Trying to pick a "good" dog food, any help?

Never tried DVP.  What is this 4 ingredient rule? Never heard of it?
 
Bottom line, you'll have to find soemthing you think looks good, try it w/your dogs and see how they do and then either stick with it or try something else.
 
[linkhttp://www.dogfoodproject.com]www.dogfoodproject.com[/link] is a good place to start also.

Good Luck.

i know i go against the general trend of dog food authorities but I used to tell clients , when they got a new pup or dog to go to the grocery store and pick  out a good named brand , buy a small amount and see how the dog handles it...if diarhia occurs then that is not good...may be  try another and what ever the dog seems to like and its bowells are normal then stick with it...I know a lot of people are against the commercial brands but  they, especially Purina spends millions in research on their foods...In vet school, one of our field trips was to a purina testing station and all the dogs  had been on one food for 15 years or as long as they lived....I never once saw a nutritional deficiency in any of my patients  on commercial diets... But they are not real exotic foods  but they are all nutritionally   healthy,..

Dvet, be careful on this forum when announcing how great commercial foods are. Most of us are into holistic dog foods, if not raw or home cookin.'  I work for a pet product distributor that sells Purina and I still won't feed it to my dog.  Sure they've done lots of testing and that's why they make Pro Plan, Purina's premium food, which can not be sold in grocery stores and is 100 times better then plain old Purina Dog Chow.   Plus Purina has been through alot of changes in the last 10 years.  They've been sold out to Nestle.  Actually the old recipe for Purina dog chow is found in Pro Plan.  Purina Mills, which is a completely different company than the grocery food makers Nestle Purina,  makes a food called Exclusive, which is also very close to the original formula of Dog Chow.  I could go on and on about this, but studies have shown that if it doesn't effect the dog now, it will effect the dogs grand puppies later on down the genetic line.

As for the Natural Balance Potato and Duck.  I assume that you mean the first 4 ingredients in a dog food are the most important/largest amount, and you're worried about potato being the first ingredient and not meat.  I still think that Natural Balance is a good food though.  Honestly, most dogs have better results with Natural Balance Potato and Duck when it comes to allergies, then Solid Gold.

I think that's a bit of a blanket statement, especially since Solid Gold's foods are specifically created to avoid allergy problems. Solid Gold is an expensive food next to Purina, but I'm not really sure how it could be called that versus Natural Balance. Even taking into account the current Petco sale, a 33 pound bag of Wolfcub (one of the more expensive formulas) is only about 10¢ a pound more expensive.

Oh, I meant from my experience working at a pet supplies store.  I've found that customers had better luck when it came to food allergies with Natural Balance than Solid Gold.  Heck, I rotate with Solid Gold Wee Bits.  I think it's great, but my dog only has a wheat allergy.
I think that because Natural Balance Potato and Duck is more basic, it will be less things in it to be allergic to.

Cinch was on Canidae and did very well, but I switched him to NB Duck and Potato because he seemed to like the taste better. I just now switched him after 2 mos, to Hunden Flocken (sp?) from Solid Gold because NB D and P made his eyes tear really badly and he has a hard time keeping weight off while on it (maybe all the starch?).

You raise a good point. To me, it's not about expense. As you pointed out at Dog Days of Summer in Denton, the nutrient profile of Nutro and Eagle Pack are similar but Nutro may seem more expensive. But if that's what my dog can  eat and do well on, then that's what I will buy, just as others have had to buy rx formulas that are more expensive. If all my dog could eat was Wolf King and it cost 10 cents more a pound than Nutro, big fripping deal. I will pay the $16 extra to buy it, because that would be what he needs. That's a whopping 32 cents more a day and I can afford that. If I am down to where 32 cents a day is making or breaking me, then I've got bigger problems to worry about. I had tried Innova, which costs more per pound than Nutro. We didn't have a good experience with it, which is why I didn't get more, cost aside.

Our vet  is much the same way. He even carries some of the Purina rx but he doesn't "push" it. And I tend to consider a health check up from the vet to be an even better indicator of health than just what my eyes can see. Usually, a fecal, heart, and lungs is a good indicator along with the visual clues of coat, eyes, and energy. If we thought there was an issue, then a blood test would certainly be in order.

he has a hard time keeping weight off while on it (maybe all the starch?).

 
   Could be; Jessie was on a Nutro weight loss food for over a year and lost very little even though I ended up feeding her a lot less than recommended; the first ingredient was rice. I changed her to a food that was 40% meat meal ( it was Eagle Pack Duck)  because she was having very serious problems from her allergies and I was trying to help her immune system; I fed her 25% less than recommended and she lost a half pound a week and returned to her ideal weight even though she was getting about 100 more calories a day than on the Nutro. She always seemed to have plenty of energy but after a few weeks on the Eagle Pack she had even more energy.
   I admire dvet's pluck for recommending Purina knowing how people are on this forum. It is true they spend millions of dollars on research but it would be nice if they would ut that research to good use and put some meat in their food; many of their products use corn as the first ingredient.

In order not to loose what few friends I have, I will say that I agree with everyone above...I also agree with the yearly exam and blood check... i would run a routine micro hematocrit on all the pups  (dogs) with their yearly check up...This was a good test to see if any advance tests are required...But again I agree with evey one because they are all opinons and everybody's opinion is correct---at least to those who hold the opinion....confusing????Right

I have a question...when did Dick Van Patton become a nutritionist???

"All of our feeding trials are conducted in the animal's own environment, in conjunction with veterinarians, kennels, breeders and pet owners, to ensure that all Natural Balance[size="1"]® products are extremely palatable, nutritious and the best possible formulation for the health of your pet. Our feeding trials are a positive experience and enjoyable for animals!"


That was from the website...looks like they just test the food and don't consult nutritionists??

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My rule is that if is on the shelves of the grocery store then it not that good for the dogs and the first ingredient on those grocery store foods are  meat by products or meal.  I started my dog on Nature's Recipe but she had severe allergies so I switched to Solid Gold for many years but she gained weight, then I switched to Natural (or Nature's) Variety.  Again she gained more weight.  I have found that Wellness Weight management helps with her allergies and her weight.  My vet is not a Holistic vet but I took him the ingredients and Nutrional information and he said that it was exactly what she needed.  I also put my 2 year old puppy on it.  She's been on it since the age of 6 months.

Hi - I am not too familiar with some of the brand names being floated around here on the post, but a great source for finding a local premium dog food near you is The Whole Dog Journal.  They do charge a small fee for obtaining back articles at their website, but they write an article every year on dog foods, and after reading it, I would NEVER feed my dog anything made by Purina, Hill, etc.  The WDJ article explains very clearly their criterea for being included as a good choice (real meat being the first ingredient, etc.)  From their list, I picked a food called Eagle Pack.  Mostly, I picked it because it is manufactured in my home state (and I try to buy everything locally produced for me and my dogs to eat ...)  But, there are many, many options available.  I agree with what others have said - you need to pick based on criterea you want, and then your dog will be the final judge!!  Good luck!