Feeding 2 different brands at the same time?

Aesop eats an all life stages food mixed with puppy food half and half, both meals.

I have done:

(1) am meal - 1 brand, pm meal - 1 brand

(2) mixing both brand for am and pm meals

(3) 3 days 1 brand, the next 3 days another brand.

On top of these, I have added canned food, eggs, veggies, and etc.  Also, when I usually make sure that when 1 brand of food dry food is finished, I still have at least 2 to 3 weeks of the other brand.  That way when I buy a new dry food, I am not introducing the food cold turkey.  Although my lab (not yet 2 years old) has gotten used to eating so many different things and has no stomach issue, I just want to be cautious.

I have fed Iams half and half with Chicken Soup Dog food.  I liked the ingredients on CS but the dog always had runny poop.  With Iams everything firmed up and he got some of the good nutrients in the Chicken soup

 I've always thought it was perfectly fine, but Mordanna has this to say; http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=myths;

Every brand of dog food follows a specific formulation and nutritional philosophy, developed by the manufacturer. All products are formulated to supply a balanced amount of nutrients in a ration of a certain size (remember kibble size and density vary from brand to brand), based on the body weight of the dog. When mixing different kibbles, instead of getting "the best of both", your dog isn't going to eat enough of either one to get the full benefit of a particular nutritional system designed and researched by a manufacturer. Last but not least, if digestive upset occurs, it's going to take so much longer to figure out what exactly caused it, compared to just eliminating either the commercial food or whatever extras were fed recently. If you want to offer more variety, stick to one line of food of the same brand at a time and rotate between brands every few months. Supplementing the dry food with fresh, unprocessed foods like vegetables, fruit, yogurt, meat or a bit of canned food is also safe and healthy.

I had read what Mordanna said before.  But, then, I have also read what Eagle Pack said on its website about holistic vetenarians would rotate among the three holistic dry food (eagle pack's duck & oatmeal, anchovies/sardine/salmon, and lamb & rice) every 3 to 30 days. 

Personally, I just think it is much more exciting for my lab to have variety.  By the way, he has just had his first taste of jicama today....lol

 Thanks to everyone who responded! I think i'm going to go ahead and do it, since i see no strong arguments against it. My dh (biochemist) didn't see much validity in the Mordanna argument.. so i think it's safe for my girl to have a little more variety

your dog isn't going to eat enough of either one to get the full benefit of a particular nutritional system designed and researched by a manufacturer

I have yet to own a dog that eats even half of the recommended amount on a bag of dog food without turning into a bloated walrus. So how does this comment work into real life? not to mention the "research" manufacturers do is generally shoddy and focused more on "does the dog eat it?" "are the poops solid and easily picked up?" and totally avoids the real question,  "does the dog remain healthy to age 16?" cause of course it won't eating the grain laden garbage most manufacturers produce.

sierra2002

I think i'm going to go ahead and do it, since i see no strong arguments against it. My dh (biochemist) didn't see much validity in the Mordanna argument.. so i think it's safe for my girl to have a little more variety

  I agree; I've asked 2 veterinary nutritionists about feeding a combination of a balanced home cooked diet and kibble, and they said that as long as both diets are balanced, it's fine.
 

NikoAwesomo

I had read what Mordanna said before.  But, then, I have also read what Eagle Pack said on its website about holistic vetenarians would rotate among the three holistic dry food (eagle pack's duck & oatmeal, anchovies/sardine/salmon, and lamb & rice) every 3 to 30 days. 

Yes but rotating and feeding half and half are two things in my book.  I do believe that if your going thru the bother and expense to buy good food...you might be screwing with the nutrients by feeding half and half....    but if you feed one one day, the other another day...then they are getting what that food was formulated for.

Thats what I do anyway.  

I think any commercial kibble company is going to encourage you to feed their food as a "balanced" diet.  It would be weird of them to recommend mixing or rotating other brands.

I've mixed brands before.  I do it when switching brands, though not nearly as long as some people (maybe 3-4 days) and sometimes do it even when I'm not.

To tell if the dog is healthy I focus on the poop (amount and firmness), coat condition, energy level of the dog, whether they are getting itchy or ear infections. 

 My dh says that feeding food A on day 1, food B on day 2, food A on day 3, etc is worse than feeding a 50/50 mix every day. He gave me the biological reasoning.. lol.. but i don't understand it well If anyone understands upregulation/downregulation of digestive genes and wants a full explanation, I can get him to PM it to you.

Liesje

To tell if the dog is healthy I focus on the poop (amount and firmness), coat condition, energy level of the dog, whether they are getting itchy or ear infections. 

Thats what I tend to do too.

I switched Sierra to Solid Gold Hund n Flocken about a month and a half ago. I would have preferred to keep her on a homecooked diet, but unfortunately i've recently moved out of cattle-country where meat is cheap, so she's only getting it as a topper. Anyways, she hadn't been having solid poops on Solid Gold. They weren't really runny, just too soft for my liking.

So 3 days ago I was browsing the pet store and Evo Red Meat caught my eye. Honestly I'd never even heard of it before. But i bought the bag and Sierra has been eating 1/2 Evo and 1/2 Solid Gold for 2 days now. She's got a tough tummy, so I wasn't worried about stomach upset. I took her for her poop about an hour ago.. SOLID.   If this keeps up, i might just stick with this setup.
 

sierra2002

 My dh says that feeding food A on day 1, food B on day 2, food A on day 3, etc is worse than feeding a 50/50 mix every day. He gave me the biological reasoning.. lol.. but i don't understand it well If anyone understands upregulation/downregulation of digestive genes and wants a full explanation, I can get him to PM it to you.

Ha.....no,,I'm sure I wouldn't understand it anyway.   My brother-in-law used to always talk about what you should eat with or without eating something eles....( humans )  and I didn't "get" it!  But anyway..he's dead now......     

I'm sure food companies would say to feed their food instead of rotating....but I read it on the Great Dane Lady link.. It made sense to me that mixing brands per serving might upset that balance.....but who knows...   Of course I always add toppers on kibble.....except not right now while Gibby is so young...but I will!!!  

  For me I stay with the same brands anyway....but change formulas.