Dog Food question

[Shorelunch]

I have a four year old lab. She's a little chunky but is losing a few pounds a week from swimming, walks, running, etc.

I switched to Nutro Max Weight Loss a few months ago. She craps in pretty big mounds and the color doesn't look normal - light brown, and is sometimes loose. I know . . . pretty topic, eh? She gets 1 1/2 cups 2X per day per her vet.

Her past foods include Science Diet and Iams with OK results. I'm thinking of switching again. Any advice on which brand (that you can get at Atlas or Petco type places)? Thinking of Purina One or that Hills brand.

[Bird Dog]

I have been using Diamond dog food for my Setters and have not had a problem.They offer several different formulations.I know of atleast a dozen other people that have had good results feeding it to there various breeds of hunting Dogs.On the plus side it is very economically priced compared to the big name brands.Diamond has a web site that you could take a look at.The other thing that comes to mind is,if you switch the dogs food this should be a gradual process not an abrupt change.You have to allow the dog to adjust to the new diet.

Bird Dog

[setterguy]

I have been using National for about 4 years now with very good results. Rock hard stools, and my 60lb Vizsla only takes about 1 cup a day and looks great. It isn't the cheapest, but comparable to Iams and Science Diet. The hard part is finding it. If you want some info on it let me know. Also my buddy just switched to the new Pro-plan and really likes it.

[Duck-o-holic]

I have a friend that breeds and trains labs. He's done a lot of research on different dogfoods, and has totally changed over to Pro-Plan (by Purina). I can't say that I've switched over to it yet... but I may as soon as my pup is a bit older. He orders his by the semi-load, so I'm sure he gets it a bit cheaper than what you'd pay at a store. I've seen it for just under a dollar a pound.

Duck-o-holic

[Blaze]

From what I've been told, Wal-Mart's Max Nutrition is the exact same thing as Purina Pro-Plan, though I've never lined up the ingredients side by side to compare, and is significantly cheaper. Supposedly Purina packages it for Wal-Mart maybe? Anyway, worth looking into.

My GSP has always done best on Iams - tried Diamond, Science Diet, and Max Nutrition - Iams seems to be the ticket for her coat, energy, and regular stools. A lot depends on the dog too - allergies, etc.

Good luck,
Blaze

[Shorelunch]

This may be a stupid question . . . but how do you know if your dog is alergic to a food?

[Blaze]

Somebody else may be able to give you a better answer, but from what I've seen, lots of scratching/rashes/flaking - primarily coat problems. Unfortunately I think it's a trial and error deal.

[This message has been edited by Blaze (edited 07-21-2003).]

[Capt'nJosh]

I feed my Golden Retreiver Pro-Pac and have had good luck with it. He gets 1.5 cups 2X a day. I tried switching him over to something less expensive and found that I was picking up quite a bit more in the yard.

Capt'nJosh

[rushing]

Dog foods with high percentages of grains (corn, ect...) in the food are more likely to cause allergies. I used to feed nutro Lamb and Rice but have switched over to Canidae due to poopin alot.

Royal Canin, Innova, Canidae, Wellness, Nutro
are some of the top foods out there.

Rob

[Dano2]

I see you didn't mention Iams or eukanuba, whats your opinion on these?

Another question.
Do you ever get the feeling your dog is just plain old sick of the same dog food everyday?

[rushing]

I beleive Iams bought Eukanuba awhile ago and their quality has went down. Most dog foods you can by in a Grocery store or vets office you should stay away from. These foods tend to have alot more fillers and lower quality protein in them, which ends up and more waste on your lawn. And yes, you should change your dogs food throughout their lives. I know i would get bored eating the same stuff everyday. Just be sure to change foods slowly.

I'll try to find the website that gives the break down on all the top foods out there.

Try doing a search on BARF feeding(Bones and Raw food). By far the best thing you could do for your dog but it requires more work for the owner.

