dog food

glen i know big dogs can be snuggly but i live in a small apartment )  thanks for the info !!  im so mad about spending so much money on eukanuba !!

My philosphy and experience with dog foods are very similar to this, I lifted this from a respected breeder who lives in my area, website.
 
Definition: Dog Food Rollercoaster - that ride dog owners take trying to find the "perfect" food for their dogs. Just about the time you think you found one, something goes wrong and you're back at the pet food store, looking at labels trying to decide what to feed next.
 
I personally prefer for my dogs a protein amount of around 22-26% and a fat content of around 13-15% in an adult food. I like a fiber content of about 4%. It seems like my Labs' stools are more firm if the fiber is 4%. On some of the foods, where the fiber is 3%, I find my dogs might have a very normal stool, followed by a very soft one. I don't see this on foods which have 4% fiber.
My dogs tend to do better on what I consider medium grade foods. Not the best/priciest stuff (Innova, California Natural, Canidae) but not the really cheap stuff either (Hi-Pro, Dog Chow). Remember price has nothing to do with what might work for your dog.   Just because a food is listed in a magazine as their 10 best, doesn't mean its better than another food that isn't listed. They do no testing of the food, they base their opinions on the ingredients. My dogs have not done well on any of those foods. Think for yourself and don't get brainwashed into thinking you are a horrible pet owner if you don't buy these foods for your dog.
 
Remember, what works for my dogs or anyone else's dog might not work for yours. Buy the smallest bag you can find of what you want to start trying and if the dog doesn't eat it or you don't like the results, then you aren't out much and you can donate the rest to a shelter. I swear this last year I have to have donated more food that didn't work out with my dogs to shelters than anyone else in my county. (laughs)

[linkhttp://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/tfacts96.html]http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/tfacts96.html[/link]   here is a link that explains exactly what propylene glycol and ethylene glycol are. 

My dogs tend to do better on what I consider medium grade foods. Not the best/priciest stuff (Innova, California Natural, Canidae) but not the really cheap stuff either (Hi-Pro, Dog Chow).

 
Hey Tony!   Actually, at least around here, some of the "premium" foods are priced quite reasonably.  I just bought 36 lbs of Cal Nat for $34.
 
As to mid-level foods working, I get your point.  Most around here would consider Nutro Nat Choice so so at best, but mine did fine on it for years and most people I know who use it haven't had problems.  I think it better to feed Innova, SG et al (or even corny ole Eagle Pack!) but $ can be an issue for those who have to drive far or mail order to get the top stuff.

Good post Tony! 
To write "think for yourself and don't get brainwashed into thinking your a horrible pet owner for not buying these foods" is one mighty big statement, and I so agree with it. When I first started at Idog a few years back Canidea was the popular food and I tried it for Ollie,,,, now no one hardly talks about it anymore.  But people here DO tend to make you feel less than a good pet owner for not feeding the foods that they say or with ingredients that they don't like,,,and its not right because as you say, you tried some of these superior foods and they didn't work.  What works for one, does not necessarily work for another.
But when you say these food are not tested, I'm sure you are right except for this is what Great Dane Lady says about Eagle Pack and giant breeds:                     This is the ONLY dog foods ever tested on giant breeds and it was done on several litters before it became available to the public. It has the longest track record for giant breeds/Danes of any food on the market, 12 years. I directed the feed trials on this food 14 years ago as well as the Large and Giant Puppy food feed trials in 2002 so I know these foods work.

Hi Jaye, thank you for wanting to adopt a dog.  Dog food is a hot subject LOL. 
First, I do not feed RAW! Here is another link for you to check for good dog food and other suggestions. [linkhttp://www.dogaware.com]www.dogaware.com[/link]  Hopefully it will be of some help to you. Here is what I do and you will have to check around and see what is right for your new pupper to be.   I feed Trixie (mini Dachshund) Wellness or Innova and have been very happy with the results.  I also give 1 squirt Grizzly Salmon oil, 1 heaping teasp of 100% URE pumpkin, 1 teasp of plain yogurt on top of her food.  She gets 1/3 of a cup twice daily. I also feed supplements.  I do not feed people food.  The portions of food etc will vary with whatever size dog you adopt.
 
Good luck and let us know when the new pupper has arrived.    

