Which dog food brand should I choose?

Question

For those of you who don't want to read everything: Since I get carried away when typing, I'll cut it short. The point is, should I feed my dogs Authority brand or Chicken Soup brand? The Authority is more low quality, but my dogs don’t have a single tiny piece of dandruff at all. The Chicken Soup is a lot better quality, but it gives them just a teeny tiny amount of dandruff. Just a liiiittle bit…. So, which should I go with?

The long version:
Well, I've got a husky mix who is so picky... Before I learned that he's picky b/c of switching brands so much, it was already too late. I kept switching b/c we started on a very low quality food. Then, I learned about high quality food and how much better it is. So we went to a higher quality, but then sometimes in between buying the bags, we'd get a little low on money and have to get a small bag of lower quality food for then. Then, I kept testing to see which food is best. (cont)

So now, I've got a big bag of Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul dog food that I am testing, and a small bag of Authority. Steele at one time liked Authority, so I got this bag hoping he’d eat it, but now he's too picky for that, even. So, here I've got a lab who will eat anything, including soap and vinegar, and a husky mix who is so darn picky, he won't eat any good dry food. Well, I’ve been standing firm lately and just thought, “Forget it. If he’s going to be picky, let him. He can either starve himself or he can eat. It’s his choice.” So, every meal time, I’d set him bowl down. If he didn’t eat it, then I’d pick it up for next meal time. He /has/ been eating every meal. I’ve also been adding a tablespoon of wet food just b/c I’ve got it left over from trying something else recently. (cont)

Well, tonight. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. When I went to feed them, I threw Steele a piece of Authority from his bowl just for the heck of it. And he ate it… Well, that was odd. So, I threw another, and he ate that one too… Then, I took a piece from Nighque’s bowl (Chicken Soup) and threw it to him. He ate that too… Wow! I gave him a couple more pieces of Chicken Soup and then set down the bowl to see if he’d eat it… He ate the whole bowl of Chicken Soup dog food… dry! I tried giving him his bowl of Authority, and he preferred to eat the Chicken Soup…. So, now since he’s eating both dog foods, I’m wondering which should I feed my dogs? The Chicken Soup is very high quality with GREAT ingredients, but it gives both my dogs just a TEENY TINY bit of dandruff… A liiiittle bit… And the Authority is a lower quality, but when I feed them this, they have NO dandruff at ALL….

Sooo, which should I feed them. I want them to have a top quality food, but also don’t want them having even a speck of dandruff, if I can help it…. Help? =/

B/cI don't want them having dry skin. But I was wondering if it's so little, i can just pass it up... Apparently, /you/ don't care about your dogs. (if you have any) (And I pray to God you don't) -_-

Oh, and that last comment was meant to mrndvs445... of course...

Thanks for the ideas.(shampoo and oil) =) I'm gonna go with Chicken Soup. ^^ For some reason, now I don't see any dandruff on Nighque who's been eating Chicken Soup. Just a few minutes ago, I saw a little dandruff.... But, I'll go with CS. =P

Answer 1

Your reaction (obsession) with this issue is upsetting the dogs.
Huskys especially are so smart and intuitive, they pick up on your every mood and reaction.
He's playing you! He knows if he doesn't eat you will offer him something better. OR, feed it to him kibble by kibble. That's what he wants.
Go with Chicken Soup. Stick with it. Don't cave.

Answer 2

Authority is actually a high quality food, comparatively speaking. Why change what works? But what you can do if you want to feed the Chicken soup line of food, you can add some Fish oil or something like 3V Skin Caps which I got from my Vet for my dogs. It has Omega 3, Vit A, D and E in it.
Husky's have special needs when it comes to food. Sometimes they do better on an alternative meat like Venison or Salmon which some high quality brands have in their formula.
You said his coat is fine on Authority. That would indicate to me that Authority is better for your particular dog. Don't be fooled into thinking that the more expensive is necessarily better. It isn't always so.
You can also occasionally add a few spoons of pumpkin pie filling, not spiced- canned. That and a few spoons of yogurt or acidophulus caps sprinkled over the food.
You will be feeding an excellent food and won't have to worry about changing diet every so often due to financial restraints.
I'd say, why fix what "ain't broke", especially since there is a noticeable problem since starting on the other food?

Answer 3

I think you've answered your own question--if you don't want them to have dandruff, then Authority might be better than Chicken Soup. I feed my own dogs Chicken Soup and they do really well on it. Or you could try mixing the two and see what ratio doesn't cause dandruff...that would also save you a bit of money.

Or, you could try different shampoos which might help solve the dandruff problem, and then you could feed them Chicken Soup.

Good luck!

Answer 4

First, you shouldn't change your dogs food anymore. Whatever they're on now, leave it alone. If your "picky" don't won't eat it, take it away and offer it the next day. Leave the food down for a limited amount of time - 15-20 minutes. If he doesn't eat, the bowl goes away. Your dog won't starve himself, trust me. My stubborn 1yo JRT/Westie mix was living in a home that fed her TABLE scraps exclusively. Boy was it fun to try and transition her to dry kibble only. First I stopped the scraps and gave wet/dry food mixed. She would eat the wet and leave the dry. I started eliminating the wet, she decided she wasn't going to eat. I offered the dry only for 15 minutes in the morning and at night - she missed 3 days of food or 6 meals before she gave in - and she's never missed a meal since.

Just be CONSISTENT - that's the part you're missing. You cannot change foods simply because you are low on money - you're confusing your dog. You need to STICK WITH A FOOD and make your dog eat it. Your dog is not going to starve itself.

Also for the dry skin, try adding a squirt or two of Grizzly Salmon Oil with omega 3 vitamins. It really helped my Chi.

We feed http://www.artemiscompany.com - Artemis Fresh Mix Small Breed food as recommended by our trainer.

NOTE TO CLIFF B - go jump off one.

Answer 5

1.Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance Organic Formulas
2. Eagle Pack Holistic Range
3. Innova

They are supposes to be the best !

Answer 6

Personally, I say choose one and stick with it. The high quality foods are better for your pets (without question!), but if you know that there are going to be hard times when you need to get the lesser-quality food, then choose this one and stick with it. It's not good for a dog's system to have its food constantly changed (upsets tummies).

Answer 7

Feed the food they do the best on. If dry skin is a problem add a little oil to their food.

Answer 8

This depends if you mind the dandruff. The dandruff is not harmful at all, and the food is better quality. if you don't mind the dandruff, stick with the higher quality food.

Answer 9

I would say neither I know my cousin feeds her dog this expensive stuff you can only buy from vets and he is the most beautiful and healthy dog I have ever seen.

Answer 10

Chicken Soup 4 sure. this is a pretty stupid question. its dog food! make up your own mind. who cares if your dogs have a lil dandruff! no one cares!