Rob

[Dano2]

Does anyone else buy this stuff ,Tuffys Gold Premium Dog food?
I got it from someone local here that trains dogs, claims its very good stuff and it only cost me about $16-$18 for a 50 pound bag.
Just curious if anyone else has heard of it,
It doesn't seem like my dog cares for it much, now I'm wheening her back to the Iams, and shes eating better again.

I will check into these other brands you speak of as i want the best for the mutt, but just as long as you know what your talking about.
Dont take that personal, but I'm sure you know as well as me that everyone claims to have the best, then you have the vets that say the ones they sell are the best too, so then you wonder who to believe.
You really almost have to do your own research , which I'm hoping you did.
thanks

Do they sell any of these brands at Petco, do you know of?

Also, if your in th mood to do some more research, check out Docters Foster & Smith
dog foods, I Buy different pet products from them , and everytime I get a new catalog, I take a look at their foods but just haven't bit yet.
Do a search for Docters Foster and Smith, as I shouldn't post their site, they sell about every product imaginable for your dog.

Let me know what you think about their dog foods.

[This message has been edited by Dano2 (edited 07-23-2003).]

[jeffyo45]

Fellas

As far as good dog foods go the way to determine if it's half way decent is to look at the ingredients. The very first ingredient should be some type of meal (lamb, chicken or beef). If that is not the first ingredient the food is marginal at best. All the dog food you can buy in a grocery store may have started out being good, but they get bought out by big companies that change the ingredients to add all of those cheap fillers. When I bought my dog my breeder suggested we feed our dog one of eight foods from a list he gave us. He has nine dogs on a half acre lot in town and has no urine spots on his lawn because he feeds quality food. Also the waste piles are smaller because the dog soaks up most of the vitamins, nutrients and proteins in the food. I personally feed my dog Vitarx. It is $30 for 35 lbs. (pretty spendy) but my dog has a beautiful coat, good skin and plenty of energy to chase roosters and ducks. Hope this makes sense but quality nutrition is important if you want your dog to perform at a peak level in the field.

[End of the Line]

I have to agree with Jeffy045. I run sled dogs in the winter. You want to see burning energy! I tried lots of stuff until a vet reccommended a switch. Now I highly recccommend trying EaglePack brand. You can't get it at Wal-Mart or Petco, but there is a reason! It is reasonalble, and they have different formulas based on your dogs size, age, and energy level and also different blends. Past winners of the iditarod have used it, and that's 1100 miles of running! My dogs used to eat twice as much and crap twice as much on Iams or anything else. If there in a kennel, that means more cleaning. Take the time and try a couple of bags, I know you'll notice a difference!

------------------
End of the Line Charters
Lake Superior
1-888-U-HOOK-EM
www.fishontheline.com

[Dano2]

Jeffyo? What does your breeder feed his dogs?

I like the comment on the burnt grass bit.
I didn't know this was from feeding them not so good food. I've been giving my dog those grass saver supplements so it doesn't kill the grass, they work a little but just when I think its working then I got another big dead burnt spot. Ofcourse I'm more concerned about my dogs health then some brown spots on the grass, but mine is getting pretty bad, plus its nice to have the grass in her kennel area for her. the more grass she kills, the more I can see mud coming in the future.
thanks for the advice on the foods, i will check them out.
I'm assuming they are foods I will have to order , but thats o.k.

[This message has been edited by Dano2 (edited 07-23-2003).]

[rushing]

Here is some links so you can do some reasearch.

http://members.aol.com/smplyschnz/nutrition/wdjtopten.html

http://www.doberdogs.com/foodcht5.html

Docters Foster and Smith is suppose to be a Exellent food!

Good Luck

Rob

[Dano2]

thnaks for the info.

trying to decide between 3 brands, and I'm sure my dog will let me know after that.

Eagle pak brand (someone actually sells it in town here)

Canidae and Vitarx,
just going by the info you folks supplied.

Not sure if it make that huge of a difference but I see the Canidae has 4 meat sources compared to 3 with the others.

i was surprised to start reading the ingrdients in the foods with the byproducts such as Iams which i feed my dog.

I switched her once, but she seems to keep a much nicer coat with the Iams.