i asked a question about why my dog was whining after meals and most said to stop feeding him what i am now.
so i decided to change his food, but what kind is best?
how much a day?
He is an almost 7 month old mix.
He may be lacking proper nutrition.
please and thank you, questions and websites are welcome.
Chosen Answer:
Don’t bother asking your vet about dog food recommendations, vets get very little nutritional training.
Not all pet food is made equally. A lot of it is full of corn, by-products, dyes, unhealthy preservatives, filler grains and all sorts of nasty stuff. A lot of pet food companies are perfectly happy to the dump cheap leftovers and things that aren’t safe for human consumption (from human food processing plants) into their foods. Will it kill your dog? No, it has to be nutritionally complete and safe to even be marketed. Is it healthy? Not by a long shot.
Corn is a low quality ingredient you never want to see in your pet food. Corn and low quality grains are two of the biggest culprits when it comes to food allergies in our pets.
Thankfully, there are some excellent dog foods being made these days that include organic, human grade ingredients rather than trash not fit for human consumption.
Examples of low quality foods to avoid: Anything you can find in a grocery store will be low end, Purina, Iams, Eukanuba, Science Diet, Royal Canin, Pedigree, Kibbles n’ Bits, Beneful, Ol’Roy.
Examples of high quality foods to look for: Innova, Wellness, Solid Gold, Canidae All Life Stages, Fromm Four Star, Merrick, GO Natural, Nature’s Variety Prairie, Nature’s Logic, Artemis Fresh Mix, Timberwolf Organics.
Although the high quality foods are more expensive, you’re getting what you’re paying for. Less filler material means more concentrated nutrients… this means you typically need to feed far less of the high quality food than you would of the low quality one. Which also means less poop!
Before following your vet’s food recommendation, keep in mind that vets get /very/ little nutritional training during their schooling. Besides that, what training they /do/ get is usually sponsored or taught by the crappy pet food companies! They also often get paid to sell some of their products at their clinics (Science Diet, Royal Canin etc.)
A great option is to go with an entirely grainless diet. Many of the high quality foods now put out grainless formulas. Some good grainless diets include: Innova EVO, Wellness CORE, Blue Wilderness, Nature’s Variety Instinct, Orijen, Horizon Legacy, Merrick Before Grain, Canidae Grain Free All Life Stages, Fromm Surf & Turf, Now! and Sold Gold Barking At The Moon, Taste of the Wild.
Some pretty decent foods can even be found in common pet stores. Petsmart carries Blue Buffalo products (such as the excellent grain free diet Blue Wilderness). Petco carries Wellness, Solid Gold, Natural Balance, Eagle Pack Holistic, Blue Buffalo, Castor & Pollux Organix, Pinnacle, and Halo. If you can’t find a food, most of the high quality food brands have websites with store locators on them.
Another option, if you can’t find anywhere around you that sells good foods, is to order your pet food online. Here’s an excellent place to do so: http://www.petfooddirect.com/store/
Remember that foods should be switched gradually (mixing new slowly in with the old over about a two week period), especially when switching to a higher quality one, so as not to upset tummies.
Another option for feeding dogs is to feed raw. This is something that should be thoroughly researched before being attempted:
http://www.barfworld.com/
http://www.rawfed.com/
http://www.rawlearning.com/
http://www.wysong.net/controversies/rawmeat.shtml
More on dog food:
http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=main (Learn how to determine the quality of your dog’s food.)
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/ (Dog food reviews. Four stars is a decent food, five stars is a great food, and six stars is an excellent food.)
by: darksong17
on: 24th September 08
14 Comments
california natural is a really good food. i switched my dogs to it and they love it. their coats are so pretty and doesnt have anything bad in it.
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Your vet in general has only minimal information on nutrition and will usually try to get you to buy the veterinary brands that they get paid to promote. Most of those are incredibly poor in quality. I feed Canidae dog food. It has human grade quality meats and no by products, or fillers. If you would like a complete list of dog foods and their grades and how to grade a particular brand of dog food, e-mail me and I’ll send it to you. It’s too long to copy here.
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What are you feeding him now?
Purina, Beneful, Science Diet, Eukanuba.
All are good foods for dogs.
I listed them buy price too so.
I feed my dogs Beneful and they love it.
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Anything on the 5 or 6 star rating list. 4 star at the very least.
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/index.php/cat/1
Are you sure that the raw food is causing you dogs stomach problems?
Nikki- All of those foods you listed are dreadful foods. They are full of grains, by-products, animal digest, etc. which are just TERRIBLE for your dog. You are not helping you dog by feeding that trash.
