Go Back   Pet forum for dogs cats and humans - Pets.ca > Discussion Groups - mainly cats and dogs > Dog food forum

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old June 5th, 2004, 02:20 PM
Richard62's Avatar
Richard62 Richard62 is offline
Junior Member
 
Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 22
Dog food choice

What is the best dog food for small dogs. I use Science diet oral care. Maybe I want to switch with something differnt. My dogs are 2 and 4. I have two japanes Chins.
__________________
I have two Japanese Chins (Dogs). Male and female.
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old June 5th, 2004, 03:44 PM
cutelittlemako's Avatar
cutelittlemako cutelittlemako is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Ottawa
Posts: 226
Look at the labels. It's hard to recommend a good dog food brand because the pet store closest to you might not carry it. But what I do is I look at the labels. I try to find a brand that has no animal by-products (my first concern) and that has the best first ingredients (chicken of lamb...). On the Petsmart website (www.petmart.com) there is a dog food calculator, you insert your dog's age, weight, activity level, and they calculate how much calories it needs, then gives you all the food brands that apply to your dog, gives you how much he would need in a day for all the brands and also how much it would cost you per day to feed your dog on a certain food. With this, it's clear that the most expensive foods are often better value because they have the same caloric values, in less food, therefore, you have to feed yor dog less. It's very interesting. You can also compare their brands by seeing all the ingredients... Instead of standing in front of 20 different bags of dog chow at the pet store you can do it from the comfort of you home and then go to the store. Just a suggestion. I really do use it and having a growing puppy I find that it's good to know how much to feed and to see the costs per day and to compare.

Good Luck!
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old June 5th, 2004, 03:52 PM
mona_b's Avatar
mona_b mona_b is offline
Senior Contributor
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Hamilton Ont
Posts: 4,620
Well I would definately get them off the Science Diet.

Here are a few premium dog foods.

Wellness
Nutro
Innova
Canidae
Eagle Pack.

Remember this,the first 4-5 ingredients in the food should NOT be corn.
__________________
"A dog can express more with his tail in minutes than his owner can express with his tongue in hours."
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old June 5th, 2004, 04:04 PM
Richard62's Avatar
Richard62 Richard62 is offline
Junior Member
 
Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 22
Smile

Everybody here that helped me I will take a look at my dogs bag incredients and start comparing. I will try the Petsmart calculator as well. Anything to make my dogs live a long time will be worth it. I love my two dogs to much to have them live a short life. Really appreciate your helps. (Everybody) "Happy petting"
__________________
I have two Japanese Chins (Dogs). Male and female.
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old June 5th, 2004, 04:12 PM
Richard62's Avatar
Richard62 Richard62 is offline
Junior Member
 
Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 22
Red face Take a look

Here is the incredients in Science diet oral care. Is this good or bad. What about the corn meal, is the same as corn?


Chicken by-product meal, corn meal, brewers rice, powdered cellulose, soybean mill run, animal fat (preserved with BHA, propyl gallate, and citric acid), dried egg product, vegetable oil, natural flavor, flaxseed, taurine, preserved with BHT and BHA, beta carotene, minerals [potassium chloride, salt, ferrous sulfate, zinc oxide, copper sulfate, manganous oxide, calcium iodate, sodium selenite], vitamins [choline chloride, vitamin A supplement, vitamin D3 supplement, vitamin E supplement, ascorbic acid (a source of vitamin C), niacin, thiamine, calcium pantothenate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, riboflavin, folic acid, biotin, vitamin B12 supplement].
__________________
I have two Japanese Chins (Dogs). Male and female.
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old June 5th, 2004, 04:42 PM
cutelittlemako's Avatar
cutelittlemako cutelittlemako is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Ottawa
Posts: 226
Well By-Products and Corn are the first 2 ingredients, so I would not give it to my dog.

I did not know about the corn though, thanks for the heads-up Mona. Why is Corn bad? I don't have by-products in my puppy food, but there might be corn, i didn't check. I will From now on though. Mako is intolerant to some foods, so I usually pick the best I can that doesn't have by-products and that he can digest.
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old June 5th, 2004, 06:52 PM
Lucky Rescue Lucky Rescue is offline
Senior Contributor
 
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 10,287
Corn is bad as dogs cannot digest it. Therefore, when dog food has a lot of cheap fillers like this, the dog is getting less nutrition, although it must eat much more of the food.

The list of food that Mona gave is excellent! It may seem expensive, until you do the math - i.e. If I fed my dog Purina, she would need to eat nearly 5 cups a day to get the same nutrition she gets from 2 cups of Wellness.
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old June 5th, 2004, 07:38 PM
mona_b's Avatar
mona_b mona_b is offline
Senior Contributor
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Hamilton Ont
Posts: 4,620
Your very welcome Mako..........

