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  #1  
Old August 20th, 2005, 11:13 AM
gordow gordow is offline
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Question For The Group About Dry Dog Food

I've got a one year old Border Collie / Lab Cross and am almost to the process of upgrading his food from what they were feeding him at the shelter to something better. Right now he's on Performatrim and have been thinking of going with Eukenuba , Science Diet , Royal Carin , ,,,

Any words of wisdom on these brands or any suggestions for other brands that are better than this.

Thanks, Gord
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  #2  
Old August 20th, 2005, 11:43 AM
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Jackie467 Jackie467 is offline
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I don't know about Royal Carin, but science diet and Eukenuba are not good foods at all. They are on the same level with Iams which is terrible because they have so much corn and by products in them. I used to feed Iams and have switched to Wellness (very good) and the difference is amazing. it is a bit more expensive but you can feed less of it and my dogs coat is much nice, less dandrift, and her stools are smaller. I also switched my cat the Wellness for cats and she has almost completely stopped sheding (she used to shed so much no one wanted to pet her because handfulls of hair would come off).

If you want to look for a good qaulity food you can read the ingredents. There shouldn't be any byproducts, corn, or brewers rice in the first four ingredents. Wellness actully doesn't have any corn, brewers rice or byproducts in it at all, or any wheat which many dogs are allergic to.

some good foods are Wellness, solid gold, Merrick, and Timberwolf organics.

I really like the Wellness, but some dogs won't eat it. They don't seem to like the taste. It also seems like it gets stuck to Candi's teeth sometimes.
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  #3  
Old August 20th, 2005, 12:08 PM
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Dina Dina is offline
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Question For The Group About Dry Dog Food

Hi Gord, I found out about IAMS and now feed my pup and adult dog Merrick dog food....good for human consumption!
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  #4  
Old August 20th, 2005, 12:46 PM
Prin Prin is offline
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Go here: http://www.pets.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=18592 In post #4, I posted a list of good dog foods with links to their websites.

If you compare those foods with Eukanuba, Science Diet, etc with Solid Gold, Wellness, etc, you'll figure out quickly that they are completely different. If you really want to feed better food, avoid foods with corn, brewer's rice, by-products and vague listings (like "Poultry Meal"-- if they can't tell you which bird, you don't want to know.).

Personally I feed Solid Gold Wolf King, and like everybody here already knows (I'm like a broken record), it's the tastiest kibble I have seen yet. I think anything with Salmon or another fish as one of the first ingredients makes food smellier and tastier for doggies.

Good luck in your search.
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  #5  
Old August 21st, 2005, 05:44 PM
canis canis is offline
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I feed another high quality food, a little more expensive, from the U.K, available here called Burns. I feed the chicken and rice product. They also have a fish recipe. It has no preservatives, it's made with brown rice and real chicken versus chicken meal. My dogs, all Border Collies (3) thrive on it. Their coats and teeth are healthy. I feed each dog 1 cup in the morning and 1 cup in the evening. Those portions will vary depending on their exercise level for the day.

Canis
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  #6  
Old August 21st, 2005, 07:32 PM
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coppperbelle coppperbelle is offline
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Dog food

I too am a broken record about Solid Gold. My dogs are doing so well on it. I would not recommend Science Diet or Eukanuba. They charge higher prices for what people often believe are better ingredients. For the same price you can buy a food like Nutro which while not perfect has much better ingredients in my opinion.
It all depends on what you want from a food and what is readily available.
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  #7  
Old August 21st, 2005, 08:00 PM
Rottielover Rottielover is offline
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Canis...just to let you know that chicken meal is actually better than chicken
Chicken meal = dehydrated chicken, more meat for the buck do to speak, while just chicken still has all the moisture in it, so not as much goes into the food.
I know this because I have in my day, when I used to work for ANIMAX, took a nutrition course, so I knew what I was talking about. LOL
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Old August 21st, 2005, 08:03 PM
Rottielover Rottielover is offline
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I liked wolf king, but the dog could not handle it, was far to rich for his sensitive tummy. So he is now on Natural Balance, another remarkable food. Not mentioned too often for the fact very hard to get. not many stores carry it
I just love the results on Harley, his hots spots, all gone. and at 98 lbs and 10 1/2 months old he only eats 3 cups a day. WOW
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Old August 21st, 2005, 08:09 PM
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mona_b mona_b is offline
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Here is a breakdown as to what is in the food.

http://www.pets.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=13203

The first 5 ingredients should not contain Corn.
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  #10  
Old August 21st, 2005, 10:50 PM
Prin Prin is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rottielover
Canis...just to let you know that chicken meal is actually better than chicken
Chicken meal = dehydrated chicken, more meat for the buck do to speak, while just chicken still has all the moisture in it, so not as much goes into the food.
I agree- the weight of whole chicken is mostly due to water, so they can get away with putting less chicken and still call it a first ingredient, even though the water evaporates when they cook it...
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  #11  
Old August 22nd, 2005, 04:18 AM
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gomez gomez is offline
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Gomez is also on the Burns and doing great. He is on the mini-bites now, but will graduate to the adult in a few months time, maybe after he is neutered.

