which dog food is best?

Dogs don't have issues with saturated fats to the extent that we humans do. If you ask me, I think venison is a more natural protein source for a dog than chicken.

With Omega 3 to Omega 6 fatty acid ratios, the lower the better! This explains it: http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=fattyacids

If you are concerned about the protein and fat then why not check out one of their different formulas? The Black Forest is the lowest of them all. I personally think Timberwolf is worth the extra $. They add Taurine and Carnitine which are hard to find in other foods. There Omega ratio is amazing and also a rare find. I feed it to my dogs and am amazed!

This is interesting, and good to know.


Statements like this are dangerous. Excess Omega-3 is unhealthy in dogs just as it is in humans, as I discussed in this thread: http://www.chazhound.com/forums/showthread.php?t=46687&page=3

You must aim at finding the right *balance* between Omega-3 and Omega-6. It's true that most diets are heavy on the Omega-6 side, but getting out of balance on the Omega-3 side is also dangerous.


I looked at the others as well, but they all had their own problems. First of all, none of the others have glucosamine, which (based on what I've read) is essential for any adult dog over 35-40 pounds.

The "Wild & Natural Dry" has a suspiciously high percentage of protein and fat, far higher than any other food I've seen.

Also, the "Nutrient Dense Lamb, Barley and Apples" doesn't contain cranberries, which from what I've read and experienced is very important for lowering pH and preventing urinary tract infections.

So how do you determine what is excessive when it comes to Omega 3's? I always thought it was about the *balance*...not having too much of one or the other and how they work together. Did you read the link I provided about the research that has been done on Omega 3:6 ratios in the canine diet and how ratios below 5:1 may actually be MORE beneficial?

As far as glucosamine in dog food goes - many foods don't contain enough of it to be effective anyway, so why not just supplement?

I feed Wild & Natural to my dogs. I feel a diet with higher protein and fat is essential for carnivores and my dogs thrive on high protein, grain-free diets. Dogs in the wild don't eat carbs all day. They eat a lot of meat with fat!

You may want to look at the Southwest Chicken and Herbs. It has more mainstream protein and fat amounts, a higher Omega 3:6 ration and contains cranberries. You would have to supplement glucosamine however.

maybe i scanned too quickly, but does anyone have any experience with a canadian brand called "firstmate"? i was only able to quickly scan their ingredients list when i was in the store earlier today..

i found them online, here is a link to one of their foods:

firstmate hollistic

no, don't use Beneful, there has been a recall on that food. Any food is better than that one. but, you probably have gotten good information. I haven't read the other two pages yet. lol

Irotas I am an eagle pack fan. My cats have eaten it for decades. The problem is, Tosca doesn't like it. She eats it grudgingly and I have tried just about every type. I ended up having to mix it with Natural Balance. Finally, I settled on Canadae as a compromise between us.

As I have worked with cats for decades, I am very aware of taurine as it has been known to be absolutely ESSENTIAL to cats for a long time. It's importance to dogs is far more recent. Long story to short, cats cannot synthesize it at all.. but dogs can. It's value to dogs seems to be most important in the case of cardiomyopathy in dogs--as a treatment in larger doses. In the case of cats, it is preventative because of the different way they deal with taurine (or don't deal with it), they require it daily. Both cardiomyopathy and blindness can easily be a result of lack of taurine in a cat's diet DAILY. In the case of dogs, I've seen some studies that suggest it is a needed ingredient in lamb and rice formulas. I do understand why it would make you feel better to have it in the bag but taurine is present naturally in meat and fish. So since dogs can synthesize it, I am not too sure it's necessary in all dog food, but it certainly seems to be necessary as a treatment for cardiomyopathy in dogs. It can reverse it, it seems!

Incidentally, they are studying taurine for humans as a possible useful ingredient for treatment of epilepsy and obesity. Very interesting, taurine is. I'm sure Mordy knows way more about it with respect for dogs. I am going on what I already know about it for cats vs dogs with regard to synthesizing it daily. I lost my beloved first cat to cardiomyopathy decades ago before they realized the importance of taurine as a treatment for cats. I learned about it fast after that...too little, too late.

TWO's food contain salmon oil, which in itself is a natural glucosamine. If you don't like the ingredients, feed something else you prefer Thats why theres so many foods out there. Just something for everyone, everyone believes something and sticks to it. I don't always agree with everything I read or hear, however , I respect everyones choices.

I think there is a lot of misinformation about unsaturated fatty acids being thrown around. I worked at a major government laboratory studying the benefits of omega-3 supplementation on cognitive function so I know the results first hand.

Irotas,

Yes, it is possible to supplement TOO much omega-3 fatty acid. However, it is incredible difficult to do so because the overwhelming majority of fatty acids that humans and dogs eat are n-6. In addition to your dog's diet, think about biscuits, treats, and anything else you feed.