And it's exactly what LR said.

I have posted this before.Actually on another of Richard's posts...I think....LOL

http://www.nhratterriers.com/petfoods.htm
__________________
"A dog can express more with his tail in minutes than his owner can express with his tongue in hours."
Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old June 5th, 2004, 09:12 PM
cutelittlemako's Avatar
cutelittlemako cutelittlemako is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Ottawa
Posts: 226
Oh wow, that is good to know, I'll be sure to check if the dog food I guy has corn in it. Mako already has problem digesting his food, I wouldn't want to make it worse!
See, this is what the bulletin board is for, interesting information about how to care for pets.
Thanks guys!
Reply With Quote
  #10  
Old June 5th, 2004, 09:52 PM
mona_b's Avatar
mona_b mona_b is offline
Senior Contributor
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Hamilton Ont
Posts: 4,620
Mona bows to the room.......

Oh another good one is:
Chicken Soup for the Pet Lovers Soul.
__________________
"A dog can express more with his tail in minutes than his owner can express with his tongue in hours."
Reply With Quote
  #11  
Old June 5th, 2004, 10:30 PM
LavenderRott's Avatar
LavenderRott LavenderRott is offline
Senior Contributor
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Michigan
Posts: 2,671
Soy is also hard for a dog to digest.

Also, the better foods may seem more expensive, but they do eat less. And their bodies use more of the nutrients in the food. If the body uses more, there is less waste. That means less poo!
__________________
Sandi
Reply With Quote
  #12  
Old June 6th, 2004, 09:32 AM
Lucky Rescue Lucky Rescue is offline
Senior Contributor
 
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 10,287
Quote:
That means less poo!
Yes, another added benefit!!
Reply With Quote
  #13  
Old June 6th, 2004, 09:55 AM
Spoiled's Avatar
Spoiled Spoiled is offline
Senior Contributor
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Posts: 1,169
Has anyone heard anything about the Nutram pet food?
__________________
~*Life is one big game of fetch*~
http://www.webspawner.com/users/yeltneb/index.html
Reply With Quote
  #14  
Old June 6th, 2004, 10:04 AM
cutelittlemako's Avatar
cutelittlemako cutelittlemako is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Ottawa
Posts: 226
Ok, sorry if i'm over-extending this subject but I took a look at my puppy's bag of food and on it they explain the benefits of the first 6 ingredients. The 3rd is Ground Corn and here is what they have to say about it: "Good Source of highly digestible carbohydrates. Excellent source of fatty acids for a healthy looking pet." They also have Corn Glutten Meal - "Excellent source of highly digestible protein. Provides essential amino acids important for a glossy coat." Is this not true?

Choosing a good puppy food is important for me, so I find this issue very interesting.

The food I am using now is Autority, on the top of the bag it says "Highly diestible" and I chose it because Mako has a hard time keeping his food down. I usually have to feed him canned food, but I've been able to give him this Autority if I soak it in water for half an hour and then mix it up real good so that it has canned food consistency.

If corn is hard to digest, maybe it would be better if I tried another food. Again, the only thing I looked for before was for meat to be the first ingredient, then rice, and no by-products (at all). I was never concerned with corn. I am glad i'm finding out about this though!

And where are people supposed to learn about this. I don't think it's common knowledge .
Thanks
Reply With Quote
  #15  
Old June 6th, 2004, 10:39 AM
Lucky Rescue Lucky Rescue is offline
Senior Contributor
 
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 10,287
Quote:
I don't think it's common knowledge .
You're right - it's not, and the makers of the cheap food have such convincing advertising (having vets and "breeders" tout their products) that anyone would be confused.

Last edited by Ford; August 7th, 2008 at 11:26 PM.
Reply With Quote
  #16  
Old June 6th, 2004, 05:46 PM
melanie's Avatar
melanie melanie is offline
Senior Contributor
 
