Downgrading Dog Food

[MissMommyNiceNice]

So, we have this little mutty dog that is something like half terrier & half pit. We love him, and he's scruffily adorable. Think Tramp from Lady & the Tramp.

Anywho, having been a street puppy before we rescued him, he seems to have lingering junk food attachments. He will eat anything. He's broken into the compost pile more times than I can name. He eats corn cobs. He LOVES to eat corn cobs.

So, the thing is he will eat anything and we've been spending money on Iams puppy. He's not goign to be on puppy food for much longer since we think he's a year old now or very very soon. Plus, his gas is so bad, I just can't stand it. If he's going to have such bad gas from "good" food, why even bother? Plus, it's getting expensive. Please don't flame me, I know dogs are expensive. But sometimes I think he eats better than he really needs to or has the taste for. He seems to prefer the cat food more than anything.

I want to go down a brand level in his food when he goes to adult food. I am looking at Beneful, Purina One, or Goodlife. What is a good middle of the road choice? Thanks for the advice!

[mata]

I couldn't in good conscience feed a dog Iams, Beneful, or Purina. I don't know what's in Good life. The reason is because those brands are full of ingredients that I believe are unhealthy and over time I think they cause a dog's health to deteriorate. Now, I'm sure my dog food choice (one without animal by products) would make raw/homemade foodists say the same, and I acknowledge they probably are right! You can google harmful effects of animal by products in dogfood to learn more-and keep in mind also all the dog food poisoning going on recently.

[greenmagick]

Im sorry to say, but Iams is not a good quality food.

Really, you are not going to find a good food at a supermarket or walmart type place. Even the big box petstores dont have that many good quality foods to choose from.

For lower price, but still ok quality, look at Diamond and Costco has dog food that is not bad. Check out your local feed stores, they tend to stock higher quality foods and tend to be pretty reasonable.

[lovebug]

We fed our dogs Imas and WOW the gas… so I know what you are talking about there! On a whim I looked into it and it really is a poor food. I, like you we concerned about price. (I have 3 dogs all well over 100lbs) we switched them to Taste of the wild. While the price per bag has gone up, the price we pay per mth to feed has gone down! Because it does not have all the fillers in it the dogs get full faster. All 3 have lost weight because their bodies can actually digest the food! And the best part NO MORE GAS!!!

It’s a great food and is 47.00 per 30 bag. Iams for us was 36.00 per 40 bag, but the new food LAST SO MUCH longer!!!

The biggest thing is keeping the corn, animal byproduct and fillers down. Animal byproduct is bad because it can be ANYTHING with 4 legs dogs, cats, road kill, and dead rotting animals. Being that the animal can be dead they don’t have to list WHY they animal died. So a sick (of god knows what) dog can be food for your dog.

I would say if your looking to keep cost down I would upgrade the food you feed. It will keep your pup full longer and bring cost for you in the long run down. With that said dogs will be dogs and he will prob still break into your compost pile!

[greenmagick]

Taste of the Wild is a wonderful food....especially for the cost!!!! And yes, higher quality foods with less fillers etc tend to end up being cheaper, or at least comparable when you figure out the amount being eaten.

Honestly, RAW is often cheaper than even foods like Iams

[greenmomhappymom]

Yes! Please listen to the other folks here...Iams and other commercial kibbles are junk and can do serious harm to your pup.

Try to find a private pet food store to support. Yes, the food may cost a bit more (should run about $1 a pound) but you will find that you will need to feed your dog less b/c it is full of nutrients and real food.

We are fans of Dick Van Patton's line. Our one dog has allergies, and the Duck/Sweet Potato food took all of here symptoms away after about two weeks.

Good luck.

[mata]

Originally Posted by greenmomhappymom

We are fans of Dick Van Patton's line. Our one dog has allergies, and the Duck/Sweet Potato food took all of here symptoms away after about two weeks.

Good luck.

That's what we use-our (holistic) vet isn't crazy about it because it's got a lot of carbs, but at least it doesn't have the by-product dreck.

[lovebug]

Originally Posted by greenmomhappymom

Yes! Please listen to the other folks here...Iams and other commercial kibbles are junk and can do serious harm to your pup.

Try to find a private pet food store to support. Yes, the food may cost a bit more (should run about $1 a pound) but you will find that you will need to feed your dog less b/c it is full of nutrients and real food.

We are fans of Dick Van Patton's line. Our one dog has allergies, and the Duck/Sweet Potato food took all of here symptoms away after about two weeks.

Good luck.

the allergies are why we made the change! we have noticed a HUGE change after the switch!!!

WARNING: thread derail ahead...

for you raw folks...how do you do it? i dont have time to 'make' my pups meals, so how do you do it?

[greenmagick]

Originally Posted by lovebug

WARNING: thread derail ahead...

for you raw folks...how do you do it? i dont have time to 'make' my pups meals, so how do you do it?

