# Dog food articles



## RickGibbs (Dec 16, 2005)

Great....more reading.


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## mblondetoo (Jan 9, 2006)

I was searching for different food brands and came across this site. It was interesting reading with many opinions. http://forum.greytalk.com/lofiversion/index.php/f11.html


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## greg bell (May 24, 2005)

I wish I knew what was the very best food.. there are so many opinions on it. And I need a high performance food.


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## AquaClaraCanines (Mar 5, 2006)

I think the best food is natural and raw. However as far as kibbles go, the one I like best is Nature's Variety, Prairie.


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## a_and_b2004 (Jan 8, 2006)

great links....i am gluten intolerant and have to read labels very closely. gluten can be hidden or called many different things.... i never thought about dog food labels.....i am very concerned about this....any links about natural or raw diets that i might find interesting....


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## AquaClaraCanines (Mar 5, 2006)

This link is wonderful:

http://www.shirleys-wellness-cafe.com/petfood.htm#raw 

check the whole site out! 

Your dog is gorgoeus, btw!

Mine eat natural foods- organic chicken, raw and whole, organic veggies ground up in small amounts. They eat Natures Variety frozen raw food, and they eat small amounts of the same brand's Prairie kibble.

Every dog is different, but this works well for us. I can't wait to get my new GR girl settled on her new diet.


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## AquaClaraCanines (Mar 5, 2006)

BTW, I have "thing" about organs- they are great for dogs if you're feeding raw, but one of my little quirks is they have to be ORGANIC!!! Since your organs process all those nasty chemicals... non organic livers would be full of horrible toxins. I just had to mention that


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## katieanddusty (Feb 9, 2006)

> I wish I knew what was the very best food.. there are so many opinions on it. And I need a high performance food.


Ditto. Right now I am feeding Innova EVO (which is 42% protein, 22% fat, and 537 calories a cup) but always looking for other ones to try ... have you looked at Royal Canin's Energy 4800? http://www.caninehealthnutrition.com/cynoenergy.htm If you're okay with corn gluten meal you might like that ...


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## greg bell (May 24, 2005)

Innova is good... have you heard of eagle pack?..i think that is the name..i hear good stuff on that.. lot of those itdarod drivers use it.. 
dunno if i spelled that right...


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## Maggies mom (Jan 6, 2006)

Heard Wellness is also good.. I have found with eagle pack, wellness and innova and some other are hard to find in stores in the midwest..unless you order over the internet


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## katieanddusty (Feb 9, 2006)

Yeah I've looked at that too, Eagle Pack's Power formula and Evanger's chicken and rice are what I'm looking at. The Evanger's is supposed to 95-99% digestible and is 26/15 protein/fat, the Eagle Pack is 89-95% and 30/20 ... sometime when I'm bored I'll do math and figure out which one has more digestible protein ...


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## katieanddusty (Feb 9, 2006)

Dusty ate Wellness for a long time, but started having skin problems after they recently changed their formula ...


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## AquaClaraCanines (Mar 5, 2006)

Katie, what do you think of Nature's Variety. I'm curious  I am never bored enough to do math. Heh.


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## katieanddusty (Feb 9, 2006)

None of it has enough protein for my dogs (except for the new Raw Instincts) and nowhere near me sells it, but it looks pretty good ...


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## Brinkleysmom (Dec 17, 2005)

Well I guess I am old fashioned. LOL!!!! I feed Brinkley and have always fed my dogs, Purina Brand dry food. I alternate the different varieties. I put a tablespoon of vegetable oil in her food twice a week. Her coat is nice and shiny and the vet said she is doing great and to leave her on it since she does so well, and has no medical problems other than the bone malformity in her back leg. Call me old fashioned I guess; but all my dogs lived to be a ripe old age, so it cant be all bad.


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## AquaClaraCanines (Mar 5, 2006)

It does work for some dogs, Brinkly's Mom, and if it does for yours, that's great! 

Many Goldens have corn allergies, though. As a precaution, I will not feed anything with any corn or wheat.


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## Lucky's mom (Nov 4, 2005)

I'm a Purina person but Lucky's been scratching more then he should. I've noticed a difference in severity of itching from one Purina brand to another. He seems better now...but not perfect. I've been looking at foods..trying to find something on the higher end with clear ingredients to see if that helps. 

In truth...price is not so much the issue as getting something quick. I'm a procrastinator...letting the bag go empty at the worst time......


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## katieanddusty (Feb 9, 2006)

> I've noticed a difference in severity of itching from one Purina brand to another.


By brand do you mean like chicken/rice versus lamb/rice or like dog chow vs pro plan? 

California Natural www.naturapet.com is supposed to be good for allergies because it has so few ingredients. Same with Wellness Simple Food Solutions http://www.omhpet.com/dogs/simple_food_overview.html

If you're a very set-in-your-ways Purina person, Pro Plan Natural Turkey and Barley isn't half bad as far as ingredients, but the company philosophy is different than something like California Natural or Wellness ...


