Need some advice with regards to food

2187 Views 21 Replies 10 Participants Last post by Sasami, May 27, 2011

TinyTimmy

Discussion Starter · May 2, 2011

Hi everyone

I'm Lino, I have a dog(shih tzu dachshund mix) this is first time to own a dog.
And I need some ideas what the best food for my little dog

thanks in advance,
Lino

1 - 20 of 22 Posts

Zylca

· #2 · May 2, 2011

Here is a website that will makes it easy to look through the ingredient list. Which is so much better than flipping bags over at the store. http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/

My opinion is to buy the best quality food that you can. You will probably find that while it's the top of the line not all brands work well with your dogs system. At the very least, avoid the bargain brands. It's probably comparable to us eating potato chips and soda for every meal.

I started out with Blue Buffalo but wanted to see if I could offer something more. I've tried Orijen and but it never seemed to sit well with them even after several months. I'm currently using Wellness Core for my boys. I also have family feeding a raw diet. Both of their dogs are doing fantastic!

Dragonrain

· #3 · May 2, 2011

I was going to link you to that same website - I used that one a lot while I was researching what to feed my dog.

Remember that not all brands, even if they are high quality, will necessarily be perfect for your dog. Sometimes the key to finding the food that works best for each individual dog is to just try different brands and see which one works best. Go with the higher quality foods (5 and 6 star foods on that website) if you can. I agree it's best to stay away from bargain brands - these are usually the brands you'll find at places like your regular grocery store. Even though those brands of food are often times more well known, they are not the healthiest option for your dog.

I use Wellness Core Ocean for my dog. Out of all the different foods and diets I've tried him on, that's what he does best on.

Purple-Hops

· #4 · May 2, 2011

Hm, thanks guys for that link!! It's informative to meee!!! I currently feed Holistic Blend dry kibble (rated 3) and Lick Your Chops wet food (rated 4) to Coco. Both are easy to digest and made with rice, lamb, chicken, sweet potato- things that are good for doggies. Coco has done remarkably well on that!! It's probably the best thing he's ever eaten. I think it's funny that iams was down on rated 1 star on that site!! lol So many people swear by it -_-

Ratchilla

· #5 · May 2, 2011

Hello Lino,

Welcome to PT and congrats on your first dog! Good for you on wanting to be educated.

The above site looked good. I use dogfoodadvisor.com as it just seems easier to navigate (to me). Of course, it could be that I'm used to it.

I guess it depends on what site you look at too, as I went and looked at dogfoodanalysis.com; in Purple-Hops case, my site shows it rated as a 4 out of 5 stars.

Also, it allows me to look by brand. Which makes it incredibily easy for me. Not to mention, anything that is considered bad for your pet is highlighted in red. "Red items when present indicate controversial ingredients."

Anyway, good luck to you and your little guy.

My3Dogs

· #6 · May 3, 2011

Good luck with your new dog, Lino!

I am going to take a look at the link, thanks for sharing!

Sasami

· #7 · May 3, 2011

Zylca said:
My opinion is to buy the best quality food that you can. You will probably find that while it's the top of the line not all brands work well with your dogs system.

I agree with this. Feed what works best for your dog and your budget

.

I probably tried dozens of foods (having a dog with allergies does that, ha) and my favorites were Innova, Orijen, and Taste of the Wild. A couple months ago I decided to switch to raw. I started with Stella and Chewy's (and other pre-made brands) since I knew my dog could handle it (I had supplemented with them even when feeding kibble). Now I do homemade prey model raw and it's going great. Not only am I saving money but my dog is doing amazing.

Kendalle

· #8 · May 3, 2011

I like taste of the wild

pinkie1205

· #9 · May 5, 2011

Let me tell you a short story (it's 5am and I have nothing better to do

)

I got my dog 2 years ago and he would shed worse then any other dog I have ever seen. He's a chihuahua/pomeranian mix (pomchi anyone....I stole him but anyway) my entire house would be covered in hair within minutes.