I dont make anything....buy chicken scraps and backs, quarters. etc (and other meats) and just toss them in a bowl. Only hard part is remembering to defrost it If I were to buy in bulk (which I should be starting soon) I will probably need a couple hours once a month to get it all broken down into smaller portions, but right now they come from the butcher in portions that last a couple meals so I just keep them in a plastic bin in the fridge or in the freezer.

[LeahBoo]

The costco kirkland brand is going to be your best bet, it is cheaper than most grocery store brands and much higher qualty. If you have a walmart, walmart brand "Maxximum Nutrition" isn't horrible. It's a little higher quality than iams and a whole lot cheaper.

Higher quality food (canidae is awesome and cheaper than alot of brands), has less fiber and more meat. So you feed less and have a healthier dog. I was comparing, and found that canidae is comparable in price to purina and such because you feed SO MUCH less.

Purina one won't hurt the dog but do NOT feed beneful. My dachshund's hair fell out! I got online and read that this was happening to many many dogs of all breeds.

There have been times when I just couldn't afford higher quality food, and at those times, I feed Rachel Ray's brand. Not the greatest, but the dogs do well and like it.

Really look into the costco stuff though!

My sister fed her big mutt pretty cheaply on raw when he was young. She used chicken hindquarters. Thaw a few at a time, and to feed, she's toss the dog and a piece of chicken outside together. No mess, no dishes, happy dog. She'd occasionally feed him some organ meat - same deal, toss outside in the grass.

[Ola_]

Originally Posted by lovebug

WARNING: thread derail ahead...

for you raw folks...how do you do it? i dont have time to 'make' my pups meals, so how do you do it?

Yup, as PP said there is nothing to "make". I buy stuff either at local asian grocery stores (great prices and variety) or in bulk with other raw feeders in my area. We have a freezer in the basement so after a shopping trip I put stuff in there. If I got a 40 lb case of meat I will separate it into bags for daily feeding so I don't end up with a giant block of frozen meat. Here in Canada milk comes in plastic bags so I rinse and reuse those as they are very sturdy, but you can use whatever works for you of course.

My dogs are fed once a day (that works really well with raw) so in the morning I take something out to thaw for their dinner. It's part of our routine - I take dogs out for morning potty, take something out of the freezer, put in sink. It's quite simple - I either choose something with bone in it (i.e. chicken leg quarters, pork hocks) or one meat item and one bone item (i.e. beef heart and pork neck bones). Then in the evening I put said items on a plate and carry them to the dogs' crates where they eat on the floor. Easy peasy. A couple of times per week I'll add a piece of organ meat (usually liver, kidney, or spleen) and if I've forgotten to thaw something we do a small meal (something like eggs and chicken feet which don't require thawing) and compensate by feeding a bigger meal the next day.

[MissMommyNiceNice]

We don't have a costco really near here. It's a county over and it wouldn't be worth it to keep a membership & travel just for dog food. We belong to BJ's. Does anyone have any experience with their dog food brands? That's where we usually buy his food...

[mom2avasteph]

Originally Posted by greenmagick

Taste of the Wild is a wonderful food....especially for the cost!!!! And yes, higher quality foods with less fillers etc tend to end up being cheaper, or at least comparable when you figure out the amount being eaten.

Honestly, RAW is often cheaper than even foods like Iams

My dog is a 7 yr old German shepherd with the most sensitive stomach ever! Since switching her to taste Of The Wild she has been a dream I had tried so many organic/high quality dog foods, and this one seems to fit the best. Most commercial dog foods are loaded with soy, corn, etc.., that are so unhealthy. Iams used to use BHT to preserve its food, if I remember correctly. I don't buy my children cereal with BHT treated bags, so I don't feed it to my dog, either. The less added to dog food the better.

[Oubliette8]

I'm not familiar with BJ's so cant give much help there.

There are many brands that are higher quality tha the Iams you are feeding now that will cost you less though. Most of the following will run the same or less per bag than what you are paying now, AND you'll have to feed less of them on top of that-

Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul (hokey name, great food)
Diamond Naturals
Nutrisource
Exclusive
Canidae
Healthwise

Most of those run about $1/pound which is very reasonable pricing, and the ingredients are better than what you're getting in Iams. Unfortunately with Iams you're paying for a lot of advertising, and not so much ingredient quality. In general I reccomend staying away from foods that advertise- I can think of only one or two foods that do that I would feed, and they are restricted to print ads. Unfortunately it doesn't work the other way- there are many foods that dont advertise that I would not feed either.

In my area, feed stores and TSC carry some nice natural brands. Exclusive is sold only at feed stores, the others tend to be carried in those or small independent pet specialty stores.

[Ola_]

Hmm, I guess I would argue that there is a big difference between eating a healthy diet with some junk or treats, and having the main diet consist of sub-optimal ingredients.

Personally I don't care that much about the brand names, just the ingredients. I like to see meat ingredients as the first few on the list (unless your dog has allergies, then it would just be one meat). Make sure all meats are specified (i.e. they are listed chicken or beef, NOT poultry, meat, or animal) - same goes for the fat sources. Also watch out for the preservatives. There need to be some to keep the food from going bad but some have know issues like BHA/BHT and ethoxyquin. Many countries don't allow the use of these preservatives anymore as they are suspected carcinogens (and they have been used among other things as stabilizers for rubber and pesticides).

