Dog Food Recommendations

[Would Rather Be Fishing]

Ok so the stars have finally aligned, and next week I am taking home a new member of our family, a little pointer puppy. What do you all recommend for dog food? Hard to separate truth from fiction... almost worse than getting into human dietting. With my last dog 15 years ago things seemed simpler :-)

Anyways, any recommendations appreciated...

[Blacktail1]

Natural balance dog food line is pretty good.

[adriaticum]

royal canine and raw and everything else under the sun, raw meaty bones too

[3006pg]

We have a Weimaraner and feed him the purina pro plan 30/20. Loves it!!

[albravo2]

Costco. We were spending a fortune on Eukanuba and other pricey brands when a friend's sister came to visit. She is a post-doc in Vet Medicine and she told me the Costco food was as good as the much more expensive brands. That was 7 years ago and our girls are almost 12 and going strong.

I hear raw food is the best but I didn't want the hassle. Kirkland for 7 years, easy and clean, gets my vote.

[Ron.C]

No expert here, but before I got my lab I read what seemed like hundreds of articles on dog food. Like any other product research on the internet, for every good review I found, seemed I found another negative.

In the end, I ignored it all and went with what my breeder (who is a vet) recommended and feeds their dogs. Purina pro plan sport.

She's 3 now has a nice shiny coat, good weight, consistent stool, and tons of energy. I also I hunt her in some pretty nasty weather (Dec/Jan saltwater duck hunts) when it's high demand on her to keep warm and perform and she endures it very well.

My Brother in law feed his GWP costco food of some sort and she is is a machine.

[huntingfamily]

This is what I'm going by with my Drahthaars...

https://petfoodreviewer.com/

[Dutch]

Have been using GO (salmon) for both GSP and Lab ,expensive but no issues and dogs are in great shape bowel movements are smaller so must be good :)

[coleman]

Costco. We were spending a fortune on Eukanuba and other pricey brands when a friend's sister came to visit. She is a post-doc in Vet Medicine and she told me the Costco food was as good as the much more expensive brands. That was 7 years ago and our girls are almost 12 and going strong.

I hear raw food is the best but I didn't want the hassle. Kirkland for 7 years, easy and clean, gets my vote.


2nd that. Good advice here. It’s pretty good food for the $$. Chicken and rice or the lamb, Kirkland brand is decent food.

[Ubertuber]

Costco...

I hear raw food is the best but I didn't want the hassle. Kirkland for 7 years, easy and clean, gets my vote.
I agree with this. Costco lamb and Rice is what we feed our lab. She also gets a fair share of raw trimming from wild game.
Her 7 litter mates are all long passed, but she is 16 and going strong.
I wouldn't get cought up in the marketing, pet food is a huge ripoff IMO.

[604Stalker]

Buddy who used to breed mastifvs feed the pups costco brand food with salmon meal mixxed in or beef w an egg their coats were always super smooth and they were a happy bunch!

[RyoTHC]

I can’t believe how many people here are open about the absolute trash they feed their dogs.. just wow.
10 years experience in the pet food industry.. maybe you guys just don’t care and are ignorantly blind.

there’s ONE on here selecting quality food for their pet, an I applaud you.. if you can’t afford to feed an animal well you shouldn’t have it at all..

and before you tell me a story about how long your mutt fed old roy lived, try to wrap your head around how much longer and healthier of a life it would have with quality food.

Obese alcoholics that eat nothing but fast food and pickle their organs daily live until ripe old ages, was that the reason though? Absolutely not.

[fishhunt]

My girlfriend takes ground pork, adds a few vegetables, then bakes it. The dog, had health issues before and was on various dog foods in the past. They all gave him horrible farts. The food he gets now he enjoys and he's healthy. No more gross farts. The real food actually costs less than the specialty dog food from the vet. The next dog I get will be getting lots of bear meat.

[RyoTHC]

My girlfriend takes ground pork, adds a few vegetables, then bakes it. The dog, had health issues before and was on various dog foods in the past. They all gave him horrible farts. The food he gets now he enjoys and he's healthy. No more gross farts. The real food actually costs less than the specialty dog food from the vet. The next dog I get will be getting lots of bear meat.


bingo! Though since most people are too lazy to take care of themselves properly let alone an animal they purchased.