After doing some research and talking to friends I decided the reason why she would shed so bad was because of his FOOD. I started out with Blue Buffalo. It was recommended and was very expensive. Easy for me, Killer is only 15 pounds and doesn't eat much so I could afford that bag every month. The Blue Buffalo didn't work out so I did some research and came across Taste of the Wild. It's GREAT food. I want to say that his shedding went down 95% and he was energetic and happy and healthy. One day while in Tractor Supply buying it, one of the employees recommended me their brand of food. It had the same ingredients and what not so I gave it a shot. It's called 4Health and you can only buy it at tractor supply. It costs about $6 for a 15 pound bag which is actually A LOT cheaper then bargain brands from the grocery store. Killer is still going through his first bag now and is almost finished. I don't have any complaints but the main ingredients. TOTW is made with bison or salmon or whatever and 4Health is mostly made with lamb and chicken. I'm still debating on whether or not to put him back on TOTW...

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Ratchilla

· #10 · May 5, 2011 (Edited)

I'm just curious. If 4health has the same natural ingredients as TOTW and he isn't allergic to lamb or chicken (so it still does the job) not to mention cheaper, why switch?

Switching back and forth between foods isn't really good for the dog either, it can mess with their digestive track and give you more problems.

Dang it, revamped: Comparing the two, according to my site (dogfoodadvisor), TOTW dry actually got a 5 star rating instead of 4. I accidentally looked at the wet canned. However, even so, if it works and is still at least a 4, I'm sure your pups are happy. It is up to you though.

Edit: By the way, TinyTimmy. Even if a better dog food costs a little bit more you will usually feed them less since it fills the dog up better with protein and such instead of just a filler. In the end you spend either the same amount as you would on the cheaper brand (which you end up feeding more) or maybe even less.

Dragonrain

· #11 · May 5, 2011

I wish TOTW worked for Kit. It doesn't. I tried it for awhile with him and bleh, honestly it was one of the worst foods for him out of everything I tried. Not saying that it's a bad food - just that it didn't work out for us. Kit didn't like the taste of it and it gave him a lot of...bathroom issues (to put it nicely).

Just goes to show you that not all food works for all dogs, even if it's high quality.

Switching between foods isn't necessarily bad for all dogs. Some people do rotation diets - which is switching foods every once in awhile. I've heard it's suppose to help prevent dogs from developing allergies and it keeps them interested in their food, because they aren't always eating the same thing. Works great for some dogs - but again not for all. Some of them can't handle a lot of change as easily as others can.

Different dog food sites will rate food differently based on what factors they are using to rate the food. So you might get a little bit of discrepancy looking at a few different review sites. In general though, it's pretty easy to pick out the bad foods from the good...if you don't want to rely completely on other peoples reviews you can do research to learn for yourself what to look for in a good dog food.

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Purple-Hops

· #12 · May 5, 2011

Talk about switching food, Coco will be 14 years old next month. His entire life,up till about 4 years ago, was eating whatever my mom bought him. Mom bought whatever food was on sale at the time. Supplemented by people food. On his birthday he would get a special meal and at Halloween he would get cast out candy that we didn't want. Coco is a miracle dog for his diet, he was always an ideal weight and never got sick from food switches.

I'm not saying I recommend this diet, and switching precariously. We were kids and didn't know the difference and were not told to be careful. Coco does not have allergies and as I said, will be hitting the 14 next month... I would never succumb my dog to 1 kind of food for their entire life bc as Dragon said- food will get boring and not help out their sensitivity to food and ingredients. I blame the fact that greyhounds need a special diet to their low grade diet at the track. Greys cannot eat anything with red dye in it?? Jeesh!

Ratchilla

· #13 · May 6, 2011

Lol! I guess that is true, they tend to be way more hardy than we give them credit for. I got 'chastised' once for switching foods like I was a bad pet owner or something. I wasn't chastising you pinkie, lol.

My dog has wicked allergies right now and I was contemplating Blue buffalo wilderness because it is grain free. I found some other cheaper holistic ones I liked, but my other dog is allergic to egg, so I couldn't get them.

Have you every tried BB Wilderness?

Kendalle

· #14 · May 6, 2011

just to let you know taste of the wild has egg.

