# What's a good dog food?



## robemeen

I heard that some dog foods put euthanized dogs and cats and zoo animals in their food, and I wanted to know if there is a food that doesn't do that because it is bad for your dog. I also heard that the chemical used to euthanize the animal doesn't go away and gets mixed into the food. help?


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## Shamrockmommy

Food that are "at risk" to have what you describe in them will have something like "meat and bone meal" or "meat by products" or "animal by products" or "animal digest" or similar. 
There are several good foods out there to try, you just have to choose one and see how it goes.
I like Fromm, PetGuard, Merrick, California Natural, Tuscan Natural for dry foods. 
For canned I like Fromm, PetGuard, Kirkland Cuts in Gravy, Weruva, Newmans own, 4Health, etc.

Good luck


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## MollyWoppy

There is also a new food out on the market mid March, Farmina ND. A lot of people have already got samples and are raving about it. My cat has only eaten the one food for the past 4 years, absolutely refused every single other food I've given her, but she gobbled down this food and now won't go back to eating her old food.  If you are on Facebook have a look for it, you can order some samples on there yourself to see if your dog likes it as well.


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## rogerharris

Hello
Generally Foods like meat and bone good for dog.Apart from that it depend upon what kind of test your pet have.Healthy food always good for pets like dog.


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## Georgiapeach

What's good for one dog is not good for another. There are a lot of "good" kibbles out there, but that doesn't mean they'll work for every dog. I'd look for a list of ingredients that doesn't look foo-fooey and has named meat sources - chicken or chicken meal vs. meat meal or poultry meal (and at least 2-3 in the first 5 ingredients). I'd also steer away from split ingredient lists (ex: whole peas, pea protein, pea fiber). I'd also avoid corn, wheat, and soy. I don't like to see by-products either (they can include beaks, feathers, feet, etc., unless they specify organ meat). I personally prefer grain free. I have one dog who can eat potatoes as his carb source, and another dog who is VERY allergic to potatoes of any type. Yes, I buy two different types of dog foods, since the ones my allergy dog can eat are very expensive.


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## Shamrockmommy

Georgiapeach said:


> . I'd look for a list of ingredients that doesn't look foo-fooey .


LOL I love how my phrase of foo-foo ingredients has been coined here heehee! To me foo-foo means all the latest trendy ingredients like flax seed, chia seed, and all kinds of weird herbs with an ingredient list a mile long. 
Lovely as they look I've not had great luck with those types of foods.


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## NutroGeoff

Some foods I have seen have "meat and bone meal" listed as an ingredient, which is if-y for me because, well, what kind of meat? Premium foods will use actual raised livestock bred just for food.


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## Shamrockmommy

I can add a couple more foods here: (Dry) 4Health grain free (at tractor supply) and Source also at tractor supply. Echo's been on the 4H grain free and she has the most SILKY soft coat I've ever felt on a dog. 
Cans: Kirkland Cuts in Gravy, 4Health, PetGuard, Weruva, Fromm, etc. 

I rotate kibble/dry all of the time and they also get fresh meats added from time to time plus all sorts of veggies and fruit as snacks and yogurt or kefir. 

I also HATE to say it but after having such issues with Jack's tummy {poodle} Purina 1 beyond has 1. firmed up his stool/no gurgle tummy! and 2. he eats it! He's been a very picky dog! What can I say!? In another life I'd have been appalled at me even thinking about trying Purina, much less feeding it. 
But, quiet tummy! No more random cannon butt and soft serve to deal with.

So, as you see, there are many "best" dog foods, just depends on the dog.


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## bett

i also like companies without recalls.
it's my thing.


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## Dr Dolittle

NutroGeoff said:


> Some foods I have seen have "meat and bone meal" listed as an ingredient, which is if-y for me because, well, what kind of meat? Premium foods will use actual raised livestock bred just for food.


It is virtually impossible to tell the quality of an ingredient from the ingredient panel since chicken meat with bone, feathers, dirt, ect is losted identically as chicken oragn meat from USDA human grade chickens. But when yoiu see meat and bone meal you can know that meal has so much bone, hair hoof, feathers, etc. that the govt says they have to call it meat and bone meal. I don't need to worry myself about the meat since i am not going to feed such an impure source with all that junk that can harm my dog, especially if they are older, due to all the excess calcium and phosphorus. Having said that though, the phosphorus in Walmart's Old Roy is actually lower than the phosphorus in Taste of the Wild and the same as Wellness Core Grain Free. SO the confusing misleading of the marketing continues!


