Dog food?

[Jerbear4592]

what is the best and healthyest dog food for dogs?

[PitOnTheProwl]

Depends what your doing with your dog. All mine get Nutro brand

My weight pullers use to get Blue Diamond but its really pricey.

[deto360]

^^^blue and i got a 2yr old rotti

[Alexandra V]

I work at a pet food store, so... here goes.

For most dogs (especially working dogs and high-energy dogs) it's best to put them on a grain-free food such as Fromm, Taste of the Wild, etc. as they contain no grains (which are pretty hard on them for digesting) and no by-products (eyes/feet/beaks of animals) and no fillers (corn, wheat, soy) and their main energy when eating this food will be coming from proteins (usually meats or meat meal) and vegetables.

However, for small dogs (besides Boston Terriers) and lower-energy dogs holistic foods are better because they aren't as rich. There are brands such as Chicken
Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul (which comes in four formulas) and Pure Vita, among others, since they also contain no by-products or fillers, but do contain some grain and are therefore lighter and easier on the livers of smaller dogs since there is slightly less protein and fats.

[lk_holla]

+2 on the grain free

the most important thing is to avoid any potential allergy problems. lots of cheaper foods have corn and other grains that many dogs have allergies to.

If you go to dog forums you'll see all sorts of arguments about what the best way is, e.g. raw, canidae (the list goes on forever)

my 2 yo rottie is on Wellness CORE, and is doing fantastic.

[brenttos]

I breed American Bullys and i feed my dogs kirkland which is costco brand and they all excel on these foods i use the puppy food and mix it 50 50 for adults

[Swingline0.0.1]

I need to find a formula that is for very active dogs. My dachshund never stops, he is very muscular, but a little bit too lean. Right now he eats Royal Canine for Dachshunds. Any suggestions?

[BPelizabeth]

I have a paper study done on different dog foods...

Innova is a really good food but very pricey if you have large dogs. Plus with my German Shepard mix he had the WORST toots ever. Stinky as all get out. The second on the list was Blue Buffalo. We just switched our dogs over to Taste of the Wild. We are slowly mixing it right now but they seem to be taking it very well. (taste of the wild was not in the study)

The reason for our switch is that our German Shepard mix...who is turning 3 is starting to go through his "change". He is starting to thicken up and become an adult so to speak. We wanted to make sure that he had all the protien that he needed for this transition. Litterally we are seeing his face and body change so much every day. Freaks me out. No more goofey tall...big headed dog. Awww....who am I kidding...he is still cute as a button.

[SlitherinSisters]

This is a great site to use when deciding which brand to use http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/5-star Look for something without fillers, corn, by-products, ANY dies, etc. Science Diet is no better than Purina from Wal-Mart so don't waste your money on it. I've had this discussion with my vet and she did eventually say they get paid to sell it/recommend it and she knows it's crap.

I need to find a formula that is for very active dogs. My dachshund never stops, he is very muscular, but a little bit too lean. Right now he eats Royal Canine for Dachshunds. Any suggestions?

Royal Canin looks really good and they have all the special things wrote all over the bag, and that it's recommend by vets, etc etc etc. Bottom line, if it's recommended by vets be leery of the product. Vets have a lot of say so when it comes to pets and with that comes companies that are trying to make money using the venue of high status specialists. Royal Canin isn't terrible, but for the price you could get something much better. I'm guessing you feed Adult Mini, they don't have it for each breed on this site, but here is a break down. Anything with corn in it isn't worth buying IMO. http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/5-star [sorry it won't link directly to the page you'll have to click on it, it's on the 3 star page] Like I said for the money you are spending on that food you could get some high quality food, probably for less.

I'm really happy with my Diamond large breed lamb and rice, it rates 4 stars on that site and Athena really filled out on it. They have a small breed lamb and rice formula. From what I've found it's the best price for a quality dog food. I pay $36 for a 40 pound bag, less than $1 a pound, you can't beat that! Diamond can be found at most farm stores, and for MUCH less than other places. I was paying over $50 for a 35 pound holistic brand before, I was happy to switch to Diamond especially when Athena started filling out!

I also feed my cats Diamond, they have lost weight and love it! Even Mr. Fatty McFattington has lost a couple pounds!

[Alexandra V]

I also feed my cats Diamond, they have lost weight and love it! Even Mr. Fatty McFattington has lost a couple pounds!

Really?! I need to find this food then. I hope they sell it here in Canada. I'm struggling to get the cats' weights down on Chicken Soup Adult Light, which is the lightest formula I can find around here...