# What kibble are you feeding?



## Ruth (Nov 18, 2010)

I've been feeding my dogs raw, but I'm having trouble finding a good protein variety plus I don't think I can afford continue feeding prey model only to my three dogs, two of them being large GSDs. So I've considered feeding raw + kibble.

Also lately we've been having some storms that leave most of the city without electricity and that also means spoiled meat, even at the supermarkets. That and it's hurricane season so I want to be prepared and try to have some kibble ready just in case.

One without corn, wheat or soy, as they give my dogs allergies.

Which brings me back to the thing that gives me the most head and stomachaches. What kibble to give? I used to give them Blue Buffalo, but believe me I had enough problems and I don't want to go back to it.

I had considered 4health, decent ingredients and price, BUT it's made by Diamond.
Then, Merrick. No experience with this one though!
I have heard from a lot of people that TOTW gives them gas, I don't want that, plus I'd like to stay away from Diamond products.
There is no Costco near me, so no Kirkland dog food either (but it's another one by Diamond too).
Then, Orijen and Acana. I would definitely get those, but I have no clue where to get them except online and the $$ plus the shipping cost = X___x


What kibble are you currently feeding or what have you have you had good experiences with?

Thanks in advance!


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## whitepoodles (Jul 5, 2010)

Ruth said:


> I've been feeding my dogs raw, but I'm having trouble finding a good protein variety plus I don't think I can afford continue feeding prey model only to my three dogs, two of them being large GSDs. So I've considered feeding raw + kibble.
> 
> Also lately we've been having some storms that leave most of the city without electricity and that also means spoiled meat, even at the supermarkets. That and it's hurricane season so I want to be prepared and try to have some kibble ready just in case.
> 
> ...


Hi Ruth:

For the past 7 years , I have successfully been feeding FROMM 4 star Salmon Veggies kibble brand to my (show) dogs , have raised puppies on this food and also highly recommend it to all my puppy clients.

I have had OFA Hips rating of good and 3 Excellents in the past 7 years while on this brand and none of my puppies or young adult ever experienced panosteitis (growing pains).

If I happen to have a dog who is allergic to grain, I will feed them either Fromm Surf and Turf, also fish based but grain free, or Acana Pacifica (Can. made food, but one which can be found in select pet food stores in the U.S., depending on where you live.

Most major cities carry the Fromm brand. SO if you choose to feed Fromm, I would feed Salmon A La Veggies kibble to dogs that are not allergic to grain and to stay in the same family of dog food, with a dog that is allergic to grain, I would opt to feed Fromm Surf and Turf which is not very high in protein (30%, vis a vis Salmon Veggies which is 26%). Both are within normal protein intake.

If you google FROMM you can contact them directly and ask for the name and location of the representative in your area. If the food is not sold in your area, they can ship it to either your home or a local store ( they do this here in Canada).

I swear by this food and have done beautifully on it. 

There may be others on this forum who prefer different brands, but I can only say what worked out very well for me.

Good luck.


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## Ruth (Nov 18, 2010)

Thank you, whitepoodles! I had never heard about that one, and I found I can get it from Amazon with free shipping. I like the ingredients and the description! 

I'll do a bit more research on it, but it sounds great and I'm definitely willing to give it a try and see how my furry kids do on it, thank you so much for your reply!


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## Ruth (Nov 18, 2010)

ok, so I got a bag of Fromm and I fed it to my three dogs just now (duck and sweet potato) and they all loved it! Let's see how well it agrees with them, but I'm glad they liked it!


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## outwest (May 1, 2011)

Yes, I discovered that I can get dog food from Amazon with free shipping, too. The trouble is I bought a 30 pound bag and only my pup is eating it. After about 20 pounds of it I started to worry about it's freshness in the container in a hot garage (it was lasting weeks and weeks). I decided that 30 pounds was too much for one dog to ensure freshness. I threw out the last bit of it (I felt like I was flushing money down the drain). I will buy smaller bags for now on until both my dogs are on the same food when my pup switches to adult food. I also moved the food inside the cool house. The free shipping isn't available on the smaller bags, alas. 

With three dogs to feed this shouldn't be a problem for you, but I thought I should mention it. These high quality, all natural foods don't have all those icky preservatives in them, which is one reason I like them, but also the reason I started to wonder if the food was getting old.


