What do you feed your dog?

[Fury]

What brand of dog food do you feed your doggy? Or does anyone here cook your dog meals?

I started feeding Abba California Natural puppy blend and then switched to adult as she got older. She eventually got bored with the California Natural so I went to Innova (same makers as California Natural). She liked the Innova much better but her stool was soft and greenish.

The Innova was too rich for her so I decided to try the Eagle Packs (can't recall which one) but eventually Abba started to dislike it and developed hives. The vet thought the hives might be caused by the corn products in the Eagle food.

I went back to Innova for a few months untill a friend recommended a new product (to Canada) called Canidae. No wheat, corn, or soy products with lots of nutrients. She gets 2 to 3 cups a day and she really enjoys it. Her coat has a nice shine and her stool is more firm.

It's also cheaper per serving than Innova too.

[badkitty]

I have a chinese shar pei he was started on the california natural and he to got bored on the food at the age of about 6 months. I like you tried innova he lost intrest in that quickly i then tried nutra max natural choice lamb and rice and he has been eating that ever since stools are great coat is beautiful soft and shiny and he is now 60 pounds the shar pei are known for skin problems i have had none since he started eating natural choice nutra max lamb and rice. petsmart and petco will give you samples i suggest you try it. a'Ronda and Mr Mojimoto

Originally Posted by Fury

What brand of dog food do you feed your doggy? Or does anyone here cook your dog meals?

I started feeding Abba California Natural puppy blend and then switched to adult as she got older. She eventually got bored with the California Natural so I went to Innova (same makers as California Natural). She liked the Innova much better but her stool was soft and greenish.

The Innova was too rich for her so I decided to try the Eagle Packs (can't recall which one) but eventually Abba started to dislike it and developed hives. The vet thought the hives might be caused by the corn products in the Eagle food.

I went back to Innova for a few months untill a friend recommended a new product (to Canada) called Canidae. No wheat, corn, or soy products with lots of nutrients. She gets 2 to 3 cups a day and she really enjoys it. Her coat has a nice shine and her stool is more firm.

It's also cheaper per serving than Innova too.

[Renee750il]

Hi, Fury

We feed the Innova, and all the dogs like it and are thriving on it. The only problem I have is that the puppies (Shiva and Kharma) like Bimmer's adult food better! I'm not sure if it's because they like the taste better or because it's HIS food. (lol) You know how dogs are, and the two girls like to aggravate him. It's miraculous that he's never bitten either one of them. I probably would have if I were him. Poor guy!

It's good to know about the Canidae. I'd read the name before, but hadn't really pursued it since the Innova works so well for our dogs. A food without the corn, wheat or soy ingredients is great for dogs with skin allergies.

I chose the Innova instead of the other organic products mainly because the Filas' natural diet includes a variety of sources other than meat, and the Innova ingredients are a very high quality selection of several different food groups. Many of the foundation dogs found on the old fazendas in Brazil were raised in such impoverished circumstances that they rarely, if ever, ate meat.

[Fury]

Originally Posted by Renee750il

Hi, Fury

We feed the Innova, and all the dogs like it and are thriving on it. The only problem I have is that the puppies (Shiva and Kharma) like Bimmer's adult food better! I'm not sure if it's because they like the taste better or because it's HIS food. (lol) You know how dogs are, and the two girls like to aggravate him. It's miraculous that he's never bitten either one of them. I probably would have if I were him. Poor guy!

I chose the Innova instead of the other organic products mainly because the Filas' natural diet includes a variety of sources other than meat, and the Innova ingredients are a very high quality selection of several different food groups. Many of the foundation dogs found on the old fazendas in Brazil were raised in such impoverished circumstances that they rarely, if ever, ate meat.

LOL, they wanna eat what alpha is eating.

It's true, Innova is a very high quality food. Unfortunately it seems a bit too rich for my dog.

[Renee750il]

It can be more difficult to locate dog food that is actually high quality, but we can surely attest to the difference it makes in our dogs. Fortunately, there are a growing number of legitimately organic and nutritious foods available; there is no "universal" food that's best for all dogs. You just have to look and compare and let your dog try them out, just as you've done. Most of the organic foods aren't any more expensive than the psuedo-premium foods, either.

Chazhound has said he feeds his Shelties Flint River, and their photos show some beautiful, healthy little dogs.

I found a website of a woman who has dedicated many years to studying dog nutrition and has become recognized as an expert, and was pleased to see that all the dog foods I considered before choosing the Innova were on her list of good dog foods. I checked back, out of curiousity, yesterday, and the Canidae is on her very short list as well, but from your description of it, I thought I would find it there. (www.greatdanelady.com)

Abba's really a drop-dead gorgeous fellow, and it's obvious that his diet is agreeing well with him.

[HellHound]

Pedigree Chum and Markies.

[Fury]

Renee, you are right about the cost of good food versus the run of the mill dog food. What it boils down to is the cost per serving against the cost per bag. Cheaper foods have many useless fillers therefore requiring more per serving to satisfy the nutritional intake.

I am glad I live a city where there are many independent pet stores with knowledgable staff. There seems to be many box pet stores popping up everywhere but the service is as low grade as some of the food they sell.

Btw. Abba is a female

[opokki]

My dogs eat Timberwolf Organics and do very well on it. They've also done well on Innova when I fed it in the past.

[Brattina88]

My dogs are eating Eukanuba Maintenance... I have 3 chain Pet Stores on the same road, (they ALL have the same stuff, how crazy is that?!) and am having a heck of a hard time finding any of the food that you guys have been recommending. I did switch to the maintenance because it has the best ingredients compared to the other varieties. Its so expensive to (esp. when you have 4 mouths to feed)

[Renee750il]

You are so right about the expense, especially when you see so much of it in piles out in the yard! (lol) It's actually cheaper for me to feed my monsters the good stuff than it is the cheaper-by-the-bag foods because they don't need anywhere near as much to be satisfied and healthy. I ran out the other day and couldn't get to the feed store (50 miles away) that day (bushings finally went out in my front wheel), so I had to pick up a bag of Iams just to tide their bellies over for a couple of days. They ate the entire bag in a day and a half, were still hungry, and left piles the size of dinner plates in the front yard. I'll never let that happen again!

Try www.naturapet.com. The website will tell you where the stores are that carry their foods, and even if you choose an organic that isn't one of theirs, chances are an outlet that carries any of the Natura foods will have other organics. It's worth a shot, and sure beats going to several different places searching.

You might even try to talk your vet into carrying one of the organic lines.