# Any Ideas?



## Draenei (Sep 16, 2010)

I bought my little Boston at almost 5 months old from a lady that had to give him up, she had him on a dog food called Nutrience and when I read the ingredients I decided I would switch ASAP. I took the 3 full bags to the SPCA and started him on blue buffalo small breed puppy. He was picking away at his old food but as soon as I started mixing blue in gradually he was chowing right down on that and loved it! At his vet visit a few months ago, my vet told me it would be ok to switch him over to adult food.. so because he was doing so well on Blue, I bought Blue Wilderness and he loved it too.

I work at a petstore so I'm constantly learning about pet foods and the pros and cons of each brand, etc. Some people swear by science diet and royal canin and won't feed blue; others feed nutro.. and when you throw food reps giving you information it starts to get REALLY overwhelming and I find myself constantly asking if I am feeding my dog well enough. I have even heard things like, "the protein content in Origen dog food is too high and causes liver problems in some dogs." I thought dogs were SUPPOSED to have high protein diets??


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## moon (Jul 15, 2010)

You came to the right place! Others will be able to help more than myself... but a good place to start is Dog Food Reviews | Dog Food Ratings and http://www.dogfoodproject.com/

they are a great place to learn about dog foods!


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## whiteleo (Sep 7, 2008)

I would even read through the dog food threads and you will get some great info there also!


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## dupersbailey (Oct 28, 2009)

Draenei said:


> I bought my little Boston at almost 5 months old from a lady that had to give him up, she had him on a dog food called Nutrience and when I read the ingredients I decided I would switch ASAP. I took the 3 full bags to the SPCA and started him on blue buffalo small breed puppy. He was picking away at his old food but as soon as I started mixing blue in gradually he was chowing right down on that and loved it! At his vet visit a few months ago, my vet told me it would be ok to switch him over to adult food.. so because he was doing so well on Blue, I bought Blue Wilderness and he loved it too.
> 
> I work at a petstore so I'm constantly learning about pet foods and the pros and cons of each brand, etc. Some people swear by science diet and royal canin and won't feed blue; others feed nutro.. and when you throw food reps giving you information it starts to get REALLY overwhelming and I find myself constantly asking if I am feeding my dog well enough. I have even heard things like, "the protein content in Origen dog food is too high and causes liver problems in some dogs." I thought dogs were SUPPOSED to have high protein diets??


I have a Boston as well as a Boxer. We feed them Taste Of The Wild. We rotate between the formulas Every few months. This is the only food that they both have done well on. We have had great results on all formulas. I have not tried the new Lamb base one yet. I can get TOTW at Tractor Supply $42.99/30lbs Also get it from a local feed store. They can order it for me and they charge $38.99/30lbs.


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## ubershann (Jul 29, 2010)

I work at a pet food store too and the best thing I can tell you is not to go by what the sales reps tell you. I don't think they are trying to intentionally harm dogs, but they are trained by the company they work for, so they don't always have the correct information to pass on. Doing my own research, and getting information for MANY sources, is the best way I've found to increase my knowledge on the subject. I find that if the same information is given by several reliable sources it has a higher rate of being true, rather than just one or two sources


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## kevin bradley (Aug 9, 2009)

high protein consumption being damaging has been completely unproven. Its essentially a complete falacy. 

Sometimes it takes awhile to destroy the "BS" of our culture...like not swimming after eating, "real estate prices can ONLY go up," and sadly, high protein consumption being damaging to our beloved canines. 

You Dog needs meat and lots of it. He'll be healthier for it.


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## k9capture_16 (Aug 23, 2010)

Yeah I used to work at a pet store. I got fired because I refused to recommend their store brand, Science Diet, Royal Canin and Purina. Every customer that came in and asked me what to feed and said their breeder said this and that, I was suppose to point them towards the store brand even tho the first 5 ingredients were corn, wheat, rice, ground millet and potato starch. At that time I was just learning about foods like Wellness, Orijen and had mine on Nutro (gag). One of the reps told me to send people her way as she was in the store for the day and I told her I would never recommend the product you represent to anyone..not even for my mice. She told the manager who then fired me LOL. Oh well you do what you have to do. Pet stores tend to want to hire people who knows nothing about pet food etc. Unless its a pet specialty store, then you find smart people.

I heard that about Orijen too, but never believed it as mine did great on it. Thats why I will not work at another pet store again unless I own it so I can carry what I want and promote what I want. Too much drama in pet stores for me. I do however have a habit of going into petsmart on rep day and playing dumb to chat to the food reps (mostly SD and Purina) and when they show me their food I will say things like "isnt corn bad for dogs?", " I thought dogs were carnivores?"..etc etc while I read the ingredients on the bag. Its actually fun lol. I can spend hours at the store doing that LOL


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## Draenei (Sep 16, 2010)

Thank you all for the information.