In a dry food there is always a carb source, but watch out for ingredient splitting (i.e. having rice bran and rice flour separately to help move the meat ingredient higher on the list when actually there is more rice). Wheat and corn are common allergens and many quality foods are not using them anymore, but unless your dog is allergic to them you don't need to avoid them outright. I still don't like having things like corn gluten or brewers rice as they are simply leftovers from the human food industry so they don't have much nutritional value left and can be of questionable quality.

Some good info on label info, finding better products, and ingredients to avoid.

[GreenKnitPocket]

Hi- I agree with Oubliette 8--- I think Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul is a good choice for you because it's low cost but nutritional.

You can check out the details here:
http://www.chickensoupforthepetlover...dogs/dry_food/

I'm trying to get my sister to start her Great Dane mix on that b/c she wants to save on dog food, too.

[MissMommyNiceNice]

Thank you, Noelle. This is more the type of answer I was looking for. And honestly, I don't have a problem with Purina, it's what my cats eat. We have a Purina factory not too far from here, and the company I used to work for did consulting work on their line. I'm sure some brands use less than reputable meat in their food, but the Purina factory used nothing but dropped meat from the people food lines at nearby factories. The man who had to go there to do the work was a vegan (how I always pitied him!), and if he didn't see anything bad going on, I'm sure it's fine.

I'm definately going to go to the local feed store & check out their selection, but I'm probably going to look at the purina & good life too.

Thanks for all the advice.

[greenmagick]

I look at it this way....some people live to 100 smoking, drinking, and eating horrible food. This does not mean that these things are therefore healthy. It means the person was able to survive, and maybe thrive in spite of poor nutrition. I knew a lady who drank 12 or more diet cokes a day...and pretty much just ate meat and potatoes...no green veggies ever. She was in her 50s, healthy, great energy, and looked great. Does that mean this was a healthy diet???

I am NOT saying anyone is a bad owner if there dog or cat is fed Purina, etc. However, regardless of how healthy your animal is while eating it, it is not a nutritionally sound food. I also would not judge a parent for feeding their kids McDonalds all the time (we just had it for lunch today) but I will not say it is the best, or a healthy choice.

Also, I dont care if purina uses the highest quality meat available.....there is not enough of it in the food. Dogs are carnivores...they need meat, not corn, wheat, etc.

[MissMommyNiceNice]

I bought a small bag of Chef Michael's by Purina today to try it out. The first ingredient is Chicken, and several of the top 5 ingredients are meat related. I gave him a small bowl and he really liked it. The chicken is sorta "freeze dried" like those jerky treats with dried peas, carrots, & kibble mixed in. If it makes a difference in his gas, I'm going to give it a try. Right now Ollie's has the 10 lb bags for $4.99, half off the grocery store price.

Thanks for all the advice guys!

[greenmagick]

Ok, I am not trying to be picky, but that is not a good quality food. Look at the ingredients again....chicken in the first listed, but it is not chicken meal. If an ingredient is listed as just chicken, then the water weight is included. Once you dehydrate and cook it down, chicken drops way down the list. So really, soybean meal and soy flour are the main ingredients. And then brewers rice is not a quality ingredient either.

Chicken, soybean meal, soy flour, animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols (form of Vitamin E), brewers rice, soy protein concentrate, corn gluten meal, ground yellow corn, glycerin, ground wheat, poultry by-product meal, animal digest, salt, oat meal, calcium phosphate, calcium carbonate, natural rotisserie chicken flavor, dried peas, dried carrots, sulfur, Vitamin E supplement, choline chloride, zinc sulfate, ferrous sulfate, niacin, potassium chloride, L-Lysine monohydrochloride, manganese sulfate, added color (Yellow 5, Blue 2, Yellow 6, Red 40), Vitamin A supplement, calcium pantothenate, thiamine mononitrate, copper sulfate, riboflavin supplement, Vitamin B-12 supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride, garlic oil, Vitamin D-3 supplement, folic acid, calcium iodate, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), biotin, sodium selenite. B-5901

Now compare that to Diamonds Naturals Chicken and Rice....which is still a low cost option.

Ingredients
Chicken, chicken meal, whole grain brown rice, white rice, cracked pearled barley, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), oatmeal, beet pulp, egg product, flaxseed, natural chicken flavor, fish meal, potassium chloride, choline chloride, vitamin E supplement, iron proteinate, zinc proteinate, copper proteinate, ferrous sulfate, zinc sulfate, copper sulfate, potassium iodide, thiamine mononitrate, manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, ascorbic acid, vitamin A supplement, biotin, calcium pantothenate, manganese sulfate, sodium selenite, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin B12 supplement, riboflavin, vitamin D supplement, folic acid.

Do you see the big difference?