If you use specifically sourced salmon oils or whole fish, mercury shouldn't be a concern. In fact, work that was performed in my old laboratory in 2004 has shown that the benefits of eating fish (from the long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids) far outweigh any problems from mercury contamination, etc.
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?chanID=sa011&articleID=23676D53987033371F526C5C6EB56150

I'm not sure if I understand your claim of hyperactivity. In fact, n-3 supplementation has been used as a complimentary or alternative treatment for ADHD and other attention disorders! I can't imagine that it would cause such issues. (Let me know if you want the full text)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/scienc...serid=10&md5=c6fe59a7d81c699c67e74b7b60a713b3

There is one reference suggesting that excessive prenatal consumption of n-3 fatty acids leads to decreased auditory acuity. However, I spoke with Dr. Adams about this when he first presented the work. He is a toxicologist so his fatty acid supplementation paradigm was flawed: anyone that studies fatty acids knows that they should have used a 2 generation deficiency/excess model. They didn't test the n-3 levels in the plasma, brain, or cochlea so it is unknown if the auditory dysfunction was even related to fatty acid levels at all.

You're right Boxermom. For example, Irotas is right that Canidae has more concentrated calories and recommends feeding less. But for me it worked just the opposite for Tosca. She is less hungry now and isn't gaining weight. On Natural Balance I was feeding her more daily and she seemed more hungry all the time and was gaining weight. She is more satisfied now even though she eats less. Go figure.

no one seems to know about firstmate... but whatever. i found somewhere in town that carries eagle pack, solid gold, and a few other brands that have been highly recommended on here. thanks to mordy's site for educating me further as well as refreshing a dormant memory.

sylvie's previous owners were pretty clear that she's a lamb and rice girl... but never mentioned allergies or any specific reason. they've had her on pedigree and i'm anxious to switch her to something better ASAP. i know its coming up on spring, but she's still shedding more than a tibetan should...

seriously, great thread. i know you regulars probably get sick of being asked the same questions - but i can't say enough about how it helps the rest of us. i grew up with dogs, but it's been a few years since i was in charge of feeding one myself, and it's amazing how much knowledge you forget when you aren't using it. it's also amazing how much the dog food market seems to have changed. i've also moved from the middle of nowhere into a city, where there is much more variety.

i actually had a chat last night with a friend who used to work at petland. apparently, they have their employees take a nutrition class. he was citing a lot of the information i read on mordy's site and feeds eagle pack to his own dog. they aren't told which brands are "better" but instead are taught about all the ingredients on the food bags so they can better help customers. i guess the kind of help from staff you would get there would totally depend on how much of an animal lover that person is, and how willing they are to educate themselves. or maybe it's just this particular petland. they seem to pay a bit more attention to stuff [such as: they won't buy from puppy mills. and even though they will buy from BYBs, there is a home inspection and two checks from separate vets before they will take the pups. not perfect, but a sight lot better than most.]

I looked at the ingredients and the "holistic" line looks a whole lot better than the super premium line. I would double check and make sure that the Vitamin K is not the Vitamin K supplement "menadione" before feeding it. Maybe email the company?

daaqa, if you have Eagle Pack Holistic line available, do NOT hesitate to feed it. I have had a number of cats live well into their 20s on it. The only reason I don't feed it to Tosca is because she is not that crazy about it. But if your dog likes it, and most do, you would have selected a really great food.

thanks! i got some eagle pack today and have started mixing it in. sylvie wasn't excited about the change, and proceeded to pick through the pieces of food for her cheap stuff. i covered it all in a broth after that and she polished it off right away.

I just wanted to chime in here really quick. I got my first dog a year ago, and my trainer recommended a couple foods. So, I found Innova at a local shop and have been feeding that ever since. I never really gave it much thought. Anyway, I go by the feeding instructions on the bag, which means my lab puppy was being fed barely more then my mom's adult Maltese. She thought that was really odd, and decided to try feeding her dog Innova. Well, her dog used to be lethargic all the time, and really smelled bad, and now the pup can jump up on a bed 5 times her hight and she smells fine. I never realized food could make that much of a difference. Apparently a lot of her friends with dogs have switched off WalMart food after they saw the change in my mom's dog.

We also just got another dog about a month ago. When we got her she had that "dog" smell. I don't know how to describe it, but she smelled like the kind of dog you didn't really want to pet. Anyway, now that she's transitioned off the Costco food, she smells just like an indoor dog should.

sylvie's been transitioning over to eagle pack since the 27th. she has at least double the energy she had before, but it's really hard to tell if that is the food or her getting more settled into our home. anyway, her limp has disappeared!

How sure are you about that? I'm pretty sure that's just an issue with lamb-only foods, and most of their foods are made with chicken meal, which would contain taurine. There is one with lamb as the main meat, but I would hope they'd supplement that one.

Taurine is naturally found in meat, btw.

Yeah, so I have no idea what he was talking about. Unless they actively try to leach the stuff out.

http://www.serve.com/BatonRouge/taurine_chmr.htm

Taurine supplement is absolutely critical for cat food. Cats with the deficiency can suffer all kinds of vision and heart problems, including cardiomyopathy--cats can't process taurine so they need the supplement. It's recently been found though, that dogs with cardiomyopathy have achieved health by adding Taurine to their diet. So Taurine is starting to look like a wonder additive in doggie diets. That is why dog food manufacturers are now adding it to their foods.