Good dog food? Helping dog gain weight.

[Aleks]

I know, I know, this isn't piggy related, but I'm sure quite a few of you have dogs as well or at least know a bit about them. lol

We have a dog here that I guess is my boyfriend's sisters' since she moved out but she's been staying with us for a while again and she's really skinny. Like you can easily feel her ribs and see her hip bones a little.
It's not that she doesn't get fed, she just doesn't like to eat the dry food that everyone gets her. I think it may be too big for her liking (even though she's a pit mix) because she eats the puppy's kibbles, which are smaller. (And gets yelled at for eating the puppy's food, which makes me think she might be associating food as a bad thing?)

Anyways, I know she'll eat the majority of her dry food if it has wet food mixed in with it, so I was going to buy her some wet food myself, since nobody else does, and see if that helps any.

The only problem is that I really have no idea what kind of food is actually good for dogs.
My aunt usually feeds all of her dogs Pedigree (dry and wet). I can easily get Pedigree wet food for her as they sell it at dollar general down the street from me, but is that a healthy brand?
It makes me so sad to see her so skinny, because even though she's not my dog I really really love her and I've always been one of her favorite people and by not helping her I feel like I'm really letting her down.
Any advice would be appreciated. :/

 

[piggielove123]

Pedigree is a good brand... we used it for my cat. My dog likes dry food so I don't know if the brand we use for her even has wet food, but I think Pedigree is a good brand.

 

[lissie]

[MENTION=25470]Aleks[/MENTION] Have you consider feeding raw, or home-cooked food?

Pedigree is a good brand... we used it for my cat. My dog likes dry food so I don't know if the brand we use for her even has wet food, but I think Pedigree is a good brand.

I'm sorry. Pedigree is probably the worst brand out there.

 

[Aleks]

@Aleks Have you consider feeding raw, or home-cooked food?



I'm sorry. Pedigree is probably the worst brand out there.

The worst?? Really? D:
What exactly makes it so bad?
And what are good ingredients to look for in dog food?

I've never really been sure as to how raw diets work.
But I'm also not totally sure if that would be the best option, because she isn't going to be here forever. If I started her on a raw diet and she went back to my bf's sisters' house, wouldn't she be even less inclined to eat the normal dog food that they feed her?
I honestly don't think she would consider continuing a special diet for Nova, especially if I'm the one that started her on it, she's a pretty stubborn person and doesn't like me a whole lot.. :/

 

[Paula]

I'm sorry. Pedigree is probably the worst brand out there.

Maybe not THE worst, but definitely a top 10 contender.

I second the notion for raw. It's really easy when you get the hang of it and soooo healthy and great for your dogs and cats! Check out DogFoodAdvisor and the Dog Food Chat Forum.

 

[lissie]

Okay, one of the worst

 

[Aertyn]

I agree, Pedigree is one of the worst foods around. My yard stick is 'if you can buy it at a supermarket, it's horrible'.

I feed my girl a mixture of Raw (mostly meaty bones of varying animals, some steak from cows, pork or lamb) and a good quality dry, it's Canidae Sea atm. She's doing fantastic on this diet, and is maintaining a healthy weight. I'd go completely raw, but she hates 'organ meat' so I'm forced to do this mix of food for her.

 

[Paula]

Okay, one of the worst

Ha, yeah, it seems to be tied with more than 10 for that spot.

http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/dry/1-star/

 

[Aleks]

Thanks you guys. I'll definitely be looking into the raw diet. I had no idea pedigree was so bad!
Do you have any tips on convincing my bf's sister to continue this diet for her and possibly starting her brother on it as well? He's also kind of skinny, but not as skinny as Nova.

 

[lissie]

My yard stick is 'if you can buy it at a supermarket, it's horrible'.

I used to think that too. But I saw this food at Safeway supermarket. It's got pretty good rating.
http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/dogswell-nutrisca-dog-food/

 

[Kristine]

I agree, Pedigree is one I wouldn't ever consider feeding our dog.

Look for a dog food that doesn't have meat by products or corn and grains as the main ingredients. If you can, go corn and grain free. We feed our black lab Diamond Naturals which is corn free and good quality, the same brand also makes one that's completely corn and grain free as well.

