Type of Dog Food?

Question

How do I determine what is the best dry dog food for my dog? She's roughly 50 pounds (German Shepherd). THe food I am using now has corn as the main ingredient. Any brand suggestions?

Answer 1

There is no single food that is "best". For example, some dogs thrive on grain-free foods, while grain-free is too rich for other dogs. What you want to find is the high-quality food that *your dog* does best on. (I recommend feeding dry food instead of wet. It's healthier for the gums and teeth.)

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On choosing a good dog food:

Read the ingredients on the food you buy. Go with a high quality dog food. A grain should not be in the first couple ingredients ingredient (corn and such are mainly fillers, dogs don't digest it well). Avoid foods that have a lot of "by products" listed.

Here is an article about byproducts:
http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=ingrd

And an article on what ingredients to avoid:
http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=badingredients

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Some GOOD foods are :
* Merrick - http://www.merrickpetcare.com/
* Solid Gold - http://www.solidgoldhealth.com/
* Canidae - http://www.canidae.com/
* Timberwolf - http://timberwolforganics.com/
* Orijen - http://www.championpetfoods.com/orijen/orijen/
* Wellness - http://www.omhpet.com/wellness/
* Chicken Soup brand - http://www.chickensoupforthepetloverssoul.com/
* Blue Buffalo - http://www.bluebuff.com/
* Innova - http://www.naturapet.com/brands/innova.asp
* Innova EVO - http://www.naturapet.com/brands/evo.asp

Or check this website for good foods: http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/
(I recommend only feeding foods rated 4, 5, or 6 stars. Anything 3 stars or less, I would stay away from.)

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Stay away from grocery stores brands. They are low-quality foods chalk full of fillers, preservatives, dyes, etc.. (Grocery store foods are those like Beneful, Old Roy, Alpo, Pedigree, Purina, etc.)

Beware "premium" foods. "Premium" does not mean good nutritionally, and is not a nutritionally high quality food. It has the same types of ingredients as grocery store foods, just a bit better quality of those not-so-good ingredients. (Premium foods are those like Iams, Eukanuba, Science Diet, etc..)

Another thing to be wary of: A lot of vets will recommend what they sell in their office. They get profit from the brands they keep on their shelves, that's why they push it. Truth is, vet schools don't focus a lot on nutrition. It's not saying that a vet is a bad vet because he recommends those foods, a lot of vets just are told "this is good food", so they pass the message along without proper nutrition knowledge. Also, some dog food brands (like Hills) support vet schools, so vets have heard of it from the time they start college, which makes them think it's good as well.

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Higher quality food may seem more expensive at first, but it evens out. The higher quality the food, the less fillers eaten (and therefore the less poop comes out the other end). Your dog eats more to try to get the nutrition it needs, and most of the food just passes right on through. Also, it will make your animals healthier, so you save money on vet bills in the long run.

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"Big box" petstores like Petco and Petsmart rarely have quality foods. (I do believe that PetCo sells "Solid Gold" and "Natural Balance" brands and Petsmart sells "Blue Buffallo", which are all quality foods, but most of the foods aren't.)

Also, grocery stores and Walmart aren't good places to buy food either.

Your best bets for getting quality dog food are:
- small, locally owned petstores
- dog boutiques
- farm supply stores

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When switching foods, do it gradually. I do this over about a two week timespan:
25% food A, 75% food B
50% food A, 50% food B
75% food A, 25% food B
100% food A
.

Answer 2

A lot of GSD breeders around here swear by Timberwolf Organics (and so far, I'm loving it for my dogs - the ingredients are awesome and it smells oh so good when I open up a bag). There are a few small stores that carry it, or you can get it on-line.

The best food at PetSmart is Blue Buffalo. I used to work at PetsMart and it's the only food I'd consider. Nutro is OK, but they split their grains (rice) a lot.

Some PetCos are starting to carry Blue Buffalo. You can easily find Solid Gold and Natural Balance at most stores.

Read abbyfuls post. I know it's long, but it's got a lot of good information about food. Just keep an eye out for grain splitting (listing the same grain in multiple ways) cause that could mean more of that grain than meat.

Answer 3

Personally, I feed Nutro Natural Choice dog food. It is an all natural dog food with no artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives, no corn, wheat, or by-products. Meat is the first ingredient of every formula. It is a very digestible food and is actually the only brand of dog food that is guaranteed to improve your dog's skin and coat. My dog loves his food and does absolutely amazing on it. My personal favorite thing about the food is that Nutro actually makes all of their own food in their own USA facilities where they do over 600 quality checks per day.

I hope that helps!

Geoffrey
Pet Nutrition Specialist for The Nutro Company

Answer 4

I have a German Shepherd and volunteer for German Shepherd Rescue of Orange County. I would go with anything by INNOVA...Wellness is their lower price option, but still a really great food.

Answer 5

Merricks! They have Organic Chicken, beef, turkey some have Buffalo and venison in the mix. My cat eats Merricks and my friends German Shepard (Purebred from Germany) eats only Merricks (Wet & Dry food)

http://www.merrickpetcare.com/store/dry_dog_food.php

Here is what they say about their food...

"Our holistic dry foods are a great encore to our gourmet can line. One of the conveniences of today's society is quality dry pet foods. They are easy to store, and all you have to do is pour some in the bowl to prepare a meal in no time.

Supplementing our can food with our dry food offers the best of both worlds and adds the home cooked feel to your dog's meal. Then when you see how fast they eat it, you'll get the credit for being a great chef...and we promise to never tell! "

Answer 6

Well some basics: nothing you can buy at the grocery store and the first ingredient should be a meat (ie chicken -- no by-products).

I feed my dog Wellness, which is a great, vet recommended food.

Answer 7

Innova and Wellness are both good, but if I had to use food out of a pet store like PetSmart or Petco I would use Nutro Natural choice.

Answer 8

I use Chicken Soup for the Pet Lovers Soul Adult Large breed. It's perfect and fairly inexpensive. Poultry or fish should be the first ingredient in any food you get.

Answer 9

I think Solid Gold makes a great large breed dog food. (Wolf King)

I also like Timber Wolf Organics, most things by Merrick and Innova products.

Answer 10

Iams or science diet are the best. personally I cant afford them. The generic brands change often so I compare the nutrition & ingrediants on the back lable every time they discontinue the brand I was curently using. (I have cat not dog) right now I buy special kitty. It has more nutrition than purina almost as much as science diet