best dog food for hunters?

Natures variety instinct has duck, quail, and pheasant eggs. That's gotta be good for a bird dog right?:D

Again find what's right for your dog. What works for one may not work for another. I'm sure there have been many great bird dogs that ate nothing but ol' Roy their whole life.
 
My dogs have done beautifully on Purina One and you can always find it.
 
ranchodeluxe said:
Taste of the Wild Wetlands ing. list:
Ingredients: Duck, duck meal, chicken meal, egg product, sweet potatoes, peas, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), potatoes, roasted quail, roasted duck, smoked turkey, natural flavor, tomato pomace, ocean fish meal, salt, choline chloride, dried chicory root, tomatoes, blueberries, raspberries, Yucca schidigera extract, dried fermentation products of Enterococcus faecium, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus casei and Lactobacillus plantarum, dried Trichoderma longibrachiatum fermentation extract, vitamin E supplement, iron proteinate, zinc proteinate, copper proteinate, ferrous sulfate, zinc sulfate, copper sulfate, potassium iodide, thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B1), manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, ascorbic acid, vitamin A supplement, biotin, niacin, calcium pantothenate, manganese sulfate, sodium selenite, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin B12 supplement, riboflavin (vitamin B2), vitamin D supplement, folic acid

Now Purina One:
Ingredients: 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 B12 supplement, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin supplement, calcium iodate, vitamin D3 supplement, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of vitamin K activity), folic acid, biotin, sodium selenite

Are you kidding me? Iv'e used this stuff.My dogs would waste away on this garbage.Chicken is good but cooks away to the point of making BREWERS RICE the main ingrediant,its considered a low quality ingrediant.Corn gluten meal? whole grain wheat,whole grain corn? When was the last time you saw a dog grazing in a rice paddy?A cornfield? A wheat field? Dog's eat meat.

carnivore (kärn-vôr)
1.
a. An animal that feeds chiefly on the flesh of other animals. Carnivores include predators such as lions and alligators, and scavengers such as hyenas and vultures. In a food chain, carnivores are either secondary or tertiary consumers. Compare detritivoreherbivore
b. Any of various generally meat-eating mammals of the order Carnivora. Carnivores have large, sharp canine teeth and large brains, and the musculoskeletal structure of their forelimbs permits great flexibility for springing at prey. Many carnivores remain in and defend a single territory. Dogs, cats, bears, weasels, raccoons, hyenas, and (according to some classifications) seals and walruses are all carnivores.

If you think quality dog food is uneccessary,come out here where we hunt 50-60 days/yr.We can run them with my spaniels through the windblown cane fields and see how they hold-up.I know where my money is.

Check this independant website:http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com
Look at the review for any commercial brand and compare.
(Purina One, 2 stars,Diamond Naturals, 4 stars,Taste of the Wild, 5 stars.
Click to expand...

I believe that Purina One is quality dog food and my two dogs' great health and great field performance show it. Dogs are not exclusively carnivores. Just look at all the non-meat ingredients in your preferred dog food. Farm dogs eat grain too. My dog loves raw lettuce and any cooked vegetable as well as steak and other meat scraps. Coyote scat often has vegetative matter in it. I give no credence to the opinions and ratings on DogFoodAdvisor.
 
Last edited:
victordlt43 said:
My EP will not even eat while he is hunting he is all business but I do bring canned food and mix it in with alil dry food and it seems to be working out good for us.
Click to expand...

Not that uncommon for dogs to not want to eat while out hunting. My Lab is built lean with a ton of muscle. Like you only way I can get him to eat is adding wet food to his meal. Mine will lose 3-5 pounds in a 4 day trip.
 
i feed Taste of the Wild, Wetlands.......i also like Barking at the Moon.
i believe you get what you pay for, as seldom as i put my dogs on the ground and since they go for 5-7 days consecutively, i want all the performance and energy i can get out of them. good food = good performance.
 
My Vizsla is probably the most finicky dog ever born. I have tried all sorts of foods and finally found one he likes - ProPac High Performance.

It's 30% protein and 20% fat. anything else he turns his nose up at and will eat only if he has to.

My Braque Francais will eat anything. He's truly Pavlov's dog.
 
ranchodelux- interesting that you feel Purina One is poor- PPP is poor- or Diamond is poor- wish you were a bit closer to me- I'd strap a Garmin on yours and turn it loose with one of mine in a nice big field- preferably where there weren't any birds

Brittchaser- I fed mine Purina One for some 3 years- agree with you
 
AtTheMurph said:
My Vizsla is probably the most finicky dog ever born. I have tried all sorts of foods and finally found one he likes - ProPac High Performance.

