Well, mid grade for me I think...

That may be true but I definately see a difference in her coat on certain foods.  I think it's more work with a heavier coated dog to get the look you want.

To be honest, I've never really seen a different in coat shine or texture when switching foods.

 
My sister switched her pit bull from Iams to Innova a few months ago, and within 2 or 3 weeks his coat was noticeably softer and shinier (and it wasn't at all dull beforehand, and wasn't rougher than you'd expect a pit's coat to be), and he stopped shedding ridiculous a amount. Now 2 1/2 months later, his coat is like a different dog's. Super soft (and for a pit bull with that super short hair, that's something to talk about!) and super duper shiny.

ORIGINAL: jenns

I think 95% of what makes a coat shiny is genetic, not diet related.  The same goes for humans.  It is more dependent on the shape of the hair follicle and this determines whether the hair shaft will be smooth and reflect light or coarse and be more dull.  The same goes for skin/complexion - it is mostly genetic. Cosuming fish oils/omegas will help to some extent, however.  To be honest, I've never really seen a different in coat shine or texture when switching foods.  The only immediate changes I see are mostly poop related or body odor.

Before I switched to Natural Balance Sweet Potato and Fish, I used to worry about Smokey's coat because it was a bit on the dull side and rough feeling.  Now her hair shines and it is much softer to the touch. 

ORIGINAL: jenns

I think 95% of what makes a coat shiny is genetic, not diet related.

When I finally found a food (Sensible Choice) that completely agreed with my pit bull mix his skin and coat improved 1000%.

no one will agree with me on this one im sure, but i love iams. there, thats right i said it, i think iams is great food. my dog has been doing excellent on it. and look at his coat, it is as soft as it is shiny...

 
Who let this person on here ?? []

When I finally found a food (Sensible Choice) that completely agreed with my pit bull mix his skin and coat improved 1000%.

 
It's great to know that Boomer is doing so well on the Sensible Choice after trying so many foods for him.[]

The problem is that there is not enough information to make a definitive statement as to which food is better by looking at the ingredients list

 
  I partly agree with that; if ingredients of grain based foods like Beneful are compared to meat based foods like Canidae then it's easy to see which food is better, but when comparing good quality meat based foods it can be difficult to know which is better. One thing I do when I'm interested in a food is ask the company what percent of the food is meat meal; Eagle answered that their foods are about 40% meat meal but Nutro said it's "proprietary information" when I asked about Nutro Ultra. Since I know Eagle uses a fairly high meat meal content and their grains are herbicide free I would choose Eagle over Nutro, but that's JMO. I like to know the amount of meat meal in a food because that gives me some idea of how much of the protein comes from meat rather than grain. If one food has more total protein than another food, but the food with less protein has a higher meat meal content, I would prefer the one with higher meat meal content because IMO the protein is better quality.

ORIGINAL: jessies_mom

One thing I do when I'm interested in a food is ask the company what percent of the food is meat meal; Eagle answered that their foods are about 40% meat meal but Nutro said it's "proprietary information" when I asked about Nutro Ultra.

 
That's a great point jessies_mom.  Anyone know what the percentages are for other brands like Innova and Natural Balance?

One thing I do when I'm interested in a food is ask the company what percent of the food is meat meal; Eagle answered that their foods are about 40% meat meal but Nutro said it's "proprietary information" when I asked about Nutro Ultra.

 
Yep, good point, I have called several companies and asked similar questions and  they have all told me that, the amount and quality grade of the meal they use is proprietary information, it's good to see that Eagle was so forthcoming with that information.

you really like Nature's Logic?  I bought a bag, I don't think my one dog is doing well with it, severe diarrhea, despite a very very slow switch and probiotics. I wanted to try it for my other dog with IBD, but he seems to have a lot of fecal with an awful smell starts out normal then goes to extremely soft and diarrhea too.
I got the chicken formula, supposed to be an excellent food but I'm wondering if it's just too rich? I had tried the duck and salmon and that was definitely a no go, severe severe diarrhea, so I let the tummy heal for a while fed only chicken and broth and re-introduced the chicken formula.
Plus I'm not too sure how this food is for a digestive issue dog.
One more thing, they are both urinating a lot more, Is the protien level too high maybe?
Any help is greatly appreciated.
thanks

Yep, good point, I have called several companies and asked similar questions and they have all told me that, the amount and quality grade of the meal they use is proprietary information

  I can't figure out why they're so reluctant to say how much meat meal they use unless they're worried about competing companies using the info in their ads; " We use 10% more meat meal than brand X."  Obviously they don't want to disclose any info that isn't good for their image so I tend to think they use a relatively low amount ( less than 30%) of meat meal and that's why the info is "proprietary".

you really like Nature's Logic? I bought a bag, I don't think my one dog is doing well with it, severe diarrhea, despite a very very slow switch and probiotics. I wanted to try it for my other dog with IBD, but he seems to have a lot of fecal with an awful smell starts out normal then goes to extremely soft and diarrhea too.

 
 I haven't tried Nature's Logic but just wanted to welcome you to idog []. I'm not surprised your IBD dog had problems with it; members who have dogs with IBD feed simple foods like Natural Balance, homecooked, or prescription diets. If your other dog has severe diarrhea you shouldn't keep him on the food as it will only weaken him.

you really like Nature's Logic? I bought a bag, I don't think my one dog is doing well with it, severe diarrhea, despite a very very slow switch and probiotics.

ORIGINAL: mokie

My dog does well on both Nature's Logic Venison & Duck varieties but if I were you I'd abandon ship.  How old and what breed(s) are your dogs?

thanks for the welcome. I thought about Natural Balance but for some reason I haven't found anything about it that pulls me where it would be beneficial to my IBD dog. I honestly think as much as I'd rather not, that the prescription foods or Eukanuba are the way to go, these fancy healthy foods I think are just too much for some dogs. 

ORIGINAL: mokie

thanks for the welcome. I thought about Natural Balance but for some reason I haven't found anything about it that pulls me where it would be beneficial to my IBD dog. I honestly think as much as I'd rather not, that the prescription foods or Eukanuba are the way to go, these fancy healthy foods I think are just too much for some dogs. 

It isn't even a contest between Eukanuba and Natural Balance.  Try one of their allergy foods like Sweet Potato and Fish or Venison and Brown Rice.