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I like eukanuba…. and Id say maybe 3/4 a cup 2-3 times a day
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when u change the food do it gradually stay away from pedigree though they just had another recall on food as well but iams is good so is eukanuba pro plan my one dog has a wheat allergie and has to eat more of the whole listic food without wheat and corn u can also cook for the dog as well like boiled chicken, beef and rice plain yogart (not flavored) green beans (low sodium) carrots cooked or uncooked also slices of apple fruits have natural sugar though but aking the vet is great to i have a 55 pound boxer and basset hound and they both eat 1 1/2 cup twice a day so i hope that helps
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Ok some really great foods for dogs are
1. Innova EVO
2. Wellness- At Petco
3. Diamond Lamb and Rice- at Petco—-I feed this to my black lab mix
4. Eagle Pack—at Petco
5. Natural Balance—-At Petco
6. Solid Gold—-at petco
And how many cups a day does your dog get well when you switch foods most good dog foods have a chart on the side or the back of the bag to determine how many cups a day your dog is supposed to receive a day.
I hope this helps!!
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Take a look at the dogs weight and then decide on if you’re going to give just dry food or wet and dry food.
Chihuahua, Yorkshire Terrier, Toy Poodle
weight of adult dog – Up to 10 pounds
dry food – 1/3 to 1 cup
dry food and wet food – 1/4 can + up to 3/4 cup
Miniature Poodle, Scottish Terrier
weight of adult dog – 10-25 pounds
dry food – 1 to 2 1/4 cups
dry food and wet food – ½ can + ½ to 1½ cups
Cocker Spaniel, Beagle, Springer Spaniel
weight of adult dog – 25-50 pounds
dry food – 2 1/4 to 3 3/4 cups
dry food and wet food -1 can + 1 to 2½ cups
Collie, Boxer, Labrador, Golden Retriever
weight of adult dog – 50-75 pounds
dry food – 3 3/4 to 5 cups
dry food and wet food -1½ cans + 1 3/4 to 3 cups
Great Dane, Malamute, St. Bernard, Mastiff
weight of adult dog – Over 75 pounds
dry food – 5-8 cups
dry food and wet food – 2 cans + 2½ to 5 1/4 cups
Hope this helps you
: )
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If your dog will be a medium breed when grown, try Iams ProActive Health Puppy (Link below)
http://www.iams.com/iams/premium-pet-food/puppy-food.jsp
If your dog will be a large breed when full grown, try Iams ProActive Smart Puppy Large Breed (Link below)
http://www.iams.com/iams/premium-pet-food/large-breed-puppy-food.jsp
If you dog will be a small breed when full grown, try Iams ProActive Health Puppy Small and Toy Breed (Link below)
http://www.iams.com/iams/en_US/jsp/IAMS_Page.jsp?pageID=PL&productID=104159
Or use the link below to make sure!
http://www.iams.com/iams/dog-food.jsp
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Most vets are NOT paid to promote food! I order the food at my clinic, and we get no incentives whatsoever. Please understand that the food the vet’s office carries is what the vets have deemed healthy foods for their patients.
Tasty foods, high caloric value: Hill’s a/d and Royal Canin Recovery
Bland: Hill’s i/d and Royal Canin Intestinal HE
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You are going to get tons of different advice on this subject. Your vet will probably recommend one of the kibbles they carry in the office as that is what the Vet reps push, this does not mean that it is always the best food.
Like lolly I also feed California Natural (CN) to all my dogs, the kitties eat Evo. (all made by Natura) After a bad experience with Iams and much research CN was the food I chose. My 6 1/2 month old basset puppy (46lbs) is on CN chicken and rice puppy food which runs about $48 for a 36lb bag. The lamb and rice were too “hot” for her. All the kidz are very healthy and their blood tests are perfect.
http://www.naturapet.com/
Some of the reasons I like this brand and the company:
1) The ingredients are very limited, no by products, no corn and no wheat.
2) You actually will feed less than with the cheaper box store brand as it is higher in nutrition. So in the long run you actually save money in not only food but vet bills as well.
3) The company sets higher standards and pay for a third party to randomly come in and test the food. The food is made in the US and CN is made in their own plant, not outsourced. They have never had a recall! The welcome visitors to come to the plant and see the animals.
4) If you ever have questions or concerns they are more than willing to help. They actually take this very seriously, which is a concept not found in many companies that produce pet food.
5) Their animal testing procedures are humane. The most invasive thing they do is blood tests. All the animals get routine vet care and are monitored closely. The best part is all the animals are adopted out and they provide lifetime vet care and food.
They do have coupons…if you click on the contact us button on the site there is a drop down with coupons. There is also a store locator link on the site. They do not sell to grocery stores or big box stores.
