What is the best brand of dog food?

Question

I have a year and a half old Chinese Crested. I feed him Purina Beneful dry food and I mix it with Purina Mighty Dog wet food. I use to feed him Nutro and before that Eukanuba.

What is the best dogfood that can add years to my dogs life and keep him at his best?

Answer 1

the more natural the better. i just bought organix. it has NO bi-products of animals, chemicals etc like others do. This website is very useful

http://www.rense.com/general70/dead.htm

There's a list of companies that use restaurant grease, animal fat and Eukanuba is one of the companies mentioned.

The less bi-products and chemicals, the better.

Answer 2

You downgraded by turning from the Nutro and the Eukanuba to the crappy Purina Beneful and Mighty Dog wetfood. Stick with the Nutro at very least. Wellness Super Mix is about the best food... IMHO.

Answer 3

I would definitely recommend feeding a higher quality food than what you are currently feeding. At the very least, switch him back to Nutro Natural or Ultra formula.
Even though some of the good foods listed are pricey, you are feeding a toy breed dog, so in the long run it would be cheaper.

I feed my dog Canidae. A 20# bag costs me $22. This bag lasts my 23# dog 2 months! So I'm spending less than $3 a week to feed my dog a food that has quality ingredients, no fillers, dyes, artificial ingredients, etc. With your dog, he would need even less so a large bag would cost you less per week

Answer 4

Canidae, Solid Gold, Nutro, Nature's Variety, Innova, FarMore

Answer 5

Purina is full of ground yellow corn, which if you or the dog eats corn we all know what the stools look like, Big and yellow. Nutro Max and Natures Choice start the ingredients with MEAT. Carnivor, Remember?

Answer 6

If corn is one of the first few ingredients (look at the Purina ingredients) it's no good. Nutra Natural Choice is what I use... I put a lot of research into this. All of the Purina products REALLY suck, the Purina One sucks little less.

Answer 7

Here's a chart that I found helpful. I have a cocker spaniel and he was on Beneful as well. I asked around and my groomer gave me this. I hope it helps! I was shocked at some of the ratings!

Here is a list that I use. I lost the link so I will post the entire list. _
_________________________
This is a dog food rating system created to help people find a quality food. This is not concrete but to be used as a guide. This was created by Fredalina of the GDR.


Giving Dry Dog Food a Grade:
Start with a grade of 100:

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


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

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

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

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


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

If it contains any artificial colorants, subtract 3 points

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

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

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

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

If it contains soy or soybeans, subtract 2 points

If it contains wheat (unless you know that your dog isn’t allergic to wheat), subtract 2 points

If it contains beef (unless you know that your dog isn’t allergic to beef), subtract 1 point

If it contains salt, subtract 1 point

Extra Credit:

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


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

If the food is baked not extruded, add 5 points

If the food contains probiotics, add 3 points

If the food contains fruit, add 3 points

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

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

If the food contains barley, add 2 points

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

If the food contains oats or oatmeal, add 1 point

If the food contains sunflower oil, add 1 point

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 "turkey" as 2 different sources), add 1 point


If it contains glucosamine and chondroitin, add 1 point

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

Some foods that have all ready been rated:
A's Score
A+ Chicken Soup for the pet lovers soul 113
A+ Eagle Pack Holistic chicken 114
A+ Eagle Pack Holistic LG and Giant Breed Adlt 113
A+ Eagle Pack Natural 104
A+ Timberwolf Organics Lamb and Venison 136
A+ Solid Gold Bison 123
A+ Solid Gold Wolf King 109
A+ Solid Gold Hund N flocken 105
A+ Solid Gold Mmillennia 111
A+ Innova 117
A+ Natural Balance Ultra 117
A+ Natural Balance Duck and Potato 114
A+ Canidae 119
A+ Foundations Chicken and Vegetable 109
A+ Flint River Ranch Fish and Chips 109
A+ Wysong Synorgon 110
A+ Flint River Ranch Lamb, Millet and Rice 117
A+ Back to Basics 107

B's
B Eukanuba Natural Lamb and Rice 87

C's
C Nutro Lamb and Rice 85

D's
D Iams Lamb and Rice 74

F's
F Pedigree Adult Complete 14
F Ol'Roy 9
F Science Diet Chicken Adult Maintainance 45
F Purina Beniful original 23
All Purina and Pro Plan foods rate as a F
F Pro Plan Giant Breed Adult 41
F Pro Plan Performance 53
F Pro Plan Chicken and Rice
F Purina Dog chow
F Purina Large Breed 40
F Diamond Lamb and Rice 61
F Diamond Performance (formerly professional)
F Diamond Large Breed 55

