Objective measures of food

Personally I just don't see the dramatic improvements and would like to know whether there are some objective indicators I can use for judging one brand of food over another.

I have to wonder how many people DO see dramatic improvements on different dog foods.  I do think a lot of people see dramatic changes for the worst sometimes...such as diarrhea, loose stools...things like that. That happens to Bubblegum on too much raw. Some claim to keep it up and get her used to it and she will be fine. That maybe so, but I can't see having her digestive system upset, so I won't do that.    If a dog is allergic to an ingredient and is fed a food with it, they show  dramatic results in a way we don't want to see.  But to see dramatic results from a certain food is probably kind of difficult because it would take a long time for it to show up. Not sure then if you could call that dramatic.

I've switched over, now in the hundreds, of rescues and shelter dogs, from "whatever" food to premiums or raw. Maybe it's just a Border collie thing, I don't know. But within three weeks I usually see one or more of the following:

Improved breath (none of my dogs have what people call "doggy breath")
White teeth (I had one female that was estimated to be seven to nine years when she came here - at another vet visit a couple months later they downgraded her age to EIGHTEEN MONTHS)
Healthy skin with no "doggy odor" (I even had a litter of 3/4 labs 1/4 Aussies, a couple stayed until they were six months old and everyone who met them remarked on how nice they smelled)
Fuller, glossier haircoat with deeper coloration and less shedding (after an initial blowout that is sometimes part of "detox")
Stools that are picked up with ease - no joke when you pick up after seven to eight medium dogs
Lean muscle mass replacing fat pads - or correct weight gain on many Border collies, which tend to skinniness
Better energy levels - frantic hyperness replaced with the abilty to sustain both focus and exertion, during training.

Like I said, your results may vary. But these are consistent results I see when taking in even BCs and mixes from homes where they are reasonably well taken care of (remember most BCs are given up out of frustration with energy levels, not because the onwer is neglectful). Many of these dogs by necessity go from being housedogs to kennel dogs, in fact!

Okay, up until a few weeks ago my golden girls were on Purina Fit and Trim, my old male golden on purina Dog Chow.  Honey  was adopted at age about one and we ill have had her 4 years next month, but I have no idea what she was on before hand.  KayCee turned 7 in Aug. and outside of a few months on Science Diet r/d for weight reduction, she had always been on Purinia, first the Puppy, the Chow, and then the Fit & Trim because of weight gane during 2 years of knee problmes , surgeries, and recoveries.   Buck was 6 months old when we got him and gave him puppy chow for a couple of ,monthes, then on to the regular chow.  He developed a kidney infection back the first of June (his first and he was 11 1/2 at the time) and he was on Science Diet k/d for 3 months to get his kidneys back to normal (it worked) and then my vet suggested I put him on purina One senior.  Since i was swtiching him to the One, I decided to switch the girls to the One for weight managment.
 
SO outside of the Purinas, the only other food any of them got for any lenght of time was the Science Diet and it did what it was suppose to do, they had no problems with it, except Buck didn't like the k/d and he just wouldn't eat what he should and he did lose 3 pounds in the 3 months.
 
BUT several years ago i did try Buck on a "better food' and he threw up every meal for 4 days and i decided i didn't like that at all, so went back to Purina.  Where he did horrible on the "better food" and great on the "lower food", it is the reverse with some dogs.  And i for one am not going to risk upsetting my dogs digest systems, getting their immune systems out of whack, possibily starting up some allergy, etc by switching foods (unless it is to a Rx food)  I did switch from the Fit & Trim and Dog Chow, but it is the same brand and not a whole lot different.  And I most certainly would not expect someone feeding, say Timber Wolf or any food like that to switch to purina as i am sure it would really upset their dogs digestive system.

I am NO expert but I will say this:
in our case we discovered that he had an allergy to eggs so once we settled on a good food that didn't have eggs (usually lower in protein than I like) and then started to add raw meat or cooked fish we saw these changes:
firmer stool and less of it
skin problems/yeasty ears completely gone
anal glands no longer need to be expressed (we started this at about 6 mos old and had to have it done every 6 weeks until the change in food.  we haven't had it done in 5 months now!)
the added protein seems to have had a settling effect on him

his coat is fantastic, he has no doggie smell, very white teeth, and no dog breath - he is very muscular and lean

I'm sure that it is partly genetics as well as excellent nutrition and exercise

our dogs have always been on pretty good food (not necessarily super premium, but not grocery store brands either). amelia was on a mid-grade food and we switched her to a better food. her fur is much softer now than before. that is the only change i can really see. sydney has always been on the same brand of food as amelia is on now.