K9capture - I have found that out about food reps also, Nutro food reps particularly like to talk on and on. 
I don't like Nutro or Royal Canin and part of the reason is because of the food reps, they bash other dog foods instead of saying why their food is good. 

Is Blue Wilderness a good food to keep my dog on or should I switch? I was considering Go Natural Chicken/Fruit/Veggie food because it's a bit cheaper.


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## 3feathers (Oct 29, 2008)

I don't any any input on this subject, but I LOVE your avatar!!!!!!!


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## k9capture_16 (Aug 23, 2010)

Draenei said:


> Is Blue Wilderness a good food to keep my dog on or should I switch? I was considering Go Natural Chicken/Fruit/Veggie food because it's a bit cheaper.


Blue Wilderness

Deboned Chicken, Chicken Meal, Potato Starch, Turkey Meal, Peas, Chicken Fat (preserved with Natural Mixed Tocopherols and Citric Acid), Potatoes, Tomato Pomace (natural source of Lycopene), Natural Chicken Flavor, Flaxseed (natural source of Omega 3 and 6 Fatty Acids), Alfalfa Meal, Whole Carrots, Whole Sweet Potatoes, Blueberries, Cranberries, Barley Grass, Dried Parsley, Dried Kelp, Taurine, Yucca Shidigera Extract, L-Carnitine, L-Lysine, Turmeric, Oil of Rosemary, Beta Carotene, Vitamin A Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Niacin (Vitamin B3), d-Calcium Pantothenate (Vitamin B5), Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Biotin (Vitamin B7), Folic Acid (Vitamin B9), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Calcium Ascorbate (source of Vitamin C), Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Iron Amino Acid Chelate, Zinc Amino Acid Chelate, Manganese Amino Acid Chelate, Copper Amino Acid Chelate, Choline Chloride, Sodium Selenite, Calcium Iodate, Salt, Caramel, Potassium Chloride, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bacillus subtilis, Enterococcus faecium. 

GO Natural Chicken

Chicken meal, de-boned chicken, brown rice, white rice, oatmeal, sunflower oil, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), potato, salmon meal, natural chicken flavor, whole dried egg, flaxseed oil, rice bran, pea fibre, apples, carrots, sundried alfalfa meal, dried cranberries, sodium chloride, calcium carbonate, potassium chloride, yeast extract, dried kelp, taurine, chicory extract, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus casei, Enterococcus faecium, Bifidobacterium thermophilum, dried Aspergillus niger fermentation extract, dried Aspergillus oryzae fermentation extract, vitamins ( vitamin A supplement , vitamin D3 supplement, vitamin E supplement, niacin, L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate ( a source of vitamin C), inositol, D-calcium pantothenate, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, beta carotene, pyridoxine hydrochloride, folic acid, biotin, vitamin B12 supplement), minerals ( zinc proteinate, ferrous sulfate, iron proteinate, zinc oxide, copper proteinate, copper sulfate, manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, calcium iodate, sodium selenite), garlic powder, yucca schidigera extract, dried rosemary. 

Personally I would stick with Blue Wilderness. As to me it looks slightly better, but I dont think it would hurt to try the other one if you wanted to. Maybe someone else can put their input in as well.


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## Jacksons Mom (Jun 13, 2010)

Draenei said:


> Thank you all for the information.
> 
> K9capture - I have found that out about food reps also, Nutro food reps particularly like to talk on and on.
> I don't like Nutro or Royal Canin and part of the reason is because of the food reps, they bash other dog foods instead of saying why their food is good.
> ...


You can check out Go! Endurance, too. I think it's an awesome food, and it's grain-free like Wilderness.

Turkey meal, chicken meal, de-boned chicken, potato, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols, a source of vitamin E), whole dried egg, salmon meal, apple, peas, natural flavour, tomato pomace, duck meal, salmon oil, flax seed oil, yeast extract, potassium chloride, taurine, choline chloride, pumpkin, carrots, bananas, blueberries, cranberries, lentil beans, broccoli, spinach, cottage cheese, alfalfa sprouts, chicory extract, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus casei, Enterococcus faecium, Bifidobacterium thermophilum, dried Aspergillus niger fermentation extract, dried Aspergillus oryzae fermentation extract, vitamins (vitamin E supplement, L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), niacin, inositol, vitamin A supplement, thiamine mononitrate, d-calcium pantothenate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, riboflavin, beta-carotene, vitamin D3 supplement, folic acid, biotin, vitamin B12 supplement), minerals (zinc proteinate, copper sulfate, copper proteinate, manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, calcium iodate, sodium selenite), garlic powder, yucca schidigera extract, dried rosemary.


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## ubershann (Jul 29, 2010)

We used to carry Go! products until we moved and lost some space. Now we still special order it for several customers. Have heard very good feedback about it. Don't know anything about the other food so I couldn't compare, just confirm that Go! is good


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