# How to choose the best food?



## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

If she's healthy, consider very carefully before switching away. We feed Eukanuba.

My only advice is to take discussions of supplements, grains, allergies, and ingredient sourcing with a big dose of salt. Sites like dogfoodanalysis.com propagate non-scientific assumptions about nutrients, and the internet, as well as some posts on this forum, is full of unsubstantiated, unstudied claims about nutrition.


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## jwemt81 (Aug 20, 2008)

I couldn't agree with Tippykayak more. If your dog is happy and healthy on what she is eating now, then don't change it! Changing could open up a world of problems and you will more than likely end up back on the food you started with. 

PS: Most Goldens are happy to eat anything anyway! :bowl:


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## Karey (May 23, 2009)

I was just wondering if anyone had good/bad experiences with Nutro food. It seems to be a good food, it's been around forever. Never used it before, as our last dog, a mixed breed would only eat BilJac food. He was the pickiest eater I ever saw. Not so with our Mika, she eats anything! (just like Mikey!)


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## Penny & Maggie's Mom (Oct 4, 2007)

Nutro has had several recalls and seems to be having ongoing problems. Please google "nutro dog food recall" to get the particulars... or perhaps someone here has the fda site.


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## Penny & Maggie's Mom (Oct 4, 2007)

Here is a site that is great on learning about food. On this particular page they also have some links to the Nutro news. http://www.dogfoodproject.com/ Over on the left margin you'll see an index to other articles.


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## Karey (May 23, 2009)

Penny & Maggie's Mom said:


> Here is a site that is great on learning about food. On this particular page they also have some links to the Nutro news. http://www.dogfoodproject.com/ Over on the left margin you'll see an index to other articles.


Yikes! Mika seems fine on Nutro, but reading about it shows many dogs have gotten sick. Does anyone have recommendations for a senior food that has a good history of safety? Are there any good foods you can buy at retail petstores, such as petsmart or petco?


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

Karey said:


> Yikes! Mika seems fine on Nutro, but reading about it shows many dogs have gotten sick. Does anyone have recommendations for a senior food that has a good history of safety? Are there any good foods you can buy at retail petstores, such as petsmart or petco?


I think Nutro might be getting a bad rap. There was that totally unsubstantiated rumor that ran around online that they were being investigated by the FDA, so I feel like a lot of these claims about Nutro might be based on that.


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## Ljilly28 (Jan 22, 2008)

Nutro did put up an official cat food recall on their own site, and the owner of the independent pet store in my town shared with me that he is concerned about Nutro lately.
http://www.nutroproducts.com/press-recall/press-recall.html

In some respects, it's the whole industry that is concerning; it's hard to separate fact from fiction and the mass recall was scary. I have no idea if dogfoodanalysis.com is right or wrong about canine nutrition, and that goes for the Whole Dog Journal and my vet too! The single reason I feed Innova instead of Eukanuba, which I happily fed for years, is that I want to avoid as many preservatives as possible and feel it is my goldens' nutritional best gamble against cancer- but it is not much more than a gut-feeling and far from scientific. The canine oncologist in Portland feeds it to her own dogs along with a daily fish oil pill, so right now it's my best guess.


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## kjarv24 (Nov 7, 2008)

I think with so many differing opinions the best thing for you to do is read all you can on dog foods, canine nutrtion & make a decision for yourself.
Many will say feed your dog what he is happy with & what he looks to be doing good on. This is of course in my humble Opinion...But I can live on potato chips, candy bars & other Junk food along with exercise and water and look pretty good and even have good health for quite a while...But what happens later on in life when living on something like this. Now with that said, There are All kinds of goldens and other dogs who live 10+ "I even met a guy that had a golden live to be 17" living on Alpo/Pedigree...
I feed Diamond Naturals Chicken & Rice...
No Corn, No Soy, No By Products, No Wheat. Even though their are a few products in their I'm not the happiest about I think it's still an over all great food - While of course others think its garbage. So anyway whos to say who is right in this whole predicament! lol You just have to do a lot of reading and make up your mind for yourself.
I surely don't go off from Dogfoodanalysis.com although many of the top foods that I've heard are wonderful are on top themselves - But I don't soley depend on it. I can't remember what diamond naturals is, I think its pretty low on there but I've known great dane breeders to use it with long lived & healthy dogs.:curtain:


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## Bock (Jun 23, 2008)

Some good reputable companies (these are just a few, there are many more!!)

