Dog Community

Need advice on switching foods...

Posted : 5/12/2008 9:54:17 PM

I've been feeding ProPlan Selects since I got Rafe (almost a year ago now). I'd thought about changing to something else before, but couldn't make up my mind whether or not to change and definitely not what to change to...lol! But lately I've really been looking into nutrition and the effects it can have on a dog's longevity and health, and I'd really like to find a food with fewer (or no) grains and better quality ingredients. I can't exactly break the bank, though. I looked at Timberwolf, and like that food, but it is so expensive - $62.99 for 33lbs! BUT, they also deliver for free, which is a big deal for me. Many of the foods I'd like to try simply aren't offered anywhere close to where I live. I have looked into Canidae, which I could drive about 30 minutes for (which isn't too big of a deal, since I drive by there to visit my parents anyway). I also have Innova available here and Solid Gold (from Petco). What do you guys think? Basically, the foods I'm trying to choose between are...Timberwolf, Canidae, Innova, and Solid Gold. In your opinion, what is the better food for the best price? And if there are any other suggestions, please let me know and I'll check around to see if it is offered anywhere in a reasonable distance. Thanks!

LillianD

Posted : 5/12/2008 10:11:21 PM

Those are all great options in my opinion. Innova IS grain heavy a bit though. My dog did well on it, but seemed to be itchy, which I believe to be from the barley. The other option I would consider would be Taste of The Wild. You can get it on petfooddirect.com and you can almost always find coupon codes for 10-15% off. Canidae is a great food, really great value for the price. I think of the options listed I'd try that. Just switch very slowly, it's a very rich food.

erica1989

Posted : 5/12/2008 10:38:06 PM

Blue Buffalo Wilderness is pretty good! I fed it to Casey a while back, and he enjoyed it - but he enjoys all the BB types... haha. It's avalible at Petsmart. Some say it's a bit pricy, but I think it's worth it.

http://bluebuff.com/products/dogs/wilderness.shtml

NikoAwesomo

Posted : 5/13/2008 7:17:02 AM

If I were you, I would probably rotate on a few.

Most reasonably priced holistic food (based on your list) = Canidae. I used to feed Canidae ALS. My only problem is the large quantity of poops (I have a 70 lb lab).

I also like Solid Gold Wolf Cub (puppy version of Solid Gold Wolf King) for my 18 month old lab. I don't like the adult version because of the low protein content.

I like higher protein food (28% or more) from known meat sources (not grains or glutens) because it keeps my lab lean and toned. He is currently eating Canine Caviar Chicken and Millet (puppy formula). The product has 31% crude protein, high content of Omega 6 (at 4.8%), high content of Omega 3 (at 1.8%) AND no white rice (which gives my lab large quantity of poops).

Workingdoglover

Posted : 5/13/2008 10:25:23 AM

I'm thinking I may go with Canidae for now, since I found it on petfooddirect.com for $33.99 for a 40lb bag (which is about as much as I pay for the ProPlan Selects!).

What do you think of Solid Gold - Barking at the Moon? That's what I would feed if I were going to go with Solid Gold.

I'd love to try Blue Wilderness, but the closest PetSmart is about 2-3 hours away (in St. Louis, MO). Is there any website that I could order it off of?

I think I'm only going to get a few smaller bags right now, and try them out. I tried Chicken Soup for the Puppy Lovers Soul a while back, and wow, it made him so gassy it was seriously unbearable! I'm just hoping I can find a good food that won't make him gassy like that...lol!

brookcove

Posted : 5/14/2008 8:55:41 PM

I don't know whether you'd looked into this before, but http://www.k9cuisine.com/default.aspx? delivers for free if you buy $50 or more. That's pretty easy to do with premium food. Plus if you come up a bit short there's always toys, toys, toys! Big Smile

RidgebackGermansShep

Posted : 5/15/2008 7:00:16 AM

i've been feeding canidae forever. I have been thrilled with it,although i'm not sure the dogs are crazy about it. They actually didn't eat at all yesterday. I also love innova.

Workingdoglover

Posted : 5/15/2008 10:35:46 AM

Brookcove - thanks a ton! That makes a few more foods available to me AND free shipping. Yay!

I doubt I'll have a problem with him eating...I actually try to make him NOT eat so quickly...lol! He loves pretty much any food of any kind (a little too much, IMO).

I'm definitely leaning towards Canidae...I'm going to go check out the prices on Canidae at the place about 30 minutes away, and then compare to those online. I did get a really cheap price for a 40 lb bag ($33 of petfooddirect.com, but then I'll have to factor in the shipping on that). I believe its $40ish for a 40lb bag on k9cuisine.com, so I'll just check it out. Thanks for all the help everyone!

DanielleNY

Posted : 5/15/2008 1:05:00 PM

Canidae is probably the best value for the money. It's a high quality food without the high price. My dogs did really well on it before upgrading to Orijen for the higher protein. I had also fed Timberwolf Wild & Natural and they did really well on that too, but I didn't like that the company cheapened their ingredients and raised the price $10.

Sarah_Pyper

Posted : 5/20/2008 4:18:43 PM

we use Timberwolf and have been very happy with it... we used Canidae for over a year.... and I tried Innova and it was just to rich and it didn't go over well but it's a good food too

Workingdoglover

Posted : 5/20/2008 9:00:18 PM

Yeah, I'm a little worried about switching to Canidae or Innova because they may be too rich for him, but I think I'm going to give it a go anyway. We'll see how things go! So, in your experience, Canidae wasn't as rich as Innova (I'm assuming we're talking EVO, right?)? Those are the main two I was trying to decide between, since they are available fairly close by.