Whats the best dog food to feed my dogs?

Question

I have a 11 month old staffordshire bull terrier and a 2 yr old terrier mix whats the best type of dog food to feed my dogs

Answer 1

I feed my 2 APBT's Canidae - A LOT of Owners swear by it! It can be harder to find than some of the other foods but nutrition wise is well worth it. Also Nutro Max and Innova are both pretty good.

Here is a Dog Food Scoring Guide and How to:

How to grade your dog's food:
Start with a grade of 100:

1) For every listing of "by-product", subtract 10 points

2) For every non-specific animal source ("meat" or "poultry", meat, meal or fat) reference, subtract 10 points

3) If the food contains BHA, BHT, or ethoxyquin, subtract 10 points

4) For every grain "mill run" or non-specific grain source, subtract 5 points

5) If the same grain ingredient is used 2 or more times in the first five ingredients (i.e. "ground brown rice", "brewerâ⬢?s rice", "rice flour" are all the same grain), subtract 5 points

6) If the protein sources are not meat meal and there are less than 2 meats in the top 3 ingredients, subtract 3 points

7) If it contains any artificial colorants, subtract 3 points

8 ) If it contains ground corn or whole grain corn, subtract 3 points

9) If corn is listed in the top 5 ingredients, subtract 2 more points

10) If the food contains any animal fat other than fish oil, subtract 2 points

11) If lamb is the only animal protein source (unless your dog is allergic to other protein sources), subtract 2 points

12) If it contains soy or soybeans, subtract 2 points

13) If it contains wheat (unless you know that your dog isnâ⬢?t allergic to wheat), subtract 2 points

14) If it contains beef (unless you know that your dog isnâ⬢?t allergic to beef), subtract 1 point

15) If it contains salt, subtract 1 point

Extra Credit:

1) If any of the meat sources are organic, add 5 points

2) If the food is endorsed by any major breed group or nutritionist, add 5 points

3) If the food is baked not extruded, add 5 points

4) If the food contains probiotics, add 3 points

5) If the food contains fruit, add 3 points

6) If the food contains vegetables (NOT corn or other grains), add 3 points

7) If the animal sources are hormone-free and antibiotic-free, add 2 points

8 ) If the food contains barley, add 2 points

9) If the food contains flax seed oil (not just the seeds), add 2 points

10) If the food contains oats or oatmeal, add 1 point

11) If the food contains sunflower oil, add 1 point

12) For every different specific animal protein source (other than the first one; count "chicken" and "chicken meal" as only one protein source, but "chicken" and "" as 2 different sources), add 1 point

13) If it contains glucosamine and chondroitin, add 1 point

14) If the vegetables have been tested for pesticides and are pesticide-free, add 1 point

94-100+ = A
86-93 = B
78-85 = C
70-77 = D
<70 = F

Here are some foods that have already been scored. If you don't see your dog's food here, ask and someone will score it for you.
Dog Food scores:

Alpo Prime Cuts / Score 81 C

Artemis Large/Medium Breed Puppy / Score 114 A+

Authority Harvest Baked / Score 116 A+

Authority Harvest Baked Less Active / Score 93 B

Beowulf Back to Basics / Score 101 A+

Bil-Jac Select / Score 68 F

Blackwood 3000 Lamb and Rice / Score 83 C

Blue Buffalo Chicken and Rice / Score 106 A+

Burns Chicken and Brown Rice / Score 107 A+

Canidae / Score 112 A+

Chicken Soup Senior / Score 115 A+

Diamond Maintenance / Score 64 F

Diamond Lamb Meal & Rice / Score 92 B

Diamond Large Breed 60+ Formula / Score 99 A

Diamond Performance / Score 85 C

Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance Ultra Premium / Score 122 A+

