Help me find a new dog food!

[SpringerAcres]

Hi everyone, I have a 7 month old sheltie, and I've discovered the food I'm giving him is real junk. What's a really good food for him, and does he still need a puppy formula? I like what I've read about Innova EVO. Is that too much protein for a puppy? I'm glad to have found this website, the choice in dog foods is overwhelming!

Thanks,
Michelle

[rannmiller]

Evo is a great food, but you have to remember that would want to feed less of it than you would with a "junk food" type brand. Orijen is another fantastic grain-free brand that actually makes a puppy formula.

[Scarlett's Mum]

If you look at the Orijen puppy formula and the Orijen adult formula, both are pretty much exactly the same. I would go ahead and feed the adult formula or the 6Fish. Regional Red will also be available soon.

The higher protein is fine IF you don't overfeed. Both EVO and Orijen are high quality foods and their nutritional needs are met with much less food. So if you are, for example, feeding 6 cups of your current food, feed only 3-4 cups of the Evo or Orijen and adjust from there. Because you are feeding so much less on a daily basis, the actual protein intake is actually quite comparable when you look at the amount of protein PER CUP FED and not the number on the bag.

I feed Orijen 6Fish (45% protein) to my great dane puppy with great results. If she was on a grain-in kibble, I could not feed more than 24% protein because all of that protein comes from grain fillers and not MEAT.

[mdram]

i feed blue buffalo large breed puppy, baily seems to be doing very well on it

[BabyHusky]

I went with regular Innova puppy then switched to EVO once my pup got a lil older.

[dk321]

The makers of Evo recommend it for dogs that are fully grown or over 2 years old. My top pick is Acana. Acana is, to my knowledge, the only food that has no questionable ingredients. All the other top tier dry foods have at least a few questionable ingredients. For example, Evo has salt in it. And Wellness has tomato pomace, pea fiber (ocean formula), and fermentation product. One potential problem with Acana, however, is availability.

[claybuster]

The makers of Evo recommend it for dogs that are fully grown or over 2 years old. My top pick is Acana. Acana is, to my knowledge, the only food that has no questionable ingredients. All the other top tier dry foods have at least a few questionable ingredients. For example, Evo has salt in it. And Wellness has tomato pomace, pea fiber (ocean formula), and fermentation product. One potential problem with Acana, however, is availability.

Chicken meal, steamed oats, fresh free-run chicken, peas, brown rice, chicken fat
(preserved with mixed tocopherols and rosemary), fresh deboned salmon, chicken
liver, fresh whole eggs, sun-cured alfalfa, salmon oil, pumpkin, chicken cartilage
(natural source of glucosamine), red delicious apples, carrots, turnip greens,
cranberries, Saskatoon berries, organic sea vegetables (kelp, bladderwrack, dulse),
burdock root, marshmallow root, juniper berries, fenugreek, sweet fennel, angelica
root, sea buckthorn, chicory root, stinging nettle, red raspberry leaf, milk thistle,
peppermint leaf, marigold flowers, chamomile flowers, lactobacillus acidophilus,
enterococcus faecium + vitamins and minerals.

I would question (Acana Adult) anything I highlighted in bold.

At least they tell us some numbers in regards to the protein. The protein core of this ration is 29%. Of that 29%, 55% is meat and fat based, 25% from fruit and vegetables, and 20% Oat and Brown Rice. Keep in mind the protein from Gluten sources has a biological value of zero for carnivore dog. IMO you roll the dice with these many of these kibbles, even with the posh and designer names.

That is why I will only feed ABADY products for my Field Setter. The protein core of my granular feed is 31%. 93% of that protein core is meat based protein (Basic Granular). Abady feeds are carnivore rations, while the industry will openly admit they are feeding omnivores, and the above ingredient profile reflects industry norm.

[claybuster]

...not industry norm with all those ingredients per-se, but industry norm in regards to thinking. I am sure it must well reviewed (Acana) with WDJ, for they too are a mere reflection of how the industry thinks in regards to profit and motive. Omnivore style rations are more profitable than carnivore, and the buck stops there.