Another dog food thread..

So Luca nearly finished his "vet-recomened-oh-wow-so-good-but-****-expensive-inside-is-pure-garbage-diet-vet-prescription" dog food. AKA Hills. *roll eyes*
Can't believe my vet prescribed this... Spent nearly 200$ for a 13kg bag. -sigh- never really trust you vets.

So anyways looking for new brand of dog food before he finishes. He is 5years old Golden Retriever, slighty over weight (have lost 6kgs already! YAY!), less active. So the below dog food is for less active/weight mantaince/senior/large breed type Ain't gonna say the names since it MAY effect opinions.

Less active dogs
A) meat & fats (mutton, beef, pork & venison)
omega 3, 6 & 9 ● cold pressed flaxseed flour
eggs ● green lipped mussels ● kelp ● garlic
honey and apple cider vinegar ● vitamins & minerals

Large breed, weight maintainance
B) Ground Rice, Chicken Meal, Rice Bran, Wheat Flour, Corn Gluten Meal, Dried Plain Beet Pulp, Natural Flavors, Poultry Fat (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Soybean Oil (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Sunflower Oil (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Potassium Chloride, Dried Kelp, Egg Product, Taurine, Vitamin E Supplement, Choline Chloride, Zinc Sulfate, Zinc Proteinate, Ferrous Sulfate, L-Ascorbyl-2-Pholyphosphate (source of Vitamin C), Biotin, Copper Proteinate, Garlic Flavor, Potassium Iodide, Niacin Supplement, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Panthothenate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, L-Carnitine, Riboflavin Supplement (source of Vitamin B2), Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (source of Vitamin B6), Sodium Selenite, Thiamine Mononitrate (source of Vitamin B1), Maganese Proteinate, Manganous Oxide, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (source of Vitamin K activity), Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid.

Normal (Lamb and rice)
C) Lamb meal, brown rice, cracked pearled barley, rice bran, peas, millet, canola oil, lamb, tomato pomace, natural flavor, flaxseed meal, potassium chloride, choline chloride, sun cured alfalfa meal, inulin (from chicory root), lecithin, sage extract, cranberries, beta carotene, rosemary extract, sunflower oil, yucca schidigera extract, dried enterococcus faecium, dried lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, dried aspergillus oryzae fermentation extract, dried bacillus subtilis fermentation extract, saccharomyces cerevisiae fermentation solubles, vitamin E supplement, iron proteinate, zinc proteinate, copper proteinate, ferrous sulfate, zinc sulfate, copper sulfate, potassium iodide, thiamine mononitrate, manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, ascorbic acid, vitamin A supplement, biotin, calcium pantothenate, manganese sulfate, sodium selenite, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin B12 supplement, riboflavin, vitamin D supplement, folic acid, cobalt proteinate, organic selenium, papaya, pineapple.

Adult Large breed
D) Chicken (natural source of glucosamine), brewers rice, poultry by-product meal (natural source of glucosamine), corn gluten meal, whole grain wheat, whole grain corn, animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols (form of Vitamin E), pea fiber, oat meal, fish meal, animal digest, salt, potassium chloride, calcium phosphate, potassium citrate, Vitamin E supplement, choline chloride, zinc sulfate, L-Lysine monohydrochloride, L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (source of Vitamin C), ferrous sulfate, manganese sulfate, niacin, Vitamin A supplement, calcium carbonate, copper sulfate, calcium pantothenate, garlic oil, pyridoxine hydrochloride, Vitamin B-12 supplement, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin supplement, calcium iodate, Vitamin D-3 supplement, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), folic acid, biotin, sodium selenite.

comments and opinions and suggestions welcomed.

There are only limited brands of good dog food in NZ but I wants what's best for my dog.

I would go with A. The listing of the ingredients kinda confuses me, but it does seem to be the best of them IMO. It doesn't have grains and seems to have good meat sources.

The first ingredient in B is a grain and the chicken meal is the only meat source. Not good for a carnivore.

C is ok, but I would add some extra meat to the diet.

D has some not so good ingredients like corn and poultry by-product meal (or the bits or birds no one really wants ground into a powder).

My order would be A, C, D, B. But I would avoid B and D.

Most vets don't get much nutrition training in vet school, and what they get is given by pet food companies. They are also paid to carry certain brands and tend to push those brands even though the food is not good. Just having a food in the vet office means the price is at least 50% higher than other places.

If you want to know how much food Luca needs, you should figure out the calories he needs and how many calories are in a cup of food. Most foods should tell you the calorie count and there are calculators to find out how many calories you need. More excercise is always a good thing when trying to lose weight. An extra 15 minutes a day can make a huge difference.

What's wrong with Hills? I don't feed it but I really like my vet and they swear by it, especially the one for cats, gave us a free bag lol!

irishbunny wrote:

What's wrong with Hills? I don't feed it but I really like my vet and they swear by it, especially the one for cats, gave us a free bag lol!

