What do you feed your dog?

[Sol_y_Paz]

What brand do you feed?  Why did you choose that brand?

Or do you feed raw or home make your own dog food?  Why did you choose raw/home made?  

How much does each dog go through as far as their food per month?  

I feed Taste of the Wild and chose that brand based on ingredients and cost.  I also home make dog food using beef or chicken with leftovers like baked veggies, eggs, oatmeal and fruits.  Each dog on average eats about 30 lbs. a month of the kibble, not sure how much in the homemade food.  

[starrlamia]

i've fed a variety of things, orijen, acana, fromm, TOTW, natural balance, raw and most currently Go!. We switch food quite a bit because my bully has sensitivities so finding something that doesnt irritate him is tricky, he is also a picky eater so gets bored of food halfway through the bag. Raw was probably my favourite, if you do it correctly it is very cost effective and good for them, but we had to stop due to a lack of car to go buy in bulk.

[kythe]

I used Blue Wilderness for a long time because it is grain free and does not use meat by-products.  But then I ran into a financial tight spot and switched to the cheapest store brand to save money.  The biggest difference I noticed was the dogs' smell, especially my small dog.  I didn't notice an odor on them until they started using the store brand, but then they smelled awful.  It's not about needing grooming, they just had a really strong body odor.

Now I've switched back to an all natural brand called Core.  I had never heard of it before, but it also seems grain free and by-product free, so I figured I would try it out.  I've heard Taste of the Wild recommended, but my nearest pet store doesn't seem to carry it.

[Mirzam]

I feed raw (prey model) and have since we got Oscar as a 9 week old puppy. I chose raw because dogs are carnivores and should be eating raw meat and bones. I don't feed my children highly processed food, so I saw no reason to feed my dog that kind of nutrition either. He is doing really well on a raw diet, fantastic coat, great muscle tone, clean teeth and no doggy smell.

[starrlamia]

by products arent a bad thing unless it is the main meat ingredient.

[onlyzombiecat]

Originally Posted by Sol_y_Paz 

What brand do you feed?  Why did you choose that brand?

Or do you feed raw or home make your own dog food?  Why did you choose raw/home made?  

How much does each dog go through as far as their food per month?  

We have 2 dogs. One dog is about 25 lbs and the other is about 8 lbs.

We feed them raw meat, bones and organs. Chicken is easiest for us to get so that is what they have the most. Sometimes they get vegetable scraps, eggs or bread crusts but it isn't a major part of their daily diet.

We chose to move to a raw diet with our first dog because store bought food seemed to cause him issues. His system just seems very sensitive.

When we took in our second dog she was overweight, wheezy, had very bad breath and didn't look too healthy. Some of her teeth had had to be removed in her previous home because of decay. She had been fed people food and commercial dog food. I wasn't sure she could do a raw diet but she immediately went for the other dog's food so we gave her some of her own. She lost some weight and seems much healthier and energetic.

Both dogs have nicer teeth, breath and better feeling coats after being raw fed.

First dog usually gets one chicken quarter a day and second dog gets 1 chicken leg. If we are feeding something else it would probably be an equivalent amount. We buy them food weekly. I don't know how much they would each go through in a month.

[hippy mum]

We feed raw here too.  Have for 4 years.  It's the natural diet for dogs and cats. Cats can get away with even less carbs too.  My dogs are big-75 and 100#, so it's about $25 wk maybe for us to feed them.  Depends on sales and what I buy.  If I bought in bulk it would be cheaper, but I don't have a freezer to get the amount needed for them.  A raw food co op is pretty cheap as well, it's bulk buying normally.  If my dogs were small, it would be a lot less per month to feed them.  

 Mine two are very healthy.  Now I was able to find a grain/rice free kibble to give them while travelling and they were fine.  But the cost would be at least double what I pay now per month for them if I switched.

[sk8boarder15]

I'd love to feed RAW but with 5 rescue dogs I don't have the time and money. Less expensive food means more lives saved... 

Does anyone know a FISH based grain free dog food that is affordable? One of my dogs has awful allergies and we've found that fish based food works well for him. We are currently feeding Natural Balance LID Fish and Sweet Potato, Would like to find something a little cheeper if its out there. This is almost$50 a large bag and we go though that in a WEEK. 

[starrlamia]

i dont know about price where you have lived but I have used, TOTW and Go! fish based foods and they are great.

[kythe]

Originally Posted by starrlamia 

by products arent a bad thing unless it is the main meat ingredient.

Why do you say that?  Most dog food brands seem to have some kind of grains as the main ingredient, with by-products second or third.

[Ramzubo]

We feed Taste of the Wild. One of our dogs was sick a lot before we switched to grain free. She still has itchiness on grain-free brands other than TOTW. I would love to do raw but the price is too much for us with great danes. We already buy our meat in bulk, but it is not cheap in our area.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sk8boarder15 

I'd love to feed RAW but with 5 rescue dogs I don't have the time and money. Less expensive food means more lives saved... 

