Help Settle a Debate (Which Dog Food)

Well I'm a little of both.  I do subscribe to "whatever works" BUT I also have some parameters.  I will not feed corn, wheat, soy, or gluten meal type ingredients so that automatically rules out a lot of foods whether my dogs like them or not.  However I'm not strictly grain free.  My dogs do best on California Natural Lamb and Rice.  I've tried a few other foods in recent years (Canidae, TOTW, Wyson, Earthborn Holistics, Fromm) but always end up going back to the California Natural.

 I have done some research, and I know the proper way to eat -- for me!  Do I do it?  Um . . . let's go talk about the dogs.

I figure if I have them on a high quality diet, I am going to spend less at my vet, over the life of the dog; and I will have much less worry and heart ache in my life, during my dog's life.  So I feed them the best I can, based on the research I have done.  

And yes, this means my dogs eat VERY well, while I, the human, only eat so so.  

Some foods are evaluated by analysis, others by feeding to test animals. Try samples if you find them, or try small bags to test. It's nice to have a fall back brand during a recall. Piper will get tired of a given food if fed it too long, but she is a little spoiled.

Liesje

Well I'm a little of both.  I do subscribe to "whatever works" BUT I also have some parameters.  I will not feed corn, wheat, soy, or gluten meal type ingredients so that automatically rules out a lot of foods whether my dogs like them or not.  However I'm not strictly grain free.  My dogs do best on California Natural Lamb and Rice.  I've tried a few other foods in recent years (Canidae, TOTW, Wyson, Earthborn Holistics, Fromm) but always end up going back to the California Natural.

I pretty much agree with this. I get the best thing I can afford, and my dog does well on. Luke gets grain free, because he generally does well on it. Callie, and our other dog do not get grain free, because they really don't do well with it. For me, the food you are feeding would be out of the question unless I tried a few others, and that really was the one the dog was doing well on. Here's the ingredient list:

Ingredients: Chicken, Chicken By-Product Meal, Corn Meal, Ground Whole Grain Sorghum, Brewers Rice, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Chicken Flavor, Dried Beet Pulp, Dried Egg Product, Fish Oil (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Brewers Dried Yeast, Potassium Chloride, Salt, Monosodium Phosphate, Fructooligosaccharides, Choline Chloride, Minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Potassium Iodide, Cobalt Carbonate), DL-Methionine, Calcium Carbonate, Vitamins (Ascorbic Acid, Vitamin A Acetate, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Thiamine Mononitrate (source of vitamin B1), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Niacin, Riboflavin Supplement (source of vitamin B2), Inositol, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (source of vitamin B6), Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid), Vitamin E Supplement, Marigold, Beta-Carotene, Rosemary Extract.

So many of the ingredients are just plain junk. You can get something that will be cheaper to feed that is a higher quality. A higher quality food will have more calories per cup, so you'd feed less. For my dog,  I'd feed 1/4 more per day. With Eukanuba, you're paying a premium price for something that is maybe a step above grocery store quality food. If money was a concern, there are comparable items out there at lower prices.

  Does it matter to you if a company makes their own food or contracts someone else to make it? The reason I ask is because Eukanuba makes their own food, which means their responsible for the quality control. Many premium dog food companies make their own food, but some don't. The ones I know of that don't make their own food are Solid Gold, Blue Buffalo, and Natural Balance. There was a large recall of several brands, including Natural Balance and Solid Gold last spring because the plant where they were made was unsanitary and some of the food was contaminated with salmonella. So, that's something you may want to consider.

   Great food, and it's made by Natura, which makes all their own food.

JesDaMom

We have been weaning out the Eukanuba by mixing it together, but she will actually avoid all the Eukanuba pieces and only eat the Innova pieces! Haha! Well that settles that debate for sure!

  Actually, for most dogs, anything new is more appealing at first.

griffinej5

Your dog probably doesn't need limited ingredient, unless it is showing signs of needing it.

I was watching a TV program a few years ago in which this nutritionist was discussing different human foods.  He was talking about the foods that come in cans, boxes, any other kind of packages.  He said that when choosing which brand to buy to ALWAYS get the one with the fewest ingredients.  For example, if you buy a can of green beans, idealy it should contain green beans and water and nothing else.  I went to my cabinet and looked at a loaf of bread and was amazed at the number of ingredients in a loaf of bread.  He went into a long explanation on why get the fewest ingredients, none of which I can remember now.  :)  I think his advice is good.

 My dog's and cat's food always contains only one ingredient. :)