Dog Food recommendations

[Kyhl]

That explains it. I didn't know that Diamond made Solid Gold.

A few years ago we were using Solid Gold and had a bad bag. One dog threw up right after eating, the other wouldn't touch it. Exchanged the bag and things were good.

Have since changed to another brand with no more problems.

With all this information I don't know why people keep using it. To each their own I guess.

[FCspringer]

This cracks me up/ All brands have or will have a recall. Most likely if you google it you will see your co had one or several. If you visit a rendering plant and see the crud that goes in dog food you will wonder why they don't get sick more often. Feeding Naturals chicken and no problems. Not worried about it at all. Had a guy tell us all we don't deserve our dogs because of it, and Eukanuba was the best, Bla bla bla. So I posted some Euk and Iams recalls and he shut up. Personally I like the fact that a company has the balls to let us know and do something about it. the "Right" thing to do. Others will let your dogs get sick and say nothing.. I have seen that in other brands. By now the line is cleaned well enough for you to eat off of. I thank them for letting us know.

[MuleShack]

The FDA considers dog food the same as human consumable food as far as ware house storage and shipping goes. There should be some guidelines as far as processing and handling of it put in place to prevent these issues.

I myself find it unacceptable that they (pet food manufacturers) can produce something that may kill an animal, even if they have the balls to let everyone know about it.

If the company has 1 issue, then they learn from it, and make changes...the 2nd time and third time lead me to believe they are missing something or are not too concerned about quality.

[cavalierowner]

The FDA considers dog food the same as human consumable food as far as ware house storage and shipping goes. There should be some guidelines as far as processing and handling of it put in place to prevent these issues.

I myself find it unacceptable that they (pet food manufacturers) can produce something that may kill an animal, even if they have the balls to let everyone know about it.

If the company has 1 issue, then they learn from it, and make changes...the 2nd time and third time lead me to believe they are missing something or are not too concerned about quality.

I agree completely with you. One recall, OK learn from it; 2 recalls, I seriously question their quality control; 3 strikes, you're out. I am currently feeding Holistic Select and to my knowledge they have never had a recall. But if they ever did have recalls like Diamond has, you can bet your life they'd be out the door! As a breeder we don't take any unnecessary chances.

[luckycrank]

my two english setters where on diamond for years vomiting was a bit of an issue , had hollistic select for a year or two a bit better but still had vomiting issues , eagle pack is what im now currently feeding , was less vomiting out of both my dogs , harder firmer stool also.

[FCspringer]

OK, but then what company will you be left with? not too many. Your talking about microbial agents in this case. Very hard to catch. Some lamb could have had a very small culture in a large semi load that did not get caught by sampling, or it could be a dirty hand from a new worker. Salmonella is not going to kill your dog. If your dog has ever had loose stool, you may have very well had the same thing. It is very easy for this to occur. And far more wide spread then Diamond.

Here is a few. http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-recalls/

Heres a bit on Eagle Pak for example. http://www.itchmo.com/lab-reports-acetaminophen-in-eagle-pack-senior-dog-food-3778

If you dig you can find dirt on most all of them.

[cavalierowner]

What I found interesting is that Canidae is a Diamond product. Back in the early to mid-2000's, we fed Canidae. We bought new bags one day and all of a sudden we had vomitting issues with about a third of our dogs. We emailed Canidae and asked if they had changed an ingredient or the manufacturing process and they swore they had not. Maybe they hadn't changed anything, but actually had a bad run that would have prompted a recall today. So we donated the unopened bags to a shelter and switched food. As I stated earlier, we don't take unnecessary chances.

[FCspringer]

LOL, you don't take chances but you give the bag to possibly harm others???

OK.

[cavalierowner]

LOL, you don't take chances but you give the bag to possibly harm others???

OK.

Yep, in retrospect definately one of the dumber things we have done, even though it was the bags we had not yet opened!! In light of all the recalls we hear about now, definately not something we would do today.

[FCspringer]

LOL, yeah the whole thing sorta sucks, but theres nothing more a person can do is follow the guidence they provide, and move on. If the manufactures do what they need to do in a timely manner, it most likely will be over with shortly no matter what company it is. Had it been in the midwest I would switch for a while as well. But things are fine here and for me the food is working out great. I am using the Chicken and realy like it right now.

[nofishfisherman]

So it looks like Taste of the Wild is off the shelves at Chuck and Dons where I buy it due to the recall. I'm almost out of food for my dog so will need to switch to something else on the fly. Normally I would have switched slowly but was out of the country when the local recall came out and didn't find out about it until last night when i needed to buy more.