however, our cats have been on a number of different foods. they were on grocery store brands for several years. one of the cats started having some kidney problems, and the vet we had then said she would have to be on one of the hill's prescription food for the rest of her life. since we free feed the cats, they were both on it for a couple of years. one of our cats lost weight while on it, which she needed to do. our other cat, i could never tell any differences from the food we were feeding before. while i was out of work, the presciption food was out of the question. so we put them on purina cat chow for indoor cats (recommended by a different vet). with that food, we had lots of puke, poop, dry skin, and shedding. i was getting tired of cleaning up the puke, so we started looking for a better food hoping that would help. we tried chicken soup for cats... not as much puke, poops were about the same, dry skin was a little better, hard to say about the shedding. the store's stock of that particular food isnt good, so they didnt have any when we ran out. my wife bought felidae (seemed really pricey compared to the other foods). since then, puking is almost gone, tiny poops, no flaky skin, and shedding is minimal. also, we got a 20lb bag (same size as purina). it cost $30 compared to $15 or less for the purina. the purina would last about 1 month. the felidae was bought in july and we still have some (i expect it will last until mid to late november). i am afraid of it going bad we have had it so long. i think next time we will get a smaller bag! [] i know the cats are still eating well because we havent seen any weight loss.

wow! that is long, sorry about that. i think sometimes you can see dramatic changes in just the first bag of a new food. i never thought we would see such drastic changes in our cats. []

one other thing.... on all the food our cats have been on before, they would kind of scatter it around the feeder and really make a mess. with the felidae, i rarely find a piece of food on the floor! []

really? you see NO difference in at least the poop? Grain-heavy diets produce poop which is totally different from meat-heavy diets. You can tell at a glance who is feeding what.
 
So Sandra, you tried exactly ONE food and decided that all premium foods are bad? that seems ridiculous to me. I feed my dogs different things every day and they never get digestive upsets, none has ever developed an allergy, all are robustly healthy. The vet cannot believe how clean their teeth are. They have no odor even if not bathed for over a year.
 
We had an interesting experience: one lady at the dog training class. She was feeding her dog proplan. Dog seemed quite healthy and energetic, except of course for producing those huge poops proplan is noted for. I didn't happen to bump into her for approximately a month, and when we saw her dog next, it was shocking how much better the dog looked. The coat just glowed. Many of us commented on it. The lady finally admitted she'd switched from proplan to a super-premium food about six weeks beforehand. Interestingly the dog's previous unfocused hyperactive behavior was also improved-- plenty of energy but focused.

When I switched Scout from a Purina food to a "premium", she pooped a lot less often and less volume.
 
We were also able to clear up a lot of itching and rashes - which may have been from any number of ingredients in the previous food.
 
 

Interestingly the dog's previous unfocused hyperactive behavior was also improved-- plenty of energy but focused.

 
This is the biggest change I noticed when I switched my JRT from Iams (what his previous owners fed him) to raw. He's now relaxed and mellow around the house, but is like an energizer bunny for agility and play time. I love it!
 
I also noticed a big difference in my American Bulldog when I switched him to raw. When I first got him his eyes and nose were red and swollen (the people who surrendered him said he's always been like that) and within 2 weeks of being on raw it completely cleared up. This is mostly likely an allergy issue; however I've also noticed an improvement in his coat and muscle development.
 
Like brookcove, I've switched a lot of fosters to premium kibble and/or raw and I've always noticed a difference (especially with the poops!).
 

BUT several years ago i did try Buck on a "better food' and he threw up every meal for 4 days and i decided i didn't like that at all, so went back to Purina. 

 
I agree with mudpuppy that you need to try more than just one brand before deciding that you don't like premium foods. Perhaps the "better food" you gave him had a protein source or single ingredient he couldn't tolerate. It you start with something simple, like California Natural, I doubt you'd have the same problem (as long as you introduce the new food gradually).
 
I can also guarantee that if you switched your dogs to raw you would see a difference. Switching from a low grade to a medium grade probably won't be too noticeable, so I suggest you give a super-premium kibble or raw a chance. I'm sure glad I did!
 []

So Sandra, you tried exactly ONE food and decided that all premium foods are bad? that seems ridiculous to me

 
Yes, I only tried ONE FOOD, and no I most certainly did not decide all premium foods were bad.  I didin't even decide that particular one was bad.  I just decided  that it was not for my Buck.  And what i think is ridiculous is people making their dogs sick or have the runs or whatever over and over and over and over and over trying to find a "better food" that works" when they are on one that is working out great for that dog.  And i have read the posts here where people list the many foods they tried and what effect it had on their dogs.  I do think if what you are feeding does not agree with the dog then by all means you should try until you find one that works.  But to go from food to food to food because others tell you that your dog needs to be on this, that or the other food, that is rather like the rats following the pied piper.  I amy listen to the music, but i sure as blazes am not going to be mesmerized by it enough to follow.  I just go by what i see (condition of my dogs) rather than the music (descriptions of other dogs.)

For my dog, raw food = improved energy levels and a 30429% improvement in stool consistency. Also, since switching to a half-raw diet, her coat has become much softer.