[mastercaster]

Double post

[mastercaster]

I used to feed my griff Victor Hi Pro Plus (30/20 ratio) but since it's only available in the States I was no longer able to pick it up down at Blaine once the pandemic hit. It's a great product and worked out to less than a couple of bucks per day. For the last year (plus) I've had my dog on a very good product made in Eastern Canada designed for working dogs called Inukshuk. I had it shipped to me but now I've found a store in Langley that sells it as its only brand.

I had her on the 30/25 (almost 600 calories/cup) but have just switched her down to the 26/16 blend for the summer (almost 500 calories per cup which is still higher than any other high quality kibble out there. Inukshuk also makes a 32/32 blend but it's designed for really hard working dogs like sled dogs who are exercised 6-8 hours a day ,,,,,almost 700 calories per cup. My dog's poops are always solid and small so I know there's VERY little filler in this kibble.

https://www.inukshukpro.com/

My griff is 53 pounds and I only give her 1 cup in the morning and 1 at night of either the 30/25 or 26/16, plus a piece of rib bone from either deer, elk, or steer or a piece of pork neck or a chicken back as a snack at lunch time,,,,,all frozen /raw.

[huntingfamily]

I'm also trying the Inukshuk 30/25 now. So far I'm noticing I need to feed a lot less to keep weight on my 2 active guys. I'm quite impressed so far...

[jlirot]

I just ordered a couple bags of the inukshuk. the price isn't crazy.

[huntcoop]

I can’t believe how many people here are open about the absolute trash they feed their dogs.. just wow.
10 years experience in the pet food industry.. maybe you guys just don’t care and are ignorantly blind.

there’s ONE on here selecting quality food for their pet, an I applaud you.. if you can’t afford to feed an animal well you shouldn’t have it at all..

and before you tell me a story about how long your mutt fed old roy lived, try to wrap your head around how much longer and healthier of a life it would have with quality food.

Obese alcoholics that eat nothing but fast food and pickle their organs daily live until ripe old ages, was that the reason though? Absolutely not.

Oh wise one, please tell us more and what you feed your pooch.

[albravo2]

I can’t believe how many people here are open about the absolute trash they feed their dogs.. just wow.
10 years experience in the pet food industry.. maybe you guys just don’t care and are ignorantly blind.

there’s ONE on here selecting quality food for their pet, an I applaud you.. if you can’t afford to feed an animal well you shouldn’t have it at all..

and before you tell me a story about how long your mutt fed old roy lived, try to wrap your head around how much longer and healthier of a life it would have with quality food.

Obese alcoholics that eat nothing but fast food and pickle their organs daily live until ripe old ages, was that the reason though? Absolutely not.

Kind of a weird thing to be elitist and judgey about, but fill 'yer boots. You sound a lot like my hippy friend that told me that anything less than organic produce was pretty much child abuse.

[mastercaster]

Oh wise one, please tell us more and what you feed your pooch.

Yup,,,,I was thinking the same thing! Had me really wondering which foods met his approval and which ones didn't. lol

What a lot of dog owners don't understand is there is a large amount of time and money being spent on research when it comes to putting out a high end quality kibble,,,,,and scientific data has proven that just because you spend a lot of money buying a brand of kibble from a veterinarian clinic it doesn't necessarily mean you're getting a good product. A lot of those kibbles bought at those clinics are listed as grain free which has been a major cause of DCM. Most grain free products lack taurine which often leads to death of this enlarged heart disease if not caught early enough.

That's the problem with making your own food at home, too, whether it's cooked or raw because people just don't have a strong enough background/education on canine nutrition. Sure, the dog may look good on the outside but you have no idea what's going on inside the dog. How do you know if you are/aren't adversely affecting your pooch's organs or skeletal structure?

A dog needs more than meat and vegetables in its diet,,,,,even if its all organic! It also needs the right type of fat, various minerals, probiotics, offal (organ meat) and bone meal in order to have a balanced diet. AND it's got to be in the right ratio. Dog food companies know this and have put a lot of research and money into developing their kibbles. In fact, some take as long as a decade before all the trials are done.

Purina is one of those companies! Yes, they put out some cheaper brands that can be bought in just about any corner store in a pinch but their high end Pro Plan kibbles are very well thought out. Hell, Nike does the same thing with their shoes,,,,,you can pay as little as $50 for a pair of runners or $250 for the top end ones. Buying kibble from the same company is the same thing.