I am not against the pricier foods, if they work for you great, the dog is the ultimate judge, I just get tired of the bashing of the people that feed Pro Plan, Nutro or Euaknuba, many people have had good results with these foods for many years.   I have tried many of the premium foods, with my GSD she has sensitivities and did not do well on most of them. I have tried novel protien sources, Cal Nat,  She did not do well on the natura products, I believe she had issues with the sunflower oil, I tried OMH and many other premium foods and generally she would itch, she is thin, she did not keep weight on, she had loose stools or diarrheia with many of them, If I cut back on the amount of food she would continue to lose weight. She lost 5 lbs on EVO,  I now feed Pro Plan sensitive skin and stomach and she does great on it. So it is irratating when people tell you how you are killing your dog cause you are feeding it Pro Plan. If I am, I would rather have a happy dog like she is now, live for 12 yrs than have a miserable dog that was up all night scratching, live for 16 yrs.

ORIGINAL: abbysdad

My philosphy and experience with dog foods are very similar to this, I lifted this from a respected breeder who lives in my area, website.

Definition: Dog Food Rollercoaster - that ride dog owners take trying to find the "perfect" food for their dogs. Just about the time you think you found one, something goes wrong and you're back at the pet food store, looking at labels trying to decide what to feed next.

I personally prefer for my dogs a protein amount of around 22-26% and a fat content of around 13-15% in an adult food. I like a fiber content of about 4%. It seems like my Labs' stools are more firm if the fiber is 4%. On some of the foods, where the fiber is 3%, I find my dogs might have a very normal stool, followed by a very soft one. I don't see this on foods which have 4% fiber.
My dogs tend to do better on what I consider medium grade foods. Not the best/priciest stuff (Innova, California Natural, Canidae) but not the really cheap stuff either (Hi-Pro, Dog Chow). Remember price has nothing to do with what might work for your dog.   Just because a food is listed in a magazine as their 10 best, doesn't mean its better than another food that isn't listed. They do no testing of the food, they base their opinions on the ingredients. My dogs have not done well on any of those foods. Think for yourself and don't get brainwashed into thinking you are a horrible pet owner if you don't buy these foods for your dog.
 
Remember, what works for my dogs or anyone else's dog might not work for yours. Buy the smallest bag you can find of what you want to start trying and if the dog doesn't eat it or you don't like the results, then you aren't out much and you can donate the rest to a shelter. I swear this last year I have to have donated more food that didn't work out with my dogs to shelters than anyone else in my county. (laughs)

 
This person has been a wonderful mentor for me.  I have labs and had trouble finding what worked right for Zoe (now she has 5 labby bros and sis').  I was trying all the premium foods and getting no where.  The breeder from this website was a Godsend for us then and now!!  

I agree that you have to do what WORKS for your dog.  Another member and I had this discussion earlier via PM.  She feeds something that doesn't work for my dogs, but works wonderfully for HER dog.  Another person feeds a food that I donate to the shelter cuz I won a years supply, and his dog does GREAT on it.  I personally don't like CORN if it replaces meat as a protein source, but I also don't think that CORN is a dirty word.  I personally don't LIKE grain fragments, preferring the whole and least processed grains.  But, I seriously doubt if my dogs would give a rodents rear.......
 
I think that the bottom line is that you MUST use whatever works best for YOUR dog.  And if others try to make you feel like something that they want to scrape off their shoes, oh well.  Ignore them.

ORIGINAL: glenmar
I think that the bottom line is that you MUST use whatever works best for YOUR dog.  And if others try to make you feel like something that they want to scrape off their shoes, oh well.  Ignore them.

or ask them if they want to pay your vet bills.  until they're willing to pay my dogs' way, they don't get a vote on what i feed.  []

Quote:
or ask them if they want to pay your vet bills. until they're willing to pay my dogs' way, they don't get a vote on what i feed.

Good one! I could not agree more!

BTW Laura, is your lab getting ready to paint something? Very cute!

I'm not sure if I think that cute cartoon about labs is funnier than Glenda's statement about the rodents rear!!!

I think I know the site your talking. It is indeed, very informative, especially about labs.
 
Even though we've come to a consensus that you should use whatever works for your dog regardless of what someone else thinks of the food choice, it's also nice to know that there are all feeding styles represented here.
 
If a person has tried all the kibbles with no luck, then there is homecooked and raw. I'm not elevating one above another. But if one doesn't work, it can't hurt to try another.
 
I have learned so much from the discussions, even the heated ones. I can bore friends and family to tears. I try to stop when their eyes glaze over.
 

ORIGINAL: danehaven

As far as seeing dogs in the field eating corn, My sister's dogs both go into the corn field and pick ears and eat them.

My brother's Blue Tick coonhound used to go out and pick ears of corn too! The dog I have now (Spot), goes in the garden and picks squash, hmmmm.....

As proof to how some food works better with some dogs than others, I love that fact that I have to only clean up one pile a day with her eating Eagle Pack, and yet a friend that tried Eagle for her dog said he pooped a bunch of times a day while eating Eagle.  Exact opposite results, showing how different one dogs system is than another.