What is a good,healthy dog food I can get for my dogs?

Question

I have currently been using Kibbles and Bits. However, the pet resort where I take my pups when I go out of town told me that Kibbles was very unhealthy for them and that I should switch to Eagle Brand. That stuff is 20 dollars a bag! What is a healthy (no by-products) brand I should use that is also affordable? By the way, I have two dogs-one is 10 months old and one 2 years old (I use the same kind for both).
Thanks!

Answer 1

Unfortunatley, you're going to pay for what you get. Kibbles N' Bits, and practically every other food you get in a grocery store or Wal-Mart is going to be a cheap, poor quality food. These are ones that have grains - wheat, corn, etc., listed as the first ingredients. Animal source proteins will be listed later, and usually not identifiied by species, such as poultry by-products. Good quality foods will have animal source proteins listed first, by species, such as chicken, turkey, lamb, etc. Avoid beef based foods. Rice is usually an acceptable carbohydrate, but you will also see oatmeal, potato, barley or others. Just avoid corn, wheat or soy. Read the labels.
Good brands to look for:
Royal Canin
Canidae
Solid Gold
Nutro
Innova
plus a bunch of others.
Acceptable
Purina Pro Plan

Look at the nutritional analysis, that is, percent protein, percent fat, percent fiber, etc. Different dogs have different requirements based on age, size, overall health, etc. One size doesn't necessarily fit all - you may need different foods for your two dogs. So try to learn what your dogs need, then read the labels.

One final thing: Read the labels.

Answer 2

The best, healthiest, and cheapest food for dogs is that which you fix yourself. You can do an on-line search for "dog recipes". What I use are chicken breasts (boiled and then with the bone and skin removed), fresh chopped carrots, frozen peas, and chopped apples (all boiled with the chicken), separately prepared brown rice, and the chicken broth itself. I fix enough for a three-day period rather than doing it every day. These are some of the same ingredients used by Merrick which costs about $1.50 per can.

The only thing is that in fixing your own food there are some vitamins that will be missing. To correct this I use dry dog food (Merrick, Fromm, or any other that's NATURAL...that's the key word!) Any "natural" food will be more expensive than the road kill and by-products that's used in Purina, Science Diet, Kibbles 'n Bits, etc...but if you love your pet you'll spend a few dollars more. And in adding the broth, chicken, and other ingredients it will last twice as long.

Answer 3

The people at the pet resort are correct-eagle pack is the only way to go. Feeding your dogs anything else is going to shorten their life span and cause you extra money in vet bills during their lifetime. While it is an expensive dog food it works out cheaper in the long run if your pets are healthy and happy.
Sometimes the old saying is true-you get what you pay for. Unfortunately that is the case with commercial pet foods. Did you know that the major share-holders in commercial pet foods are the same major shareholders in veterinary supplies? They have been systematically making our pets unwell and profiting when they do. If you had any idea what 95% of the manufacturers put in their products you would likely vomit!
If you decide not to use eagle pack then your next best option is to make your own using fresh meat and vegetables. Make sure they don't have preservatives in the meat otherwise that can also make your dog ill.
I have owned 3 rottweilers in 22 years- Mojo lived to almost 14 years whilre Khalla is 10 and Kwame is 6. If i ever fed any of them canned dog food or human-grade meat with preservatives in it they would vomit immediately.
Makes you think doesn't it.
FYI-Uncle Ben's is majority owned by the KKK-do you really want to make profits for that type of scum?

Answer 4

Chicken Soup is actaully a good dog food at a great price. I have fed my dog's that for awhile until we moved and I cannot find any retailers around here that sell it. But if you have to cut back, I would go with them. I think when I bought it, it evened out to about $1 per pound of food. And don't stress, everyone is feeling the money crunch right now. I am currently paying off Hospital Bills and have had to cut the dog's food to Pedigree for a few weeks until I get these paid off.

Answer 5

My Mom likes ProPlan Selects. It's expensive, too, but usually, if you buy a larger bag, there's a $6 coupon in it. If you have a Pet Smart and have a card you can save a few bucks there. Read the label on the package and look for meat or chicken as the first ingredient, no byproducts and whole grains. Even some of the "better" brands have corn listed as the first ingredient. I have a very fussy friend who has a beautiful Airedale and he swears by Pedigree. Good luck. I think anything made by Purina is healthy. The bag should say 100 percent nutritional requirements.

Answer 6

Most commercial dog foods contain soy. This is very bad for dogs. It is used as an extender just like many of the food industry is now doing with people food. Soy will have a great affect on their feeling of well being by making them feel down. It greatly affects their thyroid and shortens their life. Putting garbage in the food mixes is how manufacturers are able to sell the garbage cheaply. Then they spend a lot of money trying to convince the public on how good they are. Amazing.

It's difficult to find a good dog food that is made commercially. A recent study I saw showed that a breed of dogs that normally had relatively short life spans, naturally, about 6 to 8 years, were fed special diets to attempt making them live longer. In the experiment, they gave the dogs natural, raw foods only with no soy and other garbage like you find in commercial dog foods created for profit, not health. The dogs lived between 22 to 24 years old! Very revealing.

Diets high in good saturated fats are best for them. Studies of cultures around the world high in saturated fats from animals living on natural diets yield the best health and long lives. Avoid giving them any vegetable oils because these are inflammatory from the high omega 6 fatty acids. Look at the eskimos that eat huge amounts of saturated fats, the Massai tribes in Africa that eat meat from animals that graze freely on grass, milk, and blood as almost all their diet. They are healthy.

Dogs have smaller lung tissue openings and are very affected by smokers. They develop lung cancer from this very easily. Just look at anyone that smokes around their dog and watch how they die young of cancer.

There are many web sites showing you how you can make your own dog food. That is the cheapest. Some health food stores have food that is better, but look at the ingredients.

Answer 7

Unfortunately the foods that are better will cost a bit more. Instead of rattling off a bunch of brands to you, I would suggest looking for the following things in the ingredients of the food.
1. Protein source from real meat (chicken, lamb, etc) not byproducts
2. Make sure the first ingredient is NOT corn (this will make your dog poop like crazy, as they can't digest it)
3. Look for natural preservatives (Many use Vitamin E as a natural preservative)

Authority is a pretty decent brand and fairly inexpensive (it's PetsMart's store brand) Avoid many of the major brands such as Alpo, Pedigree, etc.

Answer 8

We are feeding Canidae All Life Stages. Not the cheapest, but not the most expensive either. And yes, Kibbles and Bits is lousy food- kind of the doggy equivalent of feeding your kids nothing but Cocoa Crispies.

Answer 9

www.dogfoodanalysis.com
This web site will rate the food you feed and show you better foods and how to tell. It also will give you reviews from people who are feeding the food you are looking at.
Good high quality dog food will not be cheap but you will have to feed less of it and your dog will produce less waste and will be in better condition becasue he is getting better nutrition.

Answer 10

My dog likes to eat what I eat. Baloney sandwiches and ice cream are his favorites! He also likes chicken, steak and cheese. No chocolate though, I have heard it is very bad for dogs.