topic Re: Help finding a new dog food. in Community Chat

Help finding a new dog food.

glmama — Mon, 04 Aug 2014 17:42:15 GMT

Hi Everyone,

My 4 year old pup needs a new dog food. He's been eating Natural Balance for a few years now. However, it is becoming harder to find and I'd like to find something in the grocery store OR at PetSmart that is more readily available, perhaps a *tiny* bit less expensive, AND, perhaps, the same kinda quality of a Natural Balance. Real food, not loads of fillers, no dyes, and something that would be okay for a dog that has a history of skin allergies??

I realize that is a very tall order. But is there anything out there that you really like? I also realize that sometimes it is hard transitioning a dog to another food, but I'm willing to do so if I can find the right brand.

TIA for any any and all recommendations.

Re: Help finding a new dog food.

terrier3 — Mon, 04 Aug 2014 18:04:19 GMT

My dog eats Rachael Ray's dry dogfood.

Made in the USA!

Re: Help finding a new dog food.

glmama — Mon, 04 Aug 2014 18:14:44 GMT

Terrier-Thanks for the reply & suggestion. I will put it on my list to check out.

Re: Help finding a new dog food.

JeanLouiseFinch — Mon, 04 Aug 2014 18:35:24 GMT

We've had a really good experience with Nature's Domain. It's only sold at Costco, but is a grain free dry dog food. I've read that it's the same thing as Taste of the Wild, just relabeled/privately labeled for Costco. It's nutrient dense. My big dog (85# Golden Retreiver) gets 1.5 cups in the morning and 1.5 cups in the afternoon. His eliminations are firm and compact. A large bag (35#, I think), runs right around $30 or so.

Re: Help finding a new dog food.

glmama — Mon, 04 Aug 2014 18:38:29 GMT

Hi JLF - Thanks so much. I'm Not currently a Costco member, but a family member is & I could check it out.

Re: Help finding a new dog food.

mousiegirl — Mon, 04 Aug 2014 18:43:59 GMT

Halo is supposed to be very good.

Re: Help finding a new dog food.

glmama — Mon, 04 Aug 2014 19:12:00 GMT

THanks, mousie.

Re: Help finding a new dog food.

CrazyDaisy — Mon, 04 Aug 2014 19:30:02 GMT

There are several web sites (dogfoodadvisors.com is one I like) that rate foods based on the quality of the ingredients. Food allergies are usually corn or wheat so you should be able to try foods that do not contain them.

Re: Help finding a new dog food.

glmama — Mon, 04 Aug 2014 19:42:39 GMT

CrazyDaisy-I have never heard of that site--I will go check it out. Thanks for recommending it!

Re: Help finding a new dog food.

doxie1 — Mon, 04 Aug 2014 20:08:32 GMT

Check out dogfoodanalysis dot com

doxie

Re: Help finding a new dog food.

emmysmom — Mon, 04 Aug 2014 20:45:23 GMT

My dog LOVES Natures recipe! They have a large selection at Petsmart! Its grain free, and my little min pin had skin issues that stopped just days after starting this food. The SA told me she feeds her dog the same and has also experienced great things!

Re: Help finding a new dog food.

emmysmom — Mon, 04 Aug 2014 20:48:42 GMT

On 8/4/2014 JeanLouiseFinch said:
We've had a really good experience with Nature's Domain. It's only sold at Costco, but is a grain free dry dog food. I've read that it's the same thing as Taste of the Wild, just relabeled/privately labeled for Costco. It's nutrient dense. My big dog (85# Golden Retreiver) gets 1.5 cups in the morning and 1.5 cups in the afternoon. His eliminations are firm and compact. A large bag (35#, I think), runs right around $30 or so.

Hi Jean, I do grain free also and its the way to go. No more allergy problems! (I can't eat gluten or grains, so I can relate, lol!) My dog loves Nature's Recipe, grain free with sweet potato, pumpkin and chicken!

Re: Help finding a new dog food.

glmama — Mon, 04 Aug 2014 20:56:35 GMT

I'm going to PS & I'll look for Natures Recipe.

Re: Help finding a new dog food.

Kachina624 — Tue, 05 Aug 2014 05:21:22 GMT

When I looked for a dog food I check the site that evaluate various brands and selected Merrick, made in Amarillo, Texas. I then called them and questioned them about the use of imported components. I learned that the only things they use are some venison and lamb from New Zealand and Australia. Their export requirements are more stringent than our import requirements. My dogs like the variety that contains apples. They've done very well on it and have gorgeous coats. I get it delivered from Amazon Prime but it's also available at Petco.

Re: Help finding a new dog food.

lilypadfrog — Tue, 05 Aug 2014 05:30:10 GMT

My dog loves Nature's Receipe too, but her skin problems didn't subside until we stopped giving her the chicken. She eats the salmon flavor and she's much better.

Re: Help finding a new dog food.

Kachina624 — Tue, 05 Aug 2014 08:10:04 GMT

On a review I checked, Nature's Recipe only rated 3.5 stars out of 5. Mid range.

Re: Help finding a new dog food.

germansheplvr — Tue, 05 Aug 2014 13:14:44 GMT

We have an 8.5 year old German Shepherd. I recently did extensive research on foods for her, trying to find one suitable. She had a go around with calcium oxalates in her urine so we totally had to switch her food. After using the vet's suggested prescription food for a while, I wanted an alternative. For now, we are feeding Innova brand, Natures Table, chicken & turkey. It was on the approved list of foods from The Whole Dog Journal. This is also grain & potato free. We get it at Petsmart. For now, I am combining this with her prescription food, but the goal is to be off of that and eating the high quality Innova. It's worth taking the time to research, there are so many ill suited foods that are pushed for us to purchase.

Re: Help finding a new dog food.

chickadee — Tue, 05 Aug 2014 15:18:03 GMT

I've just been reading about Pure Balance Grain Free line at walmart. My dog is on a pretty expensive food from the feed store, but it is very inconvenient to purchase it there - and it is the only place in town that sells it. I've been searching for something a little more reasonable. I'm not sure if the Pure Balance will be right, but I'm going to get a small bag and try it. My girl doesn't care for fish formulas, so I'm going to look for the bison one.

Re: Help finding a new dog food.

Fressa — Tue, 05 Aug 2014 15:46:25 GMT

I have two new German Shepherd puppies and started them on what I fed our previous Shepherd. Back to Basics....I think it's excellent! There's none of the bad stuff and high percentages of the good stuff.....it's listed on the front of the bags. Now with these two puppies I also purchased Holistic which has a very good rating. Good quality. With these two brands of chow you are feeding less quantity because of the high quality. I mix the two together but only because they are growing so fast that I didn't want them to tire of any one particular brand/flavor. My female has a bit of a sensitive tummy and bum so this is what drove me to find a second brand to combine with my first favorite.

There are so many websites out there to rate puppy/dog food that it can make your head spin. The other thing I found interesting that depending on the brand and the ingredients there isn't a puppy, senior, or weight formula. Check the labels and ingredient line ups carefully. I'm also looking the flag symbol that indicates made in USA. I did a lot of looking on these websites first and made a list of my top six brands then I went to my store. I use Burton's Total Pet but have used PetSmart with prior dogs.

Hope this helps.

Re: Help finding a new dog food.

mousiegirl — Tue, 05 Aug 2014 17:08:19 GMT

On 8/4/2014 glmama said:
CrazyDaisy-I have never heard of that site--I will go check it out. Thanks for recommending it!

Me either, but I just did. I had no idea there were so many brands of dog food.