How do you choose a dog food?

I found the best food for both of my dogs, largely through trial and error. The brand I previously fed was one affected by the 2007 recalls; just BEFORE the recall, both my dogs got sick off of that food. Could have been related to the recall, could have been just a "bad bag"....but I set out to find a new food. Tried several, found one that gave me solid results.

To determine which brands I'd try, I did research online; trying to be objective....I try not to take a handful of consumer reviews, or an "analysis" web site written by one person with no background in animal nutrition....as gospel truth. I'll certainly CONSIDER what they have to say, but I try to remember it is their OPINION, not necessarily fact.

Ultimately, I ended up following the advice I recieved from a breeder who's been involved with my breed for 20 years; she and another long-time breeder gave pretty similar advice. Their advice worked; I followed it because they were the only people who could back up their claims with their own real-world experience, based on hundreds of dogs they personally owned, bred and/or trained.

Recently, I've decided to change foods again due to a formula change not sitting well with one dog. I've again taken the advice of people I consider experts- breeders, trainers, exhibitors- with 20-40 years invested with dogs. I live in a rural area so my choices are limited; I don't like mail-order and most of the "specialty" brands are 120 miles away. I've picked a food to try; we'll see how it goes.

One thing I found during this recent quest for a new food; is that overwhelmingly, the "real life advice" from ACTUAL experts....sometimes goes AGAINST the popular "pet-owner-opinion" on the Internet. Several long-time experts suggested two brands (among others) that everyone on the Internet claims are "garbage". I found it suprising. So I did some research.

I found several "consumer review" websites where both of these brands had mixed reviews. Looking closer, I found that most of the BAD reviews came from people who had NEVER FED THE FOOD TO THEIR ANIMALS. They were bad-mouthing the ingredients & quoting almost verbatim from a certain food analysis website. "ZOMG CORN IS THE DEVIL" et cetera. A handful of reviews came from people who apparently changed the food abruptly & then didn't like it when their dog had diarrhea. Only a few seemed to be legitimate problems with food intolerance/allergy.

The good reviews, overwhelmingly, came from people who'd been involved with dogs for years. People with kennels. Trainers. Sporting/working enthusiasts. People who had fed the food for years- and had seen good results out of HUNDREDS of dogs. My eyebrows went up.

I went further and looked at gundog & sled-dog chat forums. Read through to see what the "pros" in those fields were feeding. Saw a lot of people reccomending the same brands- and a few others that rank even WORSE among the internet dog food cult. It made me re-think a lot of things. If the foods are so bad....how could someone feed it to a kennel full of 30 extremely high-energy working dogs? Why aren't their dogs dropping dead from preservatives or covered in weeping sores from the grain content? Made me really take a look at both sides of the "debate"....and it was pretty clear which side had the most real-world evidence to back up their claims.

Anyway, one of those brands isn't available locally. Another is, but it's just as expensive as a 3rd reccomended brand & nutrient analysis is the same. I went with the brand that had a simple ingredient list & more digestible ingredients. And yeah, I avoided the one with more grain content. If it doesn't work, I'll try the other brand. I'm gradually learning to broaden my perspective & I no longer preach the petfood gospel since I realized I've got no REAL experience to qualify my opinions.

This is how I evaluate what a certain dog should eat (based on feeding a kibble diet):

1. Take into consideration the dogs size and energy requirements.

2. Narrow choices down by finding a few that have the correct amount protein, fat, and calories for the dog in question.

3. Examine the ingredients. I don't shop for dog food at Walmart, so I assume the brands that have been selected are all of decent quality to begin with, meaning no Pedigree or Beneful or other junk. Animal protein source should be at least the first ingredient, I prefer the first two or three, and especially like to see one of them be in meal form since the water content isn't included it its weight. No corn, wheat, soy, meat or vegetable by-products.

I use my own knowledge to evaluate a dog food, I worked at a pet supply store that sold a variety of high quality kibble so I probably have an advantage over the average consumer but either way feel I have enough information to decide what food is appropriate and which is not. Actually, I don't really trust anyone else to give me advice on feeding my dog, my old vet sells Science Diet and yet admits that it is ****.

I also spend some time asking questions and posting concerns with whatever brand I choose to see how easy my questions are answered and to get a better feel for the company that makes the food I feed my dog.

My dog food journey began back the 70s. :o)

I had a Shepherd mix that I fed Purina, thinking that all that research must mean that it was a good food. For some reason I started feeding him another kibble (dont remember why or which one at this point) and suddenly I had a new dog. The dog whose coat was always rather dull became shiny. The dog that was somewhat lethargic became energetic.

I should have known, since I had been careful with my horses diet for many years, and I knew how what I fed affected them.

From that point on, I fed the best food I could afford. Of course, back then most of todays premium foods did not exist, but I watched the protein and fat content, and went from there.

My dogs did well on what I would now consider middle of the road foods.

About ten years ago I met a gal who had three boxers, each of which had the most beautiful coats I had ever seen - like satin. I am a sucker for a beautiful coat, so I asked her what she did, and she told me about Flint River Ranch dog food. I made a mental note.

A couple of years later, during the Dioxin scare, I decided I would start feeding Flint River to my dogs, because they had never had a recall. In a very short period of time I saw my dogs become VERY shiny, build more muscle, and tuck up their bellies. It is a change I have seen with every dog and foster dog I have fed this particular food.

