Overwhelmed by the choices...dog food dilemma!

[Simkie]

HAHA–I totally forgot about those evaluated/not evaluated tabs, Snowflake. They are definitely not up to date. Here are the brands on the sheet:

Acana
Addiction
Annamaet
Annamaet Grain Free
Artemis Fresh Mix
Back to Basics
Blackwood
Blue Buffalo Wilderness
Brothers Complete
California Natural
Canidae
Canine Caviar
Castor & Pollux Organix
Castor & Pollux Ultramix
Chicken Soup
Darford Zero/G
Dogswell
Dogswell
Earthborn Holistics
EVO
Fromm
Great Life
Horizon Amicus
Horizon Complete
Horizon Legacy
Horizon Pulsar
Infinia
Innova
Lotus
Merrick
Natural Balance
Natural Planet Organics
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
The Honest Kitchen
Timberwolf
Tuscan Natural Carne
Tuscan Natural Harvest
Tuscan Natural Simply Pure
Vet’s Choice Holistic Health Extension
Wellness CORE
Ziwi Peak

If there are blank fields or zeros, the information is not out there and the company was unwilling or unable to provide.

With regard to the colors:

Research shows 28% protein is minimum for your average dog, so anything under is flagged in yellow.

Research shows that over 1.8% calcium is not appropriate for puppies, so anything over is flagged in yellow.

I was looking for grain free, so all non-meat ingredients are flagged in yellow. (I counted eggs as meat.)

The excel version of this sheet can be manipulated in many ways, and anyone can just send me a PM with your email address if you would like a copy.

[Snowflake]

Here are some other data sorts (Fat, Calories/cup, Protein, Calcium, Fiber):

Dog Food Breakdown (Calcium).pdf (100 KB)

Dog Food Breakdown (Calories per Cup).pdf (103 KB)

Dog Food Breakdown (Fat).pdf (102 KB)

Dog Food Breakdown (Fiber).pdf (101 KB)

Dog Food Breakdown (Protein).pdf (102 KB)

[SarahandSam]

Simkie and Snowflake, thank you so much!

[MunchingonHay]

now this thread needs a sticky since the Bible has been attached to it.

[Satin_Filly]

I feed mine EVO Salmon & Herring because of his skin issues. It smells like fish food :dead:, and he loves it! His coat has improved. He has seizures, and the potassium bromide he’s on has a side effect of nausea & vomiting - he used to puke up his food on occasion or more commonly, after drinking lots of water at a time. He doesn’t hardly do that anymore with this food, and no issues with diarrhea. I like that EVO makes treats based off the same formula as his food (salmon & herring)…takes the guess work out of picking out treats for him since I have to be careful with his allergies. I decided to pick out this food for him because of the low carb count. He gets yeast issues rather easily, and the lower the carbs & sugar, the better. EVO is very low in carbs comparatively.

[vtdobes]

I might question how accurate this list is. For instance I feed Acana Wild Prairie and according to this list the protein, calcium, fiber, kcal’s AND first three ingredients are wrong compared to the numbers listed on Acana’s website.

What gives??

[Simkie]

[QUOTE=vtdobes;6613247]
I might question how accurate this list is. For instance I feed Acana Wild Prairie and according to this list the protein, calcium, fiber, kcal’s AND first three ingredients are wrong compared to the numbers listed on Acana’s website.

What gives??[/QUOTE]

I am traveling today, but will look into this when I get a moment. The data was accurate when I put it together, perhaps 6 months ago.

[vtdobes]

Yeah…I’ve been feeding Acana Wild Prairie for a year now and I don’t recall potatoes ever being in the first three ingredients.

[Snowflake]

@Simkie;6613385

I am traveling today, but will look into this when I get a moment. The data was accurate when I put it together, perhaps 6 months ago.

If you do need to update, please feel free to send me the updated spreadsheet and I’ll convert it to PDF. It only takes me a few minutes to do that way, we can keep the attachments on the thread up to date.

[Simkie]

The acana website has been revamped considerably since I built the sheet. I would not be at all surprised if the info on the old website is now dated.

[TBFAN]

Simkie, I sent you a PM for the excel version.

We have 5 dogs with varying needs, and its been very frustrating to keep them all happy and well-fed.
The 2yo aussie had bowel surgery to remove a malignant tumor a few months ago - vet has him on Hills W/D, but he is so thin since the surgery and I can’t get any weight on him with it.
We are feeding the other dogs Orijen 6 Fish, but I think it’s too rich for the 7mo old puppy. He has a lot of gas and burps frequently.
Anytime I ask a vet about food suggestions, they always recommend what they sell and have no knowledge of other options.

Have been considering the Honest Kitchen’s Embark for the 2yo Aussie, and was hoping it would be nutritionally sound enough for the puppy as well.
I guess it’s good to have a lot of options, but it is overwhelming.

[wendy]

isn’t it wonderful we have SO MANY good choices these days? I recall it wasn’t that long ago when you had to select between junk brand A and B with no other real options. In addition to commercial kibble, you can get hold of easy balanced recipes for home-cooking, or you can feed commercial raw or also seek out balanced recipes for home-prepared raw. Canned diets are often overlooked, and may be far more nutritious and acceptable to your dog, too.

