# Which food??



## Tayla's Mom (Apr 20, 2012)

I have a 7 month old Golden and a 14.5 year old Golden mix. Both are eating Acana fish and The Honest Kitchen Love 1/2 and 1/2. When Tayla, puppy, reaches 9 months I may switch to THK Zeal, which is also fish based or I may keep her on Love. Acana is a little less expensive than Orijen and of an equal quality although less protein.


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## Jennifer1 (Mar 31, 2012)

Thanks! I've fed my cats Honest Kitchen to supplement their raw diet, never tried it for the dogs.
I don't think they carry Acana though...


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## mylissyk (Feb 25, 2007)

If you are going to switch, look at the ingredients and the fat and protein percentages of the current food, and find a new food that has similar ingredients and fat/protein levels.


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## WasChampionFan (Mar 31, 2012)

Annamaet, Dr. Tim's or Precise.

THK is just not a good food. It looks great and that is all about marketing, to make you think your dog should eat like a person.


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## Jennifer1 (Mar 31, 2012)

WasChampionFan said:


> Annamaet, Dr. Tim's or Precise.
> 
> THK is just not a good food. It looks great and that is all about marketing, to make you think your dog should eat like a person.


I don't believe any of those are included in the available food list I posted.


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## WasChampionFan (Mar 31, 2012)

Jennifer1 said:


> I don't believe any of those are included in the available food list I posted.


I know they were friendly suggestions.


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## oakleysmommy (Feb 20, 2011)

California natural or Innova out of that list. A few of those like Natural balance, Wellness, Chicken soup, Canidae have had recalls i believe..instinct is way to high in ASH and Calcium.


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## dezymond (May 3, 2012)

Anyone give their pup this: BLUE Basics — Turkey food for Puppies, a limited ingredient diet

My pup's stool and gas smell pretty horrid if I use anything with chicken in it (which unfortunately is most puppy foods). Is it normal for a pup to have smelly stool with chicken or is my pup's stomach just sensitive?


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## WasChampionFan (Mar 31, 2012)

dezymond said:


> Anyone give their pup this: BLUE Basics — Turkey food for Puppies, a limited ingredient diet
> 
> My pup's stool and gas smell pretty horrid if I use anything with chicken in it (which unfortunately is most puppy foods). Is it normal for a pup to have smelly stool with chicken or is my pup's stomach just sensitive?


It is possible. Rare it is really chicken causing it but possible. Usually it is overfeeding or a food with too much fat.

You don't need to use puppy food. Just use something that is rated All Life Stages. 

What were the foods that caused the problems in the past?


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## dezymond (May 3, 2012)

WasChampionFan said:


> It is possible. Rare it is really chicken causing it but possible. Usually it is overfeeding or a food with too much fat.
> 
> You don't need to use puppy food. Just use something that is rated All Life Stages.
> 
> What were the foods that caused the problems in the past?


Well he's on Iams puppy formula now (he's 4mo) and I did try a couple chicken flavored treats. Always seems to make his stool smell pretty bad. The treats I did give him were BB chicken treats and Zuke's naturals or something. The Zuke's was roasted chicken flavor and my goodness the smell of his stool was so overwhelming. I immediately stopped giving him the Zuke's and tossed them. The BB chicken treats made his stool smell, but nowhere near as bad as the Zuke's treats.

Thanks for the tip though, I'll check the amount of fat from now on.


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## dezymond (May 3, 2012)

Well I opted to get him BB Basics, Turkey & potato flavor. His stool seemed fine, not soft and definitely not smelly like chicken usually makes him.

I did about 90% Iams and 10% of BB, I'll up it to roughly 20-25% tomorrow with the BB, but so far seems good.


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## Jennifer1 (Mar 31, 2012)

I've decided to keep Kenzie on the Life's Abundance for another month or so before I make the switch.
Right now I'm leaning towards Wellness or Chicken Soup or California natural. Our store hasn't been affected by the recalls at all-they don't get shipments from that plant, plus the store owner is really good about keeping people (& herself) up to date on recalls. My understanding is that Wellness no longer has any foods at the plant and is making all food in house now.
I'm aware there are other brands out there other than what I originally listed, but this is the ONLY pet store within a 1 hour drive (other than grocery store brands), so please don't suggest foods that I don't have access to!
Again, still looking for opinions on the foods I have to chose from!


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## newport (Aug 8, 2011)

I feed Lola EVO. I order off of Wag.com. No sales tax, free shipping and fast shipping! Your first order you get like 15% off!


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## Jennifer1 (Mar 31, 2012)

Actually EVO is available at the store. That's a little higher in protein than I want to go. In the long term, I'd like to have my lab and Kenzie on the same food. In the past, whenever I've put Guinness on one of the higher protein diets his kidney enzymes go high. So, I'd like to keep protein closer to 25-30% range (vs almost 50% for EVO). Evo is a great food though, I feed it to the cats!
I would also rather get something at the store than order online. Since it is the only pet store for at least a 1hr drive, I'd actually like to support them staying in business!


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## Jennifer1 (Mar 31, 2012)

Solid gold is another brand I've been thinking about?


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## MyBentley (May 5, 2009)

I have familiarity with quite a few of the brands you listed. A number of them are manufactured by Diamond; and since two of their plants have been found to have recurring problems, why not look in a different direction.

Others are over-priced for what they are.

Wellness, California Natural Puppy formulas or Innova are the top 3 choices in my opinion from what you listed.

I look for formulas with 26 - 32% protein and 16 - 18 % fat as a starting point.


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