OK, what SHOULD I be feeding my dog??????

I will slightly disagree.  I don't think there is ANY reason to use peanut hulls in dog food and I can't imagine that they are actually GOOD for a dog.

Is she doing well on her current diet? If so, then there's no need to change, just because someone in an internet forum doesn't like your choices.

True. However, wouldn't it be nice to try a new food that someone else recommended, and see if she does even better than "well"? Sure worked for me! []

ORIGINAL: glenmar

I will slightly disagree.  I don't think there is ANY reason to use peanut hulls in dog food and I can't imagine that they are actually GOOD for a dog.

Peanut hulls are not used in dog foods for their "nutritional" value.  They are used as a source of insoluable fiber in weight loss formulas, to help the dog feel full.  Ideally, once the dog is back down to an acceptable weight, you should be able to switch back to a formula that doesn't include peanut hulls, as most do not.

Or, I could just feed less of the regular food and make up the difference in green beans.....

ORIGINAL: Cita

Is she doing well on her current diet? If so, then there's no need to change, just because someone in an internet forum doesn't like your choices.

True. However, wouldn't it be nice to try a new food that someone else recommended, and see if she does even better than "well"? Sure worked for me! []

Where does it all end, though?  I've seen the same debate in countless other forums.  It starts with someone posting about whatever product is trendy (Brand X) at the moment, something they've just switched to and can't praise enough.   That person will recommend that same product to anyone and everyone for the next several weeks or months, extolling all its virtues and talking about improved, skin, coat, eyes, vitality, etc. 

Then a few months later, some other product becomes trendy and the person who's been pushing Brand X starts to post about how their dog's skin, coat, eyes, etc. really aren't doing all THAT good on Brand X anymore.  It really isn't working anymore.  Or maybe it is working but there might be something better out there.  So they try Brand Y and Brand Y becomes flavor of the month for a while, and inherits all the virtues previously attributed to Brand X.  And a few months later, Brand Z comes out and the whole cycle starts over and over again.  And so on and so on and so on.

The sort of owner described above never seems to find that elusive perfect food.  But then there are those who find something that works, stick with it as long as it is working -- and lo and behold, it doesn't cost an arm and a leg and even more amazingly is convenient to buy -- and he dog does well and lives a long and healthy life.  Why tinker with success?

I am not quick to change brands.  I homecook for dinner so my feeling is that their variety is coming from that.  However, I have started rotating brands simply to be "certain".  And one of my major criteria, beyond how THEY look and do on the food, is stool size.  Everything else can be fine, but if I've gotta deal with double and triple the size stools, it's not gonna happen.

ORIGINAL: glenmar

Or, I could just feed less of the regular food and make up the difference in green beans.....

Yes, that works too.  But it depends on what the regular food is and the quantity of kibble and beans served and how long the dog will be on this weight loss regimen.  Adding green beans to the diet is basically adding fiber, just like the peanut hulls in the weight loss formula.  The green beans really don't add all that much in the way of nutrition, not nearly as much as some people believe.  They work well if the dog just needs to cut back on the calories a little bit.

If a dog needs to lose a lot of weight, you could theoretically be feeding a lot of green beans and very little kibble, and the dog would not be taking in enough of the kibble to meet its nutritional needs.  The weight loss formula with the added fiber (peanut hulls) is formulated to provide increased fiber and still maintain the proper balance of nutrients.

Maggies Mom - Prancer weighs 12 lbs, so I think we have some other options in food choice only because total cost of food is lower than many peoples in this forum who have larger or multiple dogs.
After reading and reading and reading and getting dazed and confused by all the "food debates" I've decided that I'm just sticking with wet food and picking a variety of products and a variety of recipes.   I have however learned one very valuable thing and that's the ingredients matter.  I'm staying away from wheat and corn because I've never really seen anything that says they are necessary in a dogs diet.  I'm ok with rice and barley and oatmeal (if they are whole grain).   And I've tended towards mixing and matching amoung the following brands:  Natural Balance, Canidea, Blue Buffalo, and Solid Gold.    I also give her 1/4 cup of kibble a day to use as training treats - but since I stick with the same brands mentioned above (that have natural preservatives) I find I have to throw away much of the bag as we don't go through it in 2 months, which is how long I was told I could store them for.
 

Save yourself some money...when you first open the bag, transfer portions to air tight containers or ziploc bags and FREEZE it.

I too urge you to look into feeding a home-prepared diet, either raw or cooked. No processed preserved commercial diet is as good as a fresh balanced diet.
With a small dog it's highly affordable, and guess what, you won't have to worry about your dog being poisoned by mysterious ingredients in the commercial food.
 
There are many balanced recipes available nowadays.

mudpuppy?  would you shoot me a pm or email please?

ORIGINAL: mudpuppy

I too urge you to look into feeding a home-prepared diet, either raw or cooked. No processed preserved commercial diet is as good as a fresh balanced diet.
With a small dog it's highly affordable, and guess what, you won't have to worry about your dog being poisoned by mysterious ingredients in the commercial food.

No, but you still have to worry about contaminants in our own food supply.  Remember the recent problems with spinach, lettuce, peanut butter? A homemade diet isn't necessarily the answer.

Remember the recent problems with spinach, lettuce, peanut butter?

 
luckily dogs are generally resistant to the E. coli and salmonella that tainted these foods. Not really a problem for them to eat contaminated spinach.

I'm currently switching over to Natural Balance (from Nutro Natural Choice) but my goal is to, by the end of the year, transition over to home-prepared. New house=room for a chest freezer!

ORIGINAL: mudpuppy

Remember the recent problems with spinach, lettuce, peanut butter?

luckily dogs are generally resistant to the E. coli and salmonella that tainted these foods. Not really a problem for them to eat contaminated spinach.

Very true.  Dogs don't really need spinache, lettuce or peanut butter anyway.  And if there are other contaminated human foods, well, humans will be dying too, so it all equals out.[]