Good vs. Bad Dog Food, what do you feed your dogs?

[greyshadows]

New to the forums and want to know what most here feed their dogs. Not sure what good dog food is anymore since the 2008 recalls where we found out that supposed great foods were made in the same factories as the cheapest supermarket brands. I saw a few sick and dying dogs with that recall and I told myself I would never feed any of those brands to my pups. Then I began the long journey to find food. Fortunately I have a friend who repairs pellet machines and he goes into many plants and his stories would horrify you. I know the best food is home cooked but realistically I don't always have the time, but I do try. I tried Halo because it was never recalled and it looked decent. Unfortunately though my one Weimaraner has a problem with some probiotics so I had to stop using it. Then I looked into Orijen but my vet said the protein count was high so they would have to be periodically tested for liver issues, no thanks! Now I am using Purina Selects Turkey and Barley. Some of you will say yuck but it is fairly decent (no wheat, corn or soy) my dogs look and act great. Plus as I mentioned above my friend has worked in the Purina plants and he says you can eat off the floor there. I rambled on a bit but for now that is what my Weimaraners eat. How about your dogs? What are your thoughts on brands of foods?

[MissusMac]

I feed my dog prey model raw, a species-appropriate diet. My thoughts on the brands of dog food out there today are not very high. Sure, some are better than others but now that I know what I do about dry dog food I could never, in good conscience, feed it again.

[Sprocket]

I feed raw animal parts. Mostly muscle meats, fat, bone and organs. There is the odd part like eye balls and brains. They like those too

[biancaDB]

This forum has given me the confidence to feed a PMR (raw) diet when I get the new pup. Like MissusMac said, now that I know all about dry pet food I will never feed it after I've successfully transitioned my cat to raw. After joining this board, I just think of a piece of kibble and a piece of raw chicken and I know which one makes more sense

[ciaBrysh]

I feed PMR but before that I have fed the following kibbles
Raj started with Science diet (back when I was naive and just got him from the shelter) then over to TOTW
Willow was on TOTW from day one until I switched both dogs to Raw just over a month ago.

[PDXdogmom]

You posted in the "dry and canned" forum; so I assume you're looking for some answers by those who also feed kibble.

I've tried dozens of brands for a variety of reasons. My current thinking: There is no company that is 100% reliable, but some are more reliable than others. You don't have to pay a ton to get a decent dog kibble. There is too much "window-dressing" to many kibbles in that having eggplant, figs, lemon balm, watercress, pear, etc. is all about appealing to the human. Moderation of proteins and fats works best for many dogs. I would pay extra to not have certain ingredients in a dog kibble. I'm leaning toward the "simpler is better" theory. And finally, there is a huge variation of opinion about all this.

[Unosmom]

I fed variety of kibble starting with nutro, then slowly switching over to grain free which included rotation of acana, natures variety, earthborn, taste of the wild, blue buffalo wilderness, etc. Out of those my dog did best on acana. I decided to switch to raw 4 months ago and so far he's been doing well. More energy, better muscle tone, cleaner teeth, smaller poops, nice coat, so I dont plan on switching anytime soon unless I wont be able to afford it for some reason(thanks to craigslist and freecycle I get most of the meat for free).

My main issue with Purina is their deceptive advertisement (most brands skew the truth to some extent), for example, look at the ingredients of the food you feed:

Turkey, brewers rice, pearled barley, chicken meal (natural source of glucosamine), corn gluten meal, oat meal, animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols (form of Vitamin E), dried egg product, fish meal (natural source of glucosamine), pea fiber, dried beet pulp, fish oil, animal digest, calcium phosphate, potassium chloride, salt, L-Lysine monohydrochloride, calcium carbonate, dried tomatoes, blueberry pomace, dried sweet potatoes, Vitamin E supplement, zinc proteinate, manganese proteinate, choline chloride, ferrous sulfate, L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (source of Vitamin C), niacin, copper proteinate, Vitamin A supplement, calcium pantothenate, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin supplement, Vitamin B-12 supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride, garlic oil, folic acid, Vitamin D-3 supplement, calcium iodate, biotin, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), sodium selenite.

First ingredient is turkey, but keep in mind that ingredients are listed based on weight prior to extrusion, since meat is 80% water, once its cooked, it slides down the list. So you are primarily feeding brewers rice, barley and little bit of chicken meal.