His coat is great, a lot less shedding, smells normal, and of course, he really likes it!

The Kelties, treats, are a favourite as well...
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Old August 22nd, 2005, 05:46 AM
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coppperbelle coppperbelle is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rottielover
I liked wolf king, but the dog could not handle it, was far to rich for his sensitive tummy. So he is now on Natural Balance, another remarkable food. Not mentioned too often for the fact very hard to get. not many stores carry it
I just love the results on Harley, his hots spots, all gone. and at 98 lbs and 10 1/2 months old he only eats 3 cups a day. WOW
My dogs are doing great on Wolf King. When I did the switch I was torn between two foods, the Solid Gold and Natural Balance. I ended with the SG because it was easier to find here at home. Now the store that was carrying it has stopped because there is not enough demand. Oh well. I do agree that the Natural Balance is an awesome food. I posted last night on just this subject.
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  #13  
Old August 22nd, 2005, 10:33 AM
canis canis is offline
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Quote:
Canis...just to let you know that chicken meal is actually better than chicken
Sorry you are absolutely right sometimes I don't type what I am thinking, I meant to say chicken fillers. My apologies.

Canis
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  #14  
Old August 22nd, 2005, 10:53 AM
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Beaglemom Beaglemom is offline
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I used to feed my Beagle Eukanuba, then I read the ingredients! There was no way I was going to feed her by-products and fillers! I switched her to Solid Gold.

The cost wasn't much different at all. I find that it is costing me to feed Misty the Solid Gold about the same as it did for the Eukanuba food.

What I noticed was that her coat is sooo much shinier and healthier now. When she visited the vet recently, after eating the Solid Gold for a bit, the vet said that he hadn't seen her look this good ever! She isn't shedding as much either.

I had thought of giving her the Wellness, but decided on Solid Gold after hearing from a few people that some dogs just don't like Wellness. I bought a small bag of Solid Gold to try it out and Misty just loved it! She goes crazy for her food.
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Old August 22nd, 2005, 12:12 PM
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jessi76 jessi76 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dina
....good for human consumption!
Just a note about the "human-grade" label we see often on pet food... just because it's of the same quality & sources, doesn't make it human-grade. To be human-grade it must be processed in human-grade facility which hold much higher standards than feed facilities. Dog foods are not processed in human-grade facilities.
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  #16  
Old August 22nd, 2005, 12:25 PM
Jasmine Jasmine is offline
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I am also a fan of Burns!

Burns Fish & Rice Variety suits my allergy prone Westie down to the ground and Burns foods are on the 'safe' list from the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection
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  #17  
Old August 22nd, 2005, 12:33 PM
Prin Prin is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Beaglemom
I bought a small bag of Solid Gold to try it out and Misty just loved it! She goes crazy for her food.
It's crazy, eh? I got a sample bag before I bought my first bag and I tore it open just a bit, gave them each a kibble and then left the food on my seat (we were in the car) and I went away for a couple of minutes and they RAVAGED it. They licked the plastic clean and tore it all up into pieces. These are dogs who I can leave an open baggy of cookies in the car and they don't touch it. It's pretty tasty. And they still wake us up to be fed.
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Old August 22nd, 2005, 12:53 PM
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Beaglemom Beaglemom is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Prin
It's crazy, eh? I got a sample bag before I bought my first bag and I tore it open just a bit, gave them each a kibble and then left the food on my seat (we were in the car) and I went away for a couple of minutes and they RAVAGED it. They licked the plastic clean and tore it all up into pieces. These are dogs who I can leave an open baggy of cookies in the car and they don't touch it. It's pretty tasty. And they still wake us up to be fed.
Misty usually eats anything. But, with her Solid Gold, you can tell she likes it better than the other foods because she wolfs it down. When I walk in with a new bag, she goes crazy and will try to rip it open. She would too, but I put it away in an area where she can't reach it. She would eat the whole bag if I let her!

Even our other dog likes this. Unfortunately, he is on a special home made diet because of his heart failure and is only allowed an occasional tidbit.
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  #19  
Old August 22nd, 2005, 02:48 PM
canis canis is offline
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Quote:
Burns Fish & Rice Variety suits my allergy prone Westie
Funny you should mention allergies because I know someone with lhasa Apso (sp?) and he was a very cranky fellow. Didn't like being groomed or handled. It was suggested to the owner to switch his food, maybe he was uncomfortable and that made him cranky. Anyhow she put him on Burns and what a difference! She may have had a similar experience on the other good quality foods as well but it just happens that I had an extra bag of Burns.

I have a dog at home who has epilepsy and I don't think it's just a coincidence that his seizures have diminshed considerably since we switched to Burns a year ago.

Canis
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