What is a really good and healthy dog food?

Question

I have two semi large dogs. I have been feeding them Beneful dog food for as long as I have had them. I have had my oldest dog for nearly 2 years and the other over a year. However, they dont seem to be getting the nutrients that they need from this dog food. Are there any others that I could try giving them? Please help as I dont know what other kind to buy. I have tried a few other brands of dog food but they dont eat it. I appreciate your help.

Answer 1

Wellness
Eagle Pack, Holistic Select
Innova, Evo
Canidae
Merrick
Azmira

The foods listed are all holistic human grade foods loaded with vitamins. All made with "real meat", no By-products, No corn, & No Wheat.

Answer 2

I'm glad you are looking to change from Beneful. It's a very low quality food.

I feed my 4 Wellness super mix 5 lamb. They are doing great on it. It's human grade food.

There are many really good dog foods out there. They may cost a tad more, but I find the dogs need less of it as well as having wonderful coats and staying very healthy. In fact I think cost wise there is not much different, but goodness wise the gap is huge.

This site offers some great info on premium dog foods

http://www.consumersearch.com/www/family/dog-food/index.html

I should add I signed up for the Wellness newsletter and they send me a $3 off e-mail coupon almost every month. They last for 2 months so with the coupon it's even better value. You can print as many coupons as you need, but you need one for each bag. You can sign up for the newsletter here http://www.oldmotherhubbard.com/wellness/dog_faq_index.html the link is about halfway down on the left.

Answer 3

Beneful is really not so hot (understatement) Lots of corn & wheat which are empty fillers, and may cause allergies. Also contains artificial colors (that is to make it look good to humans) artifical flavors (a quality dog food should not have to resort to artificial flavor to get the dog to eat it - for crying out loud!) and artificial preservatives.
Try Canidae:
http://www.canidae.com
Or Wellness:
http://www.oldmotherhubbard.com
Both are made of all natural human grade ingredients from only US suppliers, so no worries about recalls either. Cost a little more but you feed less to get adequate nutrition into your pets, and they poop less as well.

Answer 4

If your dogs are shedders, i would recommend Blue Buffalo. It is a very small up coming show dog brand. It has lots of omega fatty acids that really improve their coat. My corgi mix had a really rough coat and now its a lot softer.

If you can't find it or its a little pricey just get something that has been certified by AAFCO (stands for the Association of American Feed Control Officials). It just means that it is really good and healthy dog food.

I read somewhere that any dog food you can find at your local grocery store isn't the best quality. yeah.... its good enough to sell. everything out there is good enough but you want better than that!

The Best of luck to you and your dogs!

Answer 5

Canidae: http://www.canidae.com
Timberwolf Organics: http://www.timberwolforganics.com
Innova/California Natural: http://www.naturapet.com
Chicken Soup for the Pet Lovers Soul: http://www.chickensoupforthepetloverssoul.com
Even, Blue Buffalo is pretty good: http://www.bluebuff.com
Solid Gold - Barking at the moon: http://www.solidgold.com

Beneful is NOT a good dog food. Neither is Purina, Iams .. or anything from the petstore.
Search through the foods and see which one fits your budget.
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/

Answer 6

I have dogs and cats with many skin problems and allergies.
I switched to a brand of AMERICAN made dog and cat food called ARTEMIS
It has a web site. www.artemispetfood.com
My animals quickly shed unhealthy pounds. They also stopped digging at their skin, and do not shed exes fur year round.
all THE INGREDIENTS ARE f.d.a. APPROVED In other words if humans don't eat it, neither will your pets!
I don't often GO NUTS pushing a product, but my family is so healthy now that my VET. has stopped trying to sell me the Science Diet and other supposed healthy diets he carries in his office!

Answer 7

Well, the absolute best you could feed your dogs would be a raw prey model diet. If you can't/won't feed raw, then the next best is a really high quality, grain free wet/canned. If you won't feed anything but kibble, then it works the same... a really high quality, grain free kibble. Grains are the number one allergen for dogs, and they also cause other health issues.

Evo and Nature's Variety both make grain free kibble, but I'm sure there are other brands.

google: dog + food + grain free

Good luck.

Answer 8

The food that I feed my pet Jack Russell/Chihuahua mix is Authority Brand Dog Food, Harvest Baked. It comes in chicken and lamb flavor. It doesn't have white rice or corn, no by-products, no articifical flavors, colors, preservatives and no fat. You can find it at most pet stores.

Answer 9

We have a lab boxer cross and we feed Purina Healthy morsels. She is in excellent shape and health. We fed Beneful for awhile, and it gave her gas. Her coat was dull and kinda brittle, now she is silky soft, and shows raven highlights in the sun. As a groomer I should tell you to go for the expensive stuff like science diet, but I'm telling you what we had luck with.

Answer 10

i swear by Royal Canin. They have innovative research for everything they make and have amazing breed specific diets. I have my dog on it, my sisters dog, and recommend it to everyone!