dog food question?

Question

what brand of dog food should I feed my Giant Schnauzer, I want something good, please, not puppy chow? He is 10 weeks old now.

Thanks guys, great answers!

Answer 1

He really does need puppy food at this age.

Answer 2

Here is a list of dog journal's top approved dry dog food 2007.
Addiction Foods - www.addictionfoods.com
Artemis - www.artemiscompany.com
Azmira - www.azmira.com
Back to Basics - www.beowulfs.com
Bench & Field Holistic Natural Canine - www.benchandfield.com
Blue Buffalo - www.bluebuff.com
Burns - www.bpn4u.com
by Nature BrightLife - www.bynaturepetfoods.com
by Nature Organics - www.bynaturepetfoods.com
California Natural - www.naturapet.com
Canidae - www.canidae.com
Canine Caviar - www.caninecaviar.com
Chicken Soup for the Pet Lovers Soul - www.chickensoupforthepetloverssoul.com
Cloud Star Kibble - www.cloudstar.com
Drs. Foster & Smith - www.drsfostersmith.com
Eagle Pack Holistic Select - www.eaglepack.com
Evanger's Super Premium - www.evangersdogfood.com
Evolve - www.evolvepet.com
Firstmate Dog Food - www.firstmate.com
Foundations - www.petcurean.com
Fromm Four Star Nutritionals - www.frommfamily.com
Go! Natural - www.petcurean.com
Hund-N-Flocken - www.solidgoldhealth.com
Innova - www.naturapet.com
Innova Evo - www.naturapet.com
Karma Organic - www.karmaorganic.com
Lick Your Chops - www.healthypetfoodsinc.com
Life4K9 - www.life4k9.com
Lifespan - www.petguard.com
Merrick Pet Care - www.merrickpetcare.com
Mmillennia - www.solidgoldhealth.com
Natural Balance Organic - www.naturalbalanceinc.com
Natural Balance Ultra Premium - www.naturalbalanceinc.com
Newman's Own Organic - www.newmansownorganics.com
NutriSource - www.nutrisourcedogfood.com
Organix - www.castorpolluxpet.com
Petguard Organic - www.petguard.com
Performatrin Ultra - www.performatrinultra.com
PHD Viand - www.phdproducts.com
Pinnacle - www.breeders-choice.com
Prairie - www.naturesvariety.com
Premium Edge - www.premiumedgepetfood.com
Prime Life Plus - www.ompetproducts.com
Raw Instinct - www.naturesvariety.com
Royal Canin Natural Blend - www.royalcanin.us
Royal Canin Veterinary Diet - www.royalcanin.us
Showbound Naturals - www.healthypetfoodsinc.com
Timberwolf Organics - www.timberwolforganics.com
Ultra Holistic Nutrition - www.ultraholistic.com
VeRUS - www.veruspetfoods.com
Wellness - www.oldmotherhubbard.com
Wellness Simple Food Solutions - www.oldmotherhubbard.com
Wenaewe - www.wenaewe.com.uy
Wysong - www.wysong.net
Zinpro - www.lincolnbiotech.com

Answer 3

I agree with almost everyone else that has answered your question. Definitely avoid any "grocery store" brand of food & the RAW diet. There is documented proof that dogs who have been on the RAW diet develop major bone development problems. Your vet will generally suggest Science Diet or Eukanuba. The reason they do this is because those 2 companies support the veterinary schools and those are the foods the vets are exposed to.

Just make sure you buy a large breed puppy formula for the first 6 months then change to a large breed formula at that time. Large breed dogs should not be on a puppy formula longer than 6 months.

Answer 4

Stay away from the grocery store brands and the food from the vet. They are filled with fillers and junk ingrediants that in the long run will cause more health problems in your dog.
Someone said stay away from raw. Well I have to argue that point. I have been feeding my dogs the raw diet for 10 years and they are very healthy, happy dogs. My vet who usually recommends science diet, just like most vets told me to keep doing what i am doing as my dogs NEVER have health problems nor are their bones weak and brittle their bones have developed just fine. I have a saint bernard that was raised on the raw diet since he was 8 weeks old and he is extremely healthy in EVERY way. .
Now there are very good dog foods out there even though they are more expensive, but if you want a healthy dog a higher dog food is cheaper than those outrageous vet bills.
canidae, solid gold, california natural, dick van pattens formula, wellness, and innova are some really good foods you can trust as far as nutritional factors and healthy for your dog.

Answer 5

Nothing you find at a grocery store is going to be a good food. High quality foods can be found at large pet store chains, or online. A couple of foods I like are Nutro Natural, Innova, and Cannidae.

There are other high quality dog foods. Here's how to spot them:

A high quality food will have little or no fillers such as corn, wheat or soy. These aren't very digestable for dogs, and are common food related allergens. Since you were seeing corn meal in the first few ingredients, those are not high quality foods. Foods list ingredients by content, with the ingredient it contains most of at the top.