If you were to attend any NAVHDA hunt testing event, go to any retriever or versatile training day, talk to any bird dog trainer who runs his own dogs, or visit any reputable bird dog breeder I dare say about 75% of them would tell you they are feeding their dogs/pups one of the PPP options.

I've fed my griff PPP before and she has does well on it but I prefer the Victor High Pro Plus or one of the Inukshuk ratios because I find there's a little less filler in them based on the size of my dog's poops ,,,,,not that the PPP is that bad. On the contrary, it's still very good. The bottom line is you won't hear any complaints from those who feed their dogs with it.

I thought about going raw a few years back but it takes a LOT of research to figure out the proper ratio of all the nutrients a sporting dog needs, plus a lot of your time to make it but I've decided to keep putting my faith in the companies that I know have done all the ground work already. Expense has nothing to do with it! I've put way too much time into my dog to go with food I don't trust.

[Harvest the Land]

One of the main problems with kibble is that its very dehydrating. Because they cook all of the moisture out of the initial ingredients, it actually acts to dehydrate the dog while eating it. Ever wonder why your dog immediately runs to the water dish after eating his/her kibble supper/breakfast? Its because the kibble is so "drying" to their organs that they need to flush some water down the hatch asap - and this is not the best way for a dog (or anyone) to re-hydrate themselves.

Also, when they cook the kibble, a lot of the beneficial enzymes and amino acids are rendered virtually useless and it also decreases much of the nutrient bioavailability there might have been in the initial ingredients. Not to mention all the preservatives they put in there so those bags can stay on the shelf for a couple years (or more) on end. Whenever my buddy brings his dog over (who eats kibble) for a visit and its craps in my yard, whenever I get around to picking it up (sometime weeks later) its all still perfectly in tact, and it makes me wonder if the dog was able to absorb any nutrients whatsoever - looks like it just went in one end and out the other. Whereas most of the time my dogs' stools (raw diet) are completely disintegrated in that same time frame - which indicates to me that my dogs are absolutely absorbing most of the nutrients in their raw diet food because there's not much left that comes out the other end. Plus it doesn't smell like something is dying inside them.

Raw food is the opposite of dehydrating because of the natural gelatin contained within the meat. It acts to hydrate to dogs as they eat it. Think of it in the same way of how a deer gets most or much of their water consumption from the leaves/forbs/forage they eat, and not from drinking straight out of a pond or stream. I almost never see my dogs go for the water dish after they eat. One of my dogs is 17 and aside from getting run over by a car when she was 3, which busted her pelvis, hip and damaged her liver and kidney, she hasn't had to go to the vet for anything. I look at it as an investment in my dog's health to do a little more work to prepare their meals and sacrifice room in the freezer for their food, and maybe get some blood on my hands.

In my opinion, the main benefit of kibble is its convenience. Its easy to buy a bag that will last a couple months, and takes 2 seconds to put 2 scoops in a dish twice a day and Bob;s you uncle. Plus its much more convenient to take on road trips. But all that being said, it is a fact that some dogs digestives systems are sensitive to eating raw diets and actually do better on kibble. I didn't think this was possible until I saw it first hand.

So, if you're going to go the kibble route, definitely get the absolute best stuff available. And congratulations on getting a new Pointer Puppy - you must be pumped! They can make for incredible dogs, not just great hunting dogs. Have fun putting all that newspaper around the house - I remember those days. Good luck Would Rather Be Fishing

P.S. Here's an interesting article if you'd like to read more: https://petconnection.ca/kibble-is-kibble-is-still-kibble-by-dr-jeannie-thomason/

[Would Rather Be Fishing]

And congratulations on getting a new Pointer Puppy - you must be pumped!

Oh man, SO pumped :-) Already have stacks of newspaper collected :-)

Thansk for all the good info everyone.

[mastercaster]

Oh man, SO pumped :-) Already have stacks of newspaper collected :-)

Thansk for all the good info everyone.

Do yourself a BIG favour! Don't try to house break a pup using newspaper! That is so VERY VERY old school. You're teaching the pup that's it's okay to pee inside a building. Crate train your pup instead. Anytime your pup is outside the crate watch him/her like a hawk! Can't stress this enough. If the pup exhibits any sign at all that it has to go to the bathroom pick it up and take her/him outside.

EVERY time the pup comes out of the crate, has a nap, or after it eats or drinks take her/him outside. Try to pick one place where you want your pup to go. If she/he doesn't pee put him/her back into the crate and try it again 10 minutes later. If you just bring the pup back inside you'll likely find a puddle on the floor the second you take your eyes off him/her.