Practically anything listed on http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/ as having four or five stars is a fine choice.

some random thoughts:

variety is GOOD. Many of the doggy nutrition experts strongly recommend rotating amongst various brands of the top foods, so you really don’t, and shouldn’t, pick one;

read the labels. Carefully. The most important thing to look at is the amount of carbohydrates and fat in the food; dogs being carnivores, they need very few carbohydrates, and lots of fat and protein. If the protein is less than 30% (as listed on a bag of dry kibble), it’s probably not worth feeding; and the fat should be around 20% for most dogs. MANY companies try to save money by skimping on the expensive fat and protein and put in cheap carbs instead.
Also check the label for cheap protein “cheats”: peas, soy, glutens, any purified plant protein. You’d be amazed at how many companies are sneaking unhealthy peas and pea protein into products these days.

consider feeding fresh foods in addition to your commercial kibble- the idea that we know enough about nutrition to be able to put “everything” a dog needs into a dry lump is utterly ridiculous. At the very least you should be supplementing your kibble with fish oils; adding in table scraps is an easy way to boost the nutritional value of your dog’s diet.

[mroades]

Purely by desperate need ,(had run out while out of town)a late night Publix run my JRT ended up on the Rachel Ray dog food. He is allergic to beef and some other things, and he is an “ahem” easy keeper. I got the weight management kind, and he LOVES it. He seems to be itch-free, has good regular poops, and while I generally despise celebrity endorsed anything, until I hear why I shouldnt do it I am going to keep him on it.

[JustJet]

I feed my Boxers strictly grain free (Orijen or Wellness Core). More expensive, but they eat less of it and there are no fillers. You also might try rotating your protein source as frequently as your dog can tolerate it. Canine’s usually eat a variety and eating the same food over time encourages allergies. I use dogfoodanalysis.com for good recommendations. With dog food, you pretty much get what you pay for and I’d stay away from anything manufactured by Diamond.

[horsepoor]

Those of you choosing grain free, is it because of allergies or other specific health issues or another reason? I don’t think that my JRT has any grain issues, but seeing so many mention grain-free, it had me wondering.

[andreab]

The Whole Dog Journal reviews dog foods on an annual basis–both wet and dry foods. The list of canned foods just came out (Oct 2012) and the list of dry foods came out in winter (Feb 2012).

As far as grains go, according to WDJ, animal proteins are what dogs evolved to eat and many holistic practitioners believe canine obesity, diabetes, and allergies are due to the biologically inappropriate diets fed to dogs.

WDJ looks at the ingredients list–the highest possible inclusion of top quality animal proteins, named sources of any animal protein/fat, whole grains and vegetables, limited (if any) use of grain or vegetable by-products. They also look at the guaranteed analysis, best by date/code, AAFCO statement, and contact info for the company.

If anyone would like the list of WDJ approved canned or dry foods, please let me know.

[Guin]

I use Nature’s Variety Prairie for big dog and am happy with it. I like how they have different flavors and you can switch around.

I also use Wellness Core Reduced Fat for the fat corgi, but am phasing out kibble for her altogether.

She tends to get digestive issues so I’m just cooking her food myself.

[GoForAGallop]

[QUOTE=JustJet;6613948]
I feed my Boxers strictly grain free (Orijen or Wellness Core).

With dog food, you pretty much get what you pay for and I’d stay away from anything manufactured by Diamond.[/QUOTE]

Errr…not to be the bearer of bad news, but Diamond manufactures some, if not all, of the Wellness lines. Some were included in the same recall that TOTW was, as well as dozens of other brands.

[BigBayHanoMare]

My 14 y/o lab mix is on Dr. Harvey’s Canine Health food. We’ve struggled a lot with HGE episodes, turning her nose up at food/unwillingness to eat, trying different varieties/brands of food. This is the first one in YEARS that she begs to have more!

We tried her on the Innova Senior Plus just prior and it was okay for her … prior to that food she was on Hill Science Diet I/D as a Rx. Disgusting stuff. Our vet just wants her to eat, so it didn’t matter what we put her on, as long as she ate.

We were already cooking the majority of her meal, so mixing this stuff up is no sweat.

After doing a lot of research, talking to my vet and other dog owners, I too realized that it’s a personal choice, and more importantly about what is best for your dog(s). It’s overwhelming. Even with the help of sites like Dog Food Adviser, I still had a hard time figuring out what was best for my senior dog with a sensitive tummy. I’m glad that I found something she loves, she looks great, and has fabulous quality of life.

[Jeannette_formerly_ponygyrl]

I recently bought a bag of BilJac which is the first thing my beagle has really liked - it is an extruded feed, or at least the pieces sure look to have been squeezed through the same sort of tubes as horse pellets are. I’m working on a theory that small to very small kibble size is what makes him happy.

Are any of the high quality foods available in very small kibble or pellets? "Small breed" on the bag seems to help him like the product, but I'd love to find another pellet type feed, or cat food sized pieces...