Join Date: Jun 2003
Posts: 1,824
my mum got a purina sample of that indoor cat stuff in the mail, i think the vet gave her details to them. but they sent 3 free tins to try, it is a bit of a scam and she isnt about to buy it, but the dog was thankful. i wonder if that type of advertising works? (only the dog would consider eating it, yang the siamese cat would not even touch it, i think he was a little insulted and disapointed with us )
Reply With Quote
  #17  
Old June 6th, 2004, 06:49 PM
Spoiled's Avatar
Spoiled Spoiled is offline
Senior Contributor
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Posts: 1,169
Quote:
Has anyone heard anything about the Nutram pet food?
I'm going to be persistent about this.
Does anyone know?
__________________
~*Life is one big game of fetch*~
http://www.webspawner.com/users/yeltneb/index.html
Reply With Quote
  #18  
Old June 6th, 2004, 07:11 PM
Chany's Avatar
Chany Chany is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Canada
Posts: 447
Lavender Rott is right soy is no good for dogs either. Corn is a cheap filler.
Dogs are supposed to have a 75% protein diet with 25% carbohydrates.
If your concerned with your dogs diets try supplementing some meat with the dog food and some vitamins because most of the vitamins are destroyed when the dog food is processed. Chicken by products can and usually do include beaks, feet, feathers etc.

Sorry Spoiled I have no idea about Nutram . Have you done a search on the web about it? What are its ingredients?
Reply With Quote
  #19  
Old June 7th, 2004, 11:06 AM
Daiana's Avatar
Daiana Daiana is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Mississauga, Ontario
Posts: 52
Hi there,

I have a 4 lb. Chihuahua, and I've found a brand of food called Royal Canin. They make a type of food specifically for toy breeds and even though my dog is a picky eater, he seems to enjoy it. And, best of all, I read over the list of ingredients and I'm very pleased with the quality of what they put in there.
Omega 3's, salmon oil, blueberries, rosemary oil, brown rice, and of course meat, among other things (just to name a few). If you email their company, you can request that they send you a sample, this way you're not stuck with the whole bag in case they don't like it.

Just thought I'd share!

D.
__________________
Daiana
Reply With Quote
  #20  
Old June 7th, 2004, 11:33 AM
cmt489's Avatar
cmt489 cmt489 is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Vancouver, BC
Posts: 238
Royal Canin is also good and readily available. Just one more plug for a good food:

Petcurean Go! Natural (I just love plugging Canadian companies - LOL!!)

Michelle
Reply With Quote
  #21  
Old June 7th, 2004, 11:53 AM
glasslass's Avatar
glasslass glasslass is offline
Senior Contributor
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Calif.
Posts: 4,684
When I was searching for a puppy for my mom, I contacted 4 different breeders and found that all of them were feeding Eukanuba. After reading the previous posts, I went into their website and checked the ingredients. The 1st 3 ingredients listed were chicken, chicken by-products meal, and corn meal. I see I have some research to do. We've been giving both Den-Den and Corky Eukanuba because we thought it was the best. Now I'm thinking we need to change to something better.
Reply With Quote
  #22  
Old June 7th, 2004, 12:05 PM
Lucky Rescue Lucky Rescue is offline
Senior Contributor
 
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 10,287
Quote:
Dogs are supposed to have a 75% protein diet with 25% carbohydrates
Just curious - where did you get those figures from? Even cats, who are the ultimate carnivores, do well on cat food that has a protein percentage of about 40 - 45%.

Dogs, classified as omnivores, need less. The average, housepet adult dog needs no more than 20 - 25% protein in dog food. Of course a husky who pulls a sled all day would need more, but I'm talking about the garden variety type pet dog.

This is why feeding a dog catfood is not good - too much protein (and vice versa about feeding cats dogfood - not enough protein)
Reply With Quote
  #23  
Old June 7th, 2004, 04:45 PM
melanie's Avatar
melanie melanie is offline
Senior Contributor
 
Join Date: Jun 2003
Posts: 1,824
i wish we lived in the same country, you seem to have alot of choices. our supermkt stocks only a few brands for big dogs the rest for small (pal the farty food being top of the list in quality). we have a product called 'natures gift', i have fed it to the girl for years along with this brands snacks and treats(with other stuff of course lots of variety). i dont remember lookiing at ingredients till now (i must have though or i wouldnt have started with it). the ingredients are

-70%real veal, lamb or chicken (depend on flavor)
-30%vegetable and oat mix (and has a vitamin summary)

thats it. i mix with a natural low calorie dry food and charlie is a healthy gal.
it is an aussie company though so i wouldnt know if it was available anywhere else.

