info about dog food brand - Paw Talk

sye · #1 01-30-2005, 02:03 AM

i've been reading through the posts and i see quite a few good brands of dog food. i was wondering if anyone knows anything about BLUE BUFFALO or BIL-JAC if they are any good?

Chrisanne · #2 01-30-2005, 09:42 AM

I don't know either of those two... but if you read the ingredients it should be an indicator. If Corn is one of the leading ingredients, its NO good.

I'll research some and see what i find.

Chrisanne · #3 01-30-2005, 09:46 AM

The blue buffalo doesn't look bad at all.

The bil jac.... SKIP IT first incredient chicken by product (gag), in the top 10 is also corn. Further down you'll find "BHA (a preservative)".... which is NO GOOD

sye · #4 01-30-2005, 01:30 PM

if i was to go a cheaper brand like purina, what would be the best? is purina o.n.e any good? i'll be getting my chihuahua puppy soon and the breeder has her on puppy chow and iams which, i think is major gag! as soon as i get her (in 2 weeks) she's going off of that "junk" food.

Formula86 · #5 01-30-2005, 03:58 PM

i feed my dogs Nutro Natural. they really like it.

that's cool that you are researching foods and not just buying whatever.

**kittygurl823** · #6 01-30-2005, 04:11 PM

There are some really great brands out there that aren't as pricey, too.

Nutro is a good one, like Jane said. I feed my dogs Solid Gold, Wellness and Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul food. (I rotate every few months) Wellness is very expensive, but the other 2, I think are a very good, reasonable price. I can't answer on the Purina, have never fed that to my dogs. I just know Jasmine (my papillon) was very allergic to by-products (in Science Diet) I didn't even know about until I researched the foods, like Chrisanne said.
I got an 18 lb bag of the Chicken soup food for my dogs for $12.99 at a local feed store. The price was awesome!

Here is Solid Gold's website if you want to check it out. You can get it at most PetCo's also. They have the ingrediants listed, too.
http://www.solidgoldhealth.com/

And Chicken soup foods..
http://www.chickensoupforthepetloverssoul.com/

Hope this helps and good luck with your new puppy, I bet you are so excited to bring her home!

Chrisanne · #7 01-30-2005, 05:16 PM

Purina would be WORSE. Most purina dog foods are at the bottom of the "good for your dog" list.

If you had to pick one of the two you listed i'd go with the blue buffalo. Like Jackie said you can find good feed in others like Nutro, Solid Gold, Wellness, and Canidae.

Please do a forum search for "dog food", it will bring you to all the threads where we've discussed this issue before. There is a lot of good informtion on what to search for.

pihlaja · #8 01-31-2005, 08:55 AM

All the previous threads on dog food have great information on what most people look for in a good dog food.

But I'll say like I've said in the previous threads:

What works for someone else's dog may not work for your's. It's all a matter of trial-and-error.

My shetland sheepdog was on Nutro Natural Choice Puppy when we recieved him. I keep him on this for a good three months before deciding to switch him to Royal Canin Puppy for Medium-Sized Breeds. The difference in his coat was amazing. So, I stand by my previous statement. Something that works well for one dog may not work well for another. You just have to try the food and see.

sye · #9 01-31-2005, 12:03 PM

i just want to get both of them the best and seeing as how i only buy a bag dog food every other month, i can afford to get them the best. thanks for all the help. i'll go on the websites and see if those other brands give out free samples. i've already got a free sample of blue buffalo coming.

Chinchilla_Girl · #10 01-31-2005, 01:10 PM

We feed Nutro to our dogs as well...never had a problem with it and have used it from weaning time up through adulthood. Will probably use it through their senior years as well. Big fan of Nuto Max and Nutro Natural products. (We also use it for malnurished rescues with great success)

Crazy Chin Lady · #11 01-31-2005, 01:53 PM

You said you're getting a chihuahua? Royal Canin makes a line called "mini." They also make a food specifically for chihuahuas.

Let me find a link:
http://www.caninehealthnutrition.com/miniproducts.html

sye · #12 01-31-2005, 02:19 PM

i want to try and stick with one brand of food instead of buying two. i also have an australian sheppard mix and she's on bil jac right now and i want to get her off of that. it seems to me that her appetite has increased since she's been on it. not to mention her getting a tad bit chunky. this may be a funny question but, of the top quality foods, which is the cheapest? i'm just trying to keep all my options open. oh, and to CRAZY CHIN LADY, i have 2 chinchillas. they're both standard grey. one of them has some dumbo ears.

sye · #13 01-31-2005, 02:32 PM

i do want to feed them the best but due to a bit of a tight finacial situation, i can afford to pay about $20 for a 15-20lbs bag of dog food. i also looked at the ingrediants to the purina one and it doesn't seem to be too bad. i'm sorry but royal canin is way out of my price range. at least until the chihuahua puppy (mina) is an adult and i can afford to buy one bag of food instead of two.

**kittygurl823** · #14 01-31-2005, 03:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sye


	i do want to feed them the best but due to a bit of a tight finacial situation, i can afford to pay about $20 for a 15-20lbs bag of dog food.

Hi sye, I said in my above post that I got the Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's soul food for $12.99 in an 18 lb bag at my local feed store. Feeds stores seem to have the better prices. I went to the site and clicked on Colorado for you. Maybe there is a store nearby that has it and you can check it out, among other foods that might be a more reasonable price, yet really good foods for your baby.

http://www.chickensoupforthepetlover...r.php?state=CO

Mandie, what are Nutro's prices?

Like I said, I don't know much about Purina's ingrediants so I couldn't say, but Chrisanne said it pretty well from her knowledge on it. However, I've always heard it wasn't a good food.

***Jade*** · #15 01-31-2005, 03:43 PM

For what it's worth, a lady I work with thanks me EVERY time she sees me now for giving her information about dog food. She was feeding Purina's Pro Plan and was 'happy' with it; she didn't even really want to hear what I had to say but begrudgingly listened. I was researching foods for my pup (I feed Wellness) and shared my info with her. She switched to Canidae and just RAVES about it now. Her dogs' coats are shinier, they have more energy, eat better, have better stools, etc. Heck, she told me her neighbor even complimented her on how the dogs looked, and when a neighbor notices, that's something.

IMO, nutrition is the key to good health in our animals. They can't choose what they eat, we choose for them. It's our responsibility to choose well.