What is the best brand of dog food to feed my dog?

Question

I am feeding her Purina ONE, it was given to me by the humane society where I adopted her, a big 12 lb. bag. I am gonna use it up of course, but I would like to ween her out of that and put her on something with higher quality. What do you recommend? She's 3 months old, lab/hound mix.

Answer 1

I feed my dogs Innova EVO, it is a very good food and it totally grain free. When my dog had pups I weaned all the pups with the EVO and sent some home with the pups, and a few of the owners still feed the EVO to their pups. All the pups were and still are very healthy.

Some of the other brands of food I like and recommend are:

Timberwolf
Solid Gold
Natural Balance
California Natural
Canidae
Wellness
Fromm
NRG Dehydrated food

Answer 2

I alternate between several grain-free brands: Evo, Canidae, Before Grain, Blue Wilderness, and Professional. Originally, only my St. Bernard was eating the grain free food. Our vet recommended protein food because she has digestive health issues (I have 4 dogs total) but the other three began stealing her food and ignoring the Beneful... even though my chihuahua/terrier mix was obsessed with the red kibbles, he gave them up for her food, that was the cue that we may as well just feed them all the same food. I have noticed less gas and more energy in all the dogs, and my St. Bernard is no longer a perpetual poop factory. All combined, the dogs eat about 20 cups/day. My dogs don't eat canned food, but they do get the occasional home-made meals when my grocery budget allows it.

Answer 3

Nutro is what I feed. Same as Natural Choice. They use all natural foods and no by products. At a fair price.
One of my dog's has a VERY sensitive digestive system and he is on Wellness dog food. They too use all natural food and I don't have to add any other nutrients into the food becuase he is getting them from the food. Plus fillers like corn gluten run through his digestive system within minutes. Although, this is a more pricey food.
Diamond food is good too. But my favorite is Nutro. It makes the coat so shiney and my dogs love it. Plus I don't have to add raw eggs or cottage cheese or anything else because the food already has the nutrients it needs. They do use fillers, but they aren't the first indgrediants.

I wouldn't feed Purina products. I have been to the factory and most all they feed are fillers and by-products. Look on the back of the bag and compare foods. Good luck!

Answer 4

Was told by vet and way too many dog show/performance dog trainers that Beneful/ Purina stuff and Iams are junk food for dogs--too high in sugar and salt, which is why dogs go for it so readily. A lot I know feed Canidae and Chicken Soup for Dogs. My vet is having me feed hamburger mixed w/ Urban Wolf. I add carrots, green beans or pumpkin. I'm having such wonderful results, some of my friends are about to switch. She also said Nutro Natural Rice and Lamb was good. We used to use it and the price was reasonable. You don't want the ingredients to list meat-by-products and vet says avoid "meal" product in the first ingredient.

Answer 5

Honestly the best thing to do is stear clear of any thing you can pick up at wall-mart, pigglawiggly, windixie, foodlion, ext, they tend to make the dogs but on a lot of wait and poop way too much. Go to a pet store and read lables look for a brand that is going to meet the demands of a lab. Don't be afraid to ask the sales rep. Ask your self questions like, "Will I be running everyday with my dog, will my dog be alone a lot spending a lot of time on the couch?" The Energy leval of your dog and how much time it has to expell the energy will help a lot in choosing a brand of dog food.
I hope this helps.

Answer 6

Never feed anything from Purina, Iams or Science Diet. The raw food diets are over rated and Diamond is having problems with toxic mold on their corn. Nevermind that corn has no business in dog food.
Don't believe me? Read "Foods Pets Die For" by Ann N Martin for all the gruesome details. It really is shocking.
Look into Artemis, Wellness, Innova, California Natural, and Canidae.
Read labels, there should be no corn, wheat, animal-by-products, animal digest, preservatives, or fillers.

Answer 7

I do a raw meat diet for my cats so I would suggest you investigate BARF (biologically appropriate raw food). That's the best thing you can do for your pup.

Cats diets are a lot trickier because the meat MUST be raw. The meat for dogs can be cooked. The beef stew that you eat is a good example of a good dog food -- lean wholesome meat, carrots and potatoes, all in a tasty nutritious gravy. Yummy!

Richard Pitcairn, Don Hamilton, Martin Goldstein have published books about feeding wholesome food to all pets. They are all DVM's.

Answer 8

There are several good premium dog foods on the market. Personally, I use Nutro.
Look for one that does not have ground yellow corn as a main ingredient. This is a filler that the dog does not digest - it just passes right through them. If you cut the corn out of her feed, her feces will be more compact and not smell as much. This makes a big difference when you have a larger dog.

Answer 9

Wellness, Canidea, Innova, Natures Balance, California Naturals, Flint River Ranch, Any human grade dog food. Read labels and get food NO Animal bi products or other forms bi products. The fewer the grains and the fewer the ingredients the better.

Answer 10

I would suggest Science Diet. I fed my dog purina up until about 6 months ago (she's a 13 year old yellow lab) and although she was always healthy, when i started her on the Science Diet 6 mos ago she was like a new dog. She's running and playing like she hasn't in a couple of years. I have her on Science Diet senior for obvious reasons, but I would go with either just the regular or large breed puppy depending on how big your puppy is going to be.