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## whitepoodles (Jul 5, 2010)

Ruth said:


> *ok, so I got a bag of Fromm and I fed it to my three dogs just now (duck and sweet potato) and they all loved it! Let's see how well it agrees with them, but I'm glad they liked it! *




Ruth:
I have been feeding Fromm (FOUR STARS) for years now, and have raised numerous litters on this brand of food as well as show dogs during campaigning careers. 

It is a formidable food which I highly recommend from personal experience.

There are two type of Fromm foods within one company, there is the Gold which I do not feed (it is the cheaper version of Fromm) I only feed the FOUR STARS , Fromm 4 stars has Duck and sweet potatoe, Pork and Applesuace, Salmon A La Veggies which contain grain. The grain free 4 star is Fromm Surf and Turf which is a tad costlier but has a higher protein content. While the Duck & Sweet potatoe/Pork & applesauc have a lower protein % the Salmon Veggies has 26% protein.

Within the 4 star Fromm, you can mix the food together, meaning you can give 1 month Duck and Sweet potatoes and then go to the Salmon Veggies without any fear of having loose stools, since the formula is the same and the company actually recommends you rotate the four varieties as you wish.. This will mean that your dog is getting a variety of ingredients and not only the same ones in one flavor.

I give my dogs the 4 varieties and keep my pregnant females on Fromm Surfe and Turf when they are in whelp. and also start the pups on Fromm Salmon Veggies but also offer some days the Surf and Turf to increase thier protein intake from 26% (in the salmon /veggies variety) (with grain) to 32% (in the Surf and Turf variety (grain free). 

My dogs eat both grain and grain free Fromm, as long as it is from the same company varrying their food is great.


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## whitepoodles (Jul 5, 2010)

outwest said:


> Yes, I discovered that I can get dog food from Amazon with free shipping, too. The trouble is I bought a 30 pound bag and only my pup is eating it. After about 20 pounds of it I started to worry about it's freshness in the container in a hot garage (it was lasting weeks and weeks). I decided that 30 pounds was too much for one dog to ensure freshness. I threw out the last bit of it (I felt like I was flushing money down the drain). I will buy smaller bags for now on until both my dogs are on the same food when my pup switches to adult food. I also moved the food inside the cool house. The free shipping isn't available on the smaller bags, alas.
> 
> With three dogs to feed this shouldn't be a problem for you, but I thought I should mention it. These high quality, all natural foods don't have all those icky preservatives in them, which is one reason I like them, but also the reason I started to wonder if the food was getting old.



Outwest:

This food is naturally preserved and I have always told my clients to avoid storing it in plastic bins (oxidation) or leave it in a hot room or a room that has sunlight all day long.

Best to store this food in a cool place in your basement where you know there is not much light or heat.


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## Ruth (Nov 18, 2010)

outwest, I'm sorry to hear that! Yeah, the big bags are good only if you're feeding more than one large dog. 

whitepoodles, thank you! I read about that yesterday in their site and I love to have that many options! I also read neither they or their suppliers use ethoxyquin, which is the reason I usually avoid any food containing fish or fish meal.
_
*15 Does your food contain ethoxyquin?*
No, Fromm Family Foods recipes do not contain ethoxyquin. All of our ingredients and final products are free from artificial and industrial preservatives. Additionally we pay more for our fish, whitefish, and salmon to not be treated or preserved with ethoxyquin. _

I'm loving this food more and more!


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## whitepoodles (Jul 5, 2010)

Fromm Four Star dog food is one of the best !

My poodles rock both inside and outside of the ring and they are on Fromm.

Ok, so I am not humble..LOLOL


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## georgiapeach (Oct 9, 2009)

I'm feeding Potsie Wellness Core, which is a 6 star food (dogfoodanalysis.com). I feed him the fish variety, b/c he doesn't do so well with chicken based kibble. 

To the OP, Blue Buffalo, all varieties, seem to have chicken in some form in them - even the Wilderness (grainless) variety that says Duck or Salmon. Read the labels carefully. That's why I don't feed it.

Wellness Core is pricey, but I find I can feed less of it, b/c it's so nutrient dense. I only feed Potsie (who's 13 pounds) 1/4 c. twice a day, with a big tablespoon of canned mixed in the evening feeding. I'm almost having to cut back a little, b/c he's doing so well on it (and this was a dog who was a walking skeleton less than a year ago!).