I've gone through pretty dramatic changes with all of my dogs when I switched them to better foods. Until about 6 months ago, my Bulldog and Chihuahua (didnt have the akita at the time) were on Kibbles and Chunks, or whatever else was on sale. I lived at home, my parents bought the dog food, and they were completely ignorant and refused to believe the premium foods were worth the money. Both of my dogs had serious doggy breath, oily, gross coats, a bad doggy smell, and massive poops. My 10 pound chihuahua's piles were almost as big as my 60 pound bulldog's. My chihuahua had always been seriously under weight. It was a problem we had struggled with since he was a puppy. He was very active and needed alot of food, but he hated every kibble we tried and he would just barely nibble at anything he was given. He ate just enough to keep from starving. It was to the point where we constantly had to dress him up to keep from getting dirty looks when we brought him out. People thought we were starving him. The vet said that he was healthy, that some dogs are just that way, and that he would eat as much as he needed. Obviously he wasn't. [8|]
 
My bulldog actually seemed pretty healthy other than being overweight. He had all of the gross doggy smells, but at the time we thought that's how dogs were "supposed" to smell. I wanted him to lose some weight, but that was about it.
 
First I switched them to raw. The changes I saw practically overnight in my chihuahua were amazing. He immediately gained weight and muscle mass. His coat became so beautiful and shiny it actually had a glare. He stopped doing that nervous chihuahua shake, and he calmed down immensely. The really amazing thing is that after he was switched to raw, he made amazing leaps in his house training. He was nearly three years old, and we had never been able to house train him. He just wouldn't learn. He's still not perfect, but now he probably remembers to go outside 85% of the time. The diet switch helped him to calm down, focus, and stop being nervous long enough to actually absorb some of what we were trying to teach him. He just has totally blossomed on raw. I tried giving him a couple of different premium kibbles over the past 2 months, since he had never tried any- he went straight from crap food to raw. He immediately developed all of the same problems again on both Canidae and Blue Buffalo. Raw seems to be the only diet that works for him, and it works perfectly.
 
My bulldog was the opposite on raw. I won't go into all of the problems he had, because the list is pretty long. Basically, he couldn't eat RMB's because his former idiot owners had his canines filed and many of his other teeth pulled, and he practically had to gum them. He became saggy, lost weightand muscle mass, stopped being energetic... he had so much trouble eating his RMBs that he started eating them, puking them up, and eating them again 5 or 6 times until they were crushed up enough to keep down. He was doing terribly, and he just wasn't the same dog. I posted about it here and several people suggested hypothyroidism. That sounded like it might be his problem based on what everyone said, but I wanted to try a food switch first before having a panel done. Sure enough, the second he was on Canidae, his symptoms went away. He stopped being itchy, he gained some weight and he DEFINITELY gained lean muscle mass, his coat improved, and he stopped being generally sick and miserable. He's back to his old self completely, but better because he's no longer overweight. I really think it was as simple as a chicken allergy combined with the fact that he just could not handle RMB's.
 
My akita was a little bit less dramatic. When I got him he had been eating the usual crappy store brand food. His coat was okay, kinda greasy, but he had the absolute worst dog breath and doggy smell I had ever encountered. He also had the biggest, smelliest poops I had ever seen. They were literally the size of a horse....he made a couple of POUNDS of poop at once, a couple of times a day, easy. I immediately switched him to Canidae, and he went through a horrible detox. He had the worst diarrhea I have ever seen and he did it so much and so often he had to spend a couple of days primarily outside because he was literally getting it on the walls. BUT, once that nightmare was over with, he did great. The doggy smell went away, and his poops improved. His coat is less greasy, but overall it's pretty much the same. I switched him from Canidae to Blue Buffalo and he seems to be doing better on that. His poops have improved even more on it and now they're super small. I want to try switching him to raw to see how he does on it, but he's still made some pretty super improvements. []

Results have been VERY evident around our house too.
 
JJ was on Kirkland before coming to live with us and Pru was on Nutro. We have had to try multiple foods due to JJ#%92s allergies so I have been able to notice a difference with all the foods we have tried and most of those results have at least begun to shown themselves within 2-3 weeks  
 
Totally separate from having any food related allergy roblems clear up, I have noticed drastic changes in:
 
*** oop consistency, quantity and sometimes odor
***Coat softness, amount of shine, color and DEFINATLY in amount of shedding
***Eyes- eye boogers and red eyes
  

my wife bought felidae (seemed really pricey compared to the other foods). since then, puking is almost gone, tiny poops, no flaky skin, and shedding is minimal. also, we got a 20lb bag (same size as purina).

 
Our 1 cat has shown insanly good results with felidae!   I switched off Purina One (which he had been on with no problems for over 10 years) becasue he was having such flaky skin all of a sudden.  I LOVE this food![]  

Here is a quick little tool.
 
[linkhttp://www.purinaone.com/dogcare_health_signs_flash.asp]http://www.purinaone.com/dogcare_health_signs_flash.asp[/link]