# Dog Food



## Julie (Jan 18, 2015)

I know there are a lot of dog owners here, so I would like to ask what dog food do you give to your dogs? Or do you make you own food and if you do can you post up a recipe? My Boglen Terrior (Boster Terrier/Beagle mix) keeps breaking out in some severe dry spots and constant ear infections, the vet felt that she is having an allergic reaction. And it seems like that is true, I am now giving her Ole Roy Kibbles N Bits, her coat is very shiny and no more ear infections but I believe Ole Roy is not that good of a dog food to give her.

So I am asking for everyone's opinion, what should I give her? I can't give her any Purina or Dad's, those are out. My boxer, who's pic is in my avatar is a freakin tank, she can and will eat anything. 

I am thinking the best option is make my own. Any thoughts?


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## Runningwolf (Jan 18, 2015)

we switched to 4 Health at Tractor Supply after hearing so many others using it. One of our dogs also had an ear infection and both have itchy skin


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## ibglowin (Jan 18, 2015)

Julie, Ole Roy is probably one of the worst (quality) dog foods you could buy for your dogs. The first ingredient on the bag is not protein, but corn!

I use the Dog Food Advisor website. Unbiased and constantly being updated as the formulations change over time.

If your fur baby is having allergy problems your choices may be more limited more but you should be able to find something good that doesn't break the bank.

We feed a mixture of Orijen (5 Star rated) and Kirkland Super Premium dry dog food (4 Star rated) They also each get a dollop of Kirkland Signature Super Premium Adult Dog Food Cuts in Gravy (Turkey with peas and Carrots) (4 Star Rated) as well as a couple of pumps of wild alaskan salmon oil (for dogs).

They may eat better than us (LOL)


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## cmason1957 (Jan 18, 2015)

When I was in cub scouts, very many years ago, I lived in the little town of Rolla, MO. Bow Wow Dog Food was made at a factory in town. We toured it one time. One of the main ingredients was Captain Crunch. I made a decision soon there after to never feed my did that. We buy our dog food at Costco, no grains, lamb, rice, sweet potatoes and a few other good things. It comes in a green bag. I have no idea what the name is. The dogs have no hot spots or other issues. They do itch some, but nothing major.


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## ibglowin (Jan 18, 2015)

The green bag is the Lamb formula







The Magenta bag is the Chicken formula. Both are very highly rated on dogfood advisor.


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## Runningwolf (Jan 18, 2015)

Great site, thanks for sharing mike.


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## Just-a-Guy (Jan 18, 2015)

Why is Purina out? Not that I know much about it, but Just-a-Dog eats Purina Pro Plan. He seems to like it. That said, he also eats whatever we're eating most nights, including sushi, steaks, pasta of all sorts, fish, etc. And Just-a-Wife goes to the grocery and bribes the meat guys (god only knows what she does) to give her huge bags of cuts from various meats, which Just-a-Dog loves. But mostly, Purina Pro Plan.


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## ibglowin (Jan 18, 2015)

It only gets 2.5-3 stars at most. It all depends on what you can afford of course but you can usually do much better (bang for the buck) with a little research.

http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/?s=purina+pro+plan


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## codeman (Jan 18, 2015)

I feed my dog raw food and freezdried food such as Stella and Chewy or Steves Real Food or Nature's Variety. 

The raw food is actually frozen.

It's the closest thing you can buy that is like what they would eat in the wild.


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## cmason1957 (Jan 18, 2015)

ibglowin said:


> The green bag is the Lamb formula
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Yep, that's the one we feed the beasts. Sometimes things are hard to find on the phone.


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## Julie (Jan 18, 2015)

I don't do Purina cuz that and the Dad seem to be causing her the severe dry spots and ear infections. 

Dan, I never thought of Tractor Supply!

Mike thank you so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And yes I know how bad Ole Roy is, that is why I decided to make this post.

Codeman, I need to look into that, I never thought of raw food.


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## Runningwolf (Jan 18, 2015)

Tractor Supply out sells all pet stores in pet food. Look at the foot print taken up in the store for just dog/cat food. They just opened two pet stores in Georgia as a trial.


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## JohnT (Jan 19, 2015)

My Duke gets this. He loves it.


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## ibglowin (Jan 20, 2015)

Speaking of, Purina seems to be having some significant health problems…….

