What do you consider a "High Quality " dog food?

[Ron.C]

Good day all,

getting ready for my new addition. I have asked my breeder what type of food is recommended and was told what the breeder feeds to puppies. I was surprised to see that this particular brand doesn't rate well on a site I visited "Dog food advisor." I'm going to visit with the breeder this week to see the puppies and am going to be discussing this with them as I want to hear their opinion on this.

I'm not one to believe everything I read on the internet, but this website does seem to really break down the ingredients of thousands of brands of dog food.

So, what do you consider a "High Quality" I hear allot of "get the best food you can afford". But I have read reviews on many foods now and "Dog food advisor" rates foods like "Nutrition Plus" which is a superstore brand food, or Kirkland food sold at Costco as good or better than some of the name brand foods that I expected were the benchmarks.



Thoughts?

[lorneparker1]

I feed acana pacifica or wild coast. they are both high in protein and fats. My dog is super active and it helps her keep weight on. There are tons of good dog foods out there. I try to avoid anything with grains if possible. I know lots of people who feed the Costco dog food and are happy.

[Firstblood]

Depends on how you look at "rate well". I asked the breeder what they recommend as they have more experience in that field than I do and they recommended Nutro for a high energy working dog that I have. Looked on the site you mentioned just now and the mix I have, it rates it a 3.5/5 but doesnt have any negatives listed and says it would recommend this as a food so why the 3.5? My dog is happy healthy and likes the food, clean digestion, never leaves any, good shiny coat and lots of energy, its affordable and locally available. All together it rates high in my books but Im still learning, would there be any benefit to buying a brand costing twice the price, say Acana which that site rates a 5/5, I don't know but I have had dogs in the past that couldn't eat certain brands as they were lethargic and had digestive issues with it so we changed. My dog is my family and my life but she is also a dog, from day one it was only dog food, never a piece of human food and I couldn't be happier, she does not beg, or hoover up dropped food, she does not bother me while eating, she can sleep with her head on my lap while I enjoy a steak. Many people do "supplement" their dogs diet with other foods and that can play a big role in their dogs health as its another variable thats hard to account for. Im not expert just another keyboard on the internet but Im happy with how its working for me so I thought Id share.

[Cedar Cowgirl]

The key to a "Good Dog Food" is your dog. We have tried different brands and what we know for sure is you have to watch "house brands" very closely because 'house brands" contract out their manufacture and what was a great food with the previous manufacturer may not be so great when the contract goes elsewhere. Watch your dogs' condition if they start to loose weight or blow coat look to your food first.
Personally we use Canadian Natural for our working dogs and NOW for our older ones. My working dogs get 1 and 1 1/2 cus a day, my "old" dogs get a cup as well as a couple of recovery "cookies"

[Danny_29]

I tried the Acana and my dog had digestive issues, I tried to give her the best but wasn't happening. I've since learned she has a pretty sensitive stomach so the cheaper foods that are cut with grain or rice work really well for her stomach problems. Got lucky I guess haha

[Cedar Cowgirl]

Like I said, let your dog be your barometer

[Edzzed]

We feed Lean cuts by TRI V foods. It is made in Chilliwack. We also add nupro to it. We also have a pressure cooker and toss in bones, beef, chicken, carrots and rice. Cooks it all up in an hour. We then cut up the meat and mix everything well. My wife then freezes packages of it for their daily breakfast.

[huntingfamily]

I feed Orijen, Acana and Performatrin Ultra to my hunting dogs. I get these from Total Pet locally.
I give the Whole Dog Journal a lot more weight than Dog Food Advisor due to their ratings methodology.
Google the 2017 Whole Dog Journal Approved Dry Dog Food List and a pdf result will come up.