Answer 8

nutro is good, theres a really good food out called evolve pricey but very good, I have 5 labs (show dogs) I feed blue seal life style lamb and rice at 26.oo for 40 lbs its much better and does wonders for my dogs. Please dont get cought up with all the designer dog foods their good but pricey and wont be here that long. Please dont start feeding raw meat the vets really warn about that. Actually walmart sells a good food natual nutrition cheep but good. Any food with out meat by products and has natural preservatives is ok just watch the corn content.

Answer 9

Iams, Science Diet, Eukenuba, Purina - all bad! Blech! Beneful has even been linked to some recent dog deaths...
Solid Gold, Kirkland, Canidae, Chicken Soup, even Nutro is better. Check out dog food websites... Never use dog food that has meat byproducts. Byproducts mean hooves, chicken feet, beaks you name it. Use products that have meat meal in the first ingredients. Meal is real meat - no wierd byproducts. Try to stay away from fillers like corn. They offer nothing.
Hope that helps - also when introducing your pup to new foods or even just to be extra healthy put unsweetened pureed pumpkin or plain yogurt in their food. It helps digestion and makes their coat sooo soft.
Here are the things that I look for in a commercial food::

No generic fats or proteins (eg animal fat, poultry fat, or meat meal) -- instead, look for named sources such as beef fat, chicken fat or lamb meal (the generic term indicates a mixture coming from a number of sources, a sign of a very poor quality food).
Human grade ingredients (USDA approved). This item is somewhat controversial, as dog foods by law cannot be labeled human grade, but I look for companies that use human grade meats (not meats that were rejected by the human food industry). For even higher quality, look for hormone and antibiotic free meats, especially those that are free range or pasture raised (note that all poultry is hormone free, as it is against regulations to give hormones to poultry).
Avoid foods that use corn gluten meal, a cheap waste product from the human food industry that provides incomplete protein for dogs. I consider this ingredient to be one of the hallmarks of poor quality foods.
No meat by-products or digest (meal is OK). There is some disagreement whether whole meat or meal is preferable. Meal has been rendered, but it is also dried, so if a meal is listed as the first ingredient, you can be assured that it is really the largest ingredient in the food. Meat such as chicken, lamb, turkey, etc. that is listed as the first ingredient may actually be a much lower content due to the weight of the moisture in the meat. Both whole meats and meals are considered acceptable as long as they are identified and not generic (eg, not "meat meal" or "animal meal"). By-products may be OK if the company specifies that they are human-grade organs such as liver and kidney.
No BHA/BHT or Ethoxyquin (preservatives), another sign of a low quality food.
No artificial colors, no sugars and sweeteners (such as corn syrup, sucrose, ammoniated glycyrrhizin), no propylene glycol (added to some chewy foods to keep them moist, toxic in large amounts).
As few grains as possible (a whole-meat source should be one of the first two ingredients, preferably two of the top three) -- watch for splitting, such as listing ground yellow corn and corn gluten meal as separate ingredients which together might add up to more than the first ingredient. Note that canned foods often have fewer grains than dry.
Added taurine. Taurine was added to cat foods in the 70's when cats began going blind and dying due to taurine deficiency. Taurine is thought not to be an "essential" amino acid in dogs because they can convert carnitine to taurine. However, links are now being found between problems such as dilated cardiomyopathy and taurine deficiencies. Some dog food companies have begun adding taurine to their foods, and this is probably a good idea. Taurine is destroyed by heat, so there would be no natural taurine in processed dog foods. See the following for more info:
Dietary Taurine Deficiency and Dilated Cardiomyopathy in Dogs
Dilated Cardiomyopathy: a daunting disease of the heart
Taurine
Meets AAFCO Specifications. Although I do not consider AAFCO to know everything there is to know about nutrition, if a food specifies that it meets AAFCO specifications, it should be a complete diet. It is fine to use foods that do not meet AAFCO specifications as part of the diet, but you cannot rely on these foods as the sole source of nutrition

Good luck.

PS: I use Kirkland from Cosco - it is cheap and fabulous! Remember by using substandard dogfood not only causes a less healthy dog it also leads to more waste. More to clean up later! :)

Answer 10

Royal Canin