Nutram- i thought that was really good food, it is sold at the vets and pet shops only and is exepensive so never tried it, but then i am assuming cost equals quality and i dont know about that and dog food
Reply With Quote
  #24  
Old June 7th, 2004, 06:40 PM
Chany's Avatar
Chany Chany is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Canada
Posts: 447
Lucky Rescue, Wendy Volhard is where I got my info from. She has many years experience in feeding and training different dogs. So she definitely has proof behind her which is comforting to me.
You state a cat can do well on a diet consisting of a 40-45% protein right?
Just curious as to how much better a cat would do on a true carnivore diet meaning strictly protein?
I think thats the difference. A dog may do well enough on a diet of 25% protein but I believe I can do better for my dogs so I do! I am totally convinced of the 75-25 ratio for her. She is extremely healthy and she's not growing too fast either.
Reply With Quote
  #25  
Old June 7th, 2004, 09:57 PM
LavenderRott's Avatar
LavenderRott LavenderRott is offline
Senior Contributor
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Michigan
Posts: 2,671
I hear that Science Diets foods that are made to help with medical issues are decent, but other then that, I wouldn't buy any food that was sold out of my vets office. Most vets have about one semester's worth of training in Nutrition and SD pays vets to sell their food. A big enough incentive and your vet would be selling Ole' Roy and claiming it is great stuff! (Ole' Roy is made by Wal-Mart and sells for about $8 for a 40 pound bag. You can imagine the quality of the ingredients.)
__________________
Sandi

Last edited by Ford; August 7th, 2008 at 11:27 PM.
Reply With Quote
  #26  
Old June 8th, 2004, 11:58 AM
mastifflover's Avatar
mastifflover mastifflover is offline
Senior Contributor
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Toronto
Posts: 4,007
Quote:
Originally Posted by Spoiled
Has anyone heard anything about the Nutram pet food?
I have used nutram with my Neapolitan Mastiff and found it to be a good medium priced food. I would ideally love to feed him Califorina natural by Dick Van Patten but it is just too expensive to feed a very large dog if you have a small to medium sized dog I highly recommend it. This food is human grade and no filler.
Reply With Quote
  #27  
Old June 8th, 2004, 12:30 PM
Princesss04's Avatar
Princesss04 Princesss04 is offline
Senior Contributor
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Veedersburg, IN
Posts: 3,140
What do you all think of Purina cat food?
__________________
Check out my new photo gallery
[url]http://www.pets.ca/forum/gallery/index.php?[/url]

Proud mommy to...
Meat Loaf (Brittany Spaniel) 13 months
CryBaby (5 years old)living with grandpa now
Chino (Doberman mix) 7 months old
2 new kittens (8 weeks old) Felix and Gizmo
Reply With Quote
  #28  
Old June 8th, 2004, 12:56 PM
cmt489's Avatar
cmt489 cmt489 is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Vancouver, BC
Posts: 238
Many of the premium dog food companies also make cat food. Some also feed their cats a raw diet.

My Himilayan who will only eat dry (she will not eat raw, will not eat cooked and will not eat canned - fussy despite trying) gets Petcurean Go! Natural. Prior to this she was on Nutro Natural Complete Care (BTW she did great on the Nutro but I preferred to support a Canadian company). She LOVES the Go! food and is doing wonderfully on it!

Michelle

Last edited by Ford; August 7th, 2008 at 11:27 PM.
Reply With Quote
  #29  
Old June 8th, 2004, 01:15 PM
Princesss04's Avatar
Princesss04 Princesss04 is offline
Senior Contributor
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Veedersburg, IN
Posts: 3,140
Thank you I was talking to my friend and she jumped all over me becuase I did not feed my cat Purina. And I thought okay and I had heard that it was a bad food bit thought I would ask anyways. Thanks for your help! Can you tell me why that it is bad so I can tell her?
__________________
Check out my new photo gallery
[url]http://www.pets.ca/forum/gallery/index.php?[/url]

Proud mommy to...
Meat Loaf (Brittany Spaniel) 13 months
CryBaby (5 years old)living with grandpa now
Chino (Doberman mix) 7 months old
2 new kittens (8 weeks old) Felix and Gizmo
Reply With Quote
  #30  
Old June 8th, 2004, 01:26 PM
cmt489's Avatar
cmt489 cmt489 is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Vancouver, BC
Posts: 238
Corn, high grain content and cheap sources of protein. All bad for cats.

To give you an example, my parents had a barn cat that was allergic to chicken protein. The vet gave us two options: MediCal food at $40.00 a bag (made with duck, not chicken) or Purina Cat Chow since its main protein source is soya. Chose the MediCal thank you very much!!

Michelle
Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off


Forum Terms of Use

  • All Bulletin Board Posts are for personal/non-commercial use only.
  • Self-promotion and/or promotion in general is prohibited.
  • Debate is healthy but profane and deliberately rude posts will be deleted.
  • Posters not following the rules will be banned at the Admins' discretion.
  • Read the Full Forum Rules

Forum Details

  • Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8
    Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
    vBulletin Optimisation by vB Optimise (Reduced on this page: MySQL 0%).
  • All times are GMT -5. The time now is 12:02 PM.