[Pemby_mess]

I think it's important to feed a food that has a meat protein at the top of the ingredient list. Fillers not only put unecessary weight on the dog, but probably aggravate a whole host of other issues like allergies and autoimmune disorders. I avoid corn anywhere in the list. It's worth noting that THE #1 vet brand food has corn as its first ingredient. The vets will sometimes justify it by saying it's better quality food cause it's made in a "lab", or some other such nonsense.

i've had good luck with Orijen, Accana, Canadian Naturals, and the best value out there being the Kirkland brand. I make slow and low cooked bone/vegetable broth for my dogs to soften their kibble. I figure that probably supplements any thing that gets processed out of even the high quality dry kibble. If the dog looks like it needs to put on weight, I'll feed them a half ration of rice each meal. As grains go, it's fairly benign, and I'd rather buy my own bulk rice than have it pre-mixed into the kibble under a marketed brand.

[Pemby_mess]

I tried the Acana and my dog had digestive issues, I tried to give her the best but wasn't happening. I've since learned she has a pretty sensitive stomach so the cheaper foods that are cut with grain or rice work really well for her stomach problems. Got lucky I guess haha

sometimes it's the kibble size. That's important too, depending on how inclined your dog is to chewing it's food. I've found Acana to have larger kibble than other comparative high quality brands

[TexasWalker]

Acana regionals are great, they are formulated almost identical so if you're seeing skin issues or other sensitivities it's very easy to change protein sources.
I feed the Ranchlands for most of the year and a few bags of Pacifica through the winter as it helps with dry winter skin.

[russm]

We’ve got a French bulldog and an English bulldog, they can both have skin conditions etc, our French bulldog is allergic to chicken and his fur falls out and he gets scabby pretty much instantly if he gets any sort of chicken in him, we found a pacific fish blend made by first mate in Chilliwack and a salmon/sweet potato made by Canadian naturals, neither dog has had any trouble on those foods and there’s not a bunch of fillers and junk in them.

[knothead]

I have been using Nutro dog food for twenty five years now, over that time I have had nine different dogs. All have had healthy coats and been easy to maintain body weight by adjusting quantity of food as they got older and less active. Started with the puppy chow and moved through to adult food and on to senior food as they aged. From purbred to mutt and all large dogs over 100lbs. and up to 180lbs. I have had zero vet bills relating to digestion or allergies and could not be happier and would recommend it for any dog.

[Frango]

Our German Shepherd gets Costco Salmon and sweet potato he likes it. His coat is as shinny as it can get. No poop issues and is very healthy. Oh and he gets left over Moose. He knows when Moose is on the menu he hoovers.

[kinderdoggin]

Lots of factors to consider. There is a growing amount of good information out there now, but the information on what a dog needs in their diet to thrive on a micronutrient level is NOT completely known yet and research is ongoing.

I would suggest not to get hung up on a single brand or 'flavor'. If you are going to feed a commercial kibble, find several that agree with your dog, and use in rotation. Why? No single food source is likely to be complete and balanced (despite marketing claims- as above, research on this is not complete and there are breed variations!) Feeding the same thing day in and day out is almost certain to leave you dog with tiny nutrient deficiencies (or excesses) that compound over the years. Using a few different brands with slightly different ingredient lists helps reduce the odds of this happening. Think about it- those meal replacement shakes that you can buy at the grocery store are 'complete and balanced' and intended to take the place of a real meal, just like kibble - but we all know you wouldn't just try to live a longterm healthy life on this alone. You need variety in your diet to cover all of the bases and so does your dog.

As an example, it's recently been discovered that Labrador Retrievers are not great at processing extra copper in their diet. Foods that are fine for other breeds may cause excesses in Labs that can be fatal or at very least require expensive ongoing treatment to reverse the copper accumulation. There is obviously a genetic component to this inability to excrete extra copper since it runs in the breed (and a few other breeds like Bedlington Terriers) and some families of dogs may be more prone than others, but the trend that most lab breeders are suggesting now is to stick to foods that do not have excessive amounts of copper. On the other hand, there is new research that shows that Golden Retrievers may require extra taurine in their diet to allow their hearts to function normally (or alternatively, should avoid foods with ingredients that bind the taurine rendering it unusuable to the dog- in Goldens, grain-free diets are thought to potentially cause issues because of how the legumes which replace grains as the starchy part of the recipe will bind up the taurine).

