Author Topic: What do you feed your dog?  (Read 6932 times)

Just Joe

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What do you feed your dog?
« on: March 06, 2017, 02:21:05 PM »
The title says most of it. I suppose what kind of dog and how that dog spends its days count too (laying around, old/young, actively herding sheep). Please be specific - brands, where you buy your dog's food, how you prep it. Thanks.  We just want to see if we can improve our routine.

Our dog is a small female Irish Setter. Eats mostly Diamond brand maintenance kibble from Tractor Supply. Spends her day being lazy until the kids get home.

Cassie

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Re: What do you feed your dog?
« Reply #1 on: March 06, 2017, 02:32:05 PM »
Earthborn. They have never had a recall and is a small family operation. Very high quality and you can order on Chewy.com and get free shipping to your door. I spent much time researching quality dog food. My 80lb husky/shephard mix eat it as well as my 3 tiny Maltese. They are old but are active to play/walks and then sleep a lot.

startingsmall

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Re: What do you feed your dog?
« Reply #2 on: March 06, 2017, 02:37:57 PM »
Veterinarian here.

Ten year old German Shepherd and he has been on Purina ProPlan for his whole life. For the last year or so I've had it delivered through a veterinarian-only feeding program, but prior to that I bought it at PetSmart or Tractor Supply.

Vindicated

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Re: What do you feed your dog?
« Reply #3 on: March 06, 2017, 02:48:06 PM »
Earthborn. They have never had a recall and is a small family operation. Very high quality and you can order on Chewy.com and get free shipping to your door. I spent much time researching quality dog food. My 80lb husky/shephard mix eat it as well as my 3 tiny Maltese. They are old but are active to play/walks and then sleep a lot.

I also feed my dog Earthborn: Primitive Natural.  I pick it up from a local pet store for ~$50 for the 28lb bag.  My dog is a 50lb Shepherd / Boxer mix. 

There may be cheaper options, but every other food I've tried either made him sick, or he wouldn't eat it.  I'm not exaggerating.  He fainted when he was a puppy and an emergency vet visit revealed that he had been starving himself.  I figured, "If he's hungry, he'll eat."  That wasn't the case.

KMMK

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Re: What do you feed your dog?
« Reply #4 on: March 06, 2017, 03:18:58 PM »
Origen. It's pricier than need be but he's small and does well on it so no reason to change.
Prep, we scatter it on the floor so he eats slower.

swick

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Re: What do you feed your dog?
« Reply #5 on: March 06, 2017, 03:23:57 PM »
Just because it hasn't been mentioned; Dog Food Advisor is an incredible resource, for their analysis as well as recall email list.

https://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/

I'm a red panda

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Re: What do you feed your dog?
« Reply #6 on: March 06, 2017, 03:25:35 PM »
Beneful healthy weight.
First dog was on a high protein food (like 10 years ago) and getting really sick. The vet recommended we find a food with higher grain content and recommended this one. She's been great since then.

2nd dog seems to be doing okay on it, so he'll stick with this too.

startingsmall

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Re: What do you feed your dog?
« Reply #7 on: March 06, 2017, 04:16:28 PM »
Just because it hasn't been mentioned; Dog Food Advisor is an incredible resource, for their analysis as well as recall email list.

https://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/

FYI, Dog Food Advisor is run by a human dentist, not an individual with knowledge of animal nutrition. Lots of pseudoscience on that site.

FL_MM

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Re: What do you feed your dog?
« Reply #8 on: March 06, 2017, 04:22:32 PM »
Taste of the Wild- Salmon.  It's expensive, but my dog is allergic to chicken so it's one of the few foods he can eat. His coat and health improved once we put him on it. 
He's a 95lb Doberman who's old and not too terribly active.

swick

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Re: What do you feed your dog?
« Reply #9 on: March 06, 2017, 04:23:17 PM »
Just because it hasn't been mentioned; Dog Food Advisor is an incredible resource, for their analysis as well as recall email list.

https://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/

FYI, Dog Food Advisor is run by a human dentist, not an individual with knowledge of animal nutrition. Lots of pseudoscience on that site.

