What do you feed your dog and why?
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Anonymous
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We have a 6mo puppy. We started off feeding the Purina dog food he came with from the rescue, who recommended it. A trainer who came to our house said that was basically like feeding him Doritos and that we should switch to a healthier kibble. We switched to Taste of the Wild Ancient Grains (note, not grain free - I get that debate). Our dog ate it fine for two months and now isn’t really touching it. We had a couple of cans of wet food given to us, so I tried that and he looooved it. I asked my vet and he said he wasn’t a nutritionist but recommended the brands like Purina that you see in stores and in ads. He said that’s because the speciality brands are grain free (which I know not to be true, so his opinion doesn’t hold up).
Which got me started reading about fresh food and wet versus dry and ugh. Every article recommending one way or another seems to be written by a company that makes dog food. What do you feed your dog and why? |
Anonymous
| We mix Hill's large breed puppy with Orijen. 4:1. She seems to like it. Sometimes I sprinkle a little water on it. |
Anonymous
| Merrick wet and dry combined. |
Anonymous
| I just buy the big bag of dog food at Costco. Salmon meal and sweet potato. |
Anonymous
Forgot the “why” Because I’m at Costco anyway, it’s reasonably priced, and the bag fits in the rolling bin I bought to hold dog food. |
Anonymous
| What is your price point? How much work do you want to do to prepare the food? Obviously kibble is the easiest, cheapest option. Dogs really need more moisture in their diet, so if you do go the kibble route at least add water to it. I've been really happy with Honest Kitchen dehydrated foods. All of their food is human grade, so much higher regulation. Our dog loves it and does well. When I do get kibble, I go with Farmina. |
Anonymous
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We tried a lot of things for our dog with a troubled tummy, and settled on Canidae All Life Stages kibble. It agreed with her, is made in the USA, and is easily available by mail order.
We did Honest Kitchens for a while. I liked it but I wanted something with less prep. If your dog is not eating kibble, you may be overfeeding or possibly the food has gone bad. Dogs are not picky eaters. Most people select their dog food based on human convenience (cost, where you shop, etc) and based on how the dog reacts after eating it (allergies, farts, etc). |
Anonymous
Most dogs aren't...but then you get one that humbles you and absolutely is. I had a dog lose weight rather than eat kibble--it was wild. I feed taste of the wild pacific stream because with my old girl I tried 2933987465 foods (literally over 15 different types) and it was the only one that didn't give her explosive diarrhea. She's been on it for 13+ years successfully. My younger girl gets Instinct Frozen Raw, because I stockpiled my freezer with bags of it on black friday from petco. She goes nuts for it so I can use it as training treats in the morning (I scoop it into a bowl and then work tricks and behaviors with a piece of it as a reward). It's fairly pricey when it's not on sale, but she's only 11 lbs so she doesn't eat much. I wouldn't do it for a lab sized dog. |
Anonymous
| Our vet recommended Purina Pro Plan or Hill’s Science Diet or Canidae for our dog. Many vets recommend Purina Pro Plan, and when we looked at the Sensitive Skin and Stomach formula (salmon), it met all of the criteria recommended by a book on our breed. Our breed tends to do better on salmon than other proteins. Our breed specific rescue feeds the dogs Costco’s Kirkland salmon dog food, but that one is grain free and a lot of vets (including ours) feel that grain free is not the way to go. I get my dog’s food delivered through a monthly subscription at Chewy.com, which is cheaper than making a new, separate purchase each month. My dog likes the food and does well on it, so I’m satisfied. |
Anonymous
What breed is your dog? We were feeding our puppy Blue Buffalo but switched to the Costco brand adult food because the ingredients were similar to the blue Buffalo adult food, and it was significantly cheaper. I have a 60lb boxer mix so we go through a lot of food. |
Anonymous
Greyhound |
Anonymous
| One thing to remember is that no one food is perfect, my vet recommends a rotation diet. This helps your dog avoid allergies and stomach sensitivities to certain ingredients. |
Anonymous
| We had our lab on Purina Pro Plan Sport which is what the breeder used, until it became clear she had a chicken allergy. Originally switched to Zignature for their variety of proteins, but once the grain-free issues became known we switched which was too bad because we liked it. We use Natural Balance Lamb and Rice. It has worked very successfully for her. |
Anonymous
| I feed my dog fromms 4 star dry food. She LOVES it and there are lots of different flavors that I can switch her to for more variety. |
Anonymous
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We rotate through Hills Science Diet, Purina Pro Plan, Eukanuba, and Royal Canin.
Our old guy gets burnt out easily, so we usually have a mixture going. For example, I'll buy Hills this month, and then halfway through next month I'll buy Royal Canin and mix it in. Rinse & repeat. Those were the four brands recommended by our vet along with Costco. We don't do the Costco because it's such a big bag for him. |