While raw is probably the best option for health, its also spendier... I can't even feed myself that well on our tight food budget. Lol

 

[couchon]

Just to echo the responses - Pedigree is a bad food (poor quality ingredients, byproducts, nasty preservatives). There are more reasons, and I can post more information on dog food reviews later, as I researched this extensively. The bottom line is that, just like with piggy food, most pet store brands (Purina, Iams, even the vet-sold Science diet) are junk. I second raw food, but if you want to go prepared food, there are good brands. Orijen is excellent (the one I use) ; Innovo Evo; Blue Buffalo; Wellness Core. I can post more and a good research starting point tomorrow!

 

[chip123]

um im not sure what type is best as my dog will only eat wagg chicken and veg. but what I would suggest is instead of giving her tinned or dry food ia try adding boiled water to her dryed ood so it softens up and remember to let it cool down a bit so try make it about half an hour beore you want to give it to her

 

[Aleks]

um im not sure what type is best as my dog will only eat wagg chicken and veg. but what I would suggest is instead of giving her tinned or dry food ia try adding boiled water to her dryed ood so it softens up and remember to let it cool down a bit so try make it about half an hour beore you want to give it to her

I've already tried making softened food for her (I used to have to do this all the time when i lived with my aunts ex wife for her pugs), she doesn't like it that much more than when it's dry, she'll eat a little bit more of it that way but not much. I'm not sure why. Thank you though.

 

[lunarminx]

I would go raw if possible, Bear and Boo ate a raw diet down in Florida. Or make homemade dogfood which Boo still gets at times. Boo is very picky so when he gets tired of eating the same thing, he just doesn't eat and I know its time to switch( which is bad for many animals). Take a low sodium broth or make your own, add quinoa or brown rice, I add greenbeans, carrots, pumpkin and sometimes I add chopped apples and the meat of your choice and bake it like a casserole. My son Mason has even eaten it. Kind of bland but Boo loves it. I freeze it in baggies and warm it in the microwave. He even gets tired of that so we do Dogswell Happy Hips and 9lives catfood( any seafood flavor). I know but he loves catfood......

 

[Little One]

I've recently switched my dogs to raw and I am all for it.

If it isn't really an option, my suggestion would be to try a little bit of cooking oil on her food. My dogs wouldn't eat just plain kibble so I started putting like a teaspoon of oil on it and it helped. I've heard olive oil is the best but my dogs didn't like the flavour. Just stir and serve.

Good Luck

 

[Melissa123]

My pups eat Authority from PetSmart. They have a grain free formula that my dogs love and it has helped with their stool issues. While it may not be the best brand out there, it works for them.

Blue Buffalo is a really awesome brand.
Dog food/treats are not your typical calorie content- it goes by k-cals. The higher it is, the more nutrient they will get. Since you are trying to get the pup to gain weight, you could feed a higher protein (high energy dogs) dry food. Once the weight is on, slowly change to a different type as this could make the pup too big.

You always want to look at the ingredients when looking for dog food. It goes by weight- highest to lowest. Normally, you want real meat first, no meals, no by products, no corn/grain, and no fillers.

I have never fed a raw diet before, but have heard it works very well for pups. I don't think I would ever switch from dry food, but that's just me.

 

[Beth Pearson]

Our dogs are on Ol' Roy now. Not a great brand but we had them on 4Health and two of them puked every time they ate. Raw diet isn't an option. for us because one of our dogs gets very territorial and fights over raw foods, so they aren't allowed to eat raw except on occasion now.

 

[couchon]

@Beth Pearson , there are A LOT of good brands to try, even if your dog's stomach is sensitive (also, a lot of different ingredients). I would highly recommend you try some or all of them until you find one that works for your doggy - just like with pigs, most of these dog foods are really bad. Ol' Roy is really, really bad - it has some pretty scary ingredients, and the meat content is pretty much non-existent.

http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/

Here's a great site to get started, for anyone who is interested. You can also plug in your current food and see how it stacks up.

And if you have any specific questions, this is a good place to ask: http://dogfoodchat.com/forum/

I feel very strongly about pet nutrition. I think good diet is SO important to their health and longevity, and, unfortunately, the pet industry produces mostly junk, but there are good foods out there! And just like with piggies, it does make a difference!

 

[couchon]

Here's Ol' Roy food analysis: http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/ol-roy-dog-food-dry/