Hmm didn't know that, still think it is a super valuable resource, especially for the recall notification, but even if you do or do not agree with the conclusions, it is useful for ingredient lists and highlighting of potentially problematic ingredients.  As always, multiple sources are a good thing! Do you have any better recommendations, startingsmall?

startingsmall

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Re: What do you feed your dog?
« Reply #10 on: March 06, 2017, 04:44:21 PM »
Just because it hasn't been mentioned; Dog Food Advisor is an incredible resource, for their analysis as well as recall email list.

https://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/

FYI, Dog Food Advisor is run by a human dentist, not an individual with knowledge of animal nutrition. Lots of pseudoscience on that site.

Hmm didn't know that, still think it is a super valuable resource, especially for the recall notification, but even if you do or do not agree with the conclusions, it is useful for ingredient lists and highlighting of potentially problematic ingredients.  As always, multiple sources are a good thing! Do you have any better recommendations, startingsmall?

If you google WSAVA Nutrition Toolkit, you'll find a lot of great resources. I especially love their handout "The Savvy Dog/Cat Owner's Guide to Nutrition on the Internet," but there are lots of fabulous resources and links on that site.

swick

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Re: What do you feed your dog?
« Reply #11 on: March 06, 2017, 04:47:59 PM »
Just because it hasn't been mentioned; Dog Food Advisor is an incredible resource, for their analysis as well as recall email list.

https://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/

FYI, Dog Food Advisor is run by a human dentist, not an individual with knowledge of animal nutrition. Lots of pseudoscience on that site.

Hmm didn't know that, still think it is a super valuable resource, especially for the recall notification, but even if you do or do not agree with the conclusions, it is useful for ingredient lists and highlighting of potentially problematic ingredients.  As always, multiple sources are a good thing! Do you have any better recommendations, startingsmall?

If you google WSAVA Nutrition Toolkit, you'll find a lot of great resources. I especially love their handout "The Savvy Dog/Cat Owner's Guide to Nutrition on the Internet," but there are lots of fabulous resources and links on that site.

Awesome, Thanks!

Cassie

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Re: What do you feed your dog?
« Reply #12 on: March 06, 2017, 05:31:31 PM »
Vin: I think EArthborn is cheaper at chewy.com and the shipping is free.

tralfamadorian

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Re: What do you feed your dog?
« Reply #13 on: March 06, 2017, 06:05:26 PM »
Purina one lamb and rice purchased in bulk from Harris Teeter when on sale.  120lb rhodesian ridgeback.  Typical of her breed so lots of energy and outdoor activity.  Food mixed immediately prior to feeding with equal amount lukewarm tap water and feed from elevated bowl (both supposed to help prevent gastric dilatation volvulus).

Dave1442397

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Re: What do you feed your dog?
« Reply #14 on: March 06, 2017, 06:37:38 PM »
Costco Kirkland brand.

Our dog is an eleven-year-old American Eskimo, and is pretty active.

He eats almost anything, so he gets a lot of leftovers and fruit. Fruit is like crack cocaine to this dog. His favorite is mango, followed by oranges and apples (no grapes, of course).


slowsynapse

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Re: What do you feed your dog?
« Reply #15 on: March 06, 2017, 06:47:37 PM »
Two eleven year old large breed mixes.  They get Beneful and a supplement of homemade food made with ground turkey, eggs, carrot, brown rice and potatoes.  The supplement I have tried myself and is pretty good.  They also eat anything they can steal off of the counter and grass.

hankscorpio84

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Re: What do you feed your dog?
« Reply #16 on: March 06, 2017, 11:32:59 PM »
I feed my 3 year old, 60 lb flat-coated retriever mix (high, high energy dog) Purina One salmon based "sensitive stomach formula".  I had to try several adult foods before I found one that kept the toots to a minimum.   She was pretty explosive on science diet and blue buffalo.

Vindicated

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Re: What do you feed your dog?
« Reply #17 on: March 07, 2017, 06:18:16 AM »
Vin: I think EArthborn is cheaper at chewy.com and the shipping is free.

I looked it up after the earlier comment.  It is about $5 cheaper than what the local store sells it.  Thanks for the heads up!

Heroes821

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Re: What do you feed your dog?
« Reply #18 on: March 07, 2017, 07:26:59 AM »
Wife's current dogs eat whatever is the biggest cheapest bag at whatever store we are shopping in. They sleep on the couch all day and are older dogs that are gimps one is missing an eye the other a  leg.  They don't play even though we try and aren't big on running around the yard.

