Dog Community

On a mission to get my dogs off of yuck food!

Posted : 6/4/2006 10:46:49 AM

My dogs have been fed for their whole lives what I can only imagine is an awful brand....for those of you in Eastern US who might know it, it's the Kostco brand, Kirkland Signature. My dad just buys it because it's convenient and probably cheap...I don't think he believes that there are "bad" dog foods. If it's made to feed a dog, then he's sure it'll work [&:] He's not a dumb dog owner, he just feels that if they've been doing "fine" on it so far, why change? *sigh* I've recently become hyper aware about what's going into my pets and had a great deal of success switching my pet rats over to a completely whole food diet (no processed foods whatsoever) and despite the extra expenses, I'm so glad I did it. My rats' fur is shiny, silky and so healthy looking. Now it's time for my dogs. The problem is, my mom doesn't want to have any extra effort in feeding the dogs. My dad doesn't want the extra cost. They've been doing this for 7 years....and I don't know how to get them to change! The moment I can move Cairo out of the house with me, I'm planning on switching him to a BARF diet, which is my ideal food for them. I've mentioned feeding BARF to my parents and they come up with a myriad of excuses. Mom doesn't have the extra freezer room, doesn't want to take the extra time and effort to prepare dinner (aside from grabbing a bowl and dumping kibble in it), and doesn't want to have to deal with cleaning up after raw meat all the time. I would be willing to do all this stuff, but the problem is I'll be going back to college come next fall and they'll be the ones taking care of the dogs...so this is all in their hands.

Here's what I want to do: find an alternative food, preferably something closer to a raw diet, that isn't hopelessly overpriced and is easier to deal with than raw meat, but has the nutritional value. I really wanted them to have bones to chew on to keep their teeth white, but I don't think that will work with my parents (though I did buy the dogs chicken legs the other day). If all else fails, I suppose I'll just find a better brand of kibble, but with SO MANY to choose from, I'm really totally at a loss as to which to try [&:]

Does anyone have any suggestions? I'm desperate to get my dogs off of this nasty stuff...

willowchow

Posted : 6/4/2006 11:52:49 AM

Well, from what I've read on this forum the brand they are getting isn't bad.

If you want you could switch to a pre-made raw, but it is expensive. Or, you could try them on Innova Evo or Solid Gold's Bark at the Moon. [

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shamrockmommy

Posted : 6/4/2006 1:25:08 PM

I agree with willowchow. Kirkland isn't that awful of a food, at least it's not ol'roy or pedigree.

There are lots of brands out there that are of high quality for you to try.
We have settled on PetGuard Lifespan kibble and canned [linkhttp://www.petguard.com]www.petguard.com[/link]

Good luck

Mikaela Ritter

Posted : 6/4/2006 6:59:57 PM

Wow really? I always assumed it was pretty bad because I've never heard of like anyone else using it...I figured it was one of those no-name brands, like Wal-Mart brand or something. I've looked at the ingredients, but I'm not all that great at recognizing good vs bad signs in the ingredients list...when it comes to nutrition and the like, I just never got the hang of it. Is Innova expensive? I've heard a lot of good things about that, so I might look into seeing if we can switch them to that...thanks for the help, makes me feel better knowing they're not on something terrible like Beneful or Ol' Roy...

cyclefiend2000

Posted : 6/4/2006 7:34:23 PM

i checked on innova a month or so ago, and if i remeber correctly it was about $1.40 per lb. per lb. it is more per lb than the food we feed now, but according to the feeding guidelines on their web site we would be spending about the same per feeding as the food we are using takes more per day than the innova. that was for the regular innova though. the evo is a little more expensive.

smilee1079

Posted : 6/4/2006 7:57:03 PM

Innova costs me about $21 for a 16 lb. bag vs. the $17 I paid for a 20 lb. bag of Iams. However, I fed 2/3 to 1 cup of Iams a day and only feed 1/2 cup of Innova a day so it lasts longer, thus making the cost similar or less. I haven't figured it out yet but I think my 16 lb. bag is lasting as long as my 20 lb bag did and over 3-4 months, $4 is no big deal... but your dogs look big and eat more food than mine. I know the bigger bags of Innova are a better deal.

