Dog food help?

[MudLuvr]

What are y'all's preferences for dog food for my lab he is 1 1/12 years old?

 

[Joe Overby]

Eukanuba. Hands down the best commercially available food on the market.

 

[Drake1807]

I like Eukanuba but after they went up on their price I switched to Pro Plan Performance. I'm sure that I will be the one to put Eukanuba in bankruptcy for being greedy. Lol

 

[Folsom]

Like Joe said Eukanuba is great and I fed it for a long time. With the price increase and bag size decrease I had to try something new. I made the switch to Loyall and so far so good. I'm feeding 7 the 30/20 puppy, 4 30/20 performance, and two the active formula (all labs). I couldn't be happier, stool on all the pups are better and they have all kept great coats so far.

 

[huntchesies]

Black Gold

 

[waterdogs]

Pro plan has increase their prices as well, just paid 53 bucks for pro plan puppy and 52 for PP salmon and rice. pP sent me a email stating they will have a price increase at the 1st of the year, but looks like they did it already. I am going to check the price of eukanuba and some others. I want to feed the best for my labs but within a good price point. We may all to get together and see if we can purchase a pallet of food and split it up. Just a thought

 

[JuliaH]

If I only had a couple dogs I would stay with Pro Plan Performance, price increase or not. With that said, I had to look around some and came across Loyall.

I have been feeding Loyall Professional now for about 3-4 months and my dogs are doing good on it, so this is where I will stay I reckon.

I tried Black Gold once, did not like it. I don't feed "grocery store" dog foods.

There are a lot of reasons I don't see prices getting better, and it is a shame that our economy is bad, but that is another entirely different discussion.

The main thing is to use a good quality food. I want meat as the first ingredient, not by product, etc. but when I found I had to switch, I went to a brand where they are backed by a good company, do their own milling so that the feed is consistent, and have good customer support.

Julia

 

[Ruger#3]

Faithway Pride and Pleasure 24/20, good dogfood won't break the bank.

Sold at feed stores.

 

[SonyaS]

Was feeding Iams (which is the sister to Eukanuba, same creator, same company) but recently wanted something a bit less expensive and not made by P&G.

Started feeding Diamond Naturals Lamb and Rice. Better price, sold at feed stores, all the dogs love it, plus the feed store guys happily load 120 lbs of dog food into the trunk with no lines. First ingredients are Lamb Meal, Brown Rice, Barley, etc....

We are very pleased with it. The Diamond "High Energy" is a favorite among folks with very active working dogs or hunting dogs that burn a lot of calories.

Only complaint is the adult food does not contain Glucosamine or Chondroitin (joint supplements), only the senior 8+ food does.

 

[Joe Overby]

Was feeding Iams (which is the sister to Eukanuba, same creator, same company) but recently wanted something a bit less expensive and not made by P&G.

Started feeding Diamond Naturals Lamb and Rice. Better price, sold at feed stores, all the dogs love it. First ingredients are Lamb Meal, Brown Rice, Barley, etc....

So far we are very pleased with it. The Diamond "High Energy" is a favorite among folks with very active working dogs or hunting dogs that burn a lot of calories.

Only complaint is the adult food does not contain Glucosamine or Chondroitin (joint supplements), only the senior 8+ food does.

That and their recall record is atrocious...Diamond has been responsible for more dog deaths in the last few years than old age...horrible, horrible company.

 

[JuliaH]

Well, anything made by Diamond will never be a feed I can trust. Has that company ever missed a recall?

Companies such as Purina, specially Pro Plan division and Cargill, makers of Nutrena and Loyall. I am sure there are others, but these are 2 I have dealt with successfully.

There are some websites that allow you to compare dog foods, but I don't trust any that hype a brand. Of course everything else will fall short.

Here is a good link from the FDA where you can check dog foods.

http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/default.htm

To be fair, there does not seem to be any dog food recalls at this time.

Julia

 

[JimDraper]

I have used Black Gold for years on my Labs with great results.

 

[SonyaS]

That and their recall record is atrocious...Diamond has been responsible for more dog deaths in the last few years than old age...horrible, horrible company.

Really? Lordy. Was not aware of that, thank you! Guess my dog food bill will go back up. I just bought 120 lbs the other day. Hopefully the feed store will take it back if I buy something else, I could use some ivermectin.

Not a lot of dog food options in this town, I thought Diamond was pretty good. Maybe I will go back to Nutromax, expensive as heck but they seem to be a responsible company.

 

[Joe Overby]

Try PMI Exclusive...also look into Native, Country Vet, Loyall, and Fromm. Also, be careful as there are several other brands that are manufactured by Diamond...Taste of the Wild and Tractor Supply Company's "4Health" brand are 2 of them...Dog food is like gas these days...we have to have it, it needs to be quality, it's already expensive, and they keep raising the dang prices!!!

 

[Joe Overby]

Oh, look into Enhance or VF as well...GREAT foods...

 

[Joe Overby]

One more I forgot...Victor...

 

[shadow2]

Science diet. It is the only thing will my wife will feed our dogs. And since she is a VET she makes all of the animal health calls.

 

[SonyaS]

Try PMI Exclusive...also look into Native, Country Vet, Loyall, and Fromm. Also, be careful as there are several other brands that are manufactured by Diamond...Taste of the Wild and Tractor Supply Company's "4Health" brand are 2 of them...Dog food is like gas these days...we have to have it, it needs to be quality, it's already expensive, and they keep raising the dang prices!!!

