Dog Food

wilsoncs3980 said:
I've been seeing some posts about which dog foods we are using so I thought I'd post a link to a couple of sites that review dog foods.



http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/

http://www.petfoodratings.net/dogs.html


I hope they help.

I feed my setter Ojien. Its expensive but you feed them a lot less so it evens out.
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I have seen the dog food analysis website before and have looked at it. They don't seem to rate the tried and true performance formulas very high. The ones that alot of gundogs have been fed for many years and with good results. Some of the most commonly used formulas from Purina (pro plan) Eukenuba etc... seem to rate fairly low. I also didn't see any info on who is doing this analysis or their credentials anywhere. What I do see is that they very much favor the boutique foods or grain free formulas that are all very high priced. I won't argue that those aren't quality feeds, but the tried and true formulas they rate low have been working for many a gun dog for many years.

Just my 2 cents.
 
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yeah but if you look at the ingred. in those "tryed and true" dog foods almost always the #2 or close too have corn in it. and we all know corn is not very good for dogs. they cant digest it and can be harmful.
 
I really beg to differ on Corn. The whole myth thing about corn not being digestible is just that "myth". Whole corn in itself cannot be digested completely, however ground corn or corn meal is highly digestible. Only the kernel or outer skin is not digested in whole corn. It's cheap and provides is a good source of carbohydrates, which in a dog food provides sustainable energy as well as extra calories.

I'm in total agreement that dog food should not be corn based or grain based for that matter, but IMO it has received a bad rap for not being of any use in dog feed and for reasons that are never substantiated.

For what it's worth.
 
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i just think there are alot better choices out there. If it is a myth than it got me. I stay away with any corn based or by-product in it. I just love my dogs to much to not feed them healthy. Want to spend as much time with them as i can.
 
Think about what happens when you eat corn on the cob. It's the outer skin(kernel) that is not digested and that you see the next day:). The nutrients within the kernel are very much used and digested. However, dog food seldom uses whole corn and ground corn is put to much better use in pet foods.
 
i guess all i can say is lets see whos dog lives longer. i know that i feed a good quality food and it may be pricey. i want every year that i can get out of my dog. if that means not going out to eat once a month than i wont. i guess you get what you pay for. a dogs life doesnt last long enough.
 
Your fears are unwarranted. But Hey !! your dog, you feed what you think is best. Know one will fault you for that.
 
gsp4life said:
i guess all i can say is lets see whos dog lives longer. i know that i feed a good quality food and it may be pricey. i want every year that i can get out of my dog. if that means not going out to eat once a month than i wont. i guess you get what you pay for. a dogs life doesnt last long enough.
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We'll I hate to be the one to spoil your test as I feed Native which doesn't use corn. But that isn't the reason I selected it.....:thumbsup:
 
Native is a good quality food to fed. it was my second choice to use, but couldnt find it anywhere close. hope you dog lives a great and full life. :cheers:
 
Are you familiar with the "Do it best" program at Kent Feeds?

There are participating hardware dealers all over the country that will bring Native in for you at the regular price. There may be a participating store near you if your still interested in Native.

Look here: http://www.nativedogfood.com/buy.php

Click on "Do it best", then scroll down and enter your zip for participating stores in your area.
 
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I switched this year from ProPlan to NutriSource and have been very satisfied. I've fed the Puppy, Reg Adult and Performance formulas. I like the ingrediants and analysis for NutriSource. It's made in Perham, MN by the old Tuffy dog food company. It's a medium priced food and runs about $1 per lb.

http://www.nutrisourcedogfood.com/nutrisource
 
dog food

So what are the basic ingredients you should look for in an overall good dog food? What percent of fat and protein is good as well? Also I've heard that the first ingredient listed on the bag is what most of the dog food is made up of don't know if thats true?
 
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There are a few of us that buy Native togeather 10 bags at a time and we get it delivered right to the door, More food and same cost or cheaper then Pro plan. Both are good foods. I am giving Native a good try, because I am one that does not like the corn products as well. I am having less trouble already with ear infection and the dogs coats are getting softer and shinyer. Amt fed is the same id say. But with all the dogs I see and people I talk to accross the country, many dogs react different with different foods. What works well for one does not work well for another. That is the trouble I have had with food. So far this is working good on all the dogs we have. I used to feed 3 different blends. If you have good luck with a certain food with a dog stick with it.
 
I usually look at the first 5-6 ingrediants as those are generally the one that make up the majority of the food. I prefer a food that lists the first ingrediant as a whole meat or a meal. Like chicken or chicken meal. Some people don't like to see corn as an ingrediant but there is probably nothing wrong with it as a cheap source of protein. However, some dogs won't tolerate corn.

Here is a pretty good article: http://www.woodhavenlabs.com/dogfoods.html
 
Each of my dogs are having an issue with (something)
One has a chronic ear issue and the other a foot irritation issue. I think its time to start sourcing new food to see if thats it.
 
So does anyone in here feed Purina Pro Plan? That is what I have been feeding my dogs. Never had a problem with it and the dogs seem to love it. ANyone ever had problems with it?
 
I think Pro Plan is a very good food and if your dogs are doing well on it don't change. I fed Pro Plan for years and just changed to Nutrisource this past year because Pro Plan was becoming more difficult to get in my town. I think youwill find alot of guys on ths site feed ProPlan.
 
ljckr said:
So what are the basic ingredients you should look for in an overall good dog food? What percent of fat and protein is good as well? Also
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Here's is a link to some useful information : http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=betterproducts

Protein and fat percentages are usually dependent on your dogs caloric requirements. If they are very active or have a higher metabolism you will want a food with more calories thus more fat and protein. One thing that people may not know about is the calorie content of a given food often listed as k/cals per cup. This is listed on the back of the bags normally with the protein/fat percentages. A feed having 420+ k/cals per cup is a fairly dense feed. Most of your 30/20 feeds are at least 450 k/cals or more.

I've heard that the first ingredient listed on the bag is what most of the dog food is made up of don't know if thats true?
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Yes and no. Ingredients are normally listed in order of their weight prior to cooking. In the case of say just the ingredient "chicken" or whole chicken without the "meal" attached I would say no. Chicken in of itself will be mostly (80%) water prior to cooking. Once it's cooked the total weight falls below the weight of the grains used in the feed. So look for a feed that contains a meat "meal" as the first 1 or 2 ingredients.

In the case of chicken meal, the meat is dehydrated into a dry form and once cooked still retains the majority of it's weight to still be the main ingredient in the feed.
 
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