Canidae is also a good deal and Dog.com sells it now too so you can check the pricing there.

Luvntzus

Posted : 6/5/2006 12:53:40 AM

From what I've seen, Kirkland food is "okay", not great but much better than Iams, Pedigree, etc.

The closest kibble to a raw diet is a grain free one like Solid Gold Barking at the Moon and Innova EVO, but they're expensive- especially for feeding two large dogs.

The best food that I know of (for the the cost) is Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul. Here's the website:

[linkhttp://www.chickensoupforthepetloverssoul.com/]http://www.chickensoupforthepetloverssoul.com/[/link]

Good luck convincing your parents to switch to a better food! [

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jennie_c_d

Posted : 6/5/2006 9:55:46 AM

Kirkland is Diamond. It's not the best, but not the worst by far.

I agree that EVO or Barking at the Moon, or Nature's Variety's RAW Instinct is the closest to raw you'll get in a kibble, BUT.... not all dogs tolerate these foods. It's much harder to digest a dehydrated version than it is to break down the real thing, and some dogs just can't do it.

Mikaela Ritter

Posted : 6/5/2006 11:08:30 AM

Hrm, I think I'm going to see if I can go for Innova EVO...but I'm not exactly sure where to find it. I don't think PetSmart carries it. Do you guys buy it online or at a local store?

Luvntzus

Posted : 6/5/2006 11:51:32 AM

Innova EVO isn't at Petsmart or Petco. You can find it in small specialty pet stores, feed stores, and online. Here's a link to it at petfooddirect.

[linkage]http://www.petfooddirect.com/store/product_detail.asp?pf%5Fid=2011222&dept%5Fid=1&brand%5Fid=9&

age[/link]=>http://www.petfooddirect.com/store/product_detail.asp?pf%5Fid=2011222&dept%5Fid=1&brand%5Fid=9&

age]http://www.petfooddirect.com/store/product_detail.asp?pf%5Fid=2011222&dept%5Fid=1&brand%5Fid=9&

age[/link]=

sandra_slayton

Posted : 6/5/2006 3:31:34 PM

Since I don't have the foggiest idea how to post pictures with PM, the only thing I can do to show you Honey is to post picture here.

sandra_slayton

Posted : 6/5/2006 3:39:14 PM

Another shot--I think the one above looks like the one of Nikki in your posts.

sandra_slayton

Posted : 6/5/2006 3:43:22 PM

And one more of Honey so you can compare.

Mikaela Ritter

Posted : 6/5/2006 4:58:15 PM

Wow, that's the closest I've ever seen another dog come to looking like Nikki! Looks like she even has the same face stripe! I can definitely see sighthound in her face...the way the eyes are wideset and the cheek bones are so high is very sighthoundy, so I would say that there is no doubt some kind of hound in her. Which one exactly is a little more difficult, as it technically could be anything. She has more feathering than Nikki does and not as much silly toe fur, but her whole chest area looks very similar to Nikki's....if Nikki weren't so old I'd question if they were long lost siblings! But Nikki's going on 8 and came from West Virginia, so it's incredibly unlikely (though she did have a brother at the pound, white with big brown patches - a saluki color pattern - so she probably had other siblings as well). Judging just by her looks, I'd say it's possible that she has Saluki in her, but I guess it depends on where she came from and the amount of Salukis in the area. Salukis are very rare and sometimes I doubt our guesses as Nikki being part Saluki, but I can't see any other breed with feet like that!

sandra_slayton

Posted : 6/5/2006 5:46:10 PM

When I saw that picture of Nikki in the post I thought "Gee whiz, that looks just like Honey" and then read the golden/saluki part and the thought crossed my mind that it could be Honey's sister somewhere else.

Her "feet fur" is longer than the other dogs, and especially the fur between her pads. It is longer and much thicker. And yes, she does have the stripe down her face and her feel all look like they were dipped in white paint, but she is pale enough it doesn't show that well in pictures. We were watching dog show a couple years back and when the saluki came out in the hound group, hubby said "That is Honey's face on that that dog.!" Oh, another thing, Honey's tail is longer than the other dogs and she has enough fur on the end that is so long that it touches the ground when her tail is down.