My Sheltie and Collie growing up were fed Gravy Train where we added water to make the gravy once a week, dry all others.

Fishindude

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Re: What do you feed your dog?
« Reply #19 on: March 07, 2017, 07:31:09 AM »
I've got a buddy that has a couple big show dogs and is really into his dogs.
He scavenges road kill deer, and also gets lots of spent chickens.   Runs things through a big grinder, packages and freezes appropriately sized portions.
Says he will never feed his dogs anything but real meat.

aprilchem

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Re: What do you feed your dog?
« Reply #20 on: March 07, 2017, 09:16:51 AM »
Beneful healthy weight.
First dog was on a high protein food (like 10 years ago) and getting really sick. The vet recommended we find a food with higher grain content and recommended this one. She's been great since then.

2nd dog seems to be doing okay on it, so he'll stick with this too.

Also Beneful Healthy Weight here.  We spend 8 years switching our dogs from one grain-free, organic, expensive dog food option to another, only to find that all of their allergy issues disappeared when we switched to a cheap dog food.   Our vet says that our 16 year old lab is the healthiest elderly dog he's ever seen, so it's working for us.

afuera

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Re: What do you feed your dog?
« Reply #21 on: March 07, 2017, 09:46:02 AM »
Costco Kirkland brand.

Our dog is an eleven-year-old American Eskimo, and is pretty active.

He eats almost anything, so he gets a lot of leftovers and fruit. Fruit is like crack cocaine to this dog. His favorite is mango, followed by oranges and apples (no grapes, of course).

Same here!  We were feeding our doggo Taste Of The Wild but recently switched to Kirkland after a tip from the local Airedale Rescue and she loves it! We have a 3-year-old Airedale Terrier with way too much energy.  Seriously, the only way to really tire her out is to strap her on to our bikes and pedal as fast we can for 30+ min.

cj25

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Re: What do you feed your dog?
« Reply #22 on: March 07, 2017, 10:09:58 AM »
I home cook for my almost 10 year old beagle.  Ground beef/chicken/livers/hearts/eggs/sardines/some tiny chopped veggies/hemp seed oil/flax oil/vitamin mix/bone meal/immune support supplement.  She sleeps, goes for walks, runs around the house hopping over furniture, sniffing for cats, squirrels & bunnies.

cacaoheart

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Re: What do you feed your dog?
« Reply #23 on: March 07, 2017, 01:18:14 PM »
Costco Kirkland brand.


Same. Kirkland Lamb and Vegetable $30 for 40 pound bag. Our 70 pound 8 year old greyhound has been eating it for a couple years now. I would pay more if I saw a benefit to doing so, but he seems to do very well with this.

NextTime

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Re: What do you feed your dog?
« Reply #24 on: March 07, 2017, 03:26:54 PM »
I've got a buddy that has a couple big show dogs and is really into his dogs.
He scavenges road kill deer, and also gets lots of spent chickens.   Runs things through a big grinder, packages and freezes appropriately sized portions.
Says he will never feed his dogs anything but real meat.


Interesting.  When I was doing my MBA I attended a marketing seminar by someone from Hill's Pet Nutrition. At one point he mentioned that the average lifespan of dogs/wolves in the wild is around 6 years, and attributed this to their diet being pretty much 100% meat.

Don't know if it's a fact, but it makes sense that nutritionally a dog would need a lot more than meat to be healthy.

ketchup

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Re: What do you feed your dog?
« Reply #25 on: March 07, 2017, 03:44:29 PM »
We feed raw.  A variety of local suppliers, the best being a once-a-year free wild vension windfall (got nine free carcasses last November!).  We have two chest freezers in the garage dedicated to meat for dogs.  Everything is bought in bulk, usually frozen.  People think feeding raw is outrageously expensive, but it's not that bad once you know what you're doing and have felt out all your local options (I swear it's like a secret society).  Our per-unit cost is about on-par with mid-tier kibble.

We have Australian Shepherds, rather active.

tarheeldan

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Re: What do you feed your dog?
« Reply #26 on: March 07, 2017, 05:13:33 PM »
Science Diet small bites for my Shih Tzu.

There's a Shih Tzu on the package. I noticed the model they used used to be skinny, but the new packaging has a more portly Shih Tzu lol!