Brewers rice-dried extracted rice residue resulting from manufacture of beer or wort

corn gluten- dried corn residue after nutritious germ is extracted for human consumption, inferior source of protein.

animal digest-A cooked-down broth made from specified or unspecified parts of animals (depending on the type of digest used). If the source is unspecified (e.g. "Animal" or "Poultry", the animals used can be obtained from any source, so there is no control over quality or contamination. Any kind of animal can be included: "4-D animals" (dead, diseased, disabled, or dying prior to slaughter), goats, pigs, horses, rats, miscellaneous roadkill, animals euthanized at shelters, restaurant and supermarket refuse and so on

animal fat- fat of uknown origin, can include rancid restaurant grease or worse.

Menadione bisulfite complex- theres a lot of controversy surrounding this ingredient, its been banned from human consumption due to liver toxicity but still used in pet food as an inexpensive source of vit k.

I would not have had as much of a problem with this food if it went something like this : Turkey, chicken meal, barley, oatmeal chicken fat... etc, but it has a lot of iffy ingredients that most people overlook because they see turkey listed as the first ingredient and thats all they base their opinion on.

And for $50 a bag, its highly overpriced for what it contains.

[Jacksons Mom]

As far as me trusting kibble companies, I at least 90% trust Champion (Acana/Orijen), Fromm and Go! and Now! (made by Petceruan pet foods). I am currently feeding Acana with good results. Less protein/fat than Orijen and a little less rich, which works better for some dogs. They also have a new line out that is the "Singles" line (Duck and Pear, Chicken and Potato and Lamb and Apple).

[wags]

I right now am feeding Champion Brand Orijen and I do feed Acana at times, also Wellness Core. I have fed many varieties durning my years with dogs! Sheesh satrted out feeding the worst like beneful and purina, have fed prairie which I like and sheesh most of the brands now at the mom and pop stores, I like to chit chat with them and find out what they like! Are you interested in kibble foods? There are alot of nice ones out there!

[wolfsnaps88]

Unosmom, You forgot to mention that pearled barley is not a very nutritious form of barley (unpearled is better).

When I look at a kibble, I look at all the ingredients before the first fat source. This makes up the bulk of the food. And with this food mentioned, you have brewers rice, pearled barley, corn gluten meal, and oat. This appears to be a very grain heavy food. Not to mention everything unosmom already pointed out as to the questionable quality. And for that price? You could do better.

Here is the ingredient list for Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul:
Chicken, turkey, chicken meal, turkey meal, cracked pearled barley, whole grain brown rice, oatmeal, millet, white rice, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), potatoes, egg product, tomato pomace, duck, salmon, ocean fish meal, flaxseed, natural chicken flavor, potassium chloride, salt, choline chloride, dried chicory root, dried kelp, carrots, peas, apples, tomatoes, blueberries, spinach, dried skim milk, cranberries, rosemary extract, parsley flake, yucca schidigera extract, L-Carnitine, dried Enterococcus faecium fermentation product, dried Lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, dried Lactobacillus casei fermentation product and dried Lactobacillus plantarum fermentation product, dried Trichoderma longibrachiatum fermentation extract, vitamin E supplement, iron proteinate, zinc proteinate, copper proteinate, ferrous sulfate, zinc sulfate, copper sulfate, potassium iodide, thiamine mononitrate, manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, ascorbic acid, vitamin A supplement, biotin, niacin, calcium pantothenate, manganese sulfate, sodium selenite, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin B12 supplement, riboflavin, vitamin D supplement, folic acid.

No menadione sodium bisulfite complex which is good. They name the fat source as chicken. The first four ingredients are animal proteins and two of them are meals so they don't lose weight due to water loss from cooking it. So even though the first two ingredients are fresh sources and probably are more likely the eighth and ninth ingredients after the cooking process, you can be confidant there is still a lot of good animal protein from the meal. They use whole brown rice and millet which are much better quality grains with better nutrition than corn or wheat.

This is just a food suggestion. I am going to try this food myself for my guys next bag. I like to rotate foods so they aren't eating the same thing their whole lives. As mentioned, Taste of the Wild is a good suggestion for a grain free food. Both of these foods I believe are less expensive than Purina Selects.