What is the best kind of food for a 8 year old Rottie?

Question

I had him for about a month now. I need to know what food is healthier for him than Wall-mart food. I'm working on getting him healthy. He is on the heavy side. His last owners fed him table scraps. He is still getting over heart worm treatment.

Answer 1

Read the ingredients on the food you buy. Go with a high quality dog food.

Here is my "short list" of rules when I am looking at dog ingredients:
1) When I chose a dog food, I chose one high meat content. I want to see preferably at least 2-3 out of the top 5 ingredients be meat or meat meal (first ingredient must be!).
2) I want to see higher quality grains, such as barley, brown rice, and oatmeal, instead of seeing wheat and corn. Or an alternative starch/carbohydrate such as potatoes or sweet potatoes.
3) I don't want to see any byproducts.
4) I don't want to see a lot of fillers.
5) I don't want to see preservatives that are believed to be carcinogens (BHA, BHT, ethoxyquin).
6) I don't want to see artificial colorings such as the Red, Blue, and Yellow dyes.
7) I don't want to see added sugars (sugar, corn syrup).
8) I don't want to see mystery meats (meats identified only as "meat" or "poultry".)

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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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.

Some GOOD foods are :
* Artemis - http://www.artemiscompany.com/
* California Natural - http://www.naturapet.com/brands/california-natural.asp
* Canidae - http://www.canidae.com/
* Chicken Soup - http://www.chickensoupforthepetloverssoul.com/
* EVO - http://www.naturapet.com/brands/evo.asp
* Fromm - http://www.frommfamily.com/
* Innova - http://www.naturapet.com/brands/innova.asp
* Merrick - http://www.merrickpetcare.com/
* Nature's Variety - http://www.naturesvariety.com/
* Orijen - http://www.championpetfoods.com/orijen/orijen/
* Solid Gold - http://www.solidgoldhealth.com/
* Taste of the Wild - http://www.tasteofthewildpetfood.com/
* Timberwolf Organics - http://timberwolforganics.com/
* Wellness - http://www.omhpet.com/wellness/

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, 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

Any dry food meets 100% of a dog's nutritional needs so, check the lables and buy whichever you like the best based on your own beliefs. If he is eight, which is getting up there for a Rottie, you might consider a dog food formulated for old dogs - they tend to have less calories and more roughage (also refered to as fiber or filler) so are good for keeping an older dog's weight down. In general, one should not feed this sort of food just because a dog reaches a certain age but should base the decision on how well he is doing with regular food. In this case, being overweight, it MIGHT be a good idea. Just don't be fooled by the marketing gimmicks every brand has - there is no good or bad food if your dog is thriving on it.

Answer 3

Give him a high quality food like Nutro. Make sure he gets some glucosamine either in the food or added to it. This will help his joints and hips.

You might want to research a vegetarian dog food, especially since he's eaten junk his whole life - his dog food was probably no better. Normal commercial dog food is made from 4D meat - dead, dying, diseased, or down. This means that the worst, sickest, nastiest cows get turned into dog food - and he ate that his whole life! Give him a good retirement.

Answer 4

I feed my rottie nutros naturals large breed formula, she is happy, healthy and in great shape with a super shiny coat....check out your local pet store for a better quality food, something for large breeds but also since your trying to help him get in shape don't over feed just go according to the bag per his weight or where it should be....also exercise will help him get in shape twice as fast.

Answer 5

kind food 8 year rottie

Answer 6

I've always used Natural 26...its a Blue seal dog food that's well balanced for all stages of life..Its not that expensive..about 10$ a 50 lb bag where I live (VT) my dogs are active with good coats and are not overweight.. You can get it at any feed store that deals in Blue seal...Good Luck!!

Answer 7

Nutro max firstly is low quality. Secondly try Canidae all life stages. It's a great food. You can buy it at a sepcialty pet food store or you can order it online at petfood direct or amazon. It's top notch.Many of top quality breeders use this food as well as many pet owners. Canidae has worked wonders on my dog. He was too a bit chubby and he had allergies, Canidae works for every dog.

http://www.canidae.com/

Answer 8

you should try Life's Abundance

* With all the healthy ingredients you’ve come to expect from a Life’s Abundance food, formulated specifically for overweight adult dogs
* Balanced nutrition with fewer calories, less fat and a higher protein content
* Includes nutrients to support healthy metabolism and a shiny coat
www.food4tails.com

Answer 9

Nutro max is top brand for all breeds, they so many formulas, for puppies, adults, overweight dogs, and older dogs.

it makes their coats shine and really does help their digestive system...no fillers or by products at all....

Answer 10

Try Innova Evo, it has no grains, and is great for larger breed dogs.