PoodlePaws: we give fruit to our boys too. They love apples and bananas. Looove those bananas. Which I have read that it might mean they're lacking something in their diet so I try to give them banana snacks with peanut butter when I have them  haven't tried many veggies with them. They seem to eat anything that drops on the floor though lol.


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## Toy poodlelvr (Mar 24, 2013)

Lou said:


> I feed 3 cups of blue wilderness kibble and 1/6 canned blue wilderness mixed in, plus 2 or 3 tbl spoons of plain yogurt and 1 tbl spoon of unseasoned canned pumpkin.
> 
> 
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Really?! 3 cups?!! For one meal and one single dog??!! HOLY CRAP !! Thats alot for a single dog, I think you should cut down the portion!! Like 1 cup a meal, cause that's alot of food, even for a day!!


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## PoodleRick (Mar 18, 2013)

Toy poodlelvr said:


> Really?! 3 cups?!! For one meal and one single dog??!! HOLY CRAP !! Thats alot for a single dog, I think you should cut down the portion!! Like 1 cup a meal, cause that's alot of food, even for a day!!


Beau was eating 2 cups in the morning and 2 in the evening. He was tall, roughly 27-28 inches and never more than 60 pounds. Always nice and fit. He was a free feeder but at the end of the day 4 cups were gone.


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## Lou (Sep 22, 2012)

Toy poodlelvr said:


> Really?! 3 cups?!! For one meal and one single dog??!! HOLY CRAP !! Thats alot for a single dog, I think you should cut down the portion!! Like 1 cup a meal, cause that's alot of food, even for a day!!


Yup 3 cups. Apollo gets a little less because he is more mellow than Lou. Lou's level of activity/exercise is higher! 
They were both 26" (when they were 11 months old, I need to measure again, they are now 18 months old and 55 to 60lbs or a bit more. But lean)
I used to feed twice a day 1.5 cups and the mix, but they just would NOT eat enough, ever... So now after a day of play and burning calories they know they need the nutrition and they clean their bowls and ask for more! I don't let them exercise for 2 hours before or after eating (because of risk of bloat) and they eat delicately and slow, even though they are hungry. (they have always naturally been delicate when eating, but u can train a dog to chew and eat slow if need be, a friend of mine had to teach her Labrador cause he would swallow his food in 2 seconds!)

And if you read the instructions on the blue wilderness bag, for dogs this size, 3 cups is in the average 

I am not recommending anything, I'm not a vet or dog nutritionist! But I'm sharing personal experience only

just feel relief that after so many months trying, they are finally enjoying their food and it's a healthy meal. (I vary the canned food flavor too, so they don't get bored)

Ps. I give yogurt cause I heard it's great to avoid ear infections. 


Look at those clean bowls!  
















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## Poodlebeguiled (May 27, 2013)

If you were feeding your dogs too much, they'd be fat. And they're not. They look great Lou. Some time down the road, as they age, you may find they need less. My little puppies eat far more than my adult Chihuahuas and the Chi's are larger than the puppies. When they're young, they burn calories. I wish I were like they are. LOL. I look at a grape and gain 10 lbs. My son's dog is 13 years old and about 59 lbs last time she was weighed. She only needs 3/4 of a cup of kibble twice a day to stay fit. She's fairly active, but less so than she was of course. Plus, I know she gets lots of treats in between though. And it's a high quality kibble so the premium foods require less generally to keep a dog well nourished.


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## Lou (Sep 22, 2012)

Poodlebeguiled said:


> If you were feeding your dogs too much, they'd be fat. And they're not. They look great Lou. Some time down the road, as they age, you may find they need less. My little puppies eat far more than my adult Chihuahuas and the Chi's are larger than the puppies. When they're young, they burn calories. I wish I were like they are. LOL. I look at a grape and gain 10 lbs. My son's dog is 13 years old and about 59 lbs last time she was weighed. She only needs 3/4 of a cup of kibble twice a day to stay fit. She's fairly active, but less so than she was of course. Plus, I know she gets lots of treats in between though. And it's a high quality kibble so the premium foods require less generally to keep a dog well nourished.


