Grade your kibble

ORIGINAL: lexibelle

Sorry for taking over the thread here.  [>:]

I just called the only feed store in the city that carries Innova Evo and the largest bag they carry is 28 lbs for $41, and a 30 lb bag of Nature's Variety Chicken is $37 or Venison is $45. 

I've read that you can't feed Innova to large breed puppies, and I'd like to get one food for both Winston and Romy. 

 
You can't feed Evo to large breed pups, but you can feed regular Innova.
 
Have you looked at Canidae? The good thing about them is they actually have 40 lb bags and I think at Bethany Country Store it ran me about $36, Britton Feed was a dollar higher.

TIMBERWOLF ORGANICS - 121

ORIGINAL: sooner

Have you looked at Canidae? The good thing about them is they actually have 40 lb bags and I think at Bethany Country Store it ran me about $36, Britton Feed was a dollar higher.

I just checked out their ingredients and the feeding chart, and I think that will work out great!  It's just a few dollars more, BUT I will also be getting 3 more lbs of food!  I'm so excited about trying it out!  It's time for a new bag of food, so I'll pick one up at the end of the week.  Thanks for your help!! []
 
Edited to ask:  I noticed there are lots of Omega 3's in Canidae.  Do you still supplement with a fish oil, or do you find it's not neccessary?

Thank you, cakana. One of the problems I have with the premium dog food is finding a local source......Costco is not too far, and we are there every few weeks anyway.

PetGuard Lifespan: 101
 

I feed the same food you feed but I haven't bothered to grade it. For one thing, the grading system is based on a human's idea of what a good meal is, rather than exactly what a dog needs. Each dog has different needs, sometimes within the same breed. I know a guy that owns 3 labs. Two of the gorge and the other eats a little at a time. Also, I am also wondering why they author prefers one grain over another. I have read that barley has, at times, been a more common allergen than corn or rice. I partially believe that Shadow had problems with Innova because of the barley in it. He does not have an allergic reaction to rice, though. So, to say that barley is superior to rice as a grain ignores our real-life experience. Neither one is superior. One is simply more appropriate for my dog than another. So, I don't consider what I feed to be a "better" food than Innova, which is indeed, a fine food. This whole idea of grading food based on ingredient lists that humans like is what got me to try Innova at all, and it didn't work out for us. So, I learned, that it is about what my dog needs, rather than which ingredient list I like better.
 
I guess I spent my two cents all in spot.
 

ORIGINAL: lexibelle

Edited to ask:  I noticed there are lots of Omega 3's in Canidae.  Do you still supplement with a fish oil, or do you find it's not neccessary?

I do, but I have no idea if it's really necessary with Canidae. I rotate kibble and I give salmon oil with everything.

Blue Buffalo- 120!
 
No wonder Bernie does so well on it. And, I can get it at my PetsMart!

Ron,
 
They seem to do pretty well on Nutro (much softer coats, no goopy eyes, clean ears), but I do have a few issues that cause me to think they could do even better on something else.  Like their stools are a little odd in color  - a greenish brown.  Romy actually had better stools on Iam's, oddly enough.  They were a regular brown and were smaller.  Also, even with supplementing with salmon oil Winston is pretty itchy.  However, it's mostly just at bedtime, I've noticed.  His skin isn't flakey like it was when I got him, but he does still itch more than he probably should.  The Canidae seems to have lots of Omega 3's in it already, so I hope to see an improvement in that.
 
 

Clients of mine have 3 dogs. An Amstaff puppy and two coonhound mixes. They feed them Science Diet and are happy with the stool situation. They had tried them on Nutro and their stool changed, though they think that might have been from switching cold turkey, which some dogs can do, and some cannot. So, they went back to Science Diet and haven't had a problem since.
 

Fromm Salmon a la Veg comes in at 120. []

ORIGINAL: lexibelle

Edited to ask:  I noticed there are lots of Omega 3's in Canidae.  Do you still supplement with a fish oil, or do you find it's not neccessary?

Lexi, I feed Canidae and I don't supplement it with fish oil. Spot's skin used to be somewhat dry and red before Canidae and now it is soft and pink. [] I think maybe when you first try it out, try feeding it plain for a while and see if your dogs do fine without the extra oil.

I feed Spot Canidae Platinum (the Senior formula) and the price is $35 for 35 lbs. Though at my Pet Supplies Plus they have Canidae All Life Stages, which is $32 for 40 lb. I fed the ALS for a while but switched to Platinum because Spot is 8 years old now and I thought he could use the Glucosamine + Chondroitin, which is contained in the Platinum.

I have been feeding Sensible Choice for 1+ years. My dog did a comlete turn around. Coat, skin, allergies and muscle all improved greatly after about three months. Stools decreased to once a day and looked good (did I just say that?).
 
I like it and my dog loves it. More importantly, he does well on it. I find it is a coule of bucks cheaper than Evo, Innova or Can in my area. I will admit I have only found it in three stores in my area.
 
We called Royal Canin before I started and they were very responsive - in fact they also suggested I may want to try Dick Van Pattens food or Cannidae. I almost fell of my chair! Imagine a company letting you know a competing brand was also a good food...
 
just my 2 cents

I've read that you can't feed Innova to large breed puppies, and I'd like to get one food for both Winston and Romy.

 
Actually, I do believe you can. A while back, Glenda sent me their feeding requirements for puppies when I was switching from Nutro. I was told I didn't need to buy the LB puppy; the adult formula was fine. Maddi was 6 or 7 months old at the time.

You can't feed Innova EVO to large breed pups.  Regular Innova is fine and I do have the conversion chart for how much to feed if you need it.