Best dry dog food?

[SheepOfBlue]

Okay then, those of you who use dry dog food: In your opinion what is your favorite brand and why?

I will answer slightly different than the others....

What is readily available in your area? Most people are constrained by available options and budget. Also I think a better question would be is brand X a decent food as while there is not a 'best' there is some that folks would consider bad (and tell you so in detail; reference the like religion comments by others )

I am currently feeding Sca Innova Red Meat Small Bites. However the other thing that seems to be common is some dogs do not like some foods (just like me I don't eat certain things). Further some dogs are sensitive and react poorly to certain types of food (again like people, in my case shrimp is hospital time).

So sorry to say that while your intent is likely to do the top notch best for the Sheltie that owns you it is not that simple.

 

[jerros]

Dog food is like politics and religion... everyone thinks they're feeding the One Best Food, and they might just be right.

Iams may be the right food for you (is your dog in good condition? are you and your vet pleased with your dog's health? can you afford to feed that food? are you satisfied with the size/quantity of waste your dog produces?).

If the answer to any of those questions is "no", then you might consider a different food. But if you're satisfied, there's no reason to upend the apple cart, so to speak.

We feed Eukanuba. We have healthy, hard-running dogs with great muscle tone and lovely coats. We end up with strong brood bitches who have plenty of milk and thriving puppies who gain weight and wean easily. Food isn't the only thing that goes into the equation - genetics, supplements (if any), environment, and sheer luck also play their parts - but I'm very pleased with the results on Euk.

I agree. I would personally add one additional question to the list and that is "Can I trust this food?". Do a little research to see if there have been frequent major recalls or frequent un-announced formula changes.

Honestly that was the biggest question I asked myself when looking for food besides cost, and availability.

 

[PreciousSheltie]

I agree. In my experience, mixing foods up has not been successful. Even in my dogs who don't have gastric issues like colitis, there's a "break-in period" of loose stools, bags of food they aren't fond of, etc.

I can also see switching foods once in a while to change protein sources, but it's not something I would do as a regular practice.

Good point about the grain-free choices, Barb...I forgot that one. One of mine eats grain free and the others don't. For some of mine, grain is needed to keep things moving, so to speak.

I'm not sure there's one all purpose food for every dog. I think you have to assess your dog's needs and find the food that works best for them.

Can you tell me a little bit more about switching up foods? I've never done that before and would love to know more

 

[Justicemom]

Can you tell me a little bit more about switching up foods? I've never done that before and would love to know more

I started Ember on rotational feeding 3 yrs ago. I was using nature vareity(before raw). I would buy a small bag of say chicken, next bag-samlon, next beef, next lamb and so on. I didn't mix it just change to the new bag. A bag generally lasted 3 wks. She was very sensitive in her overall response to food changes at the time. Now rarely anything bothers her.

The reason most dogs get diarrhea when they are fed a new food is the bacteria in the gut the helps with digestion. If a dog is only fed one type of food, the bacteria population developes that is only set up to digest that one food. The longer they are are one type of food ,the more limited the bacteria colony and the less tolerate the gut becomes to new food. It can take 2-3 weeks to change the population of the bacteria so it can handle a new food at this point.

If one does a rotational diet, it allows a more varied population of bacteria to develop which can handle different proteins(sone chicken, some beef, some lamb etc) It doesn't allow the gut bacteria to become specialized. If you regularly rotate diets, the dog becomes less sensitive over time. Now that doesn't account of true food allergies whick are unique to each dog0

Generally ,you can use different protein sources within a brand ie TOTW or 3-5 brands that you trust with different protein sources(ie chicken ,lamb ,beef etc) If your dog has been eating the same for a long time prior go slow and mix a few days before going straight to the new food.

 

[mbfrench]

Okay then, those of you who use dry dog food: In your opinion what is your favorite brand and why?

We rotate here between all flavors of TOTW.Just recently re-added the lamb.And no issues.So all in all I think there are 4 flavors we rotate thru,from bag to bag.

Everyone will have thier own assessment of food,I think its all depending on the dog,as not every dog is the same,nor are their tolerance for foods the same.Finding the right balance,knowing what is in your food you feed.Grain or no grain.
Here we have no choice,we have to feed no grain to the lab,as he is allergic to corn,wheat.So that works well for the other 3 as well.

 

[danisgoat]

We rotate here between all flavors of TOTW.Just recently re-added the lamb.And no issues.So all in all I think there are 4 flavors we rotate thru,from bag to bag.

This is what we do as, well.