FDA warns Purina plant in South Whitehall about 'significant violations'


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## wineforfun (Jan 20, 2015)

Had a black lab/german shorthair mix that lived to 16(had to put him down 2yrs. ago). He started on Purina puppy chow and then went to Purina dog chow. He never had any health problems and loved the food.


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## Sage (Jan 20, 2015)

Mine does eat in the wild. You should see what he drags home!! I live in the mountains.......


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## ffemt128 (Jan 21, 2015)

We feed ours Iams. It's what our breeder had the Shepard on and I believe the first 3 ingrediant are meats not grains. I'll have to check it's rating on Dog Food Advisor.


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## Jimyson (Jan 21, 2015)

MY dog doesn't do well with Chicken in his dog food. I've had this with another dog as well so I stay away from any chicken/chicken bi-products. I also stay away from grain in it. All of these are needed filler. I shop at Costco and use Kirkland Signature Beef Meal and Sweet Potato. Works well for me. 

I was using Nature's Recipe Venison Meal and Rice that did awesome and he loved it but got too expensive.

http://www.kirklandsignaturepetsupplies.com/natures-domain-brand

http://naturesrecipe.com/dog-food/healthy-skin/venison-meal-and-rice-recipe/


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## Rodnboro (Jan 21, 2015)

I fed my lab Ole Roy regular and she never had any health problems and always had a clean and shiny coat.


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## cintipam (Jan 21, 2015)

Guys, I have cats but have been reading this forum since we are looking to change foods. I googled Kirkland and got a web page that terrified me. It appears to be legit, and folks are saying that after using kirkland for years the latest purchased bags are making pets very sick and some are dying. Again, the site looks legit to me but please realize I am no expert.

www.consumeraffairs.com/pets/kirkland_pet_food.html

I'm checking out tractor supply next.

Pam in cinti


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## cooldood (Jan 21, 2015)

I feed my dog people food. I figure if it is good enough for me it is good enough for him


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## ibglowin (Jan 21, 2015)

Diamond Pet foods (which makes Kirkland/Costco pet foods) also makes quite a few of the Tractor Supply foods.


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## roger80465 (Jan 21, 2015)

cintipam said:


> Guys, I have cats but have been reading this forum since we are looking to change foods. I googled Kirkland and got a web page that terrified me. It appears to be legit, and folks are saying that after using kirkland for years the latest purchased bags are making pets very sick and some are dying. Again, the site looks legit to me but please realize I am no expert.
> 
> www.consumeraffairs.com/pets/kirkland_pet_food.html
> 
> ...



My wife and I are involved with retired greyhound adoption. If you want to start a lively conversation on the newsgroup, just ask the question "what do you feed your hound?" This website was mentioned this week and set off a considerable panic within the group, since a significant percentage of the grey owners feed Kirkland food. Several people posed this question - "who are these people and are they legit?" Seems like a fair question and nobody can fine out the pedigree (so to speak) of consumeraffairs.com. Since people have had consistently good luck with Kirkland, their consensus was that this was one of 'those' sites on the web with an axe to grind with Kirkland. As for the vast majority of greyhound owners locally, it will be business as usual.


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## ibglowin (Jan 21, 2015)

I have been feeding Kirkland either stand alone alone or now as a 50/50 blend with Orijen since 2006. Costco is one of the most trusted and consumer praised companies in the nation. They stand behind anything they sell 100%. I am a little skeptical of those reviews. To become "consumer affairs" accredited a company must pay them a monthly fee. If you'd don't agree to pay the fee not only are you not "accredited" but they will not forward any complaints or problems associated with your products. Sounds a little like blackmail to me.


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## Jimyson (Jan 21, 2015)

And something like the reviews state that are enough to kill loads of animals would likely flag a recall.


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## willie (Jan 22, 2015)

We have lost a few dogs to cancer. So we now only use a quality food with real meat, potatoes and more vegetables, rice and fruit food dry or can. We try to keep them away from wheat, corn, and soy. And we drink only filtered fluoride free water and so do our dogs. Our diets are not 100% perfect but we try hard.

Will


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## Deezil (Jan 22, 2015)

I've been feeding my mutt Blue Buffalo from the dreaded pet stores, but by-and-large, it's quality food. I kept him on the puppy food longer than recommended because I liked the dietary balance of it more but eventually shifted him to the adult food after he quit growing, both taller and wider. He's always been a healthy weight, has a healthy coat, clear eyes and more energy than I can get him to spend. He eats both the Chicken & Lamb bags with the same enthusiasm.

