Blue Buffalo Wilderness here... Both of our dogs love it and couldn't be healthier. We "inherited" a older mixed breed dog from a relative and she was in BAD shape....we weren't sure she would make it another week or two. After some TLC, a bath, brushing and a few weeks on Blue Buffalo she looked like a completely different dog...just an amazing transformation. I think she got a lot of people food before, so I think the BB really helped. We also had an older dog a while back with a really senstitive stomach (wheat sensitivity). Switching to BB really helped him as well.
High End Dog Food
- Thread starter Zuljin
- Start date
Help Support Homebrew Talk:
Got a friend who makes and sells premium dog food to Whole Foods and a few other places. It's fresh and not something most can afford. Most are about $25-$30 a day! Sorry, we can't do that.
OP
OP
Went with Victor Super Premium, grain free. 5 star rated on dogfoodadviser. Works out to $1.33 a pound. Not too bad. We were paying .80 to 1.20.
We're giving the new food to the dogs like treats today. They'd eat strips of newspaper if they though it was treats. We'll mix the remainder of the old food into this until it's gone.
Looked into feeding raw food and it looks like a fine idea. But I know us and we won't keep up with it.
We're giving the new food to the dogs like treats today. They'd eat strips of newspaper if they though it was treats. We'll mix the remainder of the old food into this until it's gone.
Looked into feeding raw food and it looks like a fine idea. But I know us and we won't keep up with it.
I feed my boxers Acana Ranchlands dry food.
It contains no grain or corn and is all meat and vegetables. Best thing we ever did fir them. They lost weight, have healthier coats and more solid poops! They have that mixed with greek yogurt and Merrick wet dog foid
It contains no grain or corn and is all meat and vegetables. Best thing we ever did fir them. They lost weight, have healthier coats and more solid poops! They have that mixed with greek yogurt and Merrick wet dog foid
ThreeBrothersBrewery
Well-Known Member
+1 for Kirkland dog food. I searched and searched for the right food and kept coming back to it. It has a quality that is very similar to the $50+ but at 2/3's the price. We supplement it with the occasional table scraps and wet food and our dogs couldn't be happy. Really good coats, healthy overall, and our lab has enough energy to power a small city....
I lied. That's what my cats get fed.
My dog gets EVO. (my wife just walked in the door with pet food).
![Craft A Brew - Safale S-04 Dry Yeast - Fermentis - English Ale Dry Yeast - For English and American Ales and Hard Apple Ciders - Ingredients for Home Brewing - Beer Making Supplies - [1 Pack]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41fVGNh6JfL._SL500_.jpg)
scottvin
Well-Known Member
We feed both my dog and cat taste of the wild. Yes, the food is more expensive than Purina or anything like that. However, the eat much less of the good food rather than the filler-filled crap food. We have a one and a half year old lab and people stop me in the street to comment on how shiny his coat is. We do not feed him human foods or anything else except for an occasional bully stick.
Thanks for the compliments on my pooches. With 2 great Danes in the house I wouldn't have anything other than leather furniture. So far it's held up great and doesn't hold any odor from the dogs layin on it. As you can see when they're on it they're all over it.
MMTG
Well-Known Member
I used to feed my dogs(German Shepards) Wolf King from Solid Gold but after I found out that there was a NASTY Salmonella outbreak at a plant that makes this food as well as MANY other high end dog foods, I switched brands to Rotations Pet Food. High Quality food with awesome customer service! The owners are really great guys and if you'd like a promo code, please email or pm me
www.rotationspetfood.com
www.rotationspetfood.com
stevereigh
Well-Known Member
Our Pitt/Lab/Pointer is allergic to damn near everything that goes in her mouth (and she tries to eat everything she can...) so we feed her Hills Z/D prescription food. $98 for 25lbs. Cleared up her itching and redness, got back to a healthy weight and grew all the hair on her backside back. Totally worth it to us...
My dog has hated every high end food I have tried. I just today switched from Beneful to the Stop and Shop store brand. He finished his bowl so quick I seriously wasn't sure if I filled it. Hopefully he sticks with this food. At 4 years old, I shouldn't be having to change his food every few months.
mudminnow
Member
I feed orijens to my lab and golden retriever. Each dog weighs sixty pounds and they eat less than four cups a day even while training to be gun dogs. If your dog is not that active I would suggest acana which has less protein.
CHefJohnboyardee
Well-Known Member
My Brittany gets Diamond Hi-Energy blend. He likes it well enough. I am happy with it. He can hunt for days on end and he I have to run him for thirty minutes a day or he drives me nuts...
Has some filler but it works great and he looks and runs great! The price isn't bad either.
Has some filler but it works great and he looks and runs great! The price isn't bad either.
Ran into allergy issues with our Jack Russell mix and had to get him off grains....
Tried Canidae and then Taste of the Wild...both left him with stinky breath and body odor.
We now have him on Back to Basics (Turkey) and he LOVES it...smells are gone too.
Tried Canidae and then Taste of the Wild...both left him with stinky breath and body odor.
We now have him on Back to Basics (Turkey) and he LOVES it...smells are gone too.
wolfstar
Well-Known Member
A question right up my alley...
Read these links, then go from there.
http://recipes4gourmetdogs.com/2011/08/worst-dog-food-brands/
http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=betterproducts
http://members.petfinder.com/~CA469/files/DogFoodRatings.pdf
Corn is the worst...
http://www.rchumanesociety.org/_files/How_Diet_Affects_Behavior.pdf
I have met trained and rehabilitated many dogs that had specific behavioral problems that were made worse by corn product in their feed.
