Good dog food brands. Recommendations?

Beth Pearson · Aug 6, 2013

We had our dogs on 4Health last year until the Blue Diamond recall and it was taken off the shelves. They've been on Ol' Roy since (I know, very bad) Anyway, since the recall is no longer and they've since switched to Ainsworth, I'm looking to put them back on 4Health. Preferably the grain-free bag. Besides 4Health, what brands do you recommend? Blue Diamond/Buffalo and Nutro will not be considered. Thanks!

*No debates please!*

porkchophamster · Aug 6, 2013

I personally feed a not well-known brand called Nutri-source. It's grain free and a 15 lb. bag only costs me about $34, less than Blue Buffalo non-grain free. I also like Nature's Variety, Orijen, Acana, and Wellness Core but they are pricey. Oh, and Earthborn is a good food too. You can get coupons when you sign up. If you have a local small pet food store that only carries top notch brands, go there and check it out. There are so many different foods to choose from.

lissie · Aug 6, 2013

See this site.
https://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/best-dog-foods/

Ahmose Inarus · Aug 6, 2013

The veterinarians I have worked with have ALWAYS recommended Royal Canin. But if you're looking for a less expensive option, Royal Canin's not it... ^_~ I used to feed my dog Nature's Recipe before I switched her to Royal Canin, but Eukanuba and Iams are good, too. Avoid any foods that have cute colors and/or shapes like Beneful and the WORST of the worst... Kibbles n' Bits. Did you know that if you dissolve Kibbles n' Bits in water, you'll actually find cow hair and chips of bone?! Pedigree is mostly fillers. Bil Jac is bad mostly because of its very high sugar content... The vets I work with don't actually recommend Blue Buffalo... it seems to be quite rich, and can actually cause upset stomachs... I tried my dog on it once... put a VERY small scoop into her bowl with a full helping of her old food... she had blowout diarrhea for DAYS... Also gave my Siamese the WORST gas ever...

Beth Pearson · Aug 6, 2013

lissie said:
See this site.
https://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/best-dog-foods/

@lissie, I've been browsing this site all day long today. Which is why I came here lol

So many choices and my head is spinning. I've narrowed it down to 4Health grain-free, Wellness and Natural Balance. I found a website (petflow.com) that sells it and has free shipping with purchases over $49.99. So it works out either way.

porkchophamster · Aug 6, 2013

Ahmose Inarus said:
The veterinarians I have worked with have ALWAYS recommended Royal Canin. But if you're looking for a less expensive option, Royal Canin's not it... ^_~ I used to feed my dog Nature's Recipe before I switched her to Royal Canin, but Eukanuba and Iams are good, too. Avoid any foods that have cute colors and/or shapes like Beneful and the WORST of the worst... Kibbles n' Bits. Did you know that if you dissolve Kibbles n' Bits in water, you'll actually find cow hair and chips of bone?! Pedigree is mostly fillers. Bil Jac is bad mostly because of its very high sugar content... The vets I work with don't actually recommend Blue Buffalo... it seems to be quite rich, and can actually cause upset stomachs... I tried my dog on it once... put a VERY small scoop into her bowl with a full helping of her old food... she had blowout diarrhea for DAYS... Also gave my Siamese the WORST gas ever...

I definitely agree about avoiding foods with colors and whatnot but Iams, Eukanuba, and Royal Canin are still quite full of fillers and grain-free would be a better option. Not saying they are absolutely horrible but they are expensive for what you're actually getting.

Beth Pearson · Aug 6, 2013

Price is NOT a concern. And if it causes gas, no thanks lol My German Shepherd/Chow-Chow mix has the worst smelling gas ever so I do not want to add to that! lol

NursePiggy · Aug 6, 2013

I use 4Health from Tractor Supply...no problems thus far for my Golden Retriever Mix nor my Bichon.

Aleks · Aug 6, 2013

I somewhat recently switched our dogs' food to Taste of The Wild. It was about 50$ for a 30lbs bag if i remember correctly. Nova absolutely loves it.

Beth Pearson · Aug 6, 2013

NursePiggy said:
I use 4Health from Tractor Supply...no problems thus far for my Golden Retriever Mix nor my Bichon.

@NursePiggy, which "flavor" do you use? We used the chicken and rice before the recall and I'd love to go back to that. Otherwise, I'll be getting the grain-free which is produced by a completely different company than the other "flavors" How long have you been using it? And our Tractor Supply is the only place to sell it as well.