It's 30% protein and 20% fat. anything else he turns his nose up at and will eat only if he has to.

My Braque Francais will eat anything. He's truly Pavlov's dog.
Click to expand...

Where did you get your Vizsla from? Have I asked you this? Sorry, terrible memory. :(
 
A couple of observations. First the title of the thread encouraged me to think we were talking about which dog food us hunters would eat:eek:The imagination conjers up thoughts of man and dog against the wilderness, huddled together munching on kibble. As far as Purina O.N.E. I have had excellent results with it, especially in the brittanies, it is widely avaiable, regardless what anybody tells you, it's exactly the same formula as ProPlan, in different kibble size, which to some degree explains the difference in "as digested" protien and fat. It's marketing, pure and simple, Pro-plan sold only by feed stores and pet specialties, part of the pitch when you agree to carry it, whereas the grocery store market was to important to ignore, so voila, O.N.E. I have good things to say about Pro-Pac as well. When it comes to personal preference, I think I'd choose O.N.E., it smells good enough to eat.
 
If I had my choice I'd be feeding ProPlan Performance. That being said they have priced themselves out of my reach. I have 9 dogs. I switched from PPP to Loyall 2 years ago and have been pleased, That being said, Nutrena jacked up Loyall to $38/bag. I'm staying with it through the end of the season and then switching.

It's too bad Nutrena won't return my calls and e-mails.

I'm looking at ProPac or Diamond Premium with a boost of Diamond performance during season as soon as I switch.

Taste of the Wild is another Diamond product.

As far as dog food advisor and dogfoodanalysis.com, I wouldn't trust either one of them.
 
AtTheMurph said:
He's truly Pavlov's dog.
Click to expand...

Lol. All my dogs have to sit and wait as I fill up there bowl and set it in front of them. All off them sit instantly and start drooling when they see me get the bowl. Sometimes they have to wait 10 or 15 seconds sometimes a few minutes or more before I release them to eat, drooling the whole time.:D
 
I started my 2 labs on Science Diet a long time ago, but switched to Call of The Wild brand after seeing how low the SD was rated. I also tried Eukanuba PURE recently due to my rather finicky 4-yr old black female. After a couple weeks, we dropped that and went back to COTW. Both dogs seem to have lots of pepper & vinegar with COTW.
 
I'm having good luck with Loyall, both their professional and high-performance blends. My dogs look good, coats are find, and stools are small. Fifty-pound bags for $38 isn't too bad for the hp, and you can almost always get $5 coupons out of bird dog magazines, or by contacting the company.
 
I've been feeding NutriSource Adult Chicken & Rice formula to my brittanys for the past 3 years and they seem to be doing very good on it. I have no complaints. However, there are a lot of good dog foods on the market and whichever one your dog does well on, use it. It's not a "one size fits all" situation.
 
TASTE OF THE WILD CUSTOMER RATINGS
Customer reviews of Taste of the Wild brand dog food formulas are very positive. The fact that they are grain-free is a noted positive factor for many dog owners. Some dog owners voiced concerns about the high levels of protein, though these concerns are addressed on the company’s website. The exotic protein sources (such as quail and venison) were also very well-received by many dog owners. Dogs with food-based allergies seem to do very well when fed Taste of the Wild brand dog food formulas.

Rating: 8.6/10 (94 votes cast)Submit

TASTE OF THE WILD DOG FOOD, 8.6 out of 10 based on 94 ratings


If you don't believe independant lab tests,would you believe customers who use it?

ranchodelux- interesting that you feel Purina One is poor- PPP is poor- or Diamond is poor- wish you were a bit closer to me- I'd strap a Garmin on yours and turn it loose with one of mine in a nice big field- preferably where there weren't any birds

Some of the Diamond Products are very good.Purina sucks.Not sure what Shadow meant with the above post but if you turn my dog loose in any field,he'll still be quartering about 20 yards ahead hours after your tired of following,and likely long after your Purina fed dog has come to heel.Bring'em out and hunt some canefields with me and i'll be happy to show you.