No matter what you decide to feed you will have to change his food slowly to prevent him from being sick. Adding a tablespoon of plain yogurt to each meal will also help prevent an upset tummy.
As far as the amount to feed, use the guideline on the back of the bag. Remember that this is only a suggested amount and you may have to adjust it up or down depending on your puppies weight and growth pattern. Sadie eats 2 1/4 c/day split into 2 feedings. I also give them healthy snacks, such as carrots, apples, melon, raw sweet potatoes as well as their nightly yogurt
Good luck with your puppy and your decision.
Reply to this comment
Don’t bother asking your vet about dog food recommendations, vets get very little nutritional training.
Not all pet food is made equally. A lot of it is full of corn, by-products, dyes, unhealthy preservatives, filler grains and all sorts of nasty stuff. A lot of pet food companies are perfectly happy to the dump cheap leftovers and things that aren’t safe for human consumption (from human food processing plants) into their foods. Will it kill your dog? No, it has to be nutritionally complete and safe to even be marketed. Is it healthy? Not by a long shot.
Corn is a low quality ingredient you never want to see in your pet food. Corn and low quality grains are two of the biggest culprits when it comes to food allergies in our pets.
Thankfully, there are some excellent dog foods being made these days that include organic, human grade ingredients rather than trash not fit for human consumption.
Examples of low quality foods to avoid: Anything you can find in a grocery store will be low end, Purina, Iams, Eukanuba, Science Diet, Royal Canin, Pedigree, Kibbles n’ Bits, Beneful, Ol’Roy.
Examples of high quality foods to look for: Innova, Wellness, Solid Gold, Canidae All Life Stages, Fromm Four Star, Merrick, GO Natural, Nature’s Variety Prairie, Nature’s Logic, Artemis Fresh Mix, Timberwolf Organics.
Although the high quality foods are more expensive, you’re getting what you’re paying for. Less filler material means more concentrated nutrients… this means you typically need to feed far less of the high quality food than you would of the low quality one. Which also means less poop!
Before following your vet’s food recommendation, keep in mind that vets get /very/ little nutritional training during their schooling. Besides that, what training they /do/ get is usually sponsored or taught by the crappy pet food companies! They also often get paid to sell some of their products at their clinics (Science Diet, Royal Canin etc.)
A great option is to go with an entirely grainless diet. Many of the high quality foods now put out grainless formulas. Some good grainless diets include: Innova EVO, Wellness CORE, Blue Wilderness, Nature’s Variety Instinct, Orijen, Horizon Legacy, Merrick Before Grain, Canidae Grain Free All Life Stages, Fromm Surf & Turf, Now! and Sold Gold Barking At The Moon, Taste of the Wild.
Some pretty decent foods can even be found in common pet stores. Petsmart carries Blue Buffalo products (such as the excellent grain free diet Blue Wilderness). Petco carries Wellness, Solid Gold, Natural Balance, Eagle Pack Holistic, Blue Buffalo, Castor & Pollux Organix, Pinnacle, and Halo. If you can’t find a food, most of the high quality food brands have websites with store locators on them.
Another option, if you can’t find anywhere around you that sells good foods, is to order your pet food online. Here’s an excellent place to do so: http://www.petfooddirect.com/store/
Remember that foods should be switched gradually (mixing new slowly in with the old over about a two week period), especially when switching to a higher quality one, so as not to upset tummies.
Another option for feeding dogs is to feed raw. This is something that should be thoroughly researched before being attempted:
http://www.barfworld.com/
http://www.rawfed.com/
http://www.rawlearning.com/
http://www.wysong.net/controversies/rawmeat.shtml
More on dog food:
http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=main (Learn how to determine the quality of your dog’s food.)
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/ (Dog food reviews. Four stars is a decent food, five stars is a great food, and six stars is an excellent food.)
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Darksong and sparky gave you good information.
Here is another site that list the ingredients to avoid and has reviews of dog foods to chose from.
http://www.dogfoodproject.com
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Solid Gold, Orijen, Innova EVO….all GREAT brands.
Purina, Iams, Eukanuba, Beneful, Ol’Roy, ANYTHING generic…all Horrible brands.
Here’s a fantastic website:
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/
It will tell you great foods, and a little bit about *why* they are so great. I’d stick with 5 and 6 star foods, but definately 4 star and higher.
Each food will tell you, based on the dog’s size, how much to feed. You’ll need to switch the food gradually. Here’s how:
1st day: 75% old food, 25% new food.
2nd day: 50% old food, 50% new food.
3rd day: 25% old food, 75% new food.
4th day: 100% new food.
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