Holistic Select from Petco

[TheSlingMama]

I know many in this forum raw feed but that's not an option for us atm. So, I want to feed the best dry food I can. We popped into Petco the other day and saw a new food I'm curious about but it's been a LONG time since I "graded" a dog food - can anyone help me out? What do you think of it? I have a 5 year old male pit bull that probably weighs around the 50-60lbs mark due to sheer muscle but he's a little sensitive in the tummy area. He's active but not sport active (we don't weight pull or agility - yet!). Thanks in advance for any help! The food is Holistic Select - http://www.holisticselect.com/

ETA:  My choices are Holistic Select, Merrick, Nature's Recipe, Natural Balance, or Blue Buffalo.  I'd appreciate take on a couple choices - I'm trying to find one I can afford as well.  *Shudder*  Up until now we've had to feed him Beneful or Kibbles and Bits because that's all we could afford.  It kills me because I KNOW they're bad foods.  We're hopefully moving into a position where a better food becomes an option.

[Arduinna]

If I was going to feed a commercial dog food, it would be at least be grain free and made with human grade meat like Wellness Core.

http://www.dogfoodscoop.com/index.html seems to be pretty good at rating and keeping up on pet food news and formula changes. What is good, changes all the time. I was using Innova to transition our puppy to raw from the grain included kibble based diet she was on before we got her and after finding out the Natura pet line ( Innova, Evo ect ) was bought out we switched to grinding up the raw meaty bones for her until she is able to eat whole pieces.

I only looked at one food on your list, holistic select and it doesn't meet my requirements. 

[stardogs]

Holistic Select used to be Eagle Pack Holistic Select.  It's a good food and one I fed for many years until switching to Honest Kitchen for our dogs (we feed Kirkland kibble to our cat now).  I would feed it before I'd feed the others you listed, especially Merrick and Blue which have had fairly recent recalls.

[TheSlingMama]

Thank you.  I'd like to feed Wellness but the cost is just out of any price range we can manage.  It's almost $60 for 26lbs - my dog would be through that in a month never mind the plan to add a second dog in a few years (which will be a large dog like a Doberman or a Greyhound).  So when that happens we'd have to switch food again.  Hm...I really think raw is out for us but do you have any good resources for getting started?  I'll look through it - maybe I'm wrong.

[TheSlingMama]

And can you help me out with the purpose/differences of the Super5Mixes vs. Core?  Thanks!

[TheSlingMama]

Sorry for all the posts!  Okay, so I've narrowed my search to Solid Gold Holistic Blendz Adult Maintenance ($1.67 a lb), Wellness Core ($2.23 a lb), or Castor & Pollux Organix Adult Canine Formula ($2.40 a lb).  Formula wise I think I'd prefer the Organix and cost wise I'd prefer the Solid Gold.  All three are available locally and online so I'll always be able to get it somehow.  Of these three, what do you guys think?  I'm sorry for all the posts and questions - we're trying to make the shift as a family so that includes our dog!  :)

[Arduinna]

The solid gold, the first ingrediant is oatmeal and the second one is rye both of which are grains. I feed raw for cheaper than all those anyway. Sorry for the short post, I'm on my way out the door.

[Arduinna]

Originally Posted by TheSlingMama 

And can you help me out with the purpose/differences of the Super5Mixes vs. Core?  Thanks!

The Core is grain free.

[Mirzam]

Originally Posted by TheSlingMama 

Sorry for all the posts!  Okay, so I've narrowed my search to Solid Gold Holistic Blendz Adult Maintenance ($1.67 a lb), Wellness Core ($2.23 a lb), or Castor & Pollux Organix Adult Canine Formula ($2.40 a lb).  Formula wise I think I'd prefer the Organix and cost wise I'd prefer the Solid Gold.  All three are available locally and online so I'll always be able to get it somehow.  Of these three, what do you guys think?  I'm sorry for all the posts and questions - we're trying to make the shift as a family so that includes our dog!  :)

With those prices you could fed raw for less.

Here is a link to a post I wrote about getting started on raw. There are so many benefits to feeding a species appropriate diet, clean teeth, no "doggy" smell, and small poops are a few.

Here is a link to a post with lots of good links on info on raw feeding.

[Casha'sMommy]

Just wanted to pop on here and say that I recently posted asking questions about raw feed for our dog and, with my Amish food co-op, I can feed raw for way less than the brands you're talking about feeding. If cost is the biggest issue I can't help but recommend you go raw.

Check out my other posts. There are some really great raw info links in some of the responses.

GL and HTH

[TheSlingMama]

Thanks so much!  I'm a little nervous on starting raw but we're looking into it to see if it's as cost effective in our area.  :)