Any suggestions on a comparable food to Taste of the Wild (price and quality)? I'll need to buy some today or my dog is going hungry in the morning.

[nofishfisherman]

Well I ended up switching my dog from Taste of the Wild to Nutri Source Grain Free. I didn't really want to make the switch and I could have just gone to a different flavor of Taste of the Wild but I think I'm going to avoid the Diamond brands until they get things figured out. I didn't want to buy another bag of a different flavor just to find out next week that the recall expanded yet again to include all flavors.

We'll see how the dog does on Nutri Source Grain Free. I have used the regular Nutri Source in the past and it was decent but not quite what TOTW was and not at as good of a price.

[mcnasty]

How do you guys like nutri source?

[nofishfisherman]

Haven't fully made the switch yet as I found a little of the old food. We are starting to make the transition. Once I see how the dog does after a while I'll try to report back with my review.

[MuleShack]

When I had 1 dog (lab) we fed Orijen, then kept feeding it when we got the 2nd dog (gsp). After we got the 3rd dog (another gsp) it was getting a little expensive feeding 14 cups a day. So I switched to Nutri source chicken and rice formula.

I have not noticed any difference in endurance, looks, coat...maybe a little more shedding.

No issues with vommiting or allergies etc. It seems to be a good food and it must taste good too.

The ingredients list chicken, chicken meal as the first two ingredients and chicken fat as the 5th ingredient. Better than having corn or rice as the #1

[BlackLabGuy]

I've had mine on Nutri Source since he was a pup 2+ years ago and have had no issues. Made in MN also...

[ClownColor]

BUMP

[harvey lee]

MY little cocker has issues with corn and grains in any food with scratching and licking.

I was feeding a lamb and rice food from IAMS and the vet told me to get her on a grain free diet.

I went with the Taste of the Wild grain free food and she has been doing the best she ever has.

I gradulaay switched her over in a 2 week period to transition her to this food. Did not want her to get the runs or throw up from a sudden change in her diet.

Yes, they have had recalls like so many other companies in numerous different products.

If one is to stop using products that have had a recall or two, we may not have anywhere to buy anything.

Yes, one has to watch and research items before ones buys that product but as long as she is doing so well with this food, she will stasy on it.

I feed her the Bufflao and Venison mixture. She has never eaten so well when I switched her over to this food. Her teeth look good and her muscle tone has really changed. Not one issue with this change to date.

With the recent recalls of these foods, one might believe they are watching thier products as close as anyone right now.

[Ufatz]

Hey gents!....I'm curious about something. For more than 50+ years we have been feeding a variety of dogs on pretty much the same basic Purina foods....currently a lamb and rice mix for 8 mo old Abby. These dogs have included everything from fox hounds to toy Poms. We have occasionally tried other foods, usually more expensive and always at the behest of some vet. None of our dogs have ever had a nutritional problem, the hunting dogs have been rompin' stompin' rip and run hunters with good coats, never an eye problem, never a weight problem.

So, and I'm not second guessing you guys, why do you find it necessary to avoid even the mention of Purina foods in this discussion? Just puzzled, don't want to start any arguments.

[RoosterRedneck]

I would have no problem feeding Purina Hi pro to my dog except for the fact that it's more expensive then the Diamond Naturals that I feed currently.

[harvey lee]

Ufatz, I would have no issues with Purina if they make a grain free food. My vet suggested I try the Taste of the Wild food and thats what I did. Good luck so far with it. Also suggested was the Bufflao something, I think Blue Bufflao in the grain free and then there was one other. Little buddy is allergic to any grains in her food.

Did a search on customer reviews and the Taste of the Wild had good reviews other than a recall which anyone can have.

[DaSwede]

I feed Fromm grain free to my lab because of stomach issues. Fromm is a family run business in Wisconsin and have had no recalls.

And with all due respect to Harvey, and I do sincerely mean that, I would not feed any Diamond product to my dog if they paid me to. There has been more than one recall, and they totally disregarded the health of thousands of dogs. There is plenty of info on it. To me it just isn't worth it. That's just my opinion though. They offer a more affordable grain free food, and I know lots of good people that feed it to their dogs. I'm just not one of them.

[Kyhl]

DaSwede,

I've tried pointing that out as well. Seems to fall on deaf ears.

To repeat, not all dog food manufacturers have recalls.

Another happy Fromm customer. Our dogs are on two different foods from Fromm. One dog is allergic to chicken so all of the cheap stuff is out. The same dog that is allergic to chicken also has issues with high protein foods so she eats mostly a lower protein, low fat, low cal food from Fromm.