MsPeacock

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Re: What do you feed your dog?
« Reply #27 on: March 07, 2017, 07:40:01 PM »
Cosco, the stuff for kinda fat dogs. Purple bag. She seems to do well on it and dog farts are kept to a minimum. She gets a few table scraps mixed it too. Always served soupy with water.

windypig

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Re: What do you feed your dog?
« Reply #28 on: March 07, 2017, 07:43:05 PM »
Costco Kirkland natures domain. There are three types, we vary each month. We pay about ~$30/month for a 65/lb dog

I'm a red panda

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Re: What do you feed your dog?
« Reply #29 on: March 08, 2017, 07:18:05 AM »

Interesting.  When I was doing my MBA I attended a marketing seminar by someone from Hill's Pet Nutrition. At one point he mentioned that the average lifespan of dogs/wolves in the wild is around 6 years, and attributed this to their diet being pretty much 100% meat.

Don't know if it's a fact, but it makes sense that nutritionally a dog would need a lot more than meat to be healthy.

I know a lot of vets that aren't really on the grain-free train...

But, wouldn't you think dogs in the wild would have shorter lifespans due to also not having someone provide them easy food multiple times a day and taking them to the vet if they get slightly ill?  I'm not sure it can be attributed just to an all meat diet.

PDX Citizen

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Re: What do you feed your dog?
« Reply #30 on: March 08, 2017, 12:50:15 PM »
Costco Kirkland natures domain. There are three types, we vary each month. We pay about ~$30/month for a 65/lb dog

Same for me.  I have a 13-year old dog who's been on it pretty much his whole life and is in great shape for his age.  I'd pay more if I thought there was something better, but he's always been happy with their premium dog food.  I upgraded him to the senior dog formula a couple years ago, and he does get some added "treats" like scrambled eggs, which I figure balance things out.

ickhos

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Re: What do you feed your dog?
« Reply #31 on: March 08, 2017, 05:32:03 PM »
$95 every 5 weeks or so on prescription hydolized protein dog food.

Unfortunately, puppers has a terrible stomach and throws up anything else. It took of 6 months of vet visits (~$600) and rolls of paper towels to figure out he can't eat anything but that dog food and an antacid every day. Food scraps, another brand, etc and it's dog puke city.

Roots&Wings

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Re: What do you feed your dog?
« Reply #32 on: March 09, 2017, 05:02:35 AM »
Blue Buffalo. About $120/yr for small, semi-active dog.

ringer707

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Re: What do you feed your dog?
« Reply #33 on: March 09, 2017, 06:10:47 AM »
Annamaet Encore 25%. $63 for a 40 pound bag from Chewy.com. Expensive, but one of the best rated dog foods I could find. I take my dogs nutrition and health very seriously, so it was important to me that he be on a high quality food. He was on Earthborn Holistic as a puppy and did well on that, and my cat is on Earthborn brand cat food.

To echo other posters, I can't say enough good things about Chewy.com. I don't think I've ever ordered something from them that didn't arrive the next day. It's almost creepy how fast they get something shipped to you when I've ordered things at like 2 pm the day before.

NextTime

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Re: What do you feed your dog?
« Reply #34 on: March 09, 2017, 07:19:11 AM »

Interesting.  When I was doing my MBA I attended a marketing seminar by someone from Hill's Pet Nutrition. At one point he mentioned that the average lifespan of dogs/wolves in the wild is around 6 years, and attributed this to their diet being pretty much 100% meat.

Don't know if it's a fact, but it makes sense that nutritionally a dog would need a lot more than meat to be healthy.

I know a lot of vets that aren't really on the grain-free train...

But, wouldn't you think dogs in the wild would have shorter lifespans due to also not having someone provide them easy food multiple times a day and taking them to the vet if they get slightly ill?  I'm not sure it can be attributed just to an all meat diet.


