Overwhelmed by the choices...dog food dilemma!

[horsepoor]

We’ve fed California Natural for several years, with good results. My 2 year old JRT did great until this last bag apparently made her ill. We fed it a couple of days (new bag, same lamb and rice small bites she’s had all along) and she got bad diarrhea. Put on bland diet of boiled chicken and rice, got better. Added kibble back in, got diarrhea again, this time with blood. Chicken and rice again, plus a trip to the vet (fecal clear of parasites and giardia), all fine again…so really looks like a bad batch.

Found others online reporting similar issues over the past few months, plus I did not know until now that Procter & Gamble bought CN, so that alone makes me want to switch. But to what?

I’ve been on different sites like dogfoodadvisor.com and decided to pick up Acana to try, but the store was out and said Acana has had “kitchen issues”?! So got a small bag of Taste of the Wild to try.

But then I get home and read that TOTW was part of the recall earlier this year. Great. I’m sure (well, mostly…) it is fine, but how do I know what’s best for my little dog? She’d be happiest if we just gave her chicken and rice all the time. Seriously, other dogs hear the crinkle of the cheese package…this one knows when you pour rice to cook and comes running!

The choices are so overwhelming! How do i make the right choice?

[Equino]

I fed CN for years as well until a new puppy didn’t seem to adjust well to it. Now both of my dogs eat EVO and do really well on it.

[SquishTheBunny]

You will hear 10000001 different opinions.

If you like Acana, Petcurean (another Canadian company) has very very similar ingredient list.

There are LOTS of good foods available! See whats in your area, not all stores carry certain brands.

[GoForAGallop]

[QUOTE=horsepoor;6610701]

But then I get home and read that TOTW was part of the recall earlier this year. Great. I’m sure (well, mostly…) it is fine, but how do I know what’s best for my little dog? [/QUOTE]

As I clarified on the other thread:

TOTW is made in a factory that makes 20+ other brands of dog food, all over the pricing spectrum. (IE, the stuff you find at Walmart for $5 bag, up to stuff above and beyond TOTW) There was salmonella found in one of the cheaper foods, and thus everything that was made in that one factory in that one window was recalled, just to be safe. There were never any contaminated bags of TOTW, to the best of my knowledge.

Almost every company out there has recalled at one point or another. When you use so many different suppliers (in the case of manufacturing dog foods) something is bound to go wrong somewhere.

[Simkie]

I have a MASSIVE spreadsheet that compares over 300 ultra premium foods. PM me your email address and I will send it. At the very least, it makes side by side comparisons VERY easy.

[Kryswyn]

My JRTs love and THRIVE on TOTW. I had no problem during the recall, didn’t bother to return the bag as it was halfway gone and had had no problems. Although one of my friends in the PNW swears TOTW killed two of her dogs, she didn’t have them necropsied so there was no proof to take to Corporate.

Glad your little girl is recovered.

[MunchingonHay]

[QUOTE=Simkie;6610753]
I have a MASSIVE spreadsheet that compares over 300 ultra premium foods. PM me your email address and I will send it. At the very least, it makes side by side comparisons VERY easy.[/QUOTE]

Simkie sent me the spreadsheet and I have dubbed it “the Bible” for dog foods. I am always turning to it. In exchange her dogs got a nice ‘thank you package’ from me.

[cowboymom]

Our feed store sells Infinia which is a fantastic food, might be worth a look for you.

When I pick a food I try to find something that I know I will be able to afford in good times and in bad, something that is convenient for me to buy and hopefully available in different towns if we end up traveling and have to buy food on the way, foods that have the quality of ingredients that I’m comfortable with and of course ones that the dogs like as well.

[chicken_derby]

I just switched to The Honest Kitchen and so far so good. We’ve only been on it half a month, but were on Sojos half a month before that until I could get my hands on THK.

If you’re dog loves “real” food and detests kibble, Sojos or The Honest Kitchen may be great choices. It is a dehydrated “raw” food (there is some heat involved in the dehydration process). After rehydrating, it’s more like a slop.

One thing I’ve noticed already is an increase in energy. We went backpacking this weekend and despite carrying a pack near her weight limit, she had a spring in her step the whole time. At agility class she’s got so much juice that we are always straddling the line between brilliance and disaster!

www.thehonestkitchen.com

[horsepoor]

Simkie, thank you, I will PM my email address. Very much appreciate all the responses. Price really isn’t a priority, thankfully, since she’s little and doesn’t eat much! But availability is certainly important. Obviously, pet food is big bizness…there are so many!

The fact that TOTW came out of the Diamond plant with recalls is what bothered me…kind of guilty by association.

Those dehydrated types had me curious as I like the idea. Kind of MREs for doggies! And she does like sloppy stuff.

[Mali]

I tried TOTW for 4 months with my Lab. I did not like it at all. His coat became dull and flaky. I switched him back to the Livesmart brand from Smartpak, within 3 weeks his coat was back and I vow never to switch again. I had heard so many people recommend TOTW, but it didn’t work for me.

