Dog food

[Anonymous]

What is the best dog food? With all the news on certain dog foods being unsafe, I just want to get some opinions.

[Anonymous]

A food made in the US, with named ingredients ("lamb" not "meat") and meat as the first ingredient. You can get deals on good brands online, like chewy.com.

I feed my dog Canidae All Life Stages, and sometimes Force which has to be mixed with water.

[Anonymous]

The best dog food is the one you cook at home. You can create an overall balanced diet by feeding a variety of things. There are a bazillion web sites with recipes or if your dog has specific needs, you can consult a nutritionist.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A food made in the US, with named ingredients ("lamb" not "meat") and meat as the first ingredient. You can get deals on good brands online, like chewy.com.

I feed my dog Canidae All Life Stages, and sometimes Force which has to be mixed with water.

NP. Agree with the above. And no carageenan/ by-products.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The best dog food is the one you cook at home. You can create an overall balanced diet by feeding a variety of things. There are a bazillion web sites with recipes or if your dog has specific needs, you can consult a nutritionist.

You *can* do this but you really need to know what you're doing in order to give your dog a balanced diet -- usually you need to add supplements and other things to the food, it's not as simple as boiling chicken and rice. I'm not going to argue "best" but most dogs don't have the performance or health needs to justify the expense and effort of doing this right.

If you enjoy doing it and have the resources to do it right, then great. I just don't want people to get the impression you can feed leftovers from the Sunday roast and call it done.

[Anonymous]

I make it at home. I make a big batch once a month, portion it out, and freeze it. It takes an hour. She's totally worth it.

[Anonymous]

Northern European Dog Food. Just as Northern European formula will turn your baby into a strapping blonde child, European dog food will turn chihuahuas into st Bernards.

[Anonymous]

I like Honest Kitchen, but it can get pricey. Check out the ratings for different brands on www.dogfoodadvisor.com. You may need to try several foods before finding one that your pup likes and is agreeable to their stomachs.

[Anonymous]

I feed Taste of the Wild, which seems to be pretty popular with the crowd at the dog park and per my vet. It is probably not the “best” food you can buy but it’s reasonably-priced and my dog thrives on it.

[Anonymous]

I am happy with Canidae.

[Anonymous]

Merrick

[Anonymous]

Fromm

[Anonymous]

mix of TLC dry food and hills for sensitive stomach wet food

[Anonymous]

Purina ProPlan (at the recommendation of our breeder). Tried fancier/grain-free/etc. and our Lab had major GI issues. Switched to ProPlan and he is thriving. We supplement with The Missing Link Skin & Coat formula.

[Anonymous]

I came on here to ask the same question. A lot of the brands suggested so far are listed as "grain free," which the FDA has warned may cause heart disease in dogs (see https://www.fda.gov/animalveterinary/newsevents/cvmupdates/ucm613305.htm and https://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/ResourcesforYou/AnimalHealthLiteracy/ucm616279.htm.) Taste of the Wild, for example, lists potatoes, peas, and pea protein high up on their ingredient list, which is problematic according to the FDA.

My puppy was being fed Purina ProPlan at the Humane Society before we adopted him. The dog trainer we hired said it was "crap." However, I'm thinking about returning to ProPlan. Any other recs?