I personally choose to feed my dogs a raw food diet. It's about the same cost as feeding the higher-rated kibbles but I get to control exactly what is or isn't included in their food and dogs, like people, typically do better on foods that are less processed than more so. All of us here who hunt have a bit of an advantage too with being able to feed all parts of the animal that is harvested (or at least anything we don't use for ourselves), as part of a balanced raw food diet or in addition to a quality commercial kibble.

[albravo2]

We were serving Acana for years then a vet friend suggested we look closely at the Costco foods. The Kirkland brands have excellent ingredients. We've been on it for a couple years now without issue. So much cheaper too.

[levind]

i feed my dog the kirkland dog foods i've tried all the kirland dog food and he has done the best on the turkey.

[835]

I think it's important to feed a food that has a meat protein at the top of the ingredient list. .

An old vet I had, when I asked about food told me this.... Dog food is not regulated like people food. There is no governing body saying that the list has to be in order of content.....
Right? wrong? its what he said.....

But I was told by my breeder pretty much exactly what Cedar Cow Girl said ,,, let the dog be your barometer. My Present Dog, Timber is a big black lab, he is very mellow and could get fat in a blink if I let him. I was told to stay away from the high fat content foods that have been mentioned here.... any way... go to Bosleys and find a decent food, talk to them.

[Brez]

My lab/golden cross used to eat Nutro until the ingredients changed a few years ago - too much beet fibre for my liking. I looked at Kirkland and went with that, alternating the two adult formulas and my vet always comments favorably on my dog's condition.

[Redthies]

We always had good luck with Go, mainly the salmon formula, but are in the USA regularly and can’t take it across the border. So we started looking at other brands and tried Acana, Orijen, and Taste of the Wild. The biggest issue is the latest trend of boosting protein numbers by adding legumes. What used to be a fish and oats or fish and sweet potato formula is now fish and chick peas or other legume.

My Weimaraner can’t digest legumes very well, and is up in the middle of the night needing to go outside. We have started making our own food (lamb organs, tongue etc or salmon with greens, oats, sweet potato etc), and the change in the dog is incredible! He is much mellower, sleeps through the night, and seems way happier overall.

Food allergies are far more common in dogs than you would think, so it can be challenging finding the right food. Some of the freeze dried raw foods like NRG are a good choice to help with this as they are very ingredient limited. We use their food for travel days or when we run out of our own food.

[mastercaster]

I've tried Nutro, Ultra, and Acana on my 17 month old high energy griff in the past year. She did well on them but I think her poops were too large. I was feeding her any where from 2 3/4 -3+ cups just to maintain her 46 pounds. I switched to a Canadian product called Horizon Pulsar three bags ago. They source all their ingredients on site, they're all grain free, and they've never had a food recall. There are several meat choices,,,,I use the turkey formula but I think I'll switch to another meat choice on the next bag just for some variety. I buy the 25 pound bag at Buckerfields for $55 which is a better buy than the Acana, as well as others at Bosleys. My dog gets about 3 cups per day which is almost a cup higher than what is suggested on the bag for her weight but because of all the exercise she gets she maintains her athletic lean body on that amount. Crude protein is 28% and fat is 15%, approx. 400 calories per cup.

[Black Lab]

"Canadian Nuturals" Large Breed for my Lab. Compare ingredients online and stay away from grains. The price is good, bag is a bit heavier and they have the best customer loyalties plan we've found. Plus it's made locally. My Lab ate everything in his first year. Plastic, tinfoil, Styrofoam, shop rags etc.He almost died when he tore into a Rododenderm bush. He was down for 3 days. His name should have been "Lucky"

[the_longwalker]

Our Breeder for the Elkhound we are waiting for does raw food. Lots of meat and fish with some veggies mixed in. He has a vid on youtube about how he makes it too.