[LauraKY]

I was originally feeding 4Health before the recalls. I switched to TOTW and my lab started having ear problems…no infection, but redness,discharge, a little bit of yeast and lots of scratching.

My collie is fed Wellness Simple…she has her own set of issues, but it’s $60 for a 26 lb bag and I have 3 large dogs.

I’m trying the PetSmart brand, Simply Nourish Limited Ingredient Sweet Potato and Salmon. So far,so good. Great price point. So we’ll see.

[ezduzit]

We recently switched our Golden Retreiver to Fromm. Never a recall; totally American made. I couldn’t be happier. At nearly 11, she has the energy of a puppy again and has started to drive me nuts again!!!

We get it from the website. With the minimum order, we get free shipping.
http://www.chewy.com/?utm_source=MSN&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=chewy%20dog%20food&utm_campaign=MrChewy.com^5598

[SonnysMom]

I feed Canidae. Some of their food was recalled since it was made at Diamond during the recall time frame.

It is my understanding that Canidae has their own plant but some of the food was made at Diamond. I seem to remember reading that they have now pulled all manufacturing back to their own facility and none is processed at Diamond anymore.

Any time I switch my old dog from Canidae she starts to chew on herself, her skin gets dry/flaky and her one eye gets eye boogies- like BIG EYE BOOGIES.

[ezduzit]

When I tried Canadae a few years ago, our girl gained almost 20 pounds in a year. I have no idea why except that it was higher calorie than what we were feeding her before and yet lower than what we are feeding her now. She’s not gaining weight on the Fromm senior despite the calories. I think maybe she’s burning more in her new and annoying energy. (said with love)

Every dog is so different…it really is a crap shoot; trial and error. :yes:

[earsup]

[QUOTE=ezduzit;6611525]
We recently switched our Golden Retreiver to Fromm. Never a recall; totally American made. I couldn’t be happier. At nearly 11, she has the energy of a puppy again and has started to drive me nuts again!!!

We get it from the website. With the minimum order, we get free shipping.
http://www.chewy.com/?utm_source=MSN&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=chewy%20dog%20food&utm_campaign=MrChewy.com^5598[/QUOTE]

I am a big, big fan of Fromm. We’ve been feeding it for about 5 years now. All ingredients are sourced inside the US. It is a privately-owned company.

I actually introduced it after trying numerous foods for a dog with significant food issues. I normally feed the four-star dry, however the canned food looks and smells like people food. It’s really good stuff! And no, I haven’t tasted it :lol:

[Snowflake]

@Simkie;6610753

I have a MASSIVE spreadsheet that compares over 300 ultra premium foods. PM me your email address and I will send it. At the very least, it makes side by side comparisons VERY easy.

Simkie,

If you’d like, I can post the spreadsheet here using my premium membership. Let me know!

[SarahandSam]

I was about to switch from Solid Gold to Fromm, but forgot to tell my husband this plan and he just bought a giant bag of Solid Gold. So I guess we’re sticking with that for another month or two. I have liked Solid Gold, especially for weight management with my dachshunds, but there seems to be a lot of variation between bags and my one dog is beginning to turn up his nose at it.

[Simkie]

I wanted to like Fromm, since it’s a family owned US company. But the protein is a little low in most of their kibbles, and when I tried to find calcium levels, I hit a brick wall. They’re not on the bag, not on the website, and the company refused to provide them when I asked. I’m just not willing to feed something to a puppy with unknown calcium values, and the fact the company was unable or unwilling to provide consumers something that is a VERY BASIC value was really fairly unnerving.

Snowflake, if you want to shoot me your email, I would be happy to send the sheet to you for posting.

[Snowflake]

Here it is!

The brands evaluated on the list are:

Acana
Addiction
Annamaet
Annamaet Grain Free
Artemis Fresh Mix
Back to Basics
Blue Buffalo Wilderness
Brothers Complete
California Natural
Canidae
Canine Caviar
Castor & Pollux Organix
Castor & Pollux Ultramix
Chicken Soup
Dogswell
Dogswell
Earthborn Holistics
EVO
Great Life
Horizon Amicus
Horizon Complete
Horizon Pulsar
Innova
Lotus
Merrick
Natural Balance
Nature’s Logic
Nature’s Variety Instinct
Nature’s Variety Prairie
Nutrisource
Nutrisource Grain Free
Nutro Ultra
Orijen
Petcurian Go!
Petcurian Now Fresh
Pinnacle
Pure Vita
Solid Gold
Taste of the Wild
Timberwolf
Tuscan Natural Carne
Tuscan Natural Harvest
Tuscan Natural Simply Pure
Vet’s Choice Holistic Health Extension
Wellness CORE
Ziwi Peak

The brands unable to be evaluated are:

Blackwood
Darford Zero/G
Fromm
Horizon Legacy
Natural Planet Organics

Thank you Simkie!

Dog Food Breakdown.pdf (95.7 KB)