What Is The Best Dog Food?
Posted by Zolly | Under Nutrition Wednesday Dec 16, 2009I just got a little guff of of the board about feeding my dogs Purina. My vet said this is fine, but I am open to suggestions. Science diet and Eukanuba seem a bit pricey but I have considered buying them and mixing them in with the less expensive purina. Any suggestions?
I am not really interested in making my own dog food. No offense to those who do though. I am more than happy to supplement the food with “real” foods to increase my dogs nutrition but I live a high paced life style and can’t commit to making my own.
I would like to learn more in general about how to increase my dogs nutrition intake and will take any advice I can get.
Also.. does anyone out there use a home made tooth paste for their dog? I would be interested in knowing how they make it. I would like to start making my own dog tooth paste for my pups. Or at least a good brand.
thanks!
Purina, Science Diet, and Eukanuba are all crap. And about the toothpaste, just go to the petstore and pick one out. They are all pretty much the same, unlike dog food.
Here are some of the best dog foods:
Taste Of The Wildhttp://www.tasteofthewildpetfood.com/
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Wellnesshttp://www.wellnesspetfood.com/
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Solid Goldhttp://www.solidgoldhealth.com/
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Blue Buffalohttp://www.bluebuff.com/
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Nature’s Varietyhttp://www.naturesvariety.com/
Stay away from these brands:
Ol’ Roy
Beneful
Purina ONE
Purina Pro Plan
Pedigree
Purina Dog Chow
Alpo
Eukanuba
Nutro
Iams
Science Diet
Dad’s
Royal Canin
Store Brands
Kibbles ‘n Bits
Mighty Dog
If you are on a VERY super tight budget, these are good foods:
Chicken Soup For The Pet Lover’s Soulhttp://www.chickensoupforthepetloverssou…
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NutriSourcehttp://www.nutrisourcedogfood.com/
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***Vets will try to tell you to feed Purina, Iams, and Science Diet. But don’t feed them, they aren’t good for your dog. Vets tell you those lies because they are PAID to do so!!!! It’s sad, isn’t it?***
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Here is a website that rates dog food. Go to it and enter the food of your choice. You will want a 4, 5, or 6 star rating. If the food of your choice has a 1, 2, or 3 rating that means it is crappy food. The higher rating the better, the lower rating the worse. http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_…
Well, good luck with your dog. I hope you find a healthy food that works good for him. Good luck!!!
Heres a list of known great quality dog food:
Artemis
Natural Balance
California Natural
Evo
Innova
blue buffalo
Wellness
Merrick
Nature’s Variety
Timberwolf
Pinnacle
Eagle Pack
These are great dog food choices. Most of these dog foods are not found at Petco or Petsmart, so your going to have to go to another pet store to find these. Although Blue Buffalo is sold at i think Petsmart, and that is pretty good dog food.
Don’t feed Science Diet or Eukanuba. Those are just junk foods that are marketed well. You are better off with Purina than those foods.
If you are concerned about price Purina is just fine.
The best way to determine dog food quality is to look at the back at the label for quality proteins and something low in sugar.
Oh and toothpaste for your dog doesn’t matter.
Human toothpaste contains fluoride which prevents cavities, dog toothpaste doesn’t.
The best way to keep your dogs oral health up is to give your dog a lot of things to chew on. THe more your dog chews, the better their teeth will be.
And if you brush your dogs teeth you don’t need to use a toothpaste you can just use a toothbrush to scrape the plaque off.
Try to look for a company near you that makes homemade dog food.
We found one in our neighborhood and it is great.
Check out http://www.barkingchef.com/Why.html
Good for you to care for your dogs nutrition.
toothbrush – go for natural ingredient toothpaste.. there are a few out there. sorry can’t remember the brand. make sure you read the label though….if you cant pronounce it, dont get it!
This site will give you lots of great info on dog food ingredients and nutrition.http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_…
The best brand I know of is Pedigree. My dog is a black lab, and she loves this stuff. Shes energetic and happy all the time!
I like Science Diet…..it’s very tasty and has a nice little crunch when you bit into it…..LOVE IT on top of ice cream!!!!
Sorry but dogs have to eat quality food, Eukanuba and Science Diet are garbage I feed my dogs Innova.
most of the time, if vet says its ok than it is
When it comes to dog/cat food….you HAVE to read the ingredients!! Science Diet, Eukanuba, Purina, Alpo, Pedigree, Iams are not a healthe food.
They have grains such as: corn, wheat and soy
Meat by-products: undeveloped eggs, neck, feet, head, teeth and anything that they don’t use for humans they put in dog food.
Animal Fat: You don’t know what kind of animal it is. It could be anything!
A healthier food would have none of those I mentioned. Dogs can’t digest corn. Corn and Wheat are the number 1 ingredients that causes allergies. Make sure there’s no powdered cellulose in the food, it’s sawdust. No BHA, it’s believed that it’s carcinogenic and same with ethoxyquin. It’s banned from human food due to that. Why feed you’re dog/cat something that is banned in your food?
Here’s some brands I strongly recommend:
Solid Gold, Wellness, Innova, California Natural, Orijen, Taste of the Wild, Raw Diet, Instinct, Wysong, Merrick, Chicken Soup, Eagle Pack and the list can go on and on.
I am not sure on the toothpaste part. You can try googling it….hopefull that will help.
Good luck!