Dick Van PattenⳠNatural Balance Venison and Brown Rice / Score 106 A+

Dick Van Patten's Duck and Potato / Score 106 A+

EaglePack Holistic / Score 102 A+

Eukanuba Adult / Score 81 C

Eukanuba Puppy / Score 79 C

Flint River Senior / Score 101 A+

Foundations / Score 106 A+

Hund-n-Flocken Adult Dog (lamb) by Solid Gold / Score 93 B

Iams Lamb Meal & Rice Formula Premium / Score 73 D

Innova Dog / Score 114 A+

Innova Evo / Score 114 A+

Innova Large Breed Puppy / Score 122 A+

Kirkland Signature Chicken, Rice, and Vegetables / Score 110 A+

MemberⳠMark Chicken and Rice / Score 84 C

Merrick Wilderness Blend / Score 127 A+

NatureⳠRecipe / Score 100 A

NatureⳠRecipe Healthy Skin Venison and Rice / Score 116 A+

NatureⳠVariety Raw Instinct / Score 122 A+

Nutra Nuggets Super Premium Lamb Meal and Rice / Score 81 C

Nutrience Junior Medium Breed Puppy / Score 101 A+

Nutrisource Lamb and Rice / Score 87 B

Nutro Max Adult / Score 93 B

Nutro Natural Choice Oatmeal / Score 101 A+

Nutro Natural Choice Lamb and Rice / Score 98 A

Nutro Natural Choice Large Breed Puppy / Score 87 B

Nutro Natural Choice Large Breed Lamb and Rice Puppy / Score 98 A

Nutro Natural Choice Puppy Wheat Free / Score 86 B

Nutro Natural Choice Senior / Score 95 A

Nutro Ultra Adult / Score 104 A+

Pet Gold Adult with Lamb & Rice / Score 23 F

Premium Edge Chicken, Rice and Vegetables Adult Dry / Score 109 A+

Pro Nature Puppy / Score 80 C

Pro Plan Sensitive Stomach / Score 94 A

Purina Benful / Score 17 F

Purina Dog / Score 62 F

Purina Come-n-Get It / Score 16 F

Purina One Large Breed Puppy / Score 62 F

Royal Canin Boxer / Score 103 A+

Royal Canin Bulldog / Score 100 A+

Royal Canin Natural Blend Adult / Score 106 A+

Science Diet Advanced Protein Senior 7+ / Score 63 F

Science Diet for Large Breed Puppies / Score 69 F

Sensible Choice Chicken and Rice / Score 97 A

Solid Gold / Score 99 A

Summit / Score 99 A

Timberwolf Organics Wild & Natural Dry / Score 120 A+

Wellness Super5 Mix Chicken / Score 110 A+

Wolfking Adult Dog (bison) by Solid Gold / Score 97 A

Answer 2

If you feel like that then why feed ANY processed dog food at all. All dog foods contain a lot of stuff they do not need. I feed raw and know everything that goes into my dogs. That is the only way to be certain about what they are eating. And it doesn't cost a fortune either. Add on -- If you are thinking of your dogs here with a whole side of beef - then don't do it. Apart from anything else you wouldn't start a raw diet by feeding beef as it is quite rich, and if your give beef day after day until they've got through a side then you will give them nothing but the squits.... If you're going to do it then start with chicken and ditch the kibble .. don't do both.

Answer 3

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, Innova Evo 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=359&m...

Answer 4

None of the grocery store brands are suitable. Not Purina, not Iams, Science Diet, Eukanuba, Pedigree. Any food with wheat, corn, soy, sorghum, beet pulp, in any form etc are not suitable. Foods like Chicken Soup, Innova, Canidae, Merrick, Solid Gold, Wellness, Dick van Patten's Natural Balance are all good foods. Chicken Soup is probably the cheapest out of those, at least around here.

Answer 5

wooah a lot of info. It's simple, the cheaper the food is, the lower in calorie intake it has. There fore you feed your dog more because it gets hungry more. This adds to making your dog over weight and causing digestive problems. Never buy a cheap food because it is cheap. It is made with less quality products. As a vet for a recommendation. Science hill is a good brand.

Answer 6

each dog will digest differently so you should try a little at first and see how they take it and then you can go all out with a high quality food. try innova, wellness, blue buffalo, canidae, chicken soup for the dog lovers soul, solid gold. just don't get anything with any kind of soy or corn in the ingredient list and nothing from the grocery store will be a good food at all.

Answer 7

Your dogs are so lucky that you want to feed them the best!
There are many high quality dog foods available these days..I used to feed Nutro Chicken/Rice...My pups grew great, and, as my breed is long-coated, they had gorgeous coats in no time...
However, their teeth were always stained..I never knew why, but they seemed to need constant cleaning, to be ready to show..

So, I switched to Eukenuba, and they had better teeth, and nice coats..but bowels were always loose...

I fed Abady's for 2 litters, and liked what it did for the pups..but it stank..and was too un-handy....

I fed Purina Pro Plan when it came out..Pups did well..no complaints...

However, my supplier recommended Canidae 21/2 years ago..WOW! I never knew that my oldsters could be so rejuvenated! Suddenly they were putting on gorgeous coats, and acting as puppies..full of play..dancing as we walked...It just blew me away...
Then I took a 10 year old to have a cyst removed, and the vet came out amazed at her blood-work..he said that it was that expected in a 4-5 year old...He also said that he always cleans teeth while they are 'under', but that her teeth were absolutely clean..

I took another in to be spayed, at 7 years old, and the vet was amazed at how white and clean her teeth were..and then when he took out stitches..commented that she healed so fast that the incision was already hard to see...

All my dogs have just thrived on Canidae, and I would sure recommend it..It is made from all human grade ingredients, and natural preservatives..
there are other foods that are likely as good..but, as Canidae is easy to find, and they are doing so well, I wouldn't want to switch..
Other great dog foods that you can find most places, are Wellness, Innova, Solid Gold, Wysong, Natural Balance...
I feed extra large hounds, and a terrier.

Answer 8

My vet (and the shelter we bought our dog from) suggested Hill's Science Diet, so that's what we feed our pup.

Answer 9

i would buy them a big bag of Yorkshire terrier dog dry food that just use for that kind of breeds . i feed my yorkshire terriers that kind of foods and i also buy few yorkshire terrier cans foods too at the petsmart store cause theyre more cheaper and you can save extras money for yourself .

Answer 10

look at the ingridients. if the first ingridient id ground corn or corn something, its bad. most commercial dog foods are good though.