A high quality food will not contain BHT, BHA or Ethoxyquin, these are all chemical preservatives that have been linked to cancer.

A high quality food will not contain by-products of any kind. Meat meals are ok as long as the source of the meat is listed, such as Chicken Meal.

A high quality diet should have meat as at least the first ingredient., and be made from human grade ingredients. Foods that don't use human grade ingredients often get their ingredients from less than desirable sources, such as meat from animals that were diseased, or euthanized.

There is another diet option other than dog food. Some people choose to feed a raw diet. This involves feeding the dog raw meaty bones and organ meat. However it is not as simple as throwing a couple chicken bones in a bowl everyday. If you wish to feed this type of diet, do lots and lots of research first. Switching to this diet without knowing what your doing can lead to nutritional problems for your dog. I'll give you some links as a starting point in research if you are interested in this type of diet.

http://www.willowglen.com/barf.htm.........

http://www.bestfrisbeedogs.com/diets.htm...

http://www.rawlearning.com/rawfaq.html.....

http://www.rawfed.com/myths/index.html.....

http://www.rawdogranch.com

What's Really In Pet Food
http://www.api4animals.org/facts?p=

Answer 6

A puppy food without the following preservatives: BHA, BHT and ethozyquin. No by-products, corn, soybean and wheat. Human grade food only. No fillers, artificial colors or flavors. Once you have eliminated those ingredients, you have narrowed your choices to some great dog (puppy) foods available and the choice is then yours. Some are more readily available than others and cost my play a part with your decision. Whichever route you go with these great foods, it's going to be a great, healthy choice for your puppy and he will grow up without all the other issues many dogs face with their health.

Good luck.

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Answer 7

Here are some you want to avoid: Science Diet, Eukanuba, Purina, Iams, Pedigree, and anything that can be purchased at a grocery store or Walmart. Usually the number one ingredient is corn, not good in any way for canines. Several decent foods you can find at chain pet stores are Chicken Soup, Nutro, California Natural, Eagle Pack and Solid Gold. If you're willing to pay a little extra for some really excellent natural dog food, check out Innova's line of dog food called EVO, it is very high quality with no fillers and completely natural using human grade ingredients. Usually this can only be found at independent pet stores/feed stores. Another great couple of brands are Wellness and Canidae. Oh, and I wanted to add that Innova, Wellness, and Canidae are completely balanced so you can feed the same food through the life of th pet, you don't have to buy the 'puppy' version of the food.

Answer 8

A good high quality all stages food like Canidae would do just fine. There are even better kibble brands available also....Solid Gold and Timberwolf Organics have good varieties to offer, With a pup under 18 months old you'll need to stick to a kibble with 28% or less in available protien. Grainless kibble is the best but usually is too high in protien for young dogs. Of course you can always feed the species appropriate RAW/BARF diet too. Good luck!

Answer 9

I just wanted to add, in addition to all the great high quality foods if you want to give your dog good kibble but don't want to pay quite as much for it as some of the brands (like wellness charges or Innova) there is a brand at Costco that is supposed to be really good and it is Kirkland Signature. Main ingredients are a specific meat sources and best of all no corn. Its decently priced and your dog can eat well and healthy.

And I do agree, he really should be eating puppy food but if you're set on not, just make sure you clear it with a vet or someone.

Answer 10

I wouldn't feed puppy food to any large dog. I know it doesn't sound good but, puppy food makes large dogs grow too quickly and may cause issues in their senior years. Best to get, I think, any dog would be any dry dog food that the main ingredient is some sort of meat. Check the first thing under the ingredients. If it is corn meal or meal products I don't think it is good enough for my German Shephards. I personally get Diamond Performance for my dogs. I also give them their once a day vitamins. You can find this at a feed store or if you have a Tractor Supply around you they seem to be cheaper than the feed stores.

Answer 11

stay away from anything that has wheat. it can cause all kinds of health problems. anything you can get at a grocery store or a department store is GARBAGE. i'm a manager at a pet supply store and we sell nothing but high grade dog foods. the number one sellers are: CHICKEN SOUP (this comes in puppy, adult, and senior formulas). WELLNESS (all the different formulas, plus sensitive stomach and allergy). SOLID GOLD (all formulas).
and CANIDAE. i use the CANIDAE. it's good because one food covers all life stages. you never need to switch again. i have 4 dogs ranging in age from 3 yrs to 13 yrs. it used to take me 45 min. to get their meals done. not to mention having 3 barrels of food in my kitchen. now all i have to do is make sure my little aussie doesn't get as much as the big dogs. good luck and thank you for asking an intelligent question. ps NEVER FEED TABLE SCRAPS. a little meat and fresh veggies are ok, but after you eat, put it in his bowl. begging is a horrendous habit that takes forever to unlearn. i had a border/golden once that had to have his stomach pumped after my mother fed him a potatoe chip. people food is not made for dogs.