 

[PreciousSheltie]

Thank you so much for that very insightful response, I loved reading through it and didn't know any of that at all! What size bags do you recommend I buy if I'm planning on rotating and having the food only last a month?? I have my 5 month Precious on Wellness right now (not much flavor to choose from there...) Or is it recommended I not do this with Puppies?? She was on Iams with the breeder but I changed her up when she got here. She's been on both brands for about 2 months each but I still have a lot of food left because I bought a big bag hoping it would last a long time.

I ACCIDENTLY posted a new thread else where when I meant to ask in one of these threads but, I see a lot of sheltie owners are using TOTW (perhaps a lot of shelties like the taste) but I was a bit hesitant because I had heard a lot of things like vets finding urinary problems connected to the fact that the dogs all ate TOTW, etcetc. Though I dont know if there's any validity to these complaints and reports, has any one found any problems with the brand?? Otherwise, I may be very interested in trying some out as well! Please let me know

I started Ember on rotational feeding 3 yrs ago. I was using nature vareity(before raw). I would buy a small bag of say chicken, next bag-samlon, next beef, next lamb and so on. I didn't mix it just change to the new bag. A bag generally lasted 3 wks. She was very sensitive in her overall response to food changes at the time. Now rarely anything bothers her.

The reason most dogs get diarrhea when they are fed a new food is the bacteria in the gut the helps with digestion. If a dog is only fed one type of food, the bacteria population developes that is only set up to digest that one food. The longer they are are one type of food ,the more limited the bacteria colony and the less tolerate the gut becomes to new food. It can take 2-3 weeks to change the population of the bacteria so it can handle a new food at this point.

If one does a rotational diet, it allows a more varied population of bacteria to develop which can handle different proteins(sone chicken, some beef, some lamb etc) It doesn't allow the gut bacteria to become specialized. If you regularly rotate diets, the dog becomes less sensitive over time. Now that doesn't account of true food allergies whick are unique to each dog0

Generally ,you can use different protein sources within a brand ie TOTW or 3-5 brands that you trust with different protein sources(ie chicken ,lamb ,beef etc) If your dog has been eating the same for a long time prior go slow and mix a few days before going straight to the new food.

 

[Alissa]

Thanks

Thanks everyone!

I guess this sort of answers my question. I read a lot of the forums (and followed the links) on this subject already and there was so much information; (and some of it seemed contradictory) that it just confused me more.

I wanted to know if there are certain things he should be getting, for example meat... (I remember the first ingredient in his food is either chicken or chicken meal). I think the main thing I really wanted to know is: are there are some pet foods out there that are very bad? I still remember the China-Melamine incidents, fortunately I was between dogs at the time.

Sandy has a very sensitive stomach so I'm not sure If I should rotate his foods or not. He does well on his current dog food (except for the deadly farts but I think that's normal). Does rotating help sensitive dogs or make them worse?

If I do decide to rotate his food is there anything other than corn (thanks) that I should avoid? Are there foods that are just poor? Also are there foods that are good for Shelties in general? It makes sense that a Great Dane might do better on a different food from much smaller Sheltie.

Sorry for the barrage of questions!

 

[Alissa]

Totw

Oh and what is TOTW?

 

[mbfrench]

Thanks everyone!

I guess this sort of answers my question. I read a lot of the forums (and followed the links) on this subject already and there was so much information; (and some of it seemed contradictory) that it just confused me more.

I wanted to know if there are certain things he should be getting, for example meat... (I remember the first ingredient in his food is either chicken or chicken meal). I think the main thing I really wanted to know is: are there are some pet foods out there that are very bad? I still remember the China-Melamine incidents, fortunately I was between dogs at the time.

Sandy has a very sensitive stomach so I'm not sure If I should rotate his foods or not. He does well on his current dog food (except for the deadly farts but I think that's normal). Does rotating help sensitive dogs or make them worse?

If I do decide to rotate his food is there anything other than corn (thanks) that I should avoid? Are there foods that are just poor? Also are there foods that are good for Shelties in general? It makes sense that a Great Dane might do better on a different food from much smaller Sheltie.

Sorry for the barrage of questions!

asking what food is best opens up a world of responses.There are foods that are poor,and there are foods purely just plain aweful.There is a wide spectrum between poor & aweful,believe me.
I don't think breed specific foods such as "made for shelties" probably exisits.Although I do know there are foods for small,medium,large dogs.There are breed specific foods for active,hunting,dogs that need the high protein,as they are truely working dogs,and need that extra.

Since we rotate here thru TOTW,the protein levels are differant,as high as 32%,and as low to 26%.But since all 4 of these dogs have adjusted themselves to the rotational diet,they do extremely well.

Awareness is key,read some of the review site,as you have done,and ask here.We are here to help.Although I must admit,we all have our favorites,and opinions