Our pets need quality food. Read the ingredients list and learn what the stuff on there is and what it does (or does not do) to/for our pets. A quick pet food 101. If the pet food contains corn/corn products or by products it is a poor quality food. Corn is a filler that can trigger skin problems. (allergies, skin problems, itching and excessive shedding) By products is anything from an animal not fit for human consumption, including cancerous tissue. Do not pay attention to advertising, they all say there food is great. “Vet approved” means they have a vet on staff to approve their product. In other words, someone paid to approve it. Same with foods most vets recommend. Salesmen “gift” vets then the vet recommends the food. Most vets are not nutritionists! Quality foods have meat as the first ingredient Wellness, Solid Gold, Innova and Merrick are a few of the best brands available. If you want to learn more check out: http://www.sagekeep.com/petfood.htm http://www.api4animals.org/facts?p=359& more=1 http://animalark.eapps.com/animal/PetFoo…
I just buy the dog tooth paste at the pet food store.
Go to dogfoodanalysis for a rating of dog food. My dog was on Eukanuba and developed an allergy to it. It almost killed him before we found out what the problem was. I cannot use any food with grains in it for my dog. Purina and Eukanuba foods are loaded with corn or rice. Or chicken byproducts (whatever that is). Dogs don’t need grains to thrive. My dogs are examples of that . I do home prepare, but if I was to pick a food for my dogs, I would go with Solid Gold Barking at the Moon. Holistic formula with the things I would feed, only in a kibble form.
I don’t feed it only because I feed Orijen, but Natural Balance would be my pet store backup food (I get my Orijen at an independent holistic retailer) and it might be a good choice for you – it ranges from 39.99 to 45.99 (but often Petco has sales) for a 30 lb bag. You don’t feed near as much as you would another food like Eukanuba or Science Diet and it runs about the same price and sometimes cheaper for a better quality food. They also offer grain-free formulas and allergy formulas should you need them. Here is a link: http://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/dogform…
I stand by Purina 100%. We have some of the best looking Terrier dogs, both born and raised on Purina Dog Chow, likewise the 5 liters of puppies they produced.
If your want some extra nutrition for your dogs, this is easy.
A cup of milk (water it down, like 1/2 and 1/2), one egg mixed in a bowl until its creamy and maybe a lil pinch of sugar so its sweet.
Its like doggy egg nog and my pair love it! Its also good for fatting up lil pups.
Cheese, carrots and most things like this are healthy for your dogs. Maybe some apple with peanut butter as a treat. If its healthy for you, it is for your dog, really.
I dont know about toothpaste but I am sure your local pet store carries something. I know Greenies dog bones are made to act like a toothbrush for your pup.
DONT SPEND SO MUCH TO FEED YOUR DOG! Purina is available at walmart and doesnt cost 1/2 as much as expensive Vet brands who get paid to advertise it!
Hope this helps!
as for food, what you feed is your choice. the food with no fillers and all organic and no by products are much safer and healthier and can add years to your dogs life, but because they are higher quality, they do cost more. it just depends on what you are willing to commit to your dog.
as for toothpaste, just wet a toothbrush and dip the bristles in baking soda. you dont have to make actual toothpaste. the baking soda whitens the teeth, it cleans them because it is abraisive, and it also freshens that dog breath stink
Vets do not have to take a nutrition class in school. My vet is awesome but she recommends crappy dog food.
I have done so much research on this. Purina is not a good brand. Neither is Science Diet or Eukanuba or Iams. You pay a higher price for ingredients that are not good.
There is no “best dog” food. You want to find a dog food that of course your dog likes and that fits your budget.
Some foods you may want to look at:
Chicken soup for the Dog lovers Soul (my dog had soft orange/yellow stools with this, which I did not like. My vet said they see that with quite a few dogs on this brand. But all dogs are different
Innova
Evo
California Natural
Eagle Pack Holistic (must be the holistic formula)
Diamond (decent price)
Professional (made by diamond) good ingredients, very decent price
My only concern with Diamond is that they have been involved in some pet food recalls.
Taste of the Wild
Blue Buffalo
Natural Balance
A great site I like to refer to is dogfoodanalysis.com. They provide star ratings on foods and why.
Good luck
Well, mixing Science Diet and Eukanuba wouldn’t be the answer because they are not any better! My dogs are *not* fussy about what they eat, but the one food they turn their nose up is Science Diet! (Excuse me, you want us to *eat* that stuff?!?!?!)
There are lots of good foods. Nature’s Variety, Solid Gold, Innova, Wellness, Natural Balance, to name just a few. Look on the bag for the first few ingredients and steer away from anything that lists corn, soy or “by products” as key ingredients.
If you have *one* dog, it’s not too expensive to feed a quality food. A 40 lb bag of Natural Balance costs about $30 (or less) and it will last quite awhile, if kept in a well-regulated place (we put ours in a bin).
As for the doggie toothpaste, better stick with commercial canine toothpastes. There are a lot of things that upset a dog’s GI tract, and commercial toothpastes are specially formulated for a dog’s needs. *Never* brush a dog’s teeth with human toothpaste!
And — no offense to your vet, but…most vets (unless they’ve specialized in it) are not really experts in canine nutrition. I have a number of friends who are vets and they have all said that they get a very cursory education in canine nutrition in vet school.
As to where to get your food — you probably have at least one dog show not too far from where you live. Go to the show, and chances are there will be a representative from a reputable dog food company there. Talk to this person about buying in bulk, home delivery, or whatever “deal” you can work out. Another option is to visit the web site of the dog food; they will list dealers for their food in your area.