Does anyone know a FISH based grain free dog food that is affordable? One of my dogs has awful allergies and we've found that fish based food works well for him. We are currently feeding Natural Balance LID Fish and Sweet Potato, Would like to find something a little cheeper if its out there. This is almost$50 a large bag and we go though that in a WEEK. 

We tried Taste of the Wild Salmon (Pacific Stream), but the dogs wouldn't eat it. Even mixing it in with their Bison version the dogs picked out the Bison and left the salmon kibble. Here the large bag runs about $50 so not going to save you any money either.

[starrlamia]

by products shouldnt be the main source of meat, however by products are mostly organ, which are essential for a healthy dog, and something that raw feeders are very familiar with.

 

Originally Posted by kythe 

Why do you say that?  Most dog food brands seem to have some kind of grains as the main ingredient, with by-products second or third.

[sk8boarder15]

You get it! One of my dogs is an Irish Wolfhound, probably eats about the same as a Dane! The other is a very active GSD, then I have 3 little guys that all eat one cup a day. 

We go though 17 cups of food on an average day here. Its a little crazy. :p 
 

Originally Posted by Ramzubo 

We feed Taste of the Wild. One of our dogs was sick a lot before we switched to grain free. She still has itchiness on grain-free brands other than TOTW. I would love to do raw but the price is too much for us with great danes. We already buy our meat in bulk, but it is not cheap in our area.

Quote:

We tried Taste of the Wild Salmon (Pacific Stream), but the dogs wouldn't eat it. Even mixing it in with their Bison version the dogs picked out the Bison and left the salmon kibble. Here the large bag runs about $50 so not going to save you any money either.

[zebra15]

We use California Natural Grain Free Lamb.  2 French Bulldogs that can NOT tolerate grains or chicken (ya nice huh?) and one Bernese Mtn Dog.  Probably 4 cups a day plus some treats for everyone..  Treats are also grain/chicken free.  CN also makes a Kangaroo formula but it costs MORE than the Lamb so we only tried it once.  I've found switching anything with the frenchie diet causes massive gas and upset tummies.  The berner, well she just eats damn near anything but since the frenchies can't be trusted, everyone gets the same!

CNGF is $75 for 30#

[sk8boarder15]

Stopped buying anything from Innova (like California Natural) since they got bought out by Proctor and Gamble. Watch out, they have a tendency, to slowly cut corners over time... making a once quailty dog food, crappy. 

[tinuviel_k]

We feed our dog a raw diet. She gets chicken quarters, venison scrap, whole raw sardines, pork feet, beef, eggs, organ meats, and some blended veggies as treats (she likes them and eats a lot of grass if she doesn't get them). She is 70 lbs and gets about 20-24 oz of food a day. We spend about $65-80 a month on food, depending on what we can get. Most of her food averages out to $1.50 a pound, but some is about $1.00 and others are more like $3.50/lb.
We've been doing raw for 14 months, with a two month break.

She is so much healthier on raw. Her teeth look great, her coats is beautiful, she doesn't have the doggy smell, and her poop is 1/4 the size. We went back on grain-free kibble for two months to try it out and within a month she started smelling like a dog, her poop was enormous and harder to pick up, she began getting yellow build-up on her teeth, and started having gas. We're back on raw and it is great!

[JamieCatheryn]

We feed Taste of the Wild High Prarie, overall my coonhound does well on it, shiny coat, healthy poop, filled out to her ideal weight and stayed there. But she is gassy, so I'm considering switching to their poultry formula (something about a swamp in the name? purple bag?). Her breath isn't great either but eh she's a dog. Tried some raw chicken before but she swallows things whole and got a bone stuck for a while once, and threw up the giblets the other time. She just finally learned to chew her kibble, she didn't because she was a stray (runaway I'm sure, prey drive and all), a shelter dog for 5 months, and then we got her. Now that's she's been here a few months she no longer bolts her food or tries to run away, it's nice having her trust us more. If we can afford it one day maybe a diet of raw beef or venison with big bones she couldn't swallow could work, or boneless chicken+organs and some red meat bones. For us humans right now we have to keep the meat near $1/lb and limited quantity most of the time so I'll hold off on treating the dog.

[Doodlebugsmom]

Natural Balance bison and sweet potato, grain-free. It's been great for our Great Pyrenees mix. She's been eating it since she was a pup.

[sk8boarder15]

With nearly all these companies being recalled I'm wondering if its time to switch?? But to WHAT? Now natural balance, and Taste of the Wild have had recalls! 

[starrlamia]

i would switch to a company that isnt diamond and doesnt use chinese ingredients, acana, orijen, horizon, Go!, Nature's Logic