Dog food gives me headaches.

wishbone

· #15 · May 13, 2011

I just seen that link and glad it is so much helpful! Just hope they encourage raw food diet too..

Ratchilla

· #16 · May 16, 2011

Kendalle said:
just to let you know taste of the wild has egg.

Dog food gives me headaches.

Indeed, me too. That is why TOTW and 4 health got put off my list. I ended up buying the BB wilderness, which was pretty much the most expensive dry dog food I've seen to date. :bye:Bye bye, money.

pinkie1205

· #17 · May 23, 2011

Ratchilla said:
Indeed, me too. That is why TOTW and 4 health got put off my list. I ended up buying the BB wilderness, which was pretty much the most expensive dry dog food I've seen to date. :bye:Bye bye, money.

Actually I switched killer back to TOTW. I know it's getting to be summer but he dropped fur like CRAZY...(his worse shedding episode to date).

Dogs can have food allergies to Beef (a big one) as well as chicken and that's what put me off with 4health. i thought I would try it but in the end, I didn't think it was a good idea. My mom's dog is allergic to foods that has lamb in them (he pukes everywhere).

What put you off to TOTW? Was it the egg? Have you looked into feeding a raw diet? For me it's not practical, that's why I've never tried it. There is no decent place for me to get raw meat at a reasonable price and I'm not feeding him stuff from the grocery store.

ETA: Watch him closely if you are feeding blue buffalo. I've heard that some dogs can't digest the blue bits (if the wilderness has blue bits in it) and it has made them sick...just a heads up

Ratchilla

· #18 · May 23, 2011

Well, that's not reassuring, lol.

I really need to go get my boy an allergy test done so that I can see what he is allergic to. He's always had them (albeit not so bad), but this year it has been by far his worst episode. I feel so bad for my little guy, he's been really itchy, has hives and scabbing areas and sores. The thing I'm worried about the most is if it is an outside allergy (fauna or any other environmental factor), I don't leave him outside for long periods because of this fact, but it doesn't seem to be helping.

Yeah, I went away from it because of the egg. It is the one of the only things she has a 3 (scale out of 6) on, so egg is a big no-no. I really hope the BB Wilderness works, if not, I'm not sure what to do.

I can check into raw, but I don't know where I'd get it. I'd most likely have to purchase from the grocery store and with a 75lb and a 45lb dog, it might be a bit difficult. However, if I have to do it, I will.

He pukes if he eats raw meat (I've only tried beef from the grocery store) but his stomach can't handle it. She has an allergy of 1 to beef, but she has never shown an issue.

I don't know, it's so frustrating. Thanks for the advice though. I'll watch him on the food (yes it has blue bits) but so far no adverse effects and they both seem to love it. I have no issue getting either of them to eat it and they both chow it down.

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Sasami

· #19 · May 23, 2011

Ratchilla said:
I can check into raw, but I don't know where I'd get it. I'd most likely have to purchase from the grocery store and with a 75lb and a 45lb dog, it might be a bit difficult. However, if I have to do it, I will.

He pukes if he eats raw meat (I've only tried beef from the grocery store) but his stomach can't handle it. She has an allergy of 1 to beef, but she has never shown an issue.

Beef is a very rich meat. Raw feeders don't introduce it until the dog has done fine on other meats such as chicken. It's usually the last protein to be introduced besides organ meat. I would not feed it to a dog who isn't used to raw (unless they have an iron stomach like some dogs I've known!).

There is a lot of conflicting information out there on raw diets so I wanted to give you some links

.

http://preymodelraw.com/page/3/
http://www.dogster.com/forums/Raw_Food_Diet/thread/431875

The second link has a bunch more links so I figured that'd be easier than giving you the list.

If you decide to try it I would feed raw chicken (starting with JUST bone-in...quarters would work well for your dogs) only for the first couple of weeks. Even if you decide not to do raw after that, it would be useful to know if he's allergic to chicken (he probably isn't but this would be good info to have since you'll know it's something else). You can do the same thing with other meats to see which ones (if any) cause a reaction.

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TinyTimmy

Discussion Starter · #20 · May 25, 2011

Thanks for the replies, this helps a lot

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