what is the best food for dogs???

Question

i just bought a baby bullmastiff. we want him to grow big, healthy, and strong.. We needed to know of food that will be the best for him. ive also researched that you can feed raw chicken,beef,lamb,pork...
i want to feed him raw but i just wanted some opions. if you dont agree with feeding raw food to dogs, then please give me some names of high grade dog foods.

thanks rahhaa, thats like exactly what i was talking about. just eed some advice.

Answer 1

I feel feeding RAW is the best option for your fur-kid. I do not find it foolish, not one bit. The only foolishness going around here is the lack of intelligence when someone asks about raw feeding. Most people jump right onto the band wagon that Raw is bad, without ever even checking into it and doing research.
I am personally glad you researched raw and are interested in feeding you pup a very natural, healthy way.
I have been feeding raw to my Corgi for almost a year. I just wish I wouldn't have let the Vet talk me out of it when she was just a pup. If I knew then, what I know now, my girl would have never even sniffed a kibble!
Do the research and you'll both be fine.
Also, if feed correctly, supplements will not be needed.
Join a yahoo group. I recommend Rawfeeding. A lot of intelligent, down to earth people with a lot of great information, yours for the asking.
Good luck!

Answer 2

If you are going to feed raw or BARF Diet, make sure you do your research. There are lots of info online and you can also get books on it.
There is alot of research out there stating that raw feeding is the best things to do for dogs. I know many people who raw feed.
If you find that you don't care to raw feed, I suggest that you find a food like Solid Gold. They have no fillers, glutens, by-products, etc. I switched mine to Solid Gold due to the recent recalls and I have major changes, all wonderful, in all 3 of my Eskies.

Answer 3

I don't agree with feeding raw food to dogs for several reasons. 1 is that once they get the taste of raw meat they will want it all the time and it's not safe, the other is it's not good for their system.

When shopping for a good dog food, which is a lot more balanced than raw meat, you want to look on the ingredients list and the main ingredient is the first one and you want that to me meat (ie chicken, beef, fish) then the rest. If the first ingredient is corn or flour or something, that's a filler. Dogs don't digest that and it comes right out the other end. We currently feed our dog Beneful. Pedegree you would think would be good, but look at the ingredients. The label doesn't lie. They got good publicity due to giving shelters free food.

With a bull mastiff you might need a supplement with calcium due to it being so large.

Good luck! They are gorgeous dogs!

Answer 4

if you want to go raw i would recomend setting up an appointment with a pet nutritionist so you can get the exact recipes needed for you dog...its breed...its age, over all health etc. but the thing about raw is you will end up needed extra 20-30$ suppleaments each month or week cause you will never get all they need from their raw diet. why not choose a holistic brand food that has everything in it safely, organically and from a company that is not all about profit?! the thing about some companies like purina and others that claime to be large breed is that they DO not have the right combination to provide the right nutrtion and dogs end up with malformed bones and what not. http://eaglepack.com/Pages/EP_PetHealth.html#lgnt
visit that site to read more on that. i would suggst to you Eagle Pack Holistic Select for large and giant breed puppies and once he is done growing and maturing ( about 3 years) i would switch to a duck and oatmeal formula. I have studied pet nutrition and now recomend that product as well as innova, but eagle pack is better for the budget and has no questionable allies ( innova gets some ingredients from china) eagle pack is all us. check em out!

ps. not all holisitic brands are safe for example nutro's ultra ( their holisitc brand was alo involved in their recall due to contamintation of unneeded ingredients. things to avoid when buying pet food: anything that has something other than a meat or meat meal as the first ingredient
byproducts
soy
wheat ( gluten concentrate....wheat period)
soy
corn
BHA
BHT
ehtoxyquin
dies
and too many "supplaments"
-- all of those along with many other ingredients are unessecary, somtime cause allergic, or fatal reactions, and dies? they are only in there to please the human consumer and cause liver and kidney damage to animals.

Answer 5

Hello Brandon
the best thing ever you can do for your new dog is to feed him a home made BARF food. Do some research as this space is very limited.
It will cost you less than all those "premium ultra" foods and perhaps 1-2 hours a week to make.
All the best to both of you!!!

Answer 6

Feeding raw is foolish, that's all I'm gonna say about it.
And, dogs are not wild wolves, they do not prey on their food!!!

For a giant breed such as yours, I highly suggest Solid Gold Wolf King large breed dog food. DO NOT feed your puppy a puppy formula...they do not need the extra protein. Their growing muscles and bones need to grow at the proper rate, and the puppy formulas have WAY too much protein for a large breed like yours.
Here is a link with more information and ingredients list:

http://www.onlynaturalpet.com/products/Solid-Gold-WolfKing-Bison-Dry-Dog-Food/140013.aspx


Good luck and congrats on the new pup!!

Answer 7

Any reputable breeder, vet or online dog group member can suggest the best foods for your dog. Personally I prefer feeding them kibble with a 6oz portion of soft dogfood.

Try a pet lover's chatroom. Good luck!

Answer 8

Sorry but all my dog eats is little kitties. Just kidding. My dog eats Kirkland dog food (lamb and rice) which you can buy at Costco for a big amount and a good price.

Answer 9

Nutro Natural choice - large breed formula. It is really high quality, reduces gas, plus has glucosamine/chondroitin for joint/hip health.

Answer 10

The BARF diet is fine, as long as you do it properly. Do your research!

If you don't want to mess with that, try Canidae or Royal Canin.