for all of you dog and cat lovers, what type of food you feed your pet?

Question

There is so much in the market, including organic food for pets, but for people "like me" cant afford organic,,, there is some food that can still be good for your dogs and cats.. I would like to hear from all of you, share with me how you feed your dog and what type of food, and if your pet is healthy...thanks, my case for example I have a one year old pug, the vet told me to feed her 3/4 of a cup of dry food, that is all!!!! but he told me due to the fact that pugs tend to over eat aaaaaaand gain weight easily, to just feed her once a day, that much... for my cat I give him wet food and dry, Iams, he is doing fine so far. thansk, I will be waiting for your answers, chau

Answer 1

My two cats get 2/3 of a 5.5 oz can of Natural Balance Venison & Green Pea per day.

I sometimes substitute Poppy's meal with Archetype, which is the only other food she'll eat.

Sophie still gets a very small sprinkling of Wellness dry along with a few grains of Innova Evo.

I'm currently investigating switching them to a raw meat diet, either whole prey or ground with supplements. Unfortunately, my husband isn't crazy about the idea of plunking dead mice in their food bowls.....but I may get around him yet.

Incidentally, you can also feed dogs on a raw meat/whole prey diet. It's referred to as BARF. If you check my 360 page and look at my groups, you can check out those pages to learn more.

Answer 2

I have an 11 year old Border Collie who eats a combination of Merrick and Wellness foods. I feed my dog twice daily ( I break the total amount for the day into 2 feedings), that is what all of the vets at my practice recommend.

My cats are extremely picky, my male will eat only two kinds of wet food, petsmarts authority chicken or fancy feast (I am not happy with this choice for him), I have a female cat that will only eat dry food. I have tried just about every dry food wellness, natural balance, percise, petsmarts authority, iams, eukanuba, max cat and the orange cat will only eat Purina Healthy Blend.

I personally prefer to feed my pets a high quality pet food, if $ is an issue I really do not think that Purina One is necessarily a bad dog or cat food. I would stay away from the Dog Chow, Beneful, Kibbles and Bits type food as well as the Purina Cat Chow.

Answer 3

I have two cats and feed them Iams Multicat (1 cup a day for both - 1/2 in the morning, 1/2 in the evening). Once or twice a week I give them Fancy Feast (one small can split between the two) as a special treat. I also give them plaque fighting treats once or twice a day... I think I have Friskies right now.
Both of my cats are healthy and happy.
I may switch over to Science Diet food though once I get some bills paid off though... I heard that it is better than Iams.

Answer 4

Your vet is 100% correct, do not ever let your dog graze like the cat.. this is so important. Dogs need to eat (bolt) their food in a few minutes.. otherwise their digestive systems tend to slow down and become very very sluggish.

My 2 boys.. (shitzu/poodle crosses), i have had different dogs all of my life, are fed Kibble, approximately 3/4 cup like yours with a spoon ful of canned meat, the one I use is President's Choice (both kibble and canned). and the stew meat has lots of meat, veg and gravy.. this is mixed into the kibble.. it goes down well. I have used other brands specifically IAMS and Science. I am not so impressed by them and considering the cost they are no better. I have made my own food, raw food for dogs, but it is difficult and I don't think it is necessary in fact. However treats I do go for the natural treats, things such as dehydrated ooligans. Buffalo/venison liver jerky..these treats are available froma place called True Carnivores..in VAncouver and they are not expensive. The dogs really like them and they do not have any additives or sugars which the dogs do not require.

Good luck.. and listen to your vet...

Answer 5

I feed my cat Felidae dry cat food. Sometimes he gets wet food as a treat.

Canidae is the same brand but for dogs. It isn't loaded with all of the cheap fillers you find in grocery store food. It may seem expensive at first, but because it's high quality, you actually feed less of it to your pet. So the cost per serving goes down, and it may actually be cheaper than the so-called "cheap" foods.

Answer 6

There are MANY good foods out there for your dog. Iams is one of them, so is Eukanuba, Nutro, and several others. Since your dog is at least 12 months old, your should be feeding an adult formula (and not puppy). Also, I know that your vet has the right intentions, but a standard 3/4 cup a day amount won't cut it across the board. On every bag of dog food, you will find a "feeding amount" matrix. Based upon the weight of your dog, that particular brand will recommend a feeding dosage per day. This dosage ensures that your dog is getting all of the nutrients that it needs on a daily basis. You may break up this dosage into multiple feedings, but the total amount fed needs to be within the given range.

Also each dog is different, some will need to eat on the low end of the range because they are less active/more prone to weight gain, and other (lucky souls) are on the high end, where they can eat more without gaining weight.

Also...no matter what brand you buy, make sure it states that it is a "complete" or "balanced" formula. That simply means that it contains all of the nutrients that are needed to keep your dog healthy. As a matter of preference, I like to feed my dogs food that has meat products as a part of them (instead of formulas that are solely vegetable based). This is especially important if your dog is prone to weight gain. You can get protein from non-animal sources, but it is typically lower quality, less digestible and leads to higher weight gain. This is a case where what is good for the human is not good for the dog.

I don't really think that there is one single brand of dog food that is the "best", but I feed my dogs Nutro and am considering switching to Eukanuba. They are all very healthy. Eukanuba has just come out with breed specific formulas that match my dogs (Yorkie and German Shepard). I want to see what that does for them since they are about to graduate to their "senior" years at 5 and 6 years old.

Answer 7

I feed my 110 pound dog once a day. I give her kibbles and bits (dry dog food) and half a can of wet dog food. Mix it together and that does her about all day. Probably two cups of dry because she is growing and big. She is four. Speical Kitty is great for my moms cats they love it and same thing with this mix it up a little.

Answer 8

Make sure that with dogs foods the ingredients list a type of meat product, like chicken or beef, first. It should have 30% protien and 18% fat. Iams is a good dog food to choose, although there are probably cheaper ones that are just as good.

Answer 9

The right kind of food for you dog is one that

1) is proven nutritionally balanced (most dog foods on the market - NOT Dad's..ugh..)

2) is tasty to your dog

3) your dog can handle (does not cause allergies or GI problems)

4) and you can afford.

This is different for every dog, and every owner. Talk to your vet if you need more information.

Answer 10

I have a a 15 , 10 and two 5 year olds and they all eat Innova adult kibble. I feed mine 2 times a day. They all look great.