Ideally, you want to read the ingredients list. Just like with human food, the ingredients at the top of the list comprise the greatest proportion of content. You want to start with a REAL protien. Chicken, Bison, Beef, etc. Stay away from protein meals (chicken meal, chicken by product meal for example) as a first ingredient. These are somewhat acceptable farther down the list of ingredients, but not at the top. Stay away from corn products. Some dogs have wheat, soy, or white potato allergies as well.
Stay away from dog foods that do not list the caloric rating per cup of food. Buy a dog food with a caloric rating, then use this table
http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-feeding-tips/dog-food-calculator/
to determine the proper amount of food to feed your dog...
We do rescue, boarding, boarding training, and long term medical boarding (long term illness/injury rehab). We typically carry 7-9 different brands/types of dog foods depending on the needs of our clients/boarders.
A few of our favorite dog foods
Taste of the Wild Bison Formula: A high protein food suitable for high activity level dogs, and hybrids. This may be to rich for many low to mid level energy domesticated dogs...
Blue Buffalo Wilderness: an excellent food for most dogs, again this is a high protein food and may be to rich for some dogs
Solid Gold and Canidae are great as well.
For some medical fosters with sensitive stomaches, Chicken Soup for the Pet Lovers Soul Light formula.
Hope this helps...
Sorry for the long post
Read these links, then go from there.
http://recipes4gourmetdogs.com/2011/08/worst-dog-food-brands/
http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=betterproducts
http://members.petfinder.com/~CA469/files/DogFoodRatings.pdf
Corn is the worst...
http://www.rchumanesociety.org/_files/How_Diet_Affects_Behavior.pdf
I have met trained and rehabilitated many dogs that had specific behavioral problems that were made worse by corn product in their feed.
Ideally, you want to read the ingredients list. Just like with human food, the ingredients at the top of the list comprise the greatest proportion of content. You want to start with a REAL protien. Chicken, Bison, Beef, etc. Stay away from protein meals (chicken meal, chicken by product meal for example) as a first ingredient. These are somewhat acceptable farther down the list of ingredients, but not at the top. Stay away from corn products. Some dogs have wheat, soy, or white potato allergies as well.
Stay away from dog foods that do not list the caloric rating per cup of food. Buy a dog food with a caloric rating, then use this table
http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-feeding-tips/dog-food-calculator/
to determine the proper amount of food to feed your dog...
We do rescue, boarding, boarding training, and long term medical boarding (long term illness/injury rehab). We typically carry 7-9 different brands/types of dog foods depending on the needs of our clients/boarders.
A few of our favorite dog foods
Taste of the Wild Bison Formula: A high protein food suitable for high activity level dogs, and hybrids. This may be to rich for many low to mid level energy domesticated dogs...
Blue Buffalo Wilderness: an excellent food for most dogs, again this is a high protein food and may be to rich for some dogs
Solid Gold and Canidae are great as well.
For some medical fosters with sensitive stomaches, Chicken Soup for the Pet Lovers Soul Light formula.
Hope this helps...
Sorry for the long post
KPSquared
Well-Known Member
mudminnow said:
x2 for Acana. We used to feed Hills Prescription Diet, then tried Kirkland for the cost but the dog pooped WAY more and her coat went down hill, now switched to Acana and love it. It's also made an hour from where I live so I can support the local economy.
I had my dogs on Blue Buffalo large breed and would rotate between the chicken, lamb and fish each time I had to buy a bag. My Newfie had skin allergies that would come and go so, after some antibiotics that didn't work, I switched to Innova. Both dogs like it and their coats look awesome.
OP
OP
We mixed in what they had left of their old food with Victor GF Ultra Pro. They went right for it. Granted, these dogs will eat dirty socks...
The only change we've seen so far is that they don't lick their paws anymore. In our quest for better food, we learned that obsessive paw licking can be caused by food allergies.
The only change we've seen so far is that they don't lick their paws anymore. In our quest for better food, we learned that obsessive paw licking can be caused by food allergies.
Zuljin said:
My dog licks anything obsessively, but in his case it's clearly an anxious behavior.
I give him Blue Buffalo Life Protection, though I'm aware that, while it's a step up from stuff like IAMS, it could still be better. Wish I could find something better that's easy to find/buy around here, without costing twice as much as I already do. I'd pay maybe 50% more for something really good.
Zuljin said:
Paw licking can be attributed to any type of allergies. Both my dogs obsessively licked their paws in the late spring because the crazy pollen we had this year in dfw. I'd give them a Benadryl and they'd quit and once the pollen was gone they stopped completely.
It's ragweed season and my little guy is rubbing his face all over the carpet and furniture. It looks hilarious, but the poor guy can't even scratch himself properly! He literally gave himself a cataract by kicking that side of his face all the time. Sometimes it sounds like he's even hurting himself as he whines while doing it.
Benadryl helps, but it obviously doesn't completely do the trick as he still scratches a fair bit... just not quite as much.
And then he gets dry skin in the winter which also makes him itchy, but at least I can do something about that. He even gets an oatmeal bath every time he gets groomed.
Benadryl helps, but it obviously doesn't completely do the trick as he still scratches a fair bit... just not quite as much.
And then he gets dry skin in the winter which also makes him itchy, but at least I can do something about that. He even gets an oatmeal bath every time he gets groomed.
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