Grain-free kibble what's good nowadays?

    • Gold Top Dog

    Grain-free kibble what's good nowadays?

    I am assisting a friend and she is in the market to switch from Innova to something else preferably grain-free kibble. The reason? Her Jack happens to have a balding tail tip. She is a vet tech and have run through all the tests so nothing is wrong with the dog but I told her one of my Jacks had this same issue - balding tail tip/losing hair and since I switched to raw, the hair has completely grown back. So going raw it out of the question because she just relocated and is looking for a job... ..... so any suggestions please?
    • Gold Top Dog

    How about Evo?  I recently put one of my dogs on Evo and he is doing well, stool wise, it hasn't been very long so I can't say whether his coat and skin will improve.  He is on the Turkey and chicken small bites.  It is very high calorie so he is getting almost half the amount of his previous food.

    • Gold Top Dog

    Not entirely grain free, but I just put Thunder on Wilderness by Blue Buffalo to put a few extra pounds on him for the winter.  It's 42% protein, 90% of that from meat.  It does have a bit of oatmeal, but for Thunder, that's a good thing.

    • Gold Top Dog

     Orijen!  I do love the Orijen for my dogs, especially the "6 Fresh Fish" variety. 

    Other grain frees in our rotation include Fromm and EVO.

    • Gold Top Dog

    Jewel had to come off Evo reduced fat because there were too many Kcals and her weight was climbing so I have her on Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream.They also have Bison and wetland fowl formulas.Fromm is made here in Wisconsin and they are a very reputable company,surf and turf is their only grain-free food though.

    Tena

    • Gold Top Dog
    I can't say enough good things about Wellness's Core - I haven't fed kibble in a while, but if I had to, in a pinch, I would. They also have new canned CORE varieties that I want to try :)
    • Gold Top Dog
    Thank you all for the replies. I am going to send her the information. IF she doesn't like it, she better just send her JRT with me for a bit. :)
    • Gold Top Dog

    I second Orijen, my dogs do their best on that food. I also like the results on Core.

    We are using EVO red meat at the moment, and the dogs are really gassy -- enough that I might start adding more canned so the kibble isn't the basis of the diet until this bag runs out. Their stool is fine, but I can't imagine that they feel very good. I do know other people on the board love EVO and don't have issues with gas.

    • Bronze
    Pit_Pointer_Aussie

    I second Orijen, my dogs do their best on that food. I also like the results on Core.

    We are using EVO red meat at the moment, and the dogs are really gassy -- enough that I might start adding more canned so the kibble isn't the basis of the diet until this bag runs out. Their stool is fine, but I can't imagine that they feel very good. I do know other people on the board love EVO and don't have issues with gas.

    Interesting regarding EVO. My dogs always seem to have gas on the poultry based EVO. I got brave and tried the Red Meat EVO, I added in very slow till they were 100% No gas at all, not a burp, nothing. However - I am feeding them only 1.5 cups a day, to the recommended 2 cups. They have maintained weight, really good muscle, too early for coats, but new growth looks good, digestion has been outstanding, energy excellent. They were on it thru a long 10 day National - herding sheep, doing agility and many days of conformation. They ate it like it was candy (I did add water), and they never had digestive upsets at anytime. They breezed thru the activities and stress with ease! I was very impressed. And surprised even. Just shows all dogs react differently to different foods. I have Red Meat EVO to thank for a worry free and easy although stress filled 10 days!
    • Gold Top Dog

    I feed EVO canned, mixed in with Casey's Blue Buffalo kibble. We have no poop issues, and no gas issues.

    Blue Buffalo is REALLY good for dogs with skin issues - it really has helped Casey's. My coworked put her Beagle on it, and her skin is vastly imporved and she's not itchy anymore.

    As for grain free- I love Orijen. I would love to switch, but we're doing so well, I'm hesitant.

    • Gold Top Dog

    I just switched to Fromm Surf & Turf. It's too early to tell results, but Gingerbread loved it and the kibble even looks good to me!

    • Gold Top Dog
    Thanks again guys for the replies! :) I am comparing to what is suggested to those reviewed by Whole Dog Journal.
    • Gold Top Dog

    Pit_Pointer_Aussie

    I second Orijen, my dogs do their best on that food. I also like the results on Core.

    We are using EVO red meat at the moment, and the dogs are really gassy -- enough that I might start adding more canned so the kibble isn't the basis of the diet until this bag runs out. Their stool is fine, but I can't imagine that they feel very good. I do know other people on the board love EVO and don't have issues with gas.

     

    I'm sorry to hear that! Lily and Abbie do get gassy when I switch from one to the other, but that only lasts for about a week. I just switch from red meat to poultry cold turkey, which is why they probably get gassy.

    • Gold Top Dog

     Rascal's done well on Innova EVO but gained too much weight (very unusual for him). He's also done well on Wellness Core (both the fish and non-fish varieties), and now is on Solid Gold Barking at the Moon. All of them have worked pretty well for him - we tend to switch around a good bit because the picky little bugger gets bored quickly.

    • Silver

    Another vote for Orijen here! It's been in our rotation for over a year now (both the fresh fish and the regular adult), and Poseidon does great on it.

     If you can find it in your area, another good one is Great Life. It's grain and potato free, and has a dehydrated raw coating on it.

     We also do EVO red meat occasionally.