Hahahaha Thanks dear! 
And I agree with everything u said! Including the "looking at a grape and gaining 10 lbs" that happens to me to when I "think" about cake LOL 

And I think you are right Lou & Apollo are still filling in, they act like puppies still, when it comes to their playfulness and how much exercise they need to be Chillaxed.  LOL So I believe they will definitely need less food in a few months, it's just that they are still developing  


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## Shamrockmommy (Aug 16, 2013)

Right now I'm feeding the honest kitchen but I rotate a lot. I use pet guard and Fromm kibble. I also home cook in the crockpot with meat and vegetables. I also feed raw meaty bones.

I spend a lot of time worrying about what diet is right, but this combination seems to work out well for everyone.


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## outwest (May 1, 2011)

Toy poodlelvr said:


> Really?! 3 cups?!! For one meal and one single dog??!! HOLY CRAP !! Thats alot for a single dog, I think you should cut down the portion!! Like 1 cup a meal, cause that's alot of food, even for a day!!


LOL That's a standard poodle.  I have two of them, also. They are about 3 cups a day for Jazz plus other items in his food. He getys a little breakfast, too.  Bonnie is less. You can see how I got annoyed with the cost of BB. One 24 pound bag didn't last too long.


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## Indiana (Sep 11, 2011)

I feed my two girls 2 cups of food each per day. Indy's 26" at the shoulder and 60 lbs, and Maddy is 24" and 55 lbs. I measure it out in the morning so I don't overfeed, because we use that for treats too. I like Orijin, Acana and Nature's Domain but lately I have been panicking because Miss Independent (Indy) has gone picky on me! Yes, the dog that eats everything, including the compost pile! So I have mixing a little bit of chicken or beef into her food and she loves that. Maddy will hoover everything up, but Indy may be a free-feeding type.


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## Toy poodlelvr (Mar 24, 2013)

outwest said:


> LOL That's a standard poodle.  I have two of them, also. They are about 3 cups a day for Jazz plus other items in his food. He getys a little breakfast, too.  Bonnie is less. You can see how I got annoyed with the cost of BB. One 24 pound bag didn't last too long.



I know it's a standard poodle, but I think 2 cups a day is enough for a standard poodle.


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## Indiana (Sep 11, 2011)

Indiana said:


> I feed my two girls 2 cups of food each per day. Indy's 26" at the shoulder and 60 lbs, and Maddy is 24" and 55 lbs. I measure it out in the morning so I don't overfeed, because we use that for treats too. I like Orijin, Acana and Nature's Domain but lately I have been panicking because Miss Independent (Indy) has gone picky on me! Yes, the dog that eats everything, including the compost pile! So I have mixing a little bit of chicken or beef into her food and she loves that. Maddy will hoover everything up, but Indy may be a free-feeding type.


But metabolism has a lot to do with the amount they eat; at this amount, Maddy is getting a little chunky but Indy is very lean. If my dogs were both lean I wouldn't care so much but I don't want Maddy to get overweight.


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## Shamrockmommy (Aug 16, 2013)

Interesting! I have a PWD, Echo, and she is about the size of a small standard (20" at shoulder, 45 lbs) and she eats ⅔ cup twice a day. Any more and she gets chubby.


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## Siskojan (Mar 13, 2011)

Sisko eats Now Fresh and gets 3 cups a day divided into 2 meals and a small bedtime snack to avoid the early morning hunger pukes. It gets topped with a ¼ big can of Evo at the 2 main meals. He is 26 -27", weighs around 58 -60 lbs and hardly ever varies and is lean and muscly. Wish I had his energy and metabolism. Used to feed him Orijen but his kidney blood work was off a year ago after he had a bad stay at kennels, had enteritis, got worms and had about 5lbs weight loss. The vet said to switch to something a bit lighter on the protein and he has been flourishing and loves this kibble. We just earned our free bag. His poops are good. In addition to meals he gets quite a few lamb treats every day and gets nibbles of dog appropriate human food because I can't resist those eyes.


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## KidWhisperer (Apr 3, 2012)

*Fromm*

Back when Sammi was a puppy and still eating kibble, we made the switch from Blue Buffalo to Fromm Four-Star grain free kibble, which she digested much better. We had far fewer digestive upsets on the Fromm. I would recommend it as a great kibble.

However, Sammi has been on a prey-Model/premade raw diet for close to a year now and we've never looked back! She started gaining weight and filling out so nicely on this new diet, to the point where we've had to cut back a little on the amounts and up her exercise 'cause she was getting a little chunky for a minute there!