Yeah I feel like a fool now. The ingredient list looked good and the dogs loved it. I am feeding 7 so we go through a lot of dog food. Looks like some of the Diamond recalls were due to Salmonella, dirty factories which also means probably buying cheap ingredients from China (Salmonella isn't a problem in and of itself, I sometimes feed raw chicken which means salmonella everywhere, but in manufacturing plants that is shoddy).

Thanks. I may start ordering food online again, we don't have many options in this town.

 

[grizzlyblake]

I feed my two beagles, one basset, and one mutt Blue Buffalo - the original big blue bag. It's really expensive though, so I'd like to find an alternative that isn't as pricey.

 

[JuliaH]

Just for the help, here is a long list of dog/cat, dog, and cat/dog foods that have experienced recalls. Here is the link so research can be done if needed...

http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/newpetfoodrecalls/#Dog

The good foods are getting more and more expensive, so we all may want to check things out. The big recall several years ago included a lot of dog foods...

Cat, Dog Products
Country Value
DIAMOND
DINGO
DOCTORS FOSTER & SMITH CHICKEN
Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance Venison
EVOLVE
HEALTH DIET
LICK YOUR CHOPS
Nutra Nugget
Pounce
Professional
Royal Canin

Dog Products
ALPO
AMERICAS CHOICE
ARROWBRAND 21% Dog Chunks
ARROWBRAND Professional Formula Dog Food
ARROWBRAND Super Proeaux Dog Food
AUTHORITY
AWARD
American Bullie
American Nutrition
BEST CHOICE
BIG BET
BIG RED
BLOOM
BLUE BUFFALO
Beef Hooves
Beefeaters
Berkley & Jensen
Bil-Jac
Blue Buffalo
Blue Wilderness
Bravo
CADILLAC
COMPANION
Canine Caviar
Champion
Country Value
DEMOULAS MARKET BASKET
DIAMOND
DINGO
DOCTORS FOSTER & SMITH
DOG POWER(R) BRAND DOG FOOD, ADULT MAINTENANCE FORMULA 21-12
DOG POWER(R) BRAND DOG FOOD, HI-PRO PERFORMANCE FORMULA 26-18
DOG POWER(R) BRAND DOG FOOD, HUNTERS FORMULA 27-14
Dentley's Beef Hooves
Dentley's Knucle Steaks
Diamond
Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance Venison
Digger's
Disney
Dog Treats
Dog treats
Dollar General
EUKANUBA
Eukanuba
FOOD LION
GIANT COMPANION
GRREAT CHOICE
Good Buddy
Grandpa Louie's Dog Treats
Gravy Train
HILL COUNTRY FARE
HY-VEE
Happy Tails
Harmony Farms
Hartz Naturals
Hill Country Fare
IAMS
Iams
Iams Veterinary Formulat
Integrity
Jerky Treats
Jones
KASCO
Kirkland Signature Premium
Kroger
LAURA LYNN
LOVING MEALS
MEIJER MAIN CHOICE
MIGHTY DOG
MIXABLES
Marksman
Merrick
Merrick Beef Filet Squares
Merrick Beef Filet Squares Dog Treats
Merrick Beef Filet Squares and Merrick Texas Hold 'Ems
Merrick Junior Texas Taffy
Merrick TEXAS HOLD "EMS
Mill Creek Premium
Mulligan Stew
NATURAL BALANCE
NATURAL LIFE
NUTRIPLAN
NUTRO
NUTRO MAX
NUTRO NATURAL CHOICE
NUTRO ULTRA
Natural Balance
Natural Way
Next Generation Pet Products
Northwest Royal
Nurture
Nutra Nugget
NutraGold
OL ROY CANADA
OL ROY US
Ol' Roy
PAWS
PET ESSENTIALS
PET PRIDE
PETRUS FEEDS, 21% Dog Food
PRESIDENT'S CHOICE
PRICE CHOPPER
PRIORITY CANADA
PRIORITY US
PUBLIX
Pedigree
Pedigree
Perfect Pals
Pet Life
Pig Ears for Pet Treats
Planet Dog Eats
Pork Chomps
Premium Natural
Premium Smarty
Professional
ROCHE BROTHERS
River Run
Royal Canin
SAVE-A-LOT
SCHNUCKS
SHEP
SHEP DOG
SHOP RITE
SPRINGFIELD PRIZE
SPROUT
STATER BROTHERS
STOP & SHOP COMPANION
Safe-Guard
Sensible Choice
SmartPak
Solid Gold WolfKing
Springfield Prize
Timberwolf Organics, Drug Kibble, Dakota Bison Formual
Timberwolf Organics, Dry Kibble, Ocean Blue
WEGMANS BRUISER
WEIS TOTAL PET
WESTERN FAMILY US
WHITE ROSE
WINN DIXIE
Wellness
Western Family
Wysong Maintenance Canine Diet packaged
Wysong Senior Canine Diet
Wysong Synorgon Canine Diet
Yeaster
Yourpet


Dog, Cat Products
AUTHORITY
AWARD
BEST CHOICE
CO-OP GOLD
COMPLIMENTS
HEALTH DIET GOURMET CUISINE
HILL COUNTRY FARE
HY-VEE
LA GRIFFE
MASTER CHOICE
NATURAL LIFE
NUPET
OL ROY CANADA
PERFORMATRIN ULTRA
PET PRIDE
PRESIDENT'S CHOICE
PRIORITY
SCHNUCKS
SPRINGFIELD PRIZE
STATER BROTHERS
TRIUMPH
TRULY
WESTERN FAMILY