Please help! What do you feed your dog and why?

[Anonymous]

Feeling a little overwhelmed with all the choices. Also, do you feed your dog once a day, twice a day, or do you just leave the food out for them to eat whenever they like? Is one style of feeding healthier?

[Anonymous]

We have two dogs, who are fed twice a day. I can't leave extra food out because my cat will steal their kibble.

I have a GSD who is suffering from a recurring yeast/bacterial infection on her skin (it's been the worst it has ever been this last past year) and the vet suggested we try food without any chicken/chicken byproducts. Right now I have both of our dogs back on Orijen Tundra. They have been on and off Orijen brand their entire life, but it is expensive food. We have fed them Kirkland Signature (Costco), Canidae, Royal Canin (GSD specific), Taste of the Wild, and Victor. They didn't really like Canidae or Victor so it wasn't a long term switch.

Usually if I am sticking to the same brand I change out the flavor every other bag.

We did raw for our dogs for a couple of years, but it took a lot of time to do it correctly from scratch (and then we had kids) so we gave up on that.

Some dogs are just going to be grazers, and others will wolf down their food as soon as you drop it into their bowl. If my cat wasn't greedy I would just leave the bowls out for the dogs. I don't know if one style is better than another. As long as they get their ideal amount of food in a day, I don't think it matters?

[Anonymous]

Our 11yo Tibetan Terrier gets Hill’s Science Diet. I know it’s not that fancy or anything, but he’s thrown up any other food we give him (though he weirdly is fine eating table scraps).

We just keep his bowl full and he eats when he feels like it.

[Anonymous]

We feed our dogs twice a day, as puppies they need to eat 3-4x/day.

Our older dog is chicken sensitive so we use Natural Balance LID Lamb and Rice. We had used a so-called higher end brand called Zignature that we loved for its alternative proteins, but moved away from it when CDM and grain-free became a concern, at the advice of two vets.

Our younger dog is very active so we use Pro Plan Sport 30/20, and also use a non-chicken formula so that even if the older dog gets some it's not a big deal.

[Anonymous]

Purina Pro Plan and I add extra vegetables. He’s fed twice a day.

[Anonymous]

My dogs also eat Hills i/d low fat. One of them has a very sensitive stomach and was always having diarrhea or lose bowels with every other food we tried. Hills works well. We started with regular ID for sensitive stomachs, but changed to low fat when they gained a bit of weight.

I feed them twice per day.

[Anonymous]

Well ness chicken and peas for an adult dog who is 15 lbs. 1/2 cup 2x a day. She’s a poodle mix and likes to watch her weight. She doesn’t usually eat all of that food. I usually mix some peas in with it.

[Anonymous]

I have 2 dogs. One very greedy lab who never thinks he’s full and a somewhat finicky shepherd mix who would like to be a grazer but can’t because of the greedy lab. They both get dry food twice a day. We put parm cheese on the shepherd mix’s to get her to eat it though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have two dogs, who are fed twice a day. I can't leave extra food out because my cat will steal their kibble.

I have a GSD who is suffering from a recurring yeast/bacterial infection on her skin (it's been the worst it has ever been this last past year) and the vet suggested we try food without any chicken/chicken byproducts. Right now I have both of our dogs back on Orijen Tundra. They have been on and off Orijen brand their entire life, but it is expensive food. We have fed them Kirkland Signature (Costco), Canidae, Royal Canin (GSD specific), Taste of the Wild, and Victor. They didn't really like Canidae or Victor so it wasn't a long term switch.

Usually if I am sticking to the same brand I change out the flavor every other bag.

We did raw for our dogs for a couple of years, but it took a lot of time to do it correctly from scratch (and then we had kids) so we gave up on that.

Some dogs are just going to be grazers, and others will wolf down their food as soon as you drop it into their bowl. If my cat wasn't greedy I would just leave the bowls out for the dogs. I don't know if one style is better than another. As long as they get their ideal amount of food in a day, I don't think it matters?

FYI, 2-3 oz a day of raw goats milk will help significantly with that skin issue.

[Anonymous]

Retriever who is prone to skin and ear infections with chicken.

She eats Acana no chicken option with grain. During the winter we do freshwater fish as it helps her coat. She gets fed twice a day, in the AM and PM. AM is dry only. PM is half a serving of the dry food plus half a serving of Honest Kitchen dehydrated food.

Cat has the same set up. Dry food in AM but only Honest Kitchen in PM.

Our dog breed is prone to hip issues and cardiac issues. The lifespan of the breed is 8-14 years. She will be 8 this year and has never had any health issues. Runs and plays like a puppy. We do have to watch her weight as increased weight increases her hip pain.

Dont do completely grain free as there are higher incidences of cardio problems in dogs that have been fed grain free. They dont know if its the lack of grains or the substitution products they use like peas.

Good food pays dividends in my experience in keeping dogs healthy and spry during their life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have two dogs, who are fed twice a day. I can't leave extra food out because my cat will steal their kibble.

I have a GSD who is suffering from a recurring yeast/bacterial infection on her skin (it's been the worst it has ever been this last past year) and the vet suggested we try food without any chicken/chicken byproducts. Right now I have both of our dogs back on Orijen Tundra. They have been on and off Orijen brand their entire life, but it is expensive food. We have fed them Kirkland Signature (Costco), Canidae, Royal Canin (GSD specific), Taste of the Wild, and Victor. They didn't really like Canidae or Victor so it wasn't a long term switch.

Usually if I am sticking to the same brand I change out the flavor every other bag.

We did raw for our dogs for a couple of years, but it took a lot of time to do it correctly from scratch (and then we had kids) so we gave up on that.

Some dogs are just going to be grazers, and others will wolf down their food as soon as you drop it into their bowl. If my cat wasn't greedy I would just leave the bowls out for the dogs. I don't know if one style is better than another. As long as they get their ideal amount of food in a day, I don't think it matters?

FYI, 2-3 oz a day of raw goats milk will help significantly with that skin issue.

Ooh, will have to take a look at getting some of that for her. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

I feed my 16 week mini goldendoodle puppy Purina Pro Plan Sensitive Stomach Salmon and Rice dry kibble twice a day with a small scoop of the Purina Pro Plan Chicken and Rice Wet food Twice a day.

In addition, I will give her some healthy treats throughout the day. Handful of blueberries, A tablespoon of yogurt, carrots or apples randomly.

She is a healthy active puppy.

[Anonymous]

When we got our lab from the shelter, they gave us a bag of Blue. She had terrible gas on it. Based on some online research, we switched to Orijen Six Fish and stuck with that (switching flavors occasionally). We added probiotic and salmon oil for pain relief. She died of cancer but we felt good that she'd had healthy food while she was healthy.

Our collie-beagle mix is picky and has had problems with itchies and hair loss from various foods. We've tried a lot, Canidae, Annamaet, Wellness, Zignature, Acana, and we've settled on Fromm for the past year.

We feed twice a day but sometimes they would finish and sometimes not, so often there's food left in the bowl. If we had trouble with weight, we would pick up the bowl in between meals, but we don't have that problem.

[Anonymous]

Hills W/D chicken kibble. It’s not for her weight, but controls her irritable bowel syndrome. Requires a script from vet.

[Anonymous]

All of our JRT's have been allowed to graze Iams kibble - with little gas or stomach problems. Live in the city so happy with the relatively tidy amount to pick up. Supplement with kitchen scraps and lots of milk bones.