No need to praise your pup for peeing or giving it a treat,,,,, otherwise the pup will start training you to provide one and will want you take them out every 15 minutes so they can get one. That being said, once the pup has gone to the bathroom definitely spend a little time playing with him/her as its reward.

FYI,,,, your pup may balk at being in a crate at first but soon it will learn that it's their safe place. If your pup is outside the crate and you can't watch it closely then tether him/her to your side with its leash. BTW, the crate should be no larger than what it can just turn around in. Dogs/pups will not pee/poop where they sleep.

If you only buy one crate and it's larger then partition it off with something to make it smaller inside. I'd recommend using a plastic one, not a wire type. I always had two on the go,,,,one for inside and one in the vehicle. My dogs have never travelled in anything but a crate even if it was just to the corner store for safety reasons.

Crate the pup at night in your room so it doesn't feel abandoned in the early going. Eventually you can move him/her to the room you want them to sleep. Once again, the first few nights your pup will cry. That's a given.

As far as house breaking a pup goes it should be fait du complete in about 2 1/2 - 3 weeks depending on the breed,,,,some take less time while others with weaker bladders may take more. Limit the amount of water you give your pup in the evening. Cut them off early in the evening so you're only have to get up once or twice in the middle of the night.

Just stick to it! You'll be through it in no time~

[adriaticum]

Yesterday I got a bbq chicken from Save On.
I eat the red meat and my dog eats the breast meat and all the bones except the long ones.
The downside of feeding your dog everything you eat is that eventually the little ****er wants a glass of wine with it.

[Harvest the Land]

Do yourself a BIG favour! Don't try to house break a pup using newspaper! That is so VERY VERY old school. You're teaching the pup that's it's okay to pee inside a building. Crate train your pup instead. Anytime your pup is outside the crate watch him/her like a hawk! Can't stress this enough. If the pup exhibits any sign at all that it has to go to the bathroom pick it up and take her/him outside.

EVERY time the pup comes out of the crate, has a nap, or after it eats or drinks take her/him outside. Try to pick one place where you want your pup to go. If she/he doesn't pee put him/her back into the crate and try it again 10 minutes later. If you just bring the pup back inside you'll likely find a puddle on the floor the second you take your eyes off him/her.

No need to praise your pup for peeing or giving it a treat,,,,, otherwise the pup will start training you to provide one and will want you take them out every 15 minutes so they can get one. That being said, once the pup has gone to the bathroom definitely spend a little time playing with him/her as its reward.

FYI,,,, your pup may balk at being in a crate at first but soon it will learn that it's their safe place. If your pup is outside the crate and you can't watch it closely then tether him/her to your side with its leash. BTW, the crate should be no larger than what it can just turn around in. Dogs/pups will not pee/poop where they sleep.

If you only buy one crate and it's larger then partition it off with something to make it smaller inside. I'd recommend using a plastic one, not a wire type. I always had two on the go,,,,one for inside and one in the vehicle. My dogs have never travelled in anything but a crate even if it was just to the corner store for safety reasons.

Crate the pup at night in your room so it doesn't feel abandoned in the early going. Eventually you can move him/her to the room you want them to sleep. Once again, the first few nights your pup will cry. That's a given.

As far as house breaking a pup goes it should be fait du complete in about 2 1/2 - 3 weeks depending on the breed,,,,some take less time while others with weaker bladders may take more. Limit the amount of water you give your pup in the evening. Cut them off early in the evening so you're only have to get up once or twice in the middle of the night.

Just stick to it! You'll be through it in no time~

Excellent advice MasterCaster

[mastercaster]

Yesterday I got a bbq chicken from Save On.
I eat the red meat and my dog eats the breast meat and all the bones except the long ones.
The downside of feeding your dog everything you eat is that eventually the little ****er wants a glass of wine with it.

Cooked bones are dangerous. They become very hard, brittle, and sharp when broken. Raw bones on the other hand, are far safer and more digestible. I give my dog raw chicken backs, turkey necks, pork necks, ribs from all big game animals, and deer leg bones but I still watch my dog closely.

With the larger ribs from elk, moose, or beef she'll end up with shards of bone on her bed but she knows not to try to eat them. I didn't even teach her that but she leaves them behind (luckily),,,,,must be far more interested in the marrow. If she didn't they probably carve her up pretty good inside.