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## Dr Dolittle

Shamrockmommy said:


> LOL I love how my phrase of foo-foo ingredients has been coined here heehee! To me foo-foo means all the latest trendy ingredients like flax seed, chia seed, and all kinds of weird herbs with an ingredient list a mile long.
> Lovely as they look I've not had great luck with those types of foods.


LOL! Yeas, there are lots of foo foo ingredients these days but flax seed is actually a well researched ingredient that is used oin many vet diets now. It provides lots of Omega 6's for healthy skin and coat, and 20% of the ALA it provides gets converted to EPA/DHA in the dog's body, a great anti-inflkammatory. It also is a great fiber source for GI health and just happens to increase the palatability in the food, at least for dogs. But you are right! Lots of silly ingredients out there. Was just in Petsmart while they were resetting the store. I would say 95% of all the signage and messaging was total BS and meant absolutley nothing....except higher prices!


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## Snowflakes

Hi! I found this article so very enlightening and informative and hope it does too to you. Here's the link > The ABCs on Understanding Dogs' Food Labels > The ABCs on Understanding Dogs’ Food Labels | All in A Dog's Life – A Journey of Man's Bestpal


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## LeonilCraig

Know that, it doesn't mean that it's good food for your neighbor's dog/s it will be good food for your dogs too, there are certain foods that will typically fit your dog's needs.


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## DwayneTaylor

It is good to give healthy food to your dog, you should choose according to your pets taste, by the way the meat and bone is good for dog, it is a healthy food.


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## cuddles

As others have mentioned, you want to find products without "anonymous meat" ingredients. These include ingredients such as "Animal Fat" or "Meat By-Products." As for "good" dog food, there are a few things to keep in mind.

1. Make sure the first ingredient is a high quality meat source (chicken, beef, goat, etc). 
2. Make sure the first 5 ingredients on the label are all ingredients you recognize. 
3. Make sure most of the first 5 ingredients are meat based ingredients and not high protein plant ingredients.
4. Make sure the company does not have a long history of safety issues, check recall archives for recall histories. But note that having 1 or two recalls across many years is not necessarily a terrible sign.
5. Make sure you look for reviews on the product you decide to choose. There are many excellent pet food product review websites, this forum is one of them. Check the review page . Some other excellent websites for reviews are DogFoodAdvisor, PawDiet, and DogFoodAnalysis.

Finally, the most important this is to switch slowly and watch your dog closely during the process to ensure your dogs body agrees with the new food 

Good Luck!!


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## BarbaraKnapp

That's true. Many suppliers or canned dog food do have ingredients that a dog should not have. Therefore before going for a dog food supplier we should always get the detailed information about the supplier.


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## EmmaRoo

I can just about guarantee that you won't find another pet food company (other than VeRUS Pet Foods) who will actually respond to questions with a verifiable, understandable response. VeRUS has food analysis listed with each formula on their website - along with other great information - and if you still have questions, you can fill out the contact form, state your question, and get a response from their VP. They also send free samples. Verus Pet Foods - Home
This is the article that caught my attention: 15 Dry Dog Food Brands That Have Never Had A Recall
I have been feeding VeRUS for well over a year. It is great food, my dogs have done extremely well on it. It's definitely worth a look.


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## bett

having had a horrid situation with my 3 labs (at the time) with diamond several years ago, i try very hard to use foods that haven't had a recall which in itself is very difficult.
fromm, a company that has been around for nearly 100 yrs (and i think discovered the vaccine for distemper but i could be wrong on that or you might not think that a good thing) had one recent recall. and they recalled on their own because there was either too much or too little of a vitamin.
and they have very good customer service so....for my one dog that eats kibble it's fromm and eli was raw bred and i continue with food from haretoday which is ground fine for him (french bulldog) with bones, and innards. no issues ever from them but not cheap. good thing he's 25 lbs. 
but i am very careful in terms of recalls.my only wise words of advise.


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## bett

fyi-fromm 1800 325-6331 danielle is the nutritionist and very happy to speak with you about any issues you may have-dogs with sensitivities to grains, for example, and anything else.and she even calls back if she's busy.


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## EmmaRoo

bett- good to know! I think that regardless of the manufacturer, we need to shout loudly about these companies that are CAREFUL, have no recalls while being in business a long time, and who actually respond to the consumer.


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