Changing of the Dog Food
We brought Beacon and Haven home in July 2003. Since then it seems like we've been on a neverending quest for the *perfect* dog food. Our dogs have tried out 10 different kinds of dog food (11 if you include the small bag of food we got to test and evaluate before it's on the market) throughout the course of their lives. It hasn't been easy finding something we like in regards to ingredients that also suits the dogs' needs (ie frequency and consistency of stools, changes in their coats, how they digest it, etc.).
When looking at dog foods the main things we take into account are ingredients, serving size, and price. After that it's a matter of trying a bag and seeing how the dogs react. We're willing to pay a little more for good food for the dogs, but it took us some time to figure out which food should be considered "good".
We knew from the start that looking at the ingredients in dog food was important. You want to avoid grains because they're not as easily digestible. The first three ingredients are important because that's what most of the food contains. So if a (non-ground) grain is one of the first three things listed as ingredients you may want to look into other options, especially if a grain is the first ingredient. You also want to avoid by-products. This means that "chicken by-product meal" is ground up chicken feet, organs, and other parts that don't contain the nutrition needed.
Most dog foods that we've looked at indicate a 2-4 cups per day feeding schedule. With this feeding schedule per day per dog, a 40 pound bag of food lasts about a month. When figuring out cost of a food we take into consideration how much we'll have to feed the dogs each day. Although one brand might cost more money, if the amount to feed each day is closer to 2.5 or 3 cups the overall cost isn't really as bad as the price sticker indicates.
Our dogs started off on Purina Puppy Chow Large Breed Formula. They were eating this before we brought them home so we continued to feed them this food for a short time. It's considered a "grocery store brand" food because it can be found at most grocery stores and is pretty cheap. We were probably paying around $15 - $20 for a 40 pound bag. The daily feeding suggested by Purina for our dogs' weight and age when we brought them home was up to 2.25 cups. But it went to 5.25 to 5.5 cups daily by the time they're 10-11 months old! The first three ingredients in this food are ground yellow corn, chicken by-product meal, and corn gluten meal.
A few months after we had Beacon and Haven we decided to look at other brands and ended up choosing Iams Puppy Large Breed, which cost around $25 for a 40 pound bag. They were on this for a few months before we decided to look again at food. While on Iams puppy their fur wasn't the softest but it didn't have a sticky feeling you can sometimes see when dogs are fed cheaper brands of food. The serving size for this food is 4 cups daily for puppies 8-12 months old. The first three ingredients in this food are chicken, chicken by-product meal, corn meal so we went in the right direction but would later find out that we could do a lot better.
It seems like every 3-6 months we start thinking about dog food again and wonder if there's anything better we can give the dogs. This time around we choose Diamond Large Breed Puppy (which isn't shown on their webpage so this link goes to their main site). We thought this was a "quality" food for a reasonable price (~$20 for a 40 pound bag). The dogs had nice, shiny coats which were soft while eating this food. Their stools were firm as well. The feeding guidelines for their weight and age at the time is 3.75 - 4 2/3 cups daily. The first three ingredients in this food are lamb, lamb meal, and whole grain brown rice, which I got from an old Word document we saved while researching dog food.
As the dogs approached their first birthday we started looking at adult food. Because they were doing well on Diamond we switched them to Diamond Large Breed Adult, which also isn't on Diamond's main page. I can only assume that the feeding guidelines and ingredients are similar to the Large Breed Puppy formula.
About a year and a half ago Diamond had a recall on some of their dog food. I'm wondering if since then they've been trying to reorganize the company and therefore aren't offering large breed products for puppies and adult dogs. I'll have to look next time we're out to see if it's in stores but not on their webpage for some reason. I did notice that they're offering a "naturals" line now, which is a higher quality food. In looking at the ingredients (they do offer large breed for puppies and adults) they are a little better but not as good as other foods we've found.
To date our dogs were on Diamond products for the longest amount of time. They were off Diamond food though for around six months when the recall came out. And even if they were eating Diamond food the recalled didn't reach the state of Michigan. Although the dogs were doing well on Diamond we again got the itch to see if there was anything better out there.