Fromm
Eagle Pack
Nature's Variety
NaturaPet (makers of Innova, EVO, California Natural, Healthwise)


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## MyBentley (May 5, 2009)

And may I add to Bock's already good list: Champion Pet Foods in Canada (Orijen / Acana).

No need for a special "senior" labeled food. That's primarily a marketing label as are breed specific labeled foods. Recent studies seem to point to a senior dog benefiting from the same, if not higher protein %, as they age to prevent muscle wasting. In "senior" formulas you usually see reduced protein and fat levels but lots of fillers. If you want to change foods, for whatever reason:

Know your dog's needs
Know your budget
Find a food with ingredients and nutrient values that make sense to you
Find a company you trust

And reading and researching does have value - even if there are few 100% pat scientific answers. How else can you become an informed consumer?

Bentley did not do well on Nutro - many hot spots, poor coat, yeasty ears and low energy level
Once we moved on to other brands 2 years ago, all that has improved. I no longer have much trust in the company either. But I'm sure there are others with different experiences.


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## msdogs1976 (Dec 21, 2007)

tippykayak said:


> My only advice is to take discussions of supplements, grains, allergies, and ingredient sourcing with a big dose of salt. Sites like dogfoodanalysis.com propagate non-scientific assumptions about nutrients, and the internet, as well as some posts on this forum, is full of unsubstantiated, unstudied claims about nutrition.


Nothing else to add.:appl:


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## Debles (Sep 6, 2007)

My dogs were on Nutro Natural Choice till last year and did fine. My daughter's golden who is 6 has and still does eat Nutro and is perfectly fine. If you ever think the food smells or looks differently or bad, take it back. That goes for any bagged food!


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## Karey (May 23, 2009)

Bock said:


> Some good reputable companies (these are just a few, there are many more!!)
> 
> Fromm
> Eagle Pack
> ...


Where can you find these foods? Not at a chain pet store..right? Seems like petsmart has only more mainstream foods...


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## Bock (Jun 23, 2008)

Karey said:


> Where can you find these foods? Not at a chain pet store..right? Seems like petsmart has only more mainstream foods...


No, you will not find these foods at Petsmart or Petco. These brands are found at specialty pet stores, dog boarding places, doggie daycares, etc. 

You can go to their websites and they generally have "store locators". 

Naturapet.com -innova, healthwise, california natural, evo

Naturesvariety.com

Frommfamily.com

You can easily find the other sites by doing a google search.

Goodluck


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## msdogs1976 (Dec 21, 2007)

Bock said:


> No, you will not find these foods at Petsmart or Petco. These brands are found at specialty pet stores, dog boarding places, doggie daycares, etc.
> 
> You can go to their websites and they generally have "store locators".
> 
> ...


Good luck indeed. None of these are sold in my town of 40k. But we do have a Petco store and certainly you can find something that will do the job. I know they carry Pro Plan, Eukanuba, Nutro, Natural Balance, Wellness, Blue Buffalo, Solid Gold etc....


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## Maggies mom (Jan 6, 2006)

I always say go with what works best with your dog. All dogs are different and just because one dog does well on one food doesnt mean all will.


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## alanckaye (Feb 7, 2009)

*dog food*

I would just make this one suggestion since what you feed your dog can have varying effects on the dog. I have been feeding Nutro to my two goldens for a while now but recently did a search on the best foods. Nutro got 2 stars out of 5 so I am taking them off that and going to Canidae that got five stars and it has no fillers or any of the other stuff you don't want your dog to have. My girls have allergies that I thought were environmental but I'm finding out its due to their food.


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