What brand food do you feed your dog and WHY?

[AllisonL]

We had to work w/ our vet to find a type of food that our dog does okay with. She has skin problems and bladder problems. We tried several prescriptions diets and finally found one that she's doing really well on (and she loves it)--it's one of the Science Diet Prescription diets (Science Diet DD--main ingredients are rice and egg). Of course, it's crazy expensive.

[jacee]

I feed my dogs Purina Pro Plan. I have a large mixed breed dog that is 15 and she has done so well with it all these years that I see no reason to switch.

[hoppie]

Science Diet because they have showered us with coupons.Its good but not the best as it has so much corn as fillers.Our 4 dogs like it so so.I will change if they don't change thier formula soon.I have ask them about it.I hope to find something good I can afford.Natures Balance always has lots good coupons also but they won't touch it.Don't know why.

Pet Smart has loads of good coupons in store/mail.Tidy cat litter 3.00/3.19 coupons.Got a lot for the shelter.

Remember when you empty your paper sherdder the shelters can use the shreds for beds.They love to see me coming with bags full.

[SuzieB123]

We lost our Silky Terrier in April from Lymphoma, and since then, we added a second mini schnauzer to our family and we have them both on Royal Canin food. After reading up on the schnauzer breed and their specific needs, I think this is the best way for us to go on feeding since they have the breed specific foods. The Mini Schnauzer mix gives them what they need without all the added fillers as you have to be sure to not get them too fat or it could cause health issues!! The 2 major issues with mini schnauzers is pancreatitis and weight issues. Royal Canin is expensive, but I feel good knowing they are getting what they need to keep them in good health!

[farmergirl]

ToTW ALL THE WAY!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have a 10 yr old rotterman (isn't it funny how they give mutts fancy names, lol) and 2 chihuahuas. Angel, the rotterman, has about every allergy known to man (so much for hybrid vigor). I LOVE ToTW- They all like the food and she does ALOT less itching on it. Completely gets rid of her food allergies, too bad it can't get rid of her seasonal ones too.

All the dogs love it, it is very healthy and I go through about 50 lbs a month. When I was feeding other foods, we would go through up to twice that amount depending on the feed.

Mine also get alot of raw meat in their diet depending on the time of the year (they get some at least once a week). When it's deer season- they get the carcasses and you want to talk about shiny coats and fat n sassy dogs!! For this month they won't even go through 10lbs of feed.

The gas Angel gets on ToTW is very similar to what is affectionately called (around here) the "deer farts". The fact that she is as odiferous on ToTW as she is when eating pure venison tells me that ToTW has ALOT of meat in it.

Oh and Angel acts like a 3yr old- you would never guess that she is almost 11.

[kval07]

[Liz]

Was feeding Innova EVO Red Meat, switching protein sources and giving Innova EVO Salmon and Herring a whirl.

He's having unknown digestive issues, and in that lab work there are minor questions about his high but in range kidney values (but may be normal for him). I'm really glad I haven't been feeding Science Diet, Iams, or any of the other garbage laden "whatever I can get cheap/free/have a coupon for" foods, because I have no doubt the values would be out of range and headed for expensive care for my geriatric beast, not to mention starting the clock on how much time he'll be here for.

[makaylabrianne]

we are currently using loyall which is a branch off diamond.i prefer the grain free for my dogs because one of them has allergies but they can't maintain weight on the grain free.i didn't plan appropriately and they ran out so today i got them some iams to tide them ver til i can get to the grain store.i had a coupon......

[MAL's Momma]

Would never ever feed any food you can buy at the food store unless I knew every ingredient on the label and there were NO unknown animal sources. "Animal by-product" just doesn't cut it for me. Wouldn't feed that to my human family, surely not going to give an unknown to our canine member!

Currently, feed our Lab BLUE Wilderness. It's grain free, all named animal sources, no cheap fillers (which is what you get when you see any type of corn listed as an ingredient.) I prefer either Natura's EVO or the Canadian company Orijen's food (also grain free).

Molly positively THRIVES on grain free. She's peppier, eyes are clear and bright, coat gets insanely soft. No issues with her weight - she's maintained a steady 62-64lbs in the 1.5 years we've had her. Just make sure to follow the feeding guidelines and adjust for your dog's activity level. (A good solid poop is the key - if it's any sort of mushy, you're over feeding, so give about 1/4 C less a day until you get a solid poo.)

As far as primary ingredients, a meat meal (ex. chicken meal, salmon meal, etc.) is a better first ingredient than just straight chicken, salmon, etc. Why? because the meal is already condensed - no water weight to lose during the cooking process - so it 's actually more of a protein source as a first ingredient than say chicken, which might way 1lb before cooking, but after, it shrinks down a great deal. Make sense?

No corn, brewer's rice, etc. Cheap filler fluff that does nothing for your animal.

Grain free food is more expensive out right, yes. However, you can't compare a 30lb bag of grain-free to a 30lb bag of grain food. It's apples to oranges. You need to look at the number of calories and the amount of the serving. Might only need to feed 2.5 Cups of that expensive grain-free food, but if you have to feed your animal 6 cups of cheap food - tell me, where is your savings?

Just some food (haha!) for thought. I'm not an expert by any means, just have done a lot of reading and research - not to mention seeing how our Lab has reacted to various foods.

Oh, and you can get a free bag of any type of Natura food by going to their website: The Healthiest Pet Foods in the World – Natural & Organic Pet Food – Natura Pet Products Click on the image of the two pups running in water - the special offer. Fill out the info and you'll get a coupon good for one bag (5-6.6 lbs) of any of their foods. Great way to try it without having to buy.

[Smee]

Was feeding Innova EVO Red Meat, switching protein sources and giving Innova EVO Salmon and Herring a whirl.

He's having unknown digestive issues, and in that lab work there are minor questions about his high but in range kidney values (but may be normal for him). I'm really glad I haven't been feeding Science Diet, Iams, or any of the other garbage laden "whatever I can get cheap/free/have a coupon for" foods, because I have no doubt the values would be out of range and headed for expensive care for my geriatric beast, not to mention starting the clock on how much time he'll be here for.

I'm sure a full panel was done, but I'll just ask anyway about his lipase. Both of my senior Standards are prone to gastro problems, and over time we've found that as soon as they start exhibiting gastro symptoms, usually their lipase is elevated, so that's usually the first thing we look at with them. Sometimes it goes fullblown pancreatitis and other times we can manage it before it gets too out of control. It's the weirdest thing, and surely it can't just be my dogs. They were kennelmates and possibly littermates, though, but still. They are both prone to pancreatitis and hemorrhagic gastroenteritis. It's an ongoing issue with them-- we've never been able to "cure" it; we can only monitor and control it as much as possible. No idea why.

Another anecdotal experience-- one of my smaller dogs had a gastro episode. She had bloody poo and vomiting, and she went downhill very quickly. Tests and x-rays revealed no clear cause. She went in for an emergency exploratory surgery and it turned out she was clogged up with hair. She's a compulsive licker and licks cats, other dogs, walls, whatever, and apparently had a hairball lodged in her intestine; it did not show up clearly on an x-ray. It's been a lifelong habit of hers, and this happened for the first (and only) time when she was ten years old. We have to routinely give her a hairball laxative just like for cats. Her current battle is so-far-unable-to-get-it-under-control Cushing's. Anyway, just another random thought (the unseen partial blockage possibility).

I hope your dog is feeling better by now.