The other dog (pictured) wastes away to nothing unless she has high protein food.

Go figure.

[ClownColor]

Hey gents!....I'm curious about something. For more than 50+ years we have been feeding a variety of dogs on pretty much the same basic Purina foods....currently a lamb and rice mix for 8 mo old Abby. These dogs have included everything from fox hounds to toy Poms. We have occasionally tried other foods, usually more expensive and always at the behest of some vet. None of our dogs have ever had a nutritional problem, the hunting dogs have been rompin' stompin' rip and run hunters with good coats, never an eye problem, never a weight problem.

So, and I'm not second guessing you guys, why do you find it necessary to avoid even the mention of Purina foods in this discussion? Just puzzled, don't want to start any arguments.

I would keep what your doing if it works! I've had bad luck with two name brand foods so I made the switch to Diamond Naturals and my dogs been have no problems with the switch. It's actually made her stool hard, allergies gone, and no ear infections...I love this stuff. Though I am very cautious with the recalls. I wish there was something out there but this stuff works with my dog. I also am set up with recall alerts for ALL dog foods and treats. I get instant notification... hopefully it's not to late.

[bobbers_down]

We had our lab on the same food that she was started on by her breeder (a middle of the road, fairly decent food) was absolutely fine for about 3-4 months. After a while, she had developed some allergies to this food, we tried just about everything. We tried just about a half dozen or more different brands of food (everything from grain-free, to alternative protein, to gluten-free, to rice and boiled meats with yogurt/cottage cheese.)

We had our best results with Taste of the Wild, Pacific Stream formula. It's a high quality food with salmon as the protein. It's far from cheap, but we have had excellent results in the last year with it. It hurts a little bit each time that I have to buy a bag of $50 dog food, but the end results seem to be worth it. A healthy dog full of energy, with no allergic reactions to her food, a beautiful coat and best of all, no runny dog [PoorWordUsage] to pick up.

[jparrucci]

Hey kyle, what Fromm food are you using that is lower in protein? My older Brittany needs to be on lower protein food due to bladder stones. Trying to find a quality lower protein food has been difficult to say the least. He is on Fromm pork and applesauce now. He seems to become allergic to food after a year or two as well. Just noticed his eyes have been watery lately and it is probably about switch time. Have my 10 month old Brittany on their puppy gold. He will get switched to adult soon as well.

[TylerS]

I used to run both dogs on Purina High Performance. It worked great. But Remy had terrible ear infections. I never thought his food could be the cause, but my vet said reoccuring ear infections can be a sign of food allergies.

So after doing a lot of researching and talking to many dog trainer friends, I switched to Nutri-Source. He hasn't had an ear infection since, despite being in the water or field nearly every day training. His coat even looks better, and his overall health has improved. It wasn't bad on Purina, mind you, but for some reason Nutri-Source really kicked things up a notch.

He also doesn't need to eat as much (like a half cup less per day), so even though the bags of food are more expensive, it's actually cheaper per feeding (that, and the Nutri-Source bags are larger than the Purina bags). Minnesota company, too.

[eyeguy 54]

science diet ideal balance keeps sessi healthy and full of energy.

[onthefly]

I fed NutroMax (was told once that this is basically the same as Nutrosource, just relabeled and a bit cheaper) with good results. But, my lab went to a pro trainer who fed Exclusive. He looked, as TylerS describes with his dogs, just a bit better after 8 wks on Exclusive. The NutroMax was fine for him, but Exclusive seemed to give him that last 10%.

Now, people comment very often on how good he looks - shiny coat, healthy and in-shape. Of course the 7 days a week training doesn't hurt either, I'm sure!

[Kyhl]

Hey kyle, what Fromm food are you using that is lower in protein? My older Brittany needs to be on lower protein food due to bladder stones. Trying to find a quality lower protein food has been difficult to say the least. He is on Fromm pork and applesauce now. He seems to become allergic to food after a year or two as well. Just noticed his eyes have been watery lately and it is probably about switch time. Have my 10 month old Brittany on their puppy gold. He will get switched to adult soon as well.

The lower protein food is Whitefish and Potato.

23% protein

11% fat

3.5% fiber

The higher protein fed to the other dog is pork and peas at

29% protein

17% fat

3.5% fiber

They both used to get beef frittata Veg at

30% protein

18% fat

We supplement their meals with a teaspoon of pumpkin puree to raise the amount of fiber without adding calories.