[Iron Glove]

Our Breeder for the Elkhound we are waiting for does raw food. Lots of meat and fish with some veggies mixed in. He has a vid on youtube about how he makes it too.

Our two Tollers have been on Raw since birth.
We've done everything from 100% home made to commercially produced.
The old gal has lived well past her breed standards, although close to the end now and the younger guy has had zero health problems in his almost 9 years.
Raw has gone from being something most Vets and Breeders frowned upon to a very accepted form of feeding.

[adriaticum]

Raw food. Meat, bones, vegetables and organ meat.

[adriaticum]

Our Breeder for the Elkhound we are waiting for does raw food. Lots of meat and fish with some veggies mixed in. He has a vid on youtube about how he makes it too.

What breeder is it?

[RyoTHC]

. any way... go to Bosleys and find a decent food, talk to them.

Please do NOT take this advice. PetValu is the parent company to Bosleys and I assure you they do NOT care to hire knowledgeable staff and they only care about their profits. I managed a Pet Valu for a few years and I ended up quitting on the spot when my regional manager told me straight up that I am to quit recommending the foods that I am (healthy GOOD dog foods) and only recommend one of the house brands, even if it isn't good for the dog. I was written up multiple times for suggesting brands like Merrick back country, NOW! And orijen/acsna only for the company to push perofrmatrin and ULTRA which are both terrible foods.

Go to mom and pop stores. Find people with true knowledge and avoid PetValu Bosleys, total pet and tisol like the plague. Pet valu owns them all and doesn't give a shit about you or your pet.

[RyoTHC]

Raw food. Meat, bones, vegetables and organ meat.

You sure are correct. My German Shepherd has been on 100 percent raw since she was off the tit and every vet and person that sees her is beyond impressed with her coat, shine and WHITE teeth.

It's depressing to read what some people on this forum feed their dogs. But they are likely the same people stuffing McDonald's into their face thinking it's food...

[the_longwalker]

What breeder is it?

Kamia Kennels out of the Koots.

[Iron Glove]

You sure are correct. My German Shepherd has been on 100 percent raw since she was off the tit and every vet and person that sees her is beyond impressed with her coat, shine and WHITE teeth.

It's depressing to read what some people on this forum feed their dogs. But they are likely the same people stuffing McDonald's into their face thinking it's food...

It took us awhile to find a Vet that would even consider Raw food. Sure has changed in the 15+ years.
Last year we were in a local "Resort Town" and dropped into a small Pet Store looking for some interesting treats to take home to our mutts. Explained to the store owner that it needed to be low in protein due to our old gal's declining renal functions and her recovery from cancer surgery. The owner says "Is she eating Raw, every dog I know that eats Raw gets cancer." Pretty stupid thing to say to someone but we took the high road and said "Our dog has been on Raw since birth and is about 2 - 3 years older than her breed standard." She got pretty defensive and backed off. Not saying that Raw is for everyone but it's a viable option for many.

[Elkhound]

I feed my Norwegian Elkhound a kibble called Petkind. Venison and Tripe formula.

He was on Raw and loved it but had a bacterial issue in his guts because of the food. Was throwing up regularly. Then I put him on Orijen but the fat and protein content was too high for him which a lot of vets complain about.... gave him Pancreatitis. Possible could have been the fact he was still healing from the bacteria problem

[Ron.C]

Thanks for all the replies and pm's. I ended up going with what my breeder and a few others recommended. Purina Pro Plan puppy. Jessie is just shy of 4 months old now weighs 24 pounds and I just increased her from 2.5 to 3 cups per day. She is very active, lean and has a beautiful coat. I've watched her stools closely and her digestion is very consistent.

[Ron.C]

I did not see what breed your pup is, but if it is a lab or larger breed, be sure to feed Purina Pro Plan LARGE Breed Puppy food ….. not just the "regular" puppy food. she's a lab. And I'm feeding the large breed puppy.