what to feed?

 that may be too much food for a boston. my very active 13# dog eats 3/4 cup a day, sometimes a little less - depending on how much running we did that day.

He really LOVES the fish. I think we are on the wilderness bag this round, I try to switch things up each bag.

I think the best food for dogs, is homemade meals. A proper variety, of organs, muscle, fat, bone, vegetables etc, is what's best for dogs. But for many of us, including me , homemade is to time consuming. I barely cook for myself. Canned is much better than kibble as well. Kibble is obviously dry, and a dog must drink much more water to digest it. The kibble absorbs all of the water in their stomach, and three small kibble can turn into a handful once it's absorbed to it's full capacity.

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I tend to stay away from Diamond brands, the only reason is that there is something in their food products that does not agree with Pella, I tried the TCOTW and had the same problem so I am now using EP the fish formula and she loves it, and no problems.

I think it is trial and error until you find something that works, is healthy and is able to fit into your budget.

Oddly, since we've moved to the deep South, my dogs no longer tolerate homecooked.  We were getting absolutely SCREAMING diaheria so I started giving the raw at night instead.

I think how much a kibble will "blow up" depends on the brand and ingredients.  I've soaked Blue on occassion for a dog with an issue and it just flat doesn't "inflate", other than maybe a smidgen.

greenthumb25

I think the best food for dogs, is homemade meals. A proper variety, of organs, muscle, fat, bone, vegetables etc, is what's best for dogs.

Disagree, it might work great for some but not others.  It's simply an individual thing. 

I noticed nobody hear has ever mentioned Royal Canin. They make some for most different breeds such as boxers, golden retriever, german shepard, Shih Tzu, Maltese etc. It's the only food my vet has every reccommended for my golden retriever Bianica she has sever allergies to most foods and so they also make some that you have to have a prescription to buy such as the Hyp-Allergetic which is the only kind of dog food that hasn't caused ANY reactions with her. I don't have a problem getting her to eat either. Abby on the other hand I think her previous owner gave her only canned food as thats all she seems to want to eat but I found a way to fix that problem just by mixing the gravy from an can of food in the dry food and she eats it too I've also tried other types of dry food with her as well with the same result.

 Unfortunately most of the food you buy in the pet stores are really not that great for your dog.  We use Orijen for ours as well as a raw food diet.  It does cost a bit more but you actually feed less with the food because it is not loaded with fillers.  We use the six fish.  Max and annie love it and they are both healthier from it.  You also want to be careful with dog treats if you give them.  Most are loaded with junk that your dog does not need or is not good for them.  We looked around for a while and found some on line we liked.  the web site is www.dancingdogcookies.com.  Any way good luck.

Hi, I am new here and am trying to find the best dog food too. My vet told me to take my dog off Bil Jac because it was too fattening. I am not sure of that, but he wanted to sell me Science Diet for older dogs. She hated it, and I don't trust corn in food, nor soy or rice. I know it had corn. After a month of SD she seemed to be losing some hair, not much. I thought it was fleas and gave her a tablet. I began making my own food because I didn't trust SD. I followed all the directions by natural food vets. Then I noticed that her hair was thinning in her hip area. I took her to the vet. He suspected thyroid. Did other blood work as well, and she was okay. Then I learned that raw eggs can cause biotin deficiency, so I stopped the eggs and put her on Taste of the Wild. Her hair is shinny again even though it hasn't been long. But will wait to see about the thinning. Three months ago I took a photo of her and her coat on Bil Jac was beautiful  but a fat dog at that. So I am hoping as I read these forums that something will work out. Hopefully, Taste of the Wild will be good. My feeling is that any pet food company that gets its food from New Zealand because of how we raise food in America is looking out for our pets. And any company that gets the grains out are doing likewise. And at least she has lost some weight on SD and the raw food diet, but at a great expense.

Actually rice is good for dogs. Of course as I'm sure you know it's definately not something to make up the entire meal for the dog but it is good for them to eat I actually keep about 5 pounds of rice on hand for my dogs for days like today when I forget to go to the store so theres not enough dog food for all three to eat their usual amount I'll just make some rice to go with their food and for two of them i let it cool down (Abby seems to like it best right out of the boiling water but shes the sneaky goof ball) and mix it in their food. My vet told me to feed it to my dads german shepard  when she came home and got the runs from what we thought was switching her food but I think it was just from her being a poorly bred pup (found out a few weeks ago she's the last one still living out of her litter and shes only 2) but yeah whenever I get a new dog I put them on a strict chicken and rice diet for two weeks just so I know that im not gonna have problems when I start introducing them to the food I feed my dog. Well this is longer than I planned so I'm just gonna end this real quick basically the vet says rice is good for them.

your vet will also say science diet is a good food - the best out there. remember, your vet is a doctor - not a nutritionist. there are many different TYPES of rice too - white rice, brewers rice, etc. are not good - just fillers

chicken/rice is good for a BLAND diet - for settling tummy upsets.