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## Lucky's mom (Nov 4, 2005)

katieanddusty said:


> By brand do you mean like chicken/rice versus lamb/rice or like dog chow vs pro plan?
> California Natural www.naturapet.com is supposed to be good for allergies because it has so few ingredients. Same with Wellness Simple Food Solutions http://www.omhpet.com/dogs/simple_food_overview.html
> If you're a very set-in-your-ways Purina person, Pro Plan Natural Turkey and Barley isn't half bad as far as ingredients, but the company philosophy is different than something like California Natural or Wellness ...


Never set in my ways...except where bad habits are concerned. Purina One seemed to create an itch problem...but I wasn't really sure if it wasn't due to his growing adult hair....but he seemed better from the start on dog Chow, wtih Lamb and rice healthy morsels. Both are loaded with corn though. 

I like the Chicken and rice content on Nutro large breed and was going to give it a try. Will see if the other stuff you mentioned is available at Petco...thats pretty much the farthest I can go before hitting major horrible traffic issues. Can't deal with traffic.


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## katieanddusty (Feb 9, 2006)

Nutro Natural Choice isn't bad either ... a notch above something like Pro Plan ...


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## jeffreyzone (Feb 8, 2006)

greg bell said:


> I wish I knew what was the very best food.. there are so many opinions on it. And I need a high performance food.


The Innova EVO that Katie is using is good stuff for sure. The Natura company who makes it is really in tune with what works for most dogs. Another food that is designed for very active dogs is Mmillennia Beef & Barley Adult Dog from Solid Gold Health:

http://www.solidgoldhealth.com

I haven't tried it because I was told that it really isn't a good idea to use unless your dog is regularly working hard at such acivities like field work or agility. Then, there is the whole allergy thing---Dottie is allergic to beef, anyway. But I have used the Hund-n-Flocken food from Solid Gold, and I saw good results, except for Dottie's chronic allergic reactions. Some days were better than others. We would probably still be feeding Barrington the Hund-N-Flocken, but they snuck oatmeal into the mix. Barrington is allergic to oatmeal.

As with any packaged food, it's a good idea to keep an eye on the ingredients label, even after you've found something that is working.

Good luck!


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## jeffreyzone (Feb 8, 2006)

_Originally posted by _*Lucky's Mom:*


Will see if the other stuff you mentioned is available at Petco...thats pretty much the farthest I can go before hitting major horrible traffic issues. Can't deal with traffic.[/QUOTE said:


> Check out the Natural Balance line of foods at Petco. It's the food that Dick Van Patten is selling, and it appears to be quality stuff. After having Dottie allergy tested, we were dismayed with the results. She is allergic to a lot more than we thought, and I was ready to start making my own food for her. It still may come to that, but we recently switched to the Natural Balance allergy formula that is primarily salmon and sweet potatoes.
> 
> She is already doing better than she was on the Wellness fish and sweet potatoes, probably because she is allergic to the fish used in the Wellness product. But like Katie, I saw an overall dulling of both my dogs' coats with the Wellness, too.
> 
> ...


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## katieanddusty (Feb 9, 2006)

What AREN'T your dogs allergic too?!?

Milennia is 22/12 and 387 cal per cup, and is listed on their web site as a "maintenance dog food." The new Barking at the Moon is their "Adult Dog Food for Active Dogs." It looks like pretty good stuff too.


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## jeffreyzone (Feb 8, 2006)

First off, it is great to see that Solid Gold has a new high-energy formula. This seems to mean that they are responding to demand, and maybe that would mean that more people are getting into field work and agility work, or at least the people who are working their dogs are demanding better food. Thanks for pointing out the new formula, Katie.

You asked what my dogs are NOT allergic to...LOL, unfortunately, the list is short for Dottie: Salmon, lamb, sweet potatos...blueberries...bananas...honey...

Barrington can eat anything except poultry (and eggs) and oatmeal. This is not so bad except the for fact that poultry and poultry by-products are so prevalent in dog food and dog treats. We have to make sure that he doesn't scam treats from the uninitiated techs at the vet's office!

We haven't seen the need to test Barrington, but we tested Dottie using two separate labs. The results were discouraging, but at least we know what to do now. I think that the main culprit in all her problems is mold that is related to decaying leaves. She tested positive for nine different types of mold. I don't personally have allergies, but I understand that environmental allergies can lend to a "simmering pot" effect that can be set off by foods to which the individual has a sensitivity. For example, Dottie tested positive for an allergy to beef, but I think that if we were to move to Arizona or somewhere else that doesn't have rotting leaves everywhere, she could probably tolerate beef.

For now, we are stuck in Atlanta, and our yard has hundreds of hardwood trees that deposit leaves everywhere each season. We've got to figure out a different plan. I recently bought some really nice boots for Dottie to wear for those runs through the woods. These boots are the "Ultra Paw" from Free Spirit Outfitters. If you have a need for a durable, well-designed set of boots for your dog, these people are worth checking out:

http://www.gearfordogs.com/index.shtml

She has shown improvement since we began using the boots. I think the combination of boots and the salmon/sweet potato formula from Natural Balance is helping Dottie. But this is a journey.

I guess it's easy to see why am such an advocate of careful breeding practices. With rescued dogs like Dottie, there is no available pedigree info, and it is obvious that her problems are related to genetics.

Of course, to me, she is beautiful, and the most wonderful Golden in the world. That's the way we are supposed to feel about our dogs.


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