Dog Food

[flutterby]

I know we recently had a thread about this, but I can't find it.

The vet suggested we switch Jewel to a lamb and rice dog food because of her skin allergies/issues. Any suggestions for an affordable brand?

TIA.

[lmf64]

Darn I wish I could remember the name of the food we used to feed our dogs. It's lamb and rice. I got it at Walmart for like $8 a 6 pound bag. It's like Science Diet, but much cheaper.

[donna723]

Mine usually eat Merrick which is not cheap and I have to drive 60 miles to get it. My car has been acting up lately so if I can't get to the pet store to get the Merrick, I will get them a smaller bag of Purina Lamb & Rice to tide them over and they like it OK. It's not as good as the Merrick but the main ingredient is the lamb, which is good. It's not cheap either - I paid $8 for a 4 lb. bag in the grocery store, and I think an 18 lb. bag is $21 at Walmart. Any lamb and rice food is going to be fairly expensive if the lamb is the first (main) ingredient, which is what you want. You don't want to pay good money for a lot of fillers (corn) that they can't digest anyway. It's not as nutritious as the Merrick and I've noticed that they eat more of the Purina than the Merrick. They have to eat more to meet their nutritional needs. If you get something different, make sure the lamb is the first ingredient mentioned. The Purina Lamb & Rice is not as good as some but it's still pretty good food.

Check this out: www.dogfood analysis.com

[GoingNorth]

Donna has some ideas. However, in recent years we've been seeing more and more dogs that're allergic to lamb.


A lot of vets now recommend feeding a chicken and rice based formula. I like California Natural made by Innova for dogs like this.

The nice thing about Cal-Nat is that is a single protein source food, meaning that no other proteins that might be allergens sneak in.

Unfortunately, with pet foods you get (to a point) what you pay for, and even if it doesn't upset the pet's innards, you wind up scooping a lot of it out of the yard.

[donna723]

I used to get the chicken based food for mine all the time - first the Wellness chicken formula, and then when I couldn't get that any more I switched them to the Merrick chicken. But now one of them has apparently developed a sensitivity to chicken so I don't get them anything with any kind of poultry products in it any more.

And some of the more expensive foods that you can get in the grocery store are pure junk food for dogs! Beneful is pretty expensive but it's absolute crappola! It's nothing more than corn pressed into brightly colored cute shapes (that appeal to the people buying it) and sprayed with various chemicals and additives! On the dogfoodanalysis website, it's rated a "1" on a scale from "1" to "5" - "1" being the lowest! For what you pay for something like Beneful you could go to a small independent pet supply store and buy them something really nutritious!

[Fran]

We use Blue Buffalo lamb and rice. Not cheap but I use coupons and they don't eat much. Less than 2 c 2 times a day.
I tried grain free but it was too rich for 2 of the dogs(and extremely pricey). No way to keep them from sneaking each other's food so I stopped. Everyone is on lamb and rice.
I think IAMS makes lamb and rice also. I don't have experience with it though.

Have you looked at Hill's prescription diet? I use their sensitive stomach dry food when they have upset tummies.
Good luck.

[GoingNorth]

Another thing to consider are the Taste of the Wild line of dog foods. They carry a fish and sweet potato based food that is, compared to other super premium foods, somewhat cheaper.

I don't feed their dog foods, but my cat eats the Venison and Salmon dry food and has done very well on it.

I am stuck feeding an RX food called DCO. It's made by Purina for dogs with colitis. It's got a lot of corn and a lot of added fiber. I cannot believe that I'm actually feeding something like this.

BUT, my dog isn' suffering from the chronic diahrrea and pain and bleeding any more

[Nomad]

I'm not sure who it was here...perhaps Donna and also Going North...but, I switched my dog to a premium dog food and she is doing much better all around. She lost weight and has a ton more energy. I also give her dog vitamins, but I only give her a tiny dosage...half of the vitamin dosage I was giving her previously. She is like a very young puppy again. I totally believe in the premium dog foods now...worth the extra dollars. Also, I found the owner of the premium dog food shop very knowledgable. So, my advice would be to find one of these places or a website w/ devotees and ask for specifics. The shop owner gave me samples to try for free. Thank you to the folks here who suggested I try premium dog food.
p.s. I too would like the link to that recent thread.

[timer lady]

Our vets have always recomended Iam's for Sally. While the initial bag can be pricey (depending on the size & age of your dog) you end up feeding a lot less. It's quite a filling product for our babies.

[GoingNorth]

The problem with IAMs and Eukanuba (owned by Procter and Gamble) is that they contain a lot of grain as well as a lot of mystery meat.

You always want to see meat as the very first ingredient on the lable. Meat meal is preferable to actual 'wet' meat as it is much more nutrient dense.

BUT, I can assure you that if a company is proud of it's protein sources it will TELL you what they are. Just "meat byproducts" could be anything.

Even so, unless a food states that it is human-grade, they are still using the tumors, meat and byproducts from '3-D' cattle (Dead. Down. Dying), or from animals that contain medication residues that cannot be allowed to enter the human food chain.

IAMs is owned by a major manufacturer of soap and cleaning products. Those items are made from the fat and bone tissue of animals. What goes into the pet foods is the stuff that isn't good enough to use in shampoo.

Hill's is owned by Carnation, which again uses wasted animal products in it's pet foods.

BTW, a lot of dogs who can't handle corn can handle rice and/or barley. The problem with corn is the sugar content primarily.

As I said, I am appalled at what is in my dog's bag of RX dog food, but he's doing well on the stuff and he spent quite a bit of his life ill with intestinal problems.

He has intestinal epodermalysis bullosa. Basically, blisters form in his small intestine and rupture leaving ulcers. It is similar to Chron's in humans except that he sometimes gets sores on his lips and nose as well.

As you can imagine, it's very painful and I will feed him what I have to feed him in order to keep him comfortable.