Canidae was our next food to try. This food costs ~$30 for a 40 pound bag. We ended up only buying one bag of this food. Although I had read good things about it and liked the ingredients it wasn't a good fit for our dogs. Their fur wasn't as nice and their stools were softer. After we finished the bag of food that we purchased we switched foods again! The daily serving for Canidae is 2-3 cups. The first three ingredients are chicken meal, turkey meal, brown rice.
After the Canidae didn't work out we decided to go back to Iams, but this time we bought Iams Large Breed Adult. Our dogs had done well on Iams puppy. The dogs were only on this food for a couple of months before we decided to switch again. Their stools were a bit softer and more frequent. Their fur was also not as soft as it was while they were on Diamond products. The feeding guideline for Iams Large Breed Adult is about 2.5 cups daily. The first three ingredients are chicken, corn meal, and ground whole grain sorghum. This is actually a slight step back from Diamond products since the second ingredient is corn meal.
Our next switch was back to Diamond (the recall at this point still hadn't happened). We tried their Lamb and Rice formula, which again isn't listed on their webpage. We had read that lamb was good for dogs with sensitive stomachs. Beacon will sometimes throw up mucus before eating if he's hungry. He also seems to be the one we judge whether or not a food is "right" by his stools. We ended up only purchasing one bag of the Diamond Lamb and Rice because this too wasn't a good fit for our dogs.
A friend of mine used to work for the dog food section of Proctor and Gamble (they make Iams). She sent me a coupon for a free bag of Eukanuba Large Breed, which is this company's higher end food. A 40 pound bag usually runs around $37 but we've been able to get it on sale for $30 - $33 most of the time. Aside from Diamond our dogs were on Eukanuba the longest amount of time. They had soft, shiny coats and firm stools while eating this food. The daily serving size is 2.75 cups. The first three ingredients are chicken, corn meal, ground whole grain sorghum. Although the second ingredient is corn meal they didn't have any problems with this food. They were on this food for around six months.
About a month ago the dog food bug hit again. I started researching foods again. We picked up a bag of Nutro Natural Choice Adult Lamb Meal and Rice. This food didn't last long. We typically mix old food with new for a few days before giving the dogs 100% new food. Once Beacon got to being on 100% of this food he started throwing up. The first day I just thought he had his usually tummy issues. But after the second and third day straight I wondered if it was the food. We switched him back to the Eukanuba that we still had (cold turkey) and he stopped throwing up. So for a short time Beacon ate Eukanuba and Haven had the Nutro so it wouldn't go to waste. She didn't have any issues with it other than more frequent and softer stools. Although lamb is said to be better for sensitive digestive tracts Beacon hasn't done well with either lamb products we've used. The daily serving size for this food is 3 2/3 - 4.5 cups daily. The first three ingredients are lamb meal, ground rice, and rice flour.
With our wanting to try something other than Eukanuba and the Nutro not working out I had to do more research. I really like the ingredients in Wellness and especially Innova. But both cost $40+ for a 33 pound bag. Even with the smaller daily feeding recommendation we haven't felt that spending more than $40 for less than 40 pounds of food is worth it.
I also researched Eagle Pack Large Breed and we found a 40 pound bag on sale for $30 so we tried it out. I'm not sure what the not-on-sale price is but so far this food is good all around. The dogs haven't had any problems with it at all. The daily serving size is 2-3 cups. The first three ingredients are chicken meal, ground brown rice, and oatmeal. For now we will be sticking with this food. I'm sure at some point I'll look again to make sure there's not something better out there. But I also think that I've researched most of the brands out there so there's not much more to choose from!
Early on in our research for dog food we realized that it's best to do your own research. Many vets tout Science Diet. This food is considered "high quality" and costs the same as premium foods. But the daily serving size for large breed adults the size of Beacon and Haven is 3-5 cups. And the first three ingredients are ground whole grain corn, chicken by-product meal, soybean meal, certainly not what I'd consider "high quality".