Britt-Yes dogs are carnivores by definition.Of course moderate quantities of veggies,pumpkin,sweet potatoes etc. are great for a balanced diet,but dogs don't subsist on corn and brewers rice.Or at least they shouldn't.

If your not hunting your dogs hard for extended periods with just overnight to rest and heal,I suspect you can get by with garbage dog food.Won't cut it out here.Iv'e known it first-hand for a long time.Big difference between a dog that see severe duty daily,and one that hunts MAYBE 2 days a week in the fall.And if your the gentlemanly type who does your hunting at a preserve,well that's just a walk in the park.No comparison to wild birds in very rough country.
 
BritChaser said:
I believe that Purina One is quality dog food and my two dogs' great health and great field performance show it. Dogs are not exclusively carnivores. Just look at all the non-meat ingredients in your preferred dog food. Farm dogs eat grain too. My dog loves raw lettuce and any cooked vegetable as well as steak and othe rmeat scraps. Coyote scat often has vegetative matter in it. I give no credence to the opinions and ratings on DogFoodAdvisor.
Click to expand...

Now you have cleared things up.Your dogs are not subsisting on Purina alone.I am happy for that.

As far as coyotes eating vegetable matter,yes, i've seen them browse on grass(not corn).They do this for the same reasons you see dog's who are lacking fiber in their diets do it.

It's interesting to me that you wouldn't be interested in hearing what objective people who are not being paid for their "expert" opinion have to say,but instead apparently buy the Purina marketing hype.

Final word,feed TOTW,Nature's Instinct,or any quality food in your regular size ration,then note the size of the stool compared to this garbage.Garbage in,garbage out.
 
Myth #3
Corn Is Highly Digestible

As a whole grain, corn is not easily digestible. Unless the kernel is first refined into a meal or a flour (and then cooked), corn can be very difficult for a dog to digest.

As a matter of fact, corn (and other grains) are only digestible to the extent to which they’re processed.

That’s why even though the grain may be listed as “whole” on a pet food label, it’s nearly always first ground before being cooked into kibble.

And the finer it’s ground, the more digestible corn will be. But also, the higher its glycemic index.

However, to the uninformed, the pet food industry’s claim that corn is “99% digestible” can be misleading. It’s easy to innocently take that statement to mean corn has a high nutritional value, too.

Unfortunately, that is simply not the case.
 
Anything but Science Diet! Ol Roy is probably just as bad but is cheap! Of course I do buy ol Roy dinner rounds as treats (they are like doggie crack).

I feed PPP large breed puppy for the first year and a half and than switch to Diamond Naturals. I am going to try TOTW this spring. Bottom line use the best you can afford and keep trying foods till you find what works for your dog.

I start pups with three meals a day. I switch to 2 feedings at about 6 months and once a day feedings after 2 years.

I know I am going to regret this but I am a fool sometimes.........

Shadow I really hope your dogs are as great as you say and not just IFC's (Internet Field Champs). Seems like everytime you post you take a dig at someone by saying your britts are superior to their dogs. Maybe I am being thin skinned but what the heck. I try to offer good advice when I can and maybe tell a funny story or brag a little every now and then......seems like a better use of this rescource to me.

My dogs are slow plodding labradors so I am not going to join you in a field to see who can run bigger. But you know what I love them dearly for all their skills and faults and would not trade them for anything.
 
Shadow I really hope your dogs are as great as you say and not just IFC's (Internet Field Champs). Seems like everytime you post you take a dig at someone by saying your britts are superior to their dogs. Maybe I am being thin skinned but what the heck. I try to offer good advice when I can and maybe tell a funny story or brag a little every now and then......seems like a better use of this rescource to me.

My dogs are slow plodding labradors so I am not going to join you in a field to see who can run bigger. But you know what I love them dearly for all their skills and faults and would not trade them for anything.

Well said. Some people are always looking for a fight. There is no magic pill when it comes to dog food. If it works for you keep doing it. Nobody is a dumazz because they think differently than all us experts on here. My dad raised and trained pointers when i was a kid in the 60's and 70's. He fed them this no label cheap food he bought 10 bags at a time. Sometimes he would feed them some hamburger or other meat we had around. We weren't dirt poor, but there certainly wasn't any extra money for high dollar dog food. All I know was guys always wanted to hunt with him because we had great dogs. I feed my dogs the best food i can, and they preform pretty well.
 
easy there-

saying Purina is crap deserves some discussion

you're right- I fake my pictures- my Britt's are nothing
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top