Highest Quality Kibble?

 We had Ari on Innova for awhile (what the breeder fed), but her poop was awful on it (and Ari's stomach was notoriously touchy, though it has gotten better).  She's been fed California Natural since.  I like it because it's simple, and I hate it because it's simple.  I like her getting a bit more variety, so I supplement with whole foods (raw chicken necks/giblets, yogurt, cottage cheese, lean meats) thrown on top for a bit of variety. 

There's a few places around that sell quality kibble, but for the most part is somewhat limited - so I like getting what I know will always be stocked in a convenient place to get it.

My mom feeds her dog, what some would call a terrible kibble - but it's fairly decent (ingredient wise, meat and meat meal do constitute #1 and #2 ingredients) and her shih tzu does quite well on it and is a healthy and active 14 year old dog.

I would LOOOVE to feed canned, but its too cost prohibitive.  Ari eats about 3 cups a day of kibble to just maintain her slim physique, I think feeding her all canned would put us in the poor house!  In fact it's time we went back to "rounded" scoops of food, because she's getting a bit too thin (we've recently drastically increased her excercise!)  I have used canned as a reward based treat though.

Search the term elimination diet for allergy related info on the forum. Others can do a better job explaining it, but bascially it's using a really strict and simple diet to determine what a dog is allergic to, so it can be avoided. Paw licking/chewing is often a sign of food allergies, although this time of year, I see it with environmental allergies in my Am Staff.

dyan

zeeple

Wow, my dog IS licking her feet lately but I never wondered if that had something to do with her food.  What does it mean?

 

I remember reading years ago that licking their feet is one  sign of a food allergy.

I believe its yeast problems, if I remember correctly.

I'm sure there will be others here to answer.

My dogs get Blue Buffalo.  I have tried MANY different brands and this one seems to produce the best results for us and the price is reasonable.  I'm happy and sticking with it!

 We've got one who gets Blue Buffalo, and the other gets Wellness Core. I've also used Evo. For Max, I kinda went between all of these depending on what store I made it to. Georgie didn't do well on Evo I think, maybe it was Blue Buff that didn't agree with her, so she gets the Wellness. My puppy is getting Blue Buffalo puppy food, plus half of a vitamin, I think it's a pet tab. I'm not sure what difference that makes, if any, but the breeder recommended it, and it can't hurt. He'll switch to the Blue Buffalo Wilderness, which he did actually already have a bit of.

 Jetta eats Taste of the Wild. I rotate with all three flavors, but she likes the Waterfowl formula the best.  This food has been a lifesaver for her literally. Its the only food she can eat b/c it doesn't have barley, flaxseed, or brewers yeast. And she loves the flavor!

jettababy

 Its the only food she can eat b/c it doesn't have barley, flaxseed, or brewers yeast. And she loves the flavor!

Neither does EVO or Orijen, I ran into that same problem with Rivers. The latter 2 foods don't have oats, barley, flaxseed or brewers yeast either.

Good post, thks! I've also been searching around for this info.

I want to add Solid Gold to the list, it's top quality. My pups got allergies and LOVES  Barking at the moon - its grain free high protein. she's doing really well on it. After nearly a yr on it I just thought it's time for a bit of variety lol. And I didn't see Merrick here either. Its also a high quality food with no harmful additives. I think we'll try their Before Grain next.

Check out this site which lists all the best brands so you can compare . http://www.dogfoodscoop.com/index.html

Orijen's meant to be very good but gave her pretty bad gas unfortunately lol. And she didn't like it as much as Barking at the Moon. Oh and I tried her on Instinct Rabbit variety too (for the elimination diet) but after a few days she just refused it totally. It does have a pretty powerful smell hmmm. lol.

 Hope this helps.

If you decide to put your dogs on a high protein/organic diet take into consideration that higher quality foods might have high protein 25%+. If so, feedings should be slightly smaller depending on the percentage. Some brands have over 35% protein. Though it is expensive, feedings are much smaller due to the higher calories the food impose by it having such high amounts of nutrients and protein the dog can absorb rather turning them into wast. (Evo, wellness, Innova, home made etc.) There are so many people with inactive dogs (not the dogs fault, the owners) who get fed the same amount on these high quality foods thinking they are doing good for the dog when they are probably hurting it. Imagine eating a huge steak dinner with green beans and baked potatoes every single day and not burning some calories. Feed your dog accordingly. ps.. the order of ingredients in the dog food plays a big role of what "really" is in the bag. Especially the first 3. If the meat product is not the first item DONT BUY IT. And it cant be by-product or rice. Venison, Whole Chicken, Beef , lamb etc.. always first depending on the flavor you buy.

I also forgot to mention my old favorite as well PetGuard Lifespan dry and canned.  www.petguard.com.  Works very well for our bichons.

 Those are the exact foods I feed.  I think they're much better than BB. Haven't tried the Canidae GF yet. 

 Hey... if anyone is interested in trying Nature's Variety Instinct... here's a coupon for a free bag:

 http://hosted.verticalresponse.com/308297/e9cf8845aa/732/1c7caa5b66/