As with many things (both for dogs and people) what works for one dog may or may not work for another. We've found that just with our two dogs. So ultimately it's important to do research with a minimum of looking at ingredients and daily serving size. From there it's a matter of what you want to afford because we've found that for the most part you do get what you pay for when it comes to dog food. The rest is up to the dog. He or she really gets final say because they're the ones eating and reacting to the food.
When looking at dog foods the main things we take into account are ingredients, serving size, and price. After that it's a matter of trying a bag and seeing how the dogs react. We're willing to pay a little more for good food for the dogs, but it took us some time to figure out which food should be considered "good".
We knew from the start that looking at the ingredients in dog food was important. You want to avoid grains because they're not as easily digestible. The first three ingredients are important because that's what most of the food contains. So if a (non-ground) grain is one of the first three things listed as ingredients you may want to look into other options, especially if a grain is the first ingredient. You also want to avoid by-products. This means that "chicken by-product meal" is ground up chicken feet, organs, and other parts that don't contain the nutrition needed.
Most dog foods that we've looked at indicate a 2-4 cups per day feeding schedule. With this feeding schedule per day per dog, a 40 pound bag of food lasts about a month. When figuring out cost of a food we take into consideration how much we'll have to feed the dogs each day. Although one brand might cost more money, if the amount to feed each day is closer to 2.5 or 3 cups the overall cost isn't really as bad as the price sticker indicates.
Our dogs started off on Purina Puppy Chow Large Breed Formula. They were eating this before we brought them home so we continued to feed them this food for a short time. It's considered a "grocery store brand" food because it can be found at most grocery stores and is pretty cheap. We were probably paying around $15 - $20 for a 40 pound bag. The daily feeding suggested by Purina for our dogs' weight and age when we brought them home was up to 2.25 cups. But it went to 5.25 to 5.5 cups daily by the time they're 10-11 months old! The first three ingredients in this food are ground yellow corn, chicken by-product meal, and corn gluten meal.
A few months after we had Beacon and Haven we decided to look at other brands and ended up choosing Iams Puppy Large Breed, which cost around $25 for a 40 pound bag. They were on this for a few months before we decided to look again at food. While on Iams puppy their fur wasn't the softest but it didn't have a sticky feeling you can sometimes see when dogs are fed cheaper brands of food. The serving size for this food is 4 cups daily for puppies 8-12 months old. The first three ingredients in this food are chicken, chicken by-product meal, corn meal so we went in the right direction but would later find out that we could do a lot better.
It seems like every 3-6 months we start thinking about dog food again and wonder if there's anything better we can give the dogs. This time around we choose Diamond Large Breed Puppy (which isn't shown on their webpage so this link goes to their main site). We thought this was a "quality" food for a reasonable price (~$20 for a 40 pound bag). The dogs had nice, shiny coats which were soft while eating this food. Their stools were firm as well. The feeding guidelines for their weight and age at the time is 3.75 - 4 2/3 cups daily. The first three ingredients in this food are lamb, lamb meal, and whole grain brown rice, which I got from an old Word document we saved while researching dog food.
As the dogs approached their first birthday we started looking at adult food. Because they were doing well on Diamond we switched them to Diamond Large Breed Adult, which also isn't on Diamond's main page. I can only assume that the feeding guidelines and ingredients are similar to the Large Breed Puppy formula.
About a year and a half ago Diamond had a recall on some of their dog food. I'm wondering if since then they've been trying to reorganize the company and therefore aren't offering large breed products for puppies and adult dogs. I'll have to look next time we're out to see if it's in stores but not on their webpage for some reason. I did notice that they're offering a "naturals" line now, which is a higher quality food. In looking at the ingredients (they do offer large breed for puppies and adults) they are a little better but not as good as other foods we've found.
To date our dogs were on Diamond products for the longest amount of time. They were off Diamond food though for around six months when the recall came out. And even if they were eating Diamond food the recalled didn't reach the state of Michigan. Although the dogs were doing well on Diamond we again got the itch to see if there was anything better out there.
Canidae was our next food to try. This food costs ~$30 for a 40 pound bag. We ended up only buying one bag of this food. Although I had read good things about it and liked the ingredients it wasn't a good fit for our dogs. Their fur wasn't as nice and their stools were softer. After we finished the bag of food that we purchased we switched foods again! The daily serving for Canidae is 2-3 cups. The first three ingredients are chicken meal, turkey meal, brown rice.