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## Sapphire-Light (Jun 9, 2010)

Pompadour is on half raw and kibble, he gets the raw mostly in mornings and kibble at night.

Here in Honduras good kibble brads are very rare, people mostly feed alpo, pedigree, or some nasty central american brands.

I managed to get kirkland (they only have puppy and adult chicken) but the pieces are too large for him to chew so I have to break them in tiny pieces wit a kitchen hammer.

This month to my surprise in a pet shop they are now carring Earthborn Holistic , so I got one of the primitive natural, its good that the pieces are small enought for him to chew, the only bad thing its the price they sell it at $25 the 6 pound bag


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## faerie (Mar 27, 2010)

all 5 of my dogs are on wellness regular kibble with great success. the grain free is a bit too rich for them. i would like them all to be on the core, but i'm fine w/ what they have.


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

whitepoodles said:


> Fromm Four Star dog food is one of the best !
> 
> My poodles rock both inside and outside of the ring and they are on Fromm.
> 
> Ok, so I am not humble..LOLOL


I've had Chagall on Fromm Four Star dog food since he's a pup; he loves it, and I love how he does on it!! (And *whitepoodles*, your poodles do MORE THAN "rock," they soar!!)


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## Spencer (Oct 7, 2009)

We're a Fromm family as well and the dogs love it. I even sent them an email telling them how much they love it and how well sensitive tummy Tate does on it and thanking them... because that headache was over! (Let's just say I considered feeding him SUPER CRAPPY FOOD because that's all he seemed to do well on!) I quickly received a reply from their head of PR thanking me for the kind words and their business and letting me know that my email had been forwarded around to let everyone revel in my appreciation, lol. Qualittyyyyyyy!

Only one place in my state sells it, so we drive a measly 15 minutes to BFE to pick it up, but I'm so glad we found Fromm. 

*I did not get paid for this advertisement


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## poodlemom2be (Jan 30, 2011)

Fromm here too! We will be feeding Ladybug Fromm along with Zukes Mini naturals for training/treats when she gets here.


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## whitepoodles (Jul 5, 2010)

Sorry on to another post.


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## CharismaticMillie (Jun 16, 2010)

Ruth - since you will be alternating prey model raw and kibble, I would personally avoid grain inclusive kibble because it might be a more difficult transition for your dog, not being used to grains and all. That's just what I would do if I were to add kibble into Millie and Henry's prey model diets.

The only grain free kibbles I have fed in the past were Nature's Variety Instinct and Acana Pacifica. Loved them both!


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## Ruth (Nov 18, 2010)

Thank you all! It's great to hear of everybody having good results with Fromm! My dogs love it, I thought they were going to snub the kibble but I'm so glad that wasn't the case. They even do a happy dance like they do when I give them their raw food!

Sapphire-light, I know what you mean! Here in Mexico is the same. Horrible commercial dog food, even the ones in US with not-so-good ingredients are way better by comparison. Here everything they sell has BHA/BHT for example.

That's why I always get the food for my dogs in the US. And then opted for raw.

ChocolateMillie, thank you! You're so right. So far I haven't had problems, but maybe because I've been feeding more kibble than raw these days (we still have storms and power outages), but I'll start looking for a grain-free kibble.


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## Winterlily (Oct 13, 2010)

FWIW, I'm an Acana fan. I'm transitioning Molly slowly over to Acana from the Eukanuba she was on at the breeder's. She now picks out all the Acana pieces, refuses to eat the Eukanuba, then walks over to where the bag of Acana is, stares at it, then me, then it, then me. <lol> Their web site has a store locator so you can find local stores that carry it or can order it. It's less expensive than Orijen (though made by the same people as you know), and is also a bit lower protein. Can't tell you how well - or not - she's doing on it as she's not transitioned fully yet, but previous dogs have done SUPER well, as do client's dogs. I've had/known a few who couldn't handle Orijen because of the high protein, but I haven't had that issue at all with Acana.


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## jasperspoo (Feb 25, 2011)

As a little puppy, Jasper was on Acana Puppy, which is what the breeder was feeding him, along with chicken necks. When he got a bit bigger, we switched him to Acana Pacifica and we're loving it. He's had one of the other flavours of the grain-free (Grasslands?) but we keep coming back to the Pacifica. We add to it a few types of tinned food (Tripett and a couple of locally-made brands that have very few ingredients.) Here where we live, Acana is actually one of the cheapest good grain-free foods you can get!


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