I agree with that.  Same way the average lifespan for humans was very much shorter prior to the mid 20th century.  Advances in medicine and general health knowledge played a huge role. But I would think nutrition plays as big a role with other animals as it does with us humans. I don't think the guy was advocating for a completely vegan diet.

zinnie

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Re: What do you feed your dog?
« Reply #35 on: March 09, 2017, 08:06:02 AM »
Orijen Senior and veggie scraps when cooking. They eat most stuff that would otherwise go in the compost. I figure it's good to get them some fresh food, too. My vet has always recommended using a food that was proven to meet a dog's nutritional needs through AAFCO feeding trials. These are the two statements to look for, with the second being better than the first:

“(Name of product) is formulated to meet the nutritional levels established by the AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profiles” (this just uses lab analysis of contents)

“Animal feeding tests using AAFCO procedures substantiate that (name of product) provides complete and balanced nutrition” (this is an actual feeing trial)

A general comment on dog nutrition, though: it is generally accepted that dogs evolved on human garbage. The docile wolves were the ones that hung around human campsites and scored leftover scraps without getting killed or shoed away. The first dogs evolved about when humans started staying in one place for longer periods of time, and therefore started having to deal with build up of food waste. A dog's "ideal" diet is a human diet, as it is literally how they came to exist as a species. There is no point trying to feed them like they are wolves living the wild when they stopped being that a long, long time ago. And the "grain free" thing is a fad, just like the low-carb and gluten-free human equivalents.

alewpanda

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Re: What do you feed your dog?
« Reply #36 on: March 09, 2017, 08:57:48 AM »
Taste of the WIld: Lamb variety. 

I have two dogs -- 75 lb golden retriever mix, 60 lb black lab mix.  7 and 3 respectively.

Taste of the Wild is one of the cheapest grain free, chicken free options in our local pet store.  Its 45.00 a 32 lb bag, and we use one up every 5ish weeks. 

Note: if you ever have a reason to want chicken free foods, check the ingredients. Many grain free options with other meats on the labels still had chicken meal as a lean protein "filler" in the ingredients.  My oldest dog got the short end of the gene pool stick: severe flea allergy, grain allergies, bean allergies, and chicken allergies. Oh, and seasonal allergies.....possible thyroid condition and hip displaysia.   He's a special snowflake.   I hope the recipe for our current dog food stays the same until he passes, because he is also super picky and won't eat even other types of Taste of the Wild foods consistently.


Dogs are medium activity level.  30 min - 1 hour walk each morning, depending on when I have to be in at work.  Outside play, tricks, fetch for 1 hourish in the afternoon.  Youngest also play wrestles with the husband when he comes home and runs circles if she gets too much energy pent up.  Oldest is on anti-inflammatory meds and does almost everything the youngest does, minus the running circles and anything involving jumping on hind legs....

Edit to add: Taste of the Wild is part of a loyalty program at our local pet store too.  Every 10 bags bought and we get a free bag of whatever or smallest size bought was.  We only buy the 32 lb ones, so every 11th month or so, we get a free bag of dog food.  Score!
« Last Edit: March 09, 2017, 09:01:31 AM by alewpanda »

alewpanda

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Re: What do you feed your dog?
« Reply #37 on: March 09, 2017, 09:04:06 AM »
Orijen Senior and veggie scraps when cooking. They eat most stuff that would otherwise go in the compost. I figure it's good to get them some fresh food, too. My vet has always recommended using a food that was proven to meet a dog's nutritional needs through AAFCO feeding trials. These are the two statements to look for, with the second being better than the first:

“(Name of product) is formulated to meet the nutritional levels established by the AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profiles” (this just uses lab analysis of contents)

“Animal feeding tests using AAFCO procedures substantiate that (name of product) provides complete and balanced nutrition” (this is an actual feeing trial)

A general comment on dog nutrition, though: it is generally accepted that dogs evolved on human garbage. The docile wolves were the ones that hung around human campsites and scored leftover scraps without getting killed or shoed away. The first dogs evolved about when humans started staying in one place for longer periods of time, and therefore started having to deal with build up of food waste. A dog's "ideal" diet is a human diet, as it is literally how they came to exist as a species. There is no point trying to feed them like they are wolves living the wild when they stopped being that a long, long time ago. And the "grain free" thing is a fad, just like the low-carb and gluten-free human equivalents.

I would argue that there are legitimate dog allergies related to grain.  Perhaps not every dog needs to be grain free, but some do.  Our oldest dog was in and out of the vet's clinic with ear infections, skin infections and open sores until we eliminated all grains, chicken, and several types of legumes.  He's been healthy ever since, outside of seasonal allergies that simply require benedryl. 

Also, he stopped stinking of the house with his farts and poor digestion....