The Wilderness brand from Blue Buffalo, has a higher protein content and lower Carb content than the regular line, so that's what the Corgi gets (prone to obesity/over eating), but my Pitbull-Bullmastiff looks great on the normal brand


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## ibglowin (Jan 22, 2015)

Blue Buffalo is probably one of the best/better choices you can make from the pet megachains. But it is also made by Diamond Pet Foods! There is not a whole lot of players.


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## GaDawg (Jan 22, 2015)

A lot of dogs with ear problems have yeast infections and grain based food maker it worst. Blue Buffalo, Diamond Pet Foods, etc. cost more than Ole Roy, etc. but a good quality dog food is a lot cheaper than a vet bill.


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## codeman (Jan 22, 2015)

Whatever the case, you want to rotate the protein source at least every 3 months. 
Try to stick with the same brand but instead of feeding chicken all the time switch to lamb or beef or whatever a few times a year. This will help prevent them from becoming allergic to a food. 
After all, in the wild they'd be eating several protein sources multiple times a week.

I go to a place that carries really off the wall foods like alligator, ostrich, kangaroo, seaweed. It's very high quality.


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## JDC (Jan 22, 2015)

*Not all People food OK*



cooldood said:


> I feed my dog people food. I figure if it is good enough for me it is good enough for him



Dogs should not eat:

Grapes & Raisins
Alcohol
Chocolate
Raw Bread dough
Macadamia Nuts
Avacados
Hops
Onions or Garlic
Sugar Free Chewing gum (Xylitol)
Coffee/Tea

Garlic powder used to be sold as a supplement to ward off fleas - now it is listed as a big no-no.


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## codeman (Jan 22, 2015)

JDC said:


> Dogs should not eat:
> 
> Grapes & Raisins
> Alcohol
> ...



There's a brand of dog good called Avoderm, it has a lot of avocados in it.


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## sour_grapes (Jan 22, 2015)

codeman said:


> I go to a place that carries really off the wall foods like alligator, ostrich, kangaroo, seaweed. It's very high quality.



Ruff! Tastes like chicken! Ruff Ruff!!


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## cooldood (Jan 22, 2015)

JDC said:


> Dogs should not eat:
> 
> Grapes & Raisins
> Alcohol
> ...


I don't feed him ALL people food. I don't feed him anything on the list.
Although I must admit I never thought of feeding him avacados but maybe because I would rather take a kick in ()*^% before I ate them myself.


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## Turock (Jan 25, 2015)

I think if you have a dog with food allergies, then you'll probably need to experiment with dog food that addresses that issue. But you might have to try a couple different ones to find the one your dog does best on. Just like with humans--unless you know exactly what food he's allergic to, it takes experimenting to find the offending food so you can eliminate it.

I don't have these issues with my dogs so I've not had to do this. My dogs have OTHER issues---like my part beagle eating the sunflower seeds under the bird feeders. She is so food addicted that she'll even attack me and start chewing on my shirt if I have dripped something on it!!! She cruises the basement looking for spiders to eat!! I've never had a beagle before--and let tell ya, it's a whole new adventure for me!!


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## Julie (Jan 25, 2015)

Turock said:


> I think if you have a dog with food allergies, then you'll probably need to experiment with dog food that addresses that issue. But you might have to try a couple different ones to find the one your dog does best on. Just like with humans--unless you know exactly what food he's allergic to, it takes experimenting to find the offending food so you can eliminate it.
> 
> I don't have these issues with my dogs so I've not had to do this. My dogs have OTHER issues---like my part beagle eating the sunflower seeds under the bird feeders. She is so food addicted that she'll even attack me and start chewing on my shirt if I have dripped something on it!!! She cruises the basement looking for spiders to eat!! I've never had a beagle before--and let tell ya, it's a whole new adventure for me!!



My dog that has the allergies is part beagle and pat bosten terrier, lol, and she definitely has her own mine about what she wants and what she wants to do. She doesn't attack but will sit in one spot for hours on end to get a treat or whatever it is she wants. Now my boxer, Jesse, will life has to be exploded in her mouth or she at least has to lick it!


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## JDC (Jan 26, 2015)

codeman said:


> There's a brand of dog good called Avoderm, it has a lot of avocados in it.



I guess technically only the leaves, skin, and pits of the Avocado should be avoided - and I think it only causes some minor gastric distress anyhoo. I have seen Avoderm on the shelves, but had never really looked at it. They claim to only use the oil & "meat".


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