Food suggestions

1.  What are some brands I should look at?  A breeder we went to said she feeds hers Iams.  I'm sure there's nothing wrong with Iams, but if I can get something with better quality ingredients for the same ballpark money, I'd rather do that.  I've liked the Natura lines from reading about them, especially Innova.  Royal Canin also has popped up.  Any others I should look for? I would not feed Iams. Our Dane Ollie came to us having been fed Iams and he put out more BMs then he ate food I swear.   I feed Eagle Pack,, switched my Dane from Diamond to it when I got her.  There is a wonderful website that I use for food and dog health problems,, and here is a link of suggested foods and where you can get them as suggested by her,,,she is a canine nutritionist. Her list is made up by not only the ingredients in the food, but also the company itself and their honesty and how they market it. [linkhttp://www.greatdanelady.com/articles/criteria_list_of_better_foods.htm]http://www.greatdanelady.com/articles/criteria_list_of_better_foods.htm[/link]

2.  Why do you rotate brands?  If the dog eats it, does well with it, and seems to have no complaints, why change?  My parents did this with one of our Labs and it seemed to make her a picky eater from all the changing. I stay in the Eagle Pack food line, but rotate formulas. I feel that this way they are not eating the same ingredients day after day. Plus since I wouldn't want to eat the same food day in and day out,,, I feel better about doing this for her,,,whether she really cares or not.  LOL!  I also cook ground meat (chicken, beef, pork or turkey) mix it with veggies (most often baby food veggies) and put on top of her kibble.  I give her an egg on top of her kibble each morning.  She does NOT require these extras... believe me she will eat the whole bowl of dry kibble without them  ( she is a chow hound ) but I do it for added protein and nutrients.

3.  Are there certain things I should look for in a dog food?  Obviously the better, main ingrediants should be at the top and the less junk, chemicals, etc should be at the bottom.   The first ingredients MUST be a meat source AND it must not say MEAT but rather chicken, beef..turkey, lamb etc etc ( meat could be any meat,,,who knows what )  I don't want my meat to be by-products.  Many here have other ingredients they don't like, I'm sure they will be around to tell you what they are and why.

ORIGINAL: Underdog_19

I've been reading here about dog food and while I've learned a lot, I've also become quite confused; innundated with ideas and information may be the better words.  We're looking to get a puppy in the spring (most likely Rhodesian Ridgeback), so I've been researching food, training, etc.  So I have a couple questions when it comes to food.

1.  What are some brands I should look at?  A breeder we went to said she feeds hers Iams.  I'm sure there's nothing wrong with Iams, but if I can get something with better quality ingredients for the same ballpark money, I'd rather do that.  I've liked the Natura lines from reading about them, especially Innova.  Royal Canin also has popped up.  Any others I should look for?

I don't think the brand matters so much as the list of ingredients, make sure they're quality ingredients, and that MEAT sources are listed first instead of grains.  I can't knock or advocate Iams, I don't feed it regularly.  In a pinch I may get them a can, but that's maybe 2 times a year.  Our dogs didn't really like Natural Balance, it wasn't palatable enough to them, but our cats LOVE it and I like the ingredients.  I home cook for them and give them fish- canned salmon, mackerel, sardines.  They LOVE their fish!  Also, I give them plain yogurt with fish oil nightly for the probiotics.
 

2.  Why do you rotate brands?  If the dog eats it, does well with it, and seems to have no complaints, why change?  My parents did this with one of our Labs and it seemed to make her a picky eater from all the changing.

I had no choice but switch, several times, until I found a kibble that worked for our dogs.  We had issues like dry itchy skin on the Purina One the HS gave us when we adopted Peanut, she improved greatly on Nutro.  When we adopted Draico, he had dry coarse hair and no shine; for all I know he was fed Ol' Roy.  He improved on Nutro as well, but still itched more than usuak, I thought.  I learned about the Premium foods on this forum and decided to try them.  Well, we had mixed results; I tried Innova, Solid Gold, Natural Balance, just to name a few.  One or both dogs had issues from severe diahhrea, hair loss, to just not wanting to eat, so I went back to Nutro.  Draico's true allergies (airborne), Atopy came out and the vet gave him Prednisone, so I needed to find a way to strengthen his immune system and fast!  That's when I started feeding the fish and yogurt with fish oil.  I noticed that he'd still itch, so I thought it may be a grain sensitivity and needed to take him off the Nutro because it contains wheat and corn.  We tried Royal Canin Maxi German Shepherd formula and that was it - YAY, succuess!  So, now they get the RC kibble for breakfast and the home cooked for dinner.
 

3.  Are there certain things I should look for in a dog food?  Obviously the better, main ingrediants should be at the top and the less junk, chemicals, etc should be at the bottom.

 
I agree with Dyan, look at the ingredients for the specific Meat source (is it lamb, chicken, or beef. etc) to be listed FIRST; no meat by products, no grains as the first ingredient.  I think that a "meal (like chicken-meal)" is OK as long as it's NOT at the top of the list. 
IMHO, you have to find what will work best for you and your dog, and that may take a few tries. 

When I came around here asking similar questions, someone directed me to [linkhttp://www.dogfoodproject.com/]http://www.dogfoodproject.com/[/link] - great, informative site!

 

I think that a "meal (like chicken-meal)" is OK as long as it's NOT at the top of the list. 

 
Actually, I believe the "meal" is really better than just plain meat such as chicken, beef, etc.  Meal is the meat with the water removed,,, you can actually be getting 70% water in just meat...where as with meat Meal..you can be getting 100% meat.

Thanks for the info Dyan.  Somewhere, one of my books, I read that meal shouldn't be first on the list. 
Honestly, I won't knock nor advocate any particular food, premium or semi.  The only ones I would never feed are store brands.  Although some people have had good results with Kirkland's (Costco brand).  I truly believe that each dog is different and you have to find what works. [sm=2cents.gif] 

[linkhttp://www.dogfoodproject.com]www.dogfoodproject.com[/link] is a good place to learn more about quality ingredients.  However, I believe it's all about trial and error...it will honestly take a good while until you find a food that works best for your dog.  []

I was very successful with Innova large breed puppy for my RR. However, when i switched him to innova adult he didn't do as well for some reason. He did well on natural balance venison and rice, but i've decided to keep him on canidae.

I got into it with my vet about feeding my dog RAW.  He says that I can#%92t possibly know what vitamins and nutrients I#%92m missing by feeding just a raw diet.  Well long story short and after researching this long and hard I#%92ve come to the conclusion that we should be feeding our dogs raw and table scraps.  The table scraps I#%92m referring to are the kinds of table scraps you might find in a pre-industrial revolution kitchen.  Cooked unprocessed foods.  The best evidence shows that dogs have been eating raw and human table scraps for over 10,000 years.   Every time I go to the vet, which is only for vaccinations, he is amazed how clean her teeth are and how she is so healthy.  Use what works for your dog and btw I have a Ridgeback.  Good luck