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Vets get paid to recommend certain brands of food. So of course they are going to swear by it if they are selling it. Hills is definitely far from the best food out there.

I would go with A. The listing of the ingredients kinda confuses me, but it does seem to be the best of them IMO. It doesn't have grains and seems to have good meat sources. The first ingredient in B is a grain and the chicken meal is the only meat source. Not good for a carnivore. C is ok, but I would add some extra meat to the diet. D has some not so good ingredients like corn and poultry by-product meal (or the bits or birds no one really wants ground into a powder). My order would be A, C, D, B. But I would avoid B and D.

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I agree with this post. A looks the best, followed by C. I dont' like feeding a dog food that has grain in it, especially corn. Best to find a good grain free food. but if that isn't possible stay away from brands that are mostly grain fillers or that contain cheap grains like corn or by products/hulls.

first off I'd like to tell you at my work we do *NOT* get paid to recommend a food. We do not get paid to carry it period. And each food company is in competition, each one wants to be *the only* food you carry. We carry different ones because we feel that even if you took 3 different brands of dog food which are suppose to all do the same thing, because each animal is different one brand may work for one animal and not for another. Aside from that is palatability, some just taste better than others, if your animal won't eat it it's not doing you much good.

One thing my vet recommends, if you are feeding your dog a kibble diet, either cut back the amount fed or see if your regular brand comes in a light(diet) formula, if you like your original brand and it offers a good diet version of it's self then why start a different brand.

oh and my jaw nearly hit the floor seeing the price you paid for your food, that is INSANE!!!! I guess I'm used to where I work, we only charge a few $ more than it costs us to buy it. And that covers the shipping and what not.

best of luck on your food decision.

Thanks everyone, I wish there wa smore selection of dog food in NZ. But hey much more dog stuff than rabbit stuff here lol.

There is this other brand called ZIWIPEAK but as someone said on the other thread before "my dog would have to be pooping gold if I feed him this" or soemthing like that lol, its high quality stuff but so dang expensive like 100$ 4kgs or something... I dnt think i can afford that plus having a big dog phew! *faints*

whoops I actually forgot to add Hill's ingredients lol here it is:

E) Ground Whole Grain Corn, Corn Gluten Meal, Chicken By-Product Meal, Powdered Cellulose 10.4% (source of fiber), Soybean Mill Run, Soybean Meal, Chicken Liver Flavor, Dried Beet Pulp, Soybean Oil, Iron Oxide, DL-Methionine, L-Lysine, Potassium Chloride, Vitamin E Supplement, vitamins (L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Folic Acid, Vitamin D3 Supplement), Choline Chloride, Taurine, minerals (Manganese Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Copper Sulfate, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite), preserved with BHT, BHA and Ethoxyquin, L-Carnitine, Beta-carotene.

The above (A-D) are the food that I was thinking about or have fed before. **ALSO** I started on raw diet (after around 2 months of research!) but it is a bit hard to do when my dog gains weight really really really really x100 easily... so I love to continue with the raw diet if someone can give me a few tips about the weight thing... We feed him what a dog his target weight should feed and he does soo well on it, except as I said gains weight really easily.

Someone said above that they like C but would prefer it without grains well they have a salmon one or a grain free one as well here is the ingredients for their grain free one.

F) Chicken meal, turkey meal, lamb, potatoes, peas, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), lamb meal, ocean fish meal, tomato pomace, natural flavor, choline chloride, sun cured alfalfa meal, inulin (from chicory root), lecithin, sage extract, cranberries, beta carotene, rosemary extract, sunflower oil, yucca schidigera extract, dried enterococcus faecium, dried lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, dried aspergillus oryzae fermentation extract, dried bacillus subtilis fermentation extract, saccharomyces cerevisiae fermentation solubles, vitamin E supplement, iron proteinate, zinc proteinate, copper proteinate, ferrous sulfate, zinc sulfate, copper sulfate, potassium iodide, thiamine mononitrate, manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, ascorbic acid, vitamin A supplement, biotin, calcium pantothenate, manganese sulfate, sodium selenite, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin B12 supplement, riboflavin, vitamin D supplement, folic acid, cobalt proteinate, organic selenium, papaya, pineapple.

Okay just so i don't sounds like the best quality food I can give is really bad oens lol here are the dog foods I can get in NZ.


eakanuba
iams
pedigree
canidae
mightymix
Purina beneful
optimum
select
home brand
Purina pro plan
Purina Tux
Hills
Royal canin
Nutro
Champ
Ultra
Purina dog chow
Purina One

That's pretty much it.. If I remember anymore i will write back.. now i need to sleep. Zzzz

I have to go to work right now, even though I am itching to post here!! I'll leave this and update more when I get home...


No corn, no by-products, and try to find a grain-free formula.

When your feeding any food his target weight is not the only thing you take into acount.

His activity level. His age. His rate of consumtion and how offen he eats especially with raw.

