What do you consider to be a "good dog food"?

[Candycane]

That's the beauty of having pets. Plus, each bag will last twice as long compared to if they were both eating it.

[Chrisanne]

Quote: Originally Posted by Candycane That's the beauty of having pets.

Isn't that the truth!! LOL The baby food idea was great Steph, that may work. When I first switched I had to use boiled chicken mixed in to tempt Rebel. Now he eats it with no problems. It just didn't smell as "good" as the other stuff they were eating.

[Candycane]

Usually it doesn't smell good because it's not sprayed with animal fat and/or artificial flavor. Plus, if the pet is used to eating a corn based food, they may be reluctant to eat a better quality food. Corn tastes very sweet to the animal. Which would you rather eat, junk food, or health food?

Quote: Isn't that the truth!! LOL

I swear, my animals do things just to spite me! I try to do the best by them and they still find a way to disrupt my good intentions. Luckily, if my dog or cats don't like a food, I can take the unused portion back and get a full refund at the store I shop at. I've used that a few times.

[dmoore132]

What is your thoughts on this ingredient thats listed even on the better dog foods,Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex.I've read it somewhere its a cancer carcinogen.

[Sharni]

I consider good dog food to be what works for you and your dog/s

I feed mine a mix of CopRice/Enduro/Sylvester mixed with cooked chicken/rice/pasta/touch of garlic.

They are doing well on it

[Spicy_Bulldog]

Quote: Originally Posted by dmoore132 What is your thoughts on this ingredient thats listed even on the better dog foods,Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex.I've read it somewhere its a cancer carcinogen.

I don't like it but it is in some foods I consider ok. Ones that I would maybe even feed so it is concerning. I wonder if it is small trace amount that might not be harmful or if it would be harmful over time even though a small amount. I've never heard that is is carcinogenic but that it might cause liver problems.

There are a lot of better foods it isn't in. You can check out the ingredients I don't believe it is in these Solid Gold, Innova, Nature's Logic, Wellness, Wellness Core, Go Natural, Blue Wilderness, Taste Of The Wild, Artemis, Eagle Pack Holistic, Canidae, Evo, Merrick, Orijen, California Natural, Fromm 4star, Prairie or Instinct, Timberwolf Organics, Horizon Legacy, Now Grain Free, Karma, Healthwise. I know it is in some of the better foods like Evangers, maybe a couple others but there are still a lot of options without.

[PitsBestFriend]

oh wow, old thread. To me, good food is anything that doesn't cause an allergic reaction, and contributes to the dog's overall health. So, foods that are grain free like Taste of the Wild are at the top of my list.

[angel_baby]

I personally think you got a lot of good advice here. I feed a mix of Evo and Canidae 50/50 and my dogs do great on it. The cats get Evo cat and Felidae. All are supplemented raw.

[Spicy_Bulldog]

Quote: Originally Posted by PitsBestFriend oh wow, old thread. To me, good food is anything that doesn't cause an allergic reaction, and contributes to the dog's overall health. So, foods that are grain free like Taste of the Wild are at the top of my list.

This is a good point about overall health and all the grain free dog foods available now. I'm happy to see such foods out there. I don't think TOTW certifies that they use ethoxyquin free fish, that is the only concern I have with them and some other quality foods. You can find out by containing them but most (not all though) companies that don't use ethoxyquin preserved fish have a statement on their website and/or food bag.

Food will only cause an allergic reaction if the dog is allergic to an ingredient so I'm not sure if that is a good way to gauge product quality. If your dog is allergic to chicken and fed Wellness w/ chicken then they will have a reaction so it isn't a good food for them but still a good food. The problem with TOTW and others like Before Grain is that they are good foods but also have formulas with common and "exotic" proteins so they can be unsuitable for dogs with protein/meat related allergies as a formula with buffalo or venison will also contain chicken. I think the Evo red meat also has eggs and I believe it is heavy lamb based which is starting to not be a novel protein for so many dogs. For people wanting to do rotation diets to help prevent allergies it can seem pointless too, well especially with Before Grain all are chicken based. I like to see grain free, low carb meat based foods but when they add egg and/or chicken (which is most common meat allergy) to everything or 4-5 meats per food mixing chicken, lamb, beef w/ exotic/novel proteins I think that it becomes more of a drawback.

Well that is just my 2 cents.