Dog Food? Your opinions will help!?

First of all, chicken byproducts are not a big deal. It doesn't mean beaks and feathers, it means organ meats like liver, hearts and kidneys.

I am not a big fan of Iams or Science Diet. Why not consider a food that is designed primarily for huskies. I mean something made for sled dogs. Some brands to consider include National, Blackwood, Animaet and Redpaw. I have been happy with Blackwood. Other mushers I know swear by National. Lance Mackey has been feeding his dogs Redpaw with great success.

Vets= Not Nutritionists. I feed my dog raw.

Here are some of the best dog foods:

Taste Of The Wild

http://www.tasteofthewildpetfood.com/

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Wellness

http://www.wellnesspetfood.com/

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Solid Gold

http://www.solidgoldhealth.com/

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Blue Buffalo

http://www.bluebuff.com/

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Nature's Variety

http://www.naturesvariety.com/

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All dogs are different, a food that works for one dog may not work for another. See if you can find small samples of three different healthy brands that you want to try, and see which one your dog likes best! If you need any additional help or recommendations that this answer does not provide, you can email me at MMPanther@rock.com. Just put "Dog Food" in the subject line- and I'll check it before anything else!

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Stay away from these brands:

Ol' Roy

Beneful

Purina ONE

Purina Pro Plan

Pedigree

Purina Dog Chow

Alpo

Eukanuba

Nutro

Iams

Science Diet

Dad's

Royal Canin

Store Brands

Kibbles 'n Bits

Mighty Dog

If you are on a VERY super tight budget, these are good foods:

Chicken Soup For The Pet Lover's Soul

http://www.chickensoupforthepetloverssoul.com/

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NutriSource

http://www.nutrisourcedogfood.com/

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***Vets will try to tell you to feed Purina, Iams, and Science Diet. But don't feed them, they aren't good for your dog. Vets tell you those lies because they are PAID to do so!!!! It's sad, isn't it?***

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Here is a website that rates dog food. Go to it and enter the food of your choice. You will want a 4, 5, or 6 star rating. If the food of your choice has a 1, 2, or 3 rating that means it is usually prettycrappy food. The higher rating the better, the lower rating the worse.

http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/

Also, another great thing to feed is the raw diet. Raw is completely safe and healthy. It's what I feed to my dog. Here are two great links about raw feeding, the healthiest thing for your dog.

http://www.rawfed.com/

http://www.barfworld.com/

Good luck choosing a healthy brand of dog food that your dog thrives on!

I wouldn't feed Iams OR Science Diet.

Both foods are, in my opinion, over-priced, and not so great. I also don't like either one of the companies, personally.

Vets are vets, but they are not nutritionists. By-products are just that--by-products. This means the feet, bones, beaks, feathers, etc. of the chicken that are thrown out, ground-up, and put in.

That said, some "lower-quality" foods seem to work for some dogs. Personally, I would stay away from Iams, Science Diet, Beneful, and Ol'Roy and go for food like Nature's Variety (is that the right title?), Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul, or Solid Gold. Even Purina One or Purina Pro Plan would be better.

I'll star though.

Vets get paid to tell you Iams, Science Diet and Eukanuba are good, they are paid by the Dog Food Companies to recommend and sell their food from the vet clinics.....so that is why your vet is recommending the food to you.

These dog foods have been proven not to be good at all, they cause intestinal problems in dogs over a period of time, and they do have by products in them...Hills is not a good dog food company as it once was.

the best foods to feed are

Taste of the Wild

Wellness

Evo

Innovo

Canidae

Blue Buffalo is pretty good as well

always read the lables first, meat should be the #1 ingredient on the list, and not meat meal, that is a by product.....corn, wheat, meal, flour is not good for dogs, and the foods your vet recommended is full of them.

and any store bought brand is worse, all by products, not much meat content at all.

good luck

I volunteer at the same shelter for over 13 yrs now, and none of our vets or even my personal vet will recommend the brands. and won't seel them from his clinic either......

we have 11 vets at our Shelter and none like the Iams, Science Diet or Eukanuba, so many vets cannot be wrong.

you may pay more,but our dogs are worth it to prolong their lives.

dog food opinions

I don't buy any food from grocery stores. I don't even go to PetSmart. I go to a couple of places here that sell a variety of brands that are premium products. I feed Innova EVO to my dogs. One has allergies to some foods so I feed them all the same thing. The store has alot of holistic products too. Google Innova pet foods and you can find out where they sell it. Go to one of the stores and browse their product line. Ask the sales people too about the products. They are usually very knowledgable. And these stores usuallly carry the raw diets also.

Good luck.

Iams is a good food, the vet that I used to work for recommends it all the time. I personally like Purina One. That was the only kind of food my dalmatian could stomach. As for the large breed thing, listen to your vet about that. The large breed food is designed so that larger dogs (over 50lbs) don't grow to fast. When that happens, they tend to have joint problems, so listen to you vet about that so you don't have to worry about arthritis later on.

I feed my dog a BARF diet. I know you state time as a factor, but once you get used to it, it isn't time consuming *at all*. And, really, you should be interested in 'what's best' for your pet--that's the reason you become a pet owner. Right?

Iams is a very good product,

Science Diet is good but expensive

People have all sorts of opinions from "the cheapest is fine" to you have to use organic beef and cook it.

Purina One is good. Find a food in a price you are comfortable and try it.

I feed my two dogs one of the less expensive brands and they are healthly and old.