POLL: Premium Dry Kibble Survey

Thank you so much Forum Members for participating! The more the better! Even if your food is not on this list please let me know what you DO feed and WHY and mark "Other". Having a healthy diet for my pets are important to me and I love hearing all of the different opinions. If your brand name is not listed on here, no worries, these were just some of the most "suggested" foods I knew off the top of my head :o) I now am noticing that Natura products are popular one as well.

Keep on voting! ;o)

I chose other. I feed Fromm Family 4-star kibbles, natures variety premade raw, and some homecooked.

Come everybody! I know you are out there! Come on over and VOTE VOTE VOTE! :o)

Thank you to the 38 members who did vote so far... but I know there are a lot more of you out there! Your opinion counts! Let's here it! Thanks!

 Other: Wellness Core Reduced Fat      Why: grain free, low carbs, high protein

(mixed 50/50 with homecooked or EP canned - add salmon oil 3x/week since the fat is so low)

Currently they are eating Eagle Pack Holistic formulas. Over the years - from 1999 to present - all three of our dogs (or at least one) have been fed with good to excellent results: California Natural, Canidae, Honest Kitchen dehydrated raw, Innova, Innova EVO, DVP's Natural Balance, Nutro, Pinnacle, Pro Plan (1999 w/our first Golden, prior to our current three dogs), Solid Gold, and Wellness.

The first premium kibble we tried was California Natural in 2001...from there we've tried quite a few.

At this point, we would probably not feed Nutro, Pro Plan or Solid Gold (due to intolerance of changed formula) in the future.

I my dogs and I were stranded on a desert island and could only have one kibble, Orijen would be it. 

A couple of my guys eat the Holistic Select.  I am going to start my pup on it also.  My fourth eats a prescription diet.

I did a good bit of research.  I liked what I saw.  I was looking for a good/premium, but affordable dog food that was not involved in the '07 recall.  I am still looking for a good canned that was not involved.

I feed the following in rotation: Canidae All Life Stages, Healthwise, and, once in awhile, Nature's Logic. I also feed various Evangers and Innova Evo 95% canned foods.

Healthwise is made by Natura who also makes Innova, Innova EVO, Cal Natural, and Karma. Natura is one of two companies I trust and I have no nagging thoughts in my mind about the quality of their products (I would have this feeling if I were to use any of the products made by Diamond including those made by Diamond for other companies like Solid Gold and, if I am not mistaken, Natural Balance).  I prefer Healthwise over Innova and Cal Natural (I don't feed organic, so I will probably never try Karma) for a couple of reasons.... lower carbohydrate content in comparison to Innova and Cal Natural, economical given the fact that Natura uses the same grade of ingredients in Healthwise as in their other products and no fruits or veggies, and crude protein of 25% or more (not from grains).

Canidae is the other company I trust.  I buy the ALS dry and ALS canned food.

I like Nature's Logic a lot for the results it gives my lab.  I like the fact it uses no man made vitamins.  I don't completely feel comfortable with the company because the company is not as open and up front as Natura.  For this reason, I don't use Nature's Logic as often as Canidae or Healthwise. 

I add a lot of fresh home cooked food, canned sardines, eggs, some (not too much at all) fruits and veggies my lab likes, and etc.

 I chose Raw or Homecooked, since that is what the most money goes to.  They do eat more kibble though, but its less expensive than cuts of meat.  The kibble they currently get is Acana, which is the step down from Orijen, but as soon as this bag is done I'm making a trip to get some Orijen.  My biggest reason for buying that other than the ingredient list is the fact that its made in Canada and that makes me feel better about feeding any kibble.

Thinking about it a bit more, they might eat more raw than kibble in terms of weight...Somehow I think they bigger part of their calories is kibble though. I'm gonna have to look at that more. 

 Other--right now I feed Go Natural Salmon and Oatmeal mixed with fresh food  for my dog's allergies. I rotate a lot tho. Anything all-natural and doesn't have barley, flaxseed, or brewers yeast I will use in rotation as long as her skin is good and her eyes don't tear.

 I chose OTHER because I not only rotate kibble but I also rotate between kibble , raw and homecooked. My premium choice of kibble is Canine Caviar Venison and Split Pea. It's got the highest amount of omega fatty acids, a high calorie count ( 599 kcal/cup ) so I feed MUCH less than any other brand, a decent protein level, is grain free, fruit and veggie free as well as containing chelated minerals and probiotics and my dogs absolutely love it.  We also use Orijen , Wellness Core, Taste of the Wild and Solid Gold Barking at the Moon.  We've tried every food out there, grain-free and not and had terrible results with Blue Buffalo ( hot spots and crappy coats ), Innova Evo ( crappy coats and dry skin ), Fromm 4 Star ( crappy greasy coats ),  had FANTASTIC results w/Timberwolf  ( coats were gleaming and soft ) but don't trust the food anymore since they raised the price and cheapened the ingredients,  Artemis Maximal Grain Free ( dogs just plain HATED it ) and all of the other brands mentioned have too many ingredients  I don't care for, too many grains, not enough meat, not enough protein, not enough fat, calories etc. and you have to feed way too much which gets to be quite expensive.

I rotate, but the mainstay is Innova.  I stick to premium foods, and keep an eye on The Dog Food Project for changes in ingredients/ownership of companies, etc. 

I chose Raw/Homecooked.  Four of the dogs are completely raw fed, the other eats Canidae.

And despite the votes, we come back to the fact that no one food is the best for every dog.

Innova and Blue are AWESOME for my dogs, Canidae is a 98%er and only because the coats aren't quite as nice on Canidae.  But honestly, Innova would have to be a 98%er too, based on the coats on Blue. And I'm not talking crappy coats....just a touch more shedding, and a touch less shine.  Muscle tone stays perfect, theres just a slight edge for coats with the Blue.

Yet, for many, these are foods that cause issues.

TWO is one that many folks swear by.  Yet it gives MY dogs big, greasy, darkish stools.  And when you have SIX large dogs, size and quality of stool really matters.  EP Holistique is yet another and it looks good.  But, what comes out of my dogs, doesn't.  I've never had any major skin problems with my dogs on any food, just a slight difference in coats, but digestion-wise, there is a difference.

Go figure.

The bottom line is, there IS no best food.  Whatever works for your individual dog IS the best food for him/her.