Start of a deer leg:

https://i.imgur.com/cT1ofYT.jpg

What it looks like when I take it away from her:

https://i.imgur.com/FdD3XAn.jpg

[moosinaround]

Well, my golden gets Royal Canin, adult food. He also gets beef bones, and wild game bones. I also give him my moose antlers, and he loves them. He does not get human food, ever! He is a very healthy, athletic dog, with the whitest teeth I've ever seen on a dog!! Vet seems to think the kibble we are feeding him is ok, they kinda know stuff!! moosin

[adriaticum]

Yes this is our current knowledge so i don't give my dog any long bones just chest cavity, ribs cartilage. Even I eat those sometimes.

But I will tell you one thing, in some other time and some other place we fed our dogs everything that is left from the table. Bones,bread onions garlic, potatoes, rice. Everything.
We had English pointers, Brittanies, jagd terriers.
Never heard of a dog choking on a bone.

I think it's more important that the dog learn how to eat bones from puppy than anything else.
These dogs here are mostly raised on kibble and they don't know how to chew bones. They try to swallow them.

Kibble never made it ro eastern Europe until late 90s and even today most people feed their dogs everything.

[mastercaster]

I think it's more important that the dog learn how to eat bones from puppy than anything else.
These dogs here are mostly raised on kibble and they don't know how to chew bones. They try to swallow them.



I totally believe this, as well! Many vets will tell you that they pay for their office space because of dog owners giving their dog's antler pieces or bones to chew on from having to fix or extracting broken teeth. If this is true, I bet it was because the people started giving the bones or antlers to chew on when they became adult dogs.

I started giving my griff deer antler pieces from Day 1 but they were fresh antlers from deer shot that fall. I would have to think sheds that have sat over the winter and spring in all types of weather for maybe even a couple of years will be harder, maybe even close to becoming petrified. Fresh antlers don't appear as dense,,,,just an observation.

Adult dogs who get bones or antlers for the first time probably don't realize just how hard they are and will likely work on them too aggressively where as pups learn the ropes as they go along. All my pups have chewed on antler pieces as teethers and I've never had any dental issues with them,,,or any of the raw bones I've given them either. My vet who I only see once a year for my present dog's vaccinations always remarks on what nice teeth she has (4 1/2 years old now).

[mastercaster]

Well, my golden gets Royal Canin, adult food. He also gets beef bones, and wild game bones. I also give him my moose antlers, and he loves them. He does not get human food, ever! He is a very healthy, athletic dog, with the whitest teeth I've ever seen on a dog!! Vet seems to think the kibble we are feeding him is ok, they kinda know stuff!! moosin

Here is a review on your dog's kibble. This group reviews all makes of dog food,,,,they are not affiliated to any specific brand. Take it for what it's worth.

https://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/royal-canin-maxi-dog-food/

[huntingfamily]

Here is a review on your dog's kibble. This group reviews all makes of dog food,,,,they are not affiliated to any specific brand. Take it for what it's worth.

https://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/royal-canin-maxi-dog-food/

NOOOOOOOO lol. Pet food advisor is run by somebody who has no nutrition training. Knows a lot about human teeth though...

[mastercaster]

NOOOOOOOO lol. Pet food advisor is run by somebody who has no nutrition training. Knows a lot about human teeth though...

That's why I said take it for what it's worth. There are other reviews out there, though, but generally if you just look at the first half dozen ingredients on the bag that can tell you almost the whole story.

[jlirot]

I got my bags of Inukshuk. I'm mixing with her other kibble until it runs out. Firstly, she likes it. She's picky and she likes it.

Secondly, in only 2 weeks her coat is more shiny and she looks great. Mind you I've been giving her good kibbles, some raw, and she's in great shape.

But I can already notice the difference.

I highly recommend the inukshuk.

[knothead]

I use and have been using Nutro for thirty years for all of my dogs. Nine dogs over the last thirty yrs with no food related health problems. All of my dogs have been large to giant breeds, people often comment on how beautiful their coats are and none have ever had joint or digestion problems. I recommend it highly, two of my kids just got new puppies, a Great Dane and a Rottie and they are both on it and are very happy healthy pups.

A heads up for people that don’t know. Whatever dog food you choose check to see if it sells on Amazon, they offer a subscription service that gives you 5-10% off and deliver it to your door on a scheduled drop off with free delivery.