If his target weight is 100 pounds I am going american measure so someone convert for me. He should get 2 percent of his bady weight in food a day. Witch would mean he would need 2 pounds of food a day.

Noe if I had a less active dog I would only give 1 1/2 pounds. You can teak phoenix never gets the same feeding a day I teak base on her body and what we are doing that day.

If you feed twicea day then I would spilt that 1/1/2 pounds up into two meals. You dont have to give the exact amount each dog is different just like each human. Me and my husband eat the same thing everyday yet I am gaining weight and he is staying the same.

Oh if I had to choose beteen those I would choose

A -C I would not feed those other two for any reason.

Hills is the best food you can get here anyway lol. My vets carry other food too, so I don't think they get paid just to carry Hills, it just is the best food.

I would feed one of the canidae grain free formulas, but even the formulas with grain in them are better then most of the other brands listed.

I would choose A or the Canidae out of the bunch. Many of my clients use Solid Gold, Wellness, Innova and even Paul Newman's Organic has very good ingredients, Merrick. I use Wellnes for my cat and I could see a huge difference from the Iams she used to get.

This is a really good website for dog kibble foods...
http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=main

Raw feeding....
http://www.rawlearning.com/

Your dog shouldn't gain unnecessary weight off of feeding raw...if overweight, they should be losing weight to get to a normal weight (with regular exercise). I am contemplating feeding my cats raw, but I need to do a ton of research. If feeding raw...you really need to know what you are doing, so that your pet is getting all that they need.




Kat....2 pounds of food (even 1 pound), I personally think it way too much for any dog. I have never heard of feeding that much. I think most pet owners would be broke if they fed that much in a high quality food to a dog...I know I would! I'd spend $14 every 5 days...haha.

Canidae or Wellness are wonderful feeds.

undergunfire wrote:

Kat....2 pounds of food (even 1 pound), I personally think it way too much for any dog. I have never heard of feeding that much. I think most pet owners would be broke if they fed that much in a high quality food to a dog...I know I would! I'd spend $14 every 5 days...haha.

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The formula is 2-3% of the dogs body weight. It does include the bones and veggies (if you feed them). For a 100 pound dog, it is not a lot. If you buy the meat on sale or get some scraps from a butcher, the cost can be cut by a lot. There is no real reason to feed the best cuts to the dogs. Its not really much different than the amount of feeding kibble. Poor quality kibbles require you to feed as much as twice the amount of a high quality one. A dog could be eating 2 pounds of a poor quality food and not getting the nutrients needed.

Korr_and_Sophie wrote:

undergunfire wrote:

Kat....2 pounds of food (even 1 pound), I personally think it way too much for any dog. I have never heard of feeding that much. I think most pet owners would be broke if they fed that much in a high quality food to a dog...I know I would! I'd spend $14 every 5 days...haha.

Click to expand...

The formula is 2-3% of the dogs body weight. It does include the bones and veggies (if you feed them). For a 100 pound dog, it is not a lot. If you buy the meat on sale or get some scraps from a butcher, the cost can be cut by a lot. There is no real reason to feed the best cuts to the dogs. Its not really much different than the amount of feeding kibble. Poor quality kibbles require you to feed as much as twice the amount of a high quality one. A dog could be eating 2 pounds of a poor quality food and not getting the nutrients needed.

Click to expand...

I apologize....I went back and read Kat's post again and she was referring to RAW feeding...I didn't understand that (had to reread it a few times) - I thought she was talking about kibble feeding.

Thank you for this thread. I was feeding ProPlan but they have shrunk the bag and increased the price so I need new brand to try.



t.

undergunfire wrote:

Korr_and_Sophie wrote:

undergunfire wrote:

Kat....2 pounds of food (even 1 pound), I personally think it way too much for any dog. I have never heard of feeding that much. I think most pet owners would be broke if they fed that much in a high quality food to a dog...I know I would! I'd spend $14 every 5 days...haha.

Click to expand...

The formula is 2-3% of the dogs body weight. It does include the bones and veggies (if you feed them). For a 100 pound dog, it is not a lot. If you buy the meat on sale or get some scraps from a butcher, the cost can be cut by a lot. There is no real reason to feed the best cuts to the dogs. Its not really much different than the amount of feeding kibble. Poor quality kibbles require you to feed as much as twice the amount of a high quality one. A dog could be eating 2 pounds of a poor quality food and not getting the nutrients needed.

Click to expand...

I apologize....I went back and read Kat's post again and she was referring to RAW feeding...I didn't understand that (had to reread it a few times) - I thought she was talking about kibble feeding.

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Sorry in the mist of figure out how to get everyone from school. But yes 2 pounds of kibble god thats a lot

Kat...I thought you were crazy :blushan:. I was like "Holy buckets!!! 2 pounds of kibble?! I wonder how people afford that and how obese and stinky their dogs are!!!".

:biggrin2:

Ummmmmmmm........wow. My computer is messing up. I meant to post in the other dog thread. hahah!


t.