A few years ago (after reading some of the debate on higher protein foods for older dogs) I decided to put my elderly Lab mix on Innova Senior. I saw a marked improvement in her energy and mobility, and for some strange reason, she changed color - a lot of the gray went away....I am now moving all my small dogs to Innova.

There is a lot more, but I think you get the idea. :o)

Its amazing to me how a dogs body shape, coat and energy level will change with the food it is eating.

I have noticed that most of the people who pooh- pooh the better foods have never tried them to see if they make a difference.

I was feeding my dogs Science Diet since I got them, which was about a year ago. I always thought that because the vet recommended it and it was pricey it was a great product. I was completely wrong! There is a pet food store called Earth Pets where I live and they are amazing! They carry all natural and holistic foods so I decided to go there. There was a sales girl there who really knew her stuff and showed me a couple different brands in my price range.

I would love to feed Orijen but I'm in college and I don't have that much money lol. So she showed me Chicken Soup and I bought the small bag to try my dogs on. They didn't really like it at first because they were used to the Science Diet and I think since I just weaned them off puppy food they hated the adult food. I got online and did my research and found the only reoccurring bad comment was that it was not as widely available as some. That was perfectly fine with me since it's readily available where I live. They seem to be doing very well on it now. There's no huge change in their behavior, but they are spoiled apartment dogs. But at least now I know what is going in to them!

A bad dog food is a dog food with ANY grains or corn with it. the best diet for a dog would be a raw food diet, or a food with no fillers. Dogs are carnivores that should eat meat. When you feed a dog an all food diet they develop their jaw muscles, get cleaner teeth and gums, get much more energetic, less money at the vets because it's healthy, a shinier coat, a more muscular dog. All of this is usually seen when you feed a dog a raw food diet. I trust them because some of their dogs like a lot longer than dogs that eat kibble. Most vets say it's bad, but they are trained how to diagnose and treat animals, but little to nothing about nutrition for a dog. Dogs immune system is almost exactly what a wolves's immune system is. You don't see wolves eating corn, do you? No, they eat MEAT. Dogs were build to eat meat, not kibble. They were built to eat mean, that's my proof. It's been proven by many scientists.

Well when I got my Lab who is now 6 years old the breeder told me what kind of dog food he used. I also went to my Vet and he said the same dog food was the best.

At the time it was the most excessive but the best with no preservatives and not add in's.

I use Lamb and Rice because no dog can digest corn and the rest of the dog food I looked at add things to the food that wasn't really good for dogs.

I also found out at the time it was the best dog food around from the people that sold it. I to this day use the same kind of food.

I use it because my dog is allergic to lots of different kind of foods, I can't use can because a lot of it has liver in it and my lab is so allergic to the food that she brakes out. So I use only one kind and that is it, and it is hard kibble because I don't want to have to deal with dental problems. My Vet also recommend hard food only and use can for taking meds like heart worm pills.

I use this simply because my dog is a finicky eater and likes this food.

http://www.bluebuff.com/?gclid=CPSk36615KACFQ8Uswo...

The reason I like it is because it does not use products from rendering plants called meat by products. It's ingredient is supposed to come from actual cuts of beef, pork, or lamb. It has the proper fiber content too. Below is a link that explains what can go into some brands of dog food.

http://www.naturalnews.com/012647.html

When I was a kid growing up on a farm if you had an animal that died you called the rendering plant and they came and picked up your animal. Dad told me they turned the dead animal into glue or soap after sterilizing the meat. Later I also learned they made dog food out of them too.

I gave it no further thought for many years until I learned that soem of these plants take euthanized dogs and cats. sometimes with their collars still on. I forget the name of the chemical right now that they use to kill unwanted animals with but I do know that there is no way it can be removed from an animals carcass so that means your pet could be eating that too.

I have gone on a rant and I apologize for that. To me it is just wrong that dogs and cats wind up in dog and cat food.

After working for both vets and groomers and many discussions with breeders, I read. I have sat in the store and read every ingredient in many dog foods and haven't bought food in grocery stores for years. I also don't purchase dog food that is well advertised by big name brands. I do feed kibble as I find it better for the dogs' teeth and oral health. I check the amount of protein and fat in relation to the particular breeds' needs. I avoid soy and corn which you really don't find if you get away from the grocery store foods. Lastly I compare what goes in and what comes out. If they are equal it is obvious that the food is junk.

For about 2 years I have been researching dog food, and last year I started working with a dog nutritionalist. Her and I have our dogs on Wellness Core with a mix of fresh foods. But Wellness Core saved my dog from horrible allergies. The food is GRAIN FREE, PRESERVATIVE AND BYPRODUCT FREE, it also has 5 USDA GRADE MEATS. I love it because for once my dog is healhty and happy. Many dogs have allergies to the grain in the food. Many of my friends dogs are on it and ALL their dogs look great and love the food. You can smell the difference in the Wellness Core/

I look at the ingredients. I feed my dog dry kibble only. It can't have any fillers, especially corn. No by-products. The first few ingredients must be meats. No grains. I also take into consideration the fat content as well as the protein because my dog has been overweight in the past.