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## Scooter's_Mom (Feb 1, 2012)

We feed Victor Grain free (red bag) to our little guy. He was a rescue from the humane society and no telling what he ate there. Not to mention, I had him on a not so great food when I first brought him home. I talked to the guy at our pet supply store and he convinced me to try some alternatives. He sent home about 8 different samples to try, all better quality and all grain free. There were about 5 different brands and different flavors/varieties of each one. 

Scooter seemed to like the Victor sample the best. We've been using that for a little over a year or so now and he loves it. Occasionally, we'll buy the wild salmon flavor and mix in a little for variety. Poops are much better, more solid and much smaller now. Also more regular. 

The cost is roughly $9.50/5# bag. He gets fed 1/3 cup twice a day and is thriving. I happen to get up at 3 am yesterday morning. I was sitting here working on my crochet when I kept hearing him scratching around and whining. When I finally checked on him, he had decided 3:30 am was breakfast time and was trying to crack open the tupperware container I store his food in. Loves this food!


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

I think it is best to switch around. Right now I am feeding Orijen Red and a raw meal each day. I was feeding Wellness Ocean a few months ago. I always feed a grainfree, chicken free kibble, but I do feed raw chicken.


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## Tymaca (Oct 13, 2011)

I feed my SPOO Zoe 2 times a day. One cup in the morning and two cups at night (doesn't like to eat in the morning). She hardly finishes her food in the evening. Depends on the day. I feed her Earthborn Great Plains Grain Free. If I even switch the flavor, she won't eat! She eats as much as my 65lb dog, yet only weighs 41lbs, and is skinny. She only eats what she wants, like lierally taking a kibble or two and then walks away. I have tried everything. All different kibble, and raw. Raw was awesome, but she was too lazy to get the meat off the bones. It was such a pain. I did it for a good year, and would have continued, if she ate! It is so ridiculous. Even treats are hard to give. Unless they are superb quality, and she happens to like them, she will spit them out or not touch them at all. Glad to know I am not alone.


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## schpeckie (Jun 29, 2010)

Hi Maddie, I give my girls Acana brand kibbles. They were weaned off Purina when they were pups and onto the Acana puppy right away. They are 3 years old now and still chomp down on adult Acana.

Sylvia & the Girls!


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## Sweetteddy (Jun 6, 2013)

I have always feeding my Teddy Orijen large puppy food, and recently, I ordered the Orijen adult grain free kibble for him, because he just turned one year old. He has been very healthy, no problems at all. I also like to add some Stella & chewy's to his each meal and he loves it


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## MonaLisa (Dec 4, 2013)

I had Mona on BB in the beginning after bringing her at 4 mths on Purina. She still had the runs really bad so I put her in Wellness grain free Puppy and her stools firmed up a lot. She is now 5 mths and eating about 2 1/2 cups a day and treats by Wellness too. Plus we give her a King with a treat in it everyday. Her stool still isn't what I'd like to see but it's so much better. We had her spayed today so she isn't eating anything. Hate not getting to have a litter out of her but that isn't why we got her!


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## QuigleysMom (Jan 9, 2014)

*Grain Free*

I have been feeding dry grain free food for my dogs for years. Right now we use Orijen or Zignature. We vary the proteins every time we buy more food so the dogs don't develop an allergy. When you feed really good food there is no 'adjustment' period. The 'adjustment' is to the fillers the cheap foods use. I don't eat processed crappy food so I sure wouldn't feed it to my dogs! Don't get me started on dog food!!!! I could go on and on and on.

I use Stella for treats sometimes or to break up on their food if they aren't eating. Sometimes they get lazy.

Quigley is going to be a therapy dog (praying and fingers crossed!) and they don't allow them to be on a raw diet.


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## cuttinbluefarms (Jul 26, 2021)

*There are so many good dog foods out there, but I'm always using that food for dogs:*


Blue Buffalo Life Protection Dry.
Canidae Grain-Free Pure Dry Dog Food.
Orijen Dry Dog Food.
Diamond Naturals Dry Kibble.
Nulo Freestyle Dry Dog Food and more.


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## cowpony (Dec 30, 2009)

@cuttinbluefarms Welcome! The Recommended Reading algorithm seems to have dropped you into a very old thread. Many of the original participants no longer participate. How about hopping over to the Member Introductions to tell us a bit about yourself.

Research about grain free foods has been published since the time this thread was started. There is now some concern that grain free, possibly due to the substitution of legumes for the grain, has adverse effects including heart troubles. 

I'm going to lock this thread for now. We can start a fresh one with the latest information.


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