After the Canidae didn't work out we decided to go back to Iams, but this time we bought Iams Large Breed Adult. Our dogs had done well on Iams puppy. The dogs were only on this food for a couple of months before we decided to switch again. Their stools were a bit softer and more frequent. Their fur was also not as soft as it was while they were on Diamond products. The feeding guideline for Iams Large Breed Adult is about 2.5 cups daily. The first three ingredients are chicken, corn meal, and ground whole grain sorghum. This is actually a slight step back from Diamond products since the second ingredient is corn meal.
Our next switch was back to Diamond (the recall at this point still hadn't happened). We tried their Lamb and Rice formula, which again isn't listed on their webpage. We had read that lamb was good for dogs with sensitive stomachs. Beacon will sometimes throw up mucus before eating if he's hungry. He also seems to be the one we judge whether or not a food is "right" by his stools. We ended up only purchasing one bag of the Diamond Lamb and Rice because this too wasn't a good fit for our dogs.
A friend of mine used to work for the dog food section of Proctor and Gamble (they make Iams). She sent me a coupon for a free bag of Eukanuba Large Breed, which is this company's higher end food. A 40 pound bag usually runs around $37 but we've been able to get it on sale for $30 - $33 most of the time. Aside from Diamond our dogs were on Eukanuba the longest amount of time. They had soft, shiny coats and firm stools while eating this food. The daily serving size is 2.75 cups. The first three ingredients are chicken, corn meal, ground whole grain sorghum. Although the second ingredient is corn meal they didn't have any problems with this food. They were on this food for around six months.
About a month ago the dog food bug hit again. I started researching foods again. We picked up a bag of Nutro Natural Choice Adult Lamb Meal and Rice. This food didn't last long. We typically mix old food with new for a few days before giving the dogs 100% new food. Once Beacon got to being on 100% of this food he started throwing up. The first day I just thought he had his usually tummy issues. But after the second and third day straight I wondered if it was the food. We switched him back to the Eukanuba that we still had (cold turkey) and he stopped throwing up. So for a short time Beacon ate Eukanuba and Haven had the Nutro so it wouldn't go to waste. She didn't have any issues with it other than more frequent and softer stools. Although lamb is said to be better for sensitive digestive tracts Beacon hasn't done well with either lamb products we've used. The daily serving size for this food is 3 2/3 - 4.5 cups daily. The first three ingredients are lamb meal, ground rice, and rice flour.
With our wanting to try something other than Eukanuba and the Nutro not working out I had to do more research. I really like the ingredients in Wellness and especially Innova. But both cost $40+ for a 33 pound bag. Even with the smaller daily feeding recommendation we haven't felt that spending more than $40 for less than 40 pounds of food is worth it.
I also researched Eagle Pack Large Breed and we found a 40 pound bag on sale for $30 so we tried it out. I'm not sure what the not-on-sale price is but so far this food is good all around. The dogs haven't had any problems with it at all. The daily serving size is 2-3 cups. The first three ingredients are chicken meal, ground brown rice, and oatmeal. For now we will be sticking with this food. I'm sure at some point I'll look again to make sure there's not something better out there. But I also think that I've researched most of the brands out there so there's not much more to choose from!
Early on in our research for dog food we realized that it's best to do your own research. Many vets tout Science Diet. This food is considered "high quality" and costs the same as premium foods. But the daily serving size for large breed adults the size of Beacon and Haven is 3-5 cups. And the first three ingredients are ground whole grain corn, chicken by-product meal, soybean meal, certainly not what I'd consider "high quality".
As with many things (both for dogs and people) what works for one dog may or may not work for another. We've found that just with our two dogs. So ultimately it's important to do research with a minimum of looking at ingredients and daily serving size. From there it's a matter of what you want to afford because we've found that for the most part you do get what you pay for when it comes to dog food. The rest is up to the dog. He or she really gets final say because they're the ones eating and reacting to the food.
posted by Amanda at 10:34 AM
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