High Fiber Food

[kazzie21]

Hi All,

I'm looking for a good quality, high-fiber food. Also preferably not too expensive.

When I first got my dogs - they were eating Purina One for the most part with no issues. I did some research and felt we should get a better quality food.

Then switched to Nature's Variety since they started using it at doggie day care. Dogs seemed to get sick of eating after awhile and it was also kinda pricey.

Tried Innova for a few months but then swithced over to Merrick for the last few months. The dogs love the Merrick.

However, my one dog for the first time seems to be having anal gland problems since eating this food - the poops are too loose and she scooted for the very first time (she's almost six). So I'm planning on slowing making another switch to something with more fiber.

But I'm having a hard time deciding what to switch them too. The vet recommended a well established brand like science diet or eukanuba after I got her checked out and the glands expressed.
Now my mind is all confused with reading reviews etc online.

Part of me wants to just switch back to Purina One - since they were doing great on that and it's easy to find, etc. Then part of me wants to get something better.

Would like a recommendation for a food that's high fiber, good quality, easy to find, and won't break the bank. Help!

Thanks!
Karen

[DaneMama]

Welcome!

Unfortunately high fiber foods are going to be the lower quality ones because they are FULL of corn or rice. If you are making the switch exclusively for anal glands I would jeopardize a loss of nuttition just for that, you will get all the negative effects of poor nutrition instead which to me is a bigger deal. Some dogs just needs their anal glands expressed regularly for some reason. It might be because she is getting older and not the food.

[RCTRIPLEFRESH5]

i will get some slack for posting this, but if your dogs arent doing well on the better foods, and did fine on purina 1, i sduggest going for what works best for your dogs. if you feel uncomfortable feeding that, then there's a lot of people wh oadvocate raw here.

but if you want to feed kibble then id say try orijen. they use high quality ingridients, and i think that makes the difference! for a change of pace try the fish formula, your dog may not be responsidng to typical meats, and it could be giving your dog the runs.

[CorgiPaws]

Hi All,

I'm looking for a good quality, high-fiber food. Also preferably not too expensive.

Like dane mama already said, the high fiber foods will be lover quality because the fiber heavy ingredients are generally things very species inappropriate like grains, and corn, which are undigestable and useless for the dogs.

However, my one dog for the first time seems to be having anal gland problems since eating this food - the poops are too loose and she scooted for the very first time (she's almost six). So I'm planning on slowing making another switch to something with more fiber.

Some dogs honestly just develop these kinds of issues with age, and some breeds are more prone to anal gland issues. The good news is, anal glands are super easy to express, and it only takes a minute.

But I'm having a hard time deciding what to switch them too. The vet recommended a well established brand like science diet or eukanuba after I got her checked out and the glands expressed.
Now my mind is all confused with reading reviews etc online.

Vets are not well trained on the topic of canine nutrition, so good for you for venturing out on your own to find the truth! I definately would not go that route. You'll spend a ton of money on a very sub par food that will more than likely cause bigger issues than silly anal glands.

If you are making the switch exclusively for anal glands I would jeopardize a loss of nuttition just for that, you will get all the negative effects of poor nutrition instead which to me is a bigger deal.

...I think you ment you wouldn't jeopardize nutrition.

i will get some slack for posting this, but if your dogs arent doing well on the better foods, and did fine on purina 1, i sduggest going for what works best for your dogs.

I definately would not throw in the towel and go back to lower grade food. A poor quality kibble is not the "best" thing for any dog. Giving up proper nutrition for a quick fix is only begging for more serious problems down the line.



If it makes you feel any better, we just got a 3.5 month old Cocker Spaniel puppy a couple weeks ago, whom I'm pretty sure was not properly cared for before we got her, as she came to us with an ear infection and impacted glands, and I am doing her glands about three times a week right now, and get stuff out of them each and every time.

[luvMyBRT]

I agree in not going back to a low quality kibble. For the most part any food you can find at a grocery store or walmart is generally a kibble you will want to stay away from.

I totally know what you mean about not breaking the bank!

I just switched my older GSH Pointer to Taste of the Wild. She is eating the High Prairie formula with bison, venison, lamb meal, and chicken meal being the first four ingredients. She loooooves it! TOTW is a quality grain free kibble that costs a bit less than others. I live in a small town in eastern Oregon and have been able to find it, so I am sure that it can be easily found. If you go to their website it will tell you where they sell it.

[mstngchic2012]

TOTW can be found in Tractor Supply Companies and ordered on there website if neccessary.

[luvMyBRT]

TOTW can be found in Tractor Supply Companies and ordered on there website if neccessary.

Yeah. I found mine at a small local dog and cat food store. They also carry it at farm supply stores like "Dels". Even if it's not listed on the website that it's sold in your area I would call around to your pet stores and farm supply stores as they may have it in stock.

Another thing is that if you do find a nice local pet store they may be able to special order for you. The small dog food store where I get my TOTW is going to special order me a quality puppy food that normally I would not be able to find in my town.

[rannmiller]

Have you tried any grain-free kibble brands yet? Often grain-free foods have much more digestible ingredients and less filler so it leads to smaller, firmer stools. Also, how long exactly have your dogs been on the Merrick? It sounds like they've been switching brands a lot lately, maybe it's just a digestive reaction to being switched so much? I would definitely not recommend going back to Purina One. Aside from all the obviously low quality ingredients their products contain, they also have menadione sodium bisulfite which has been deemed so toxic by the FDA that it was banned for use in human foods, but because the pet food industry has very few regulations, is still allowed in pet foods.

Food for thought.

[wags]

I know Innova Senior has a nice fiber content in it also you could try even adding metamucal to the dog food. This is safe for dogs if they are having problems!

[lilbabyvenus]

If you're familiar with the Wellness line, they have a Core reduced fat forumla, that is 8.5% fiber. I've been looking at other bigger brands and from what I can see that has the highest fiber content. It is only 33% protein, but I guess I'm not sure if you were looking for a high protein diet either.

ETA: http://www.wellnesspetfood.com/dog_w...n_reduced.html