Coughingcolours · Aug 6, 2013

Blue Buffalo is great! I get their brand for my kitty right now.

https://bluebuffalo.com/

NursePiggy · Aug 6, 2013

Beth Pearson said:
@NursePiggy , which "flavor" do you use? We used the chicken and rice before the recall and I'd love to go back to that. Otherwise, I'll be getting the grain-free which is produced by a completely different company than the other "flavors" How long have you been using it? And our Tractor Supply is the only place to sell it as well.

Mine have allergy issues which is why I use the grain free....so I use the beef flavored...they also seem sensitive to chicken...I used to use the lamb...but my husband claims the dogs might be getting bored with lamb...so as a treat I will add some 'wet' lamb food for gravy on top of dry. So far so good!

PigPandemonium · Aug 6, 2013

Just to advise, Royal Canin is actually really bad, not to mention the things the company has recently done, such as sponsoring Bear Baiting events: (broken link removed)

Here's an awesome article about their food that I read recently, written by a vet: (broken link removed)

Murk21 · Aug 6, 2013

We've been feeding our 12 year old dog Taste of the Wild for years. She loves it and is a very healthy senior.

Beth Pearson · Aug 6, 2013

Coughingcolours said:
Blue Buffalo is great! I get their brand for my kitty right now.

https://bluebuffalo.com/

I stated above that this brand is NOT even an option. The recalls and deaths of animals due to this brand last year has done enough for me to not try it. Thanks though.

Beth Pearson · Aug 6, 2013

NursePiggy said:
Mine have allergy issues which is why I use the grain free....so I use the beef flavored...they also seem sensitive to chicken...I used to use the lamb...but my husband claims the dogs might be getting bored with lamb...so as a treat I will add some 'wet' lamb food for gravy on top of dry. So far so good!

Awe. Ours love chicken, and rice, so maybe that's why they liked it better than the other flavor we tried at first. I think I'm going to try the 4Health again and maybe we'll have our happy, healthy dogs back again. They've had so much happen in the past few weeks, maybe having a dog food they like, they'll eat it more often. I may try the lamb too, they've never had it before.

NursePiggy · Aug 6, 2013

Hope the dogs get back on track!

piggypuppylove · Aug 7, 2013

The grain free 4health is pretty good, especially for the price. If you are staying away from Diamond though, I am pretty sure they are manufactured by Diamond (the same with TOTW). Most of the diamond recalls have been salmonella, which doesn't usually affect healthy dogs. My dogs are currently on Taste of the Wild, and doing well. Like you probably know, anything that can be purchased at walmart or target is bad news. Dogs don't need corn or wheat or any grains for that matter. Dogfoodadvisor.com is a really great site to get more info.

My tractor supply company has recently started carrying Merrick canned and dry foods. The grain free looks really good, but it is pricey at about $60 for a 25lb bag. I have 7 dogs and can't afford to pay quite that much. If I had 1or 2 dogs I probably would.

Beth Pearson · Aug 7, 2013

piggypuppylove said:
The grain free 4health is pretty good, especially for the price. If you are staying away from Diamond though, I am pretty sure they are manufactured by Diamond (the same with TOTW). Most of the diamond recalls have been salmonella, which doesn't usually affect healthy dogs. My dogs are currently on Taste of the Wild, and doing well. Like you probably know, anything that can be purchased at walmart or target is bad news. Dogs don't need corn or wheat or any grains for that matter. Dogfoodadvisor.com is a really great site to get more info.

My tractor supply company has recently started carrying Merrick canned and dry foods. The grain free looks really good, but it is pricey at about $60 for a 25lb bag. I have 7 dogs and can't afford to pay quite that much. If I had 1or 2 dogs I probably would.

All 4Health grain-free products are now produced by Ainsworth and not Diamond. Makes no sense why some are and some aren't but that's how they're doing it. I use dogfoodadvisor, I just wanted other input as to which brands are used/liked more. I have two dogs now, one 2 year old 62lb German Shepherd/Chow mix female and one 3 1/2 year old 37lb beagle/mutt mix male. I know the 4Health grain-free is $36.99 (or $39.99, can't remember) for a 30lb bag which isn't bad considering they will go through a bag a month-ish. I've heard about the Taste of the Wild as well, I might check it out when we go to Tractor Supply after soccer practice tonight. Thank you!

GeekPrincess · Aug 7, 2013

My mom's dog has been eating Natural Balance Lamb and Brown Rice dog food for years, that was the brand recommended by our vet, I don't remember how much it costs.
(The cat liked to steal bites of it when I still lived there, unfortunately I have yet to find lamb cat food)

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Good dog food brands. Recommendations?

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