Hey All, I know every dog has different tastes and unique digestion, however I am looking for some input. My boy is now 15 months and currently on Orijen Large Breed Puppy food. He is now 75 lbs but looks like is having trouble bulking up. I will be changing to adult food soon and looking for some input. I am currently looking into the following dry foods: - Orijen - Acana - Taste of the Wild - Blue Buffalo Pricing isn't an option. I am just looking for the best food (closest to nature as intended). Any suggestions? Thanks
We are also researching adult foods - I would like to move to a fish based protein, as Quinn is having skin issues and we aren't sure if it's related to her food yet (could be chicken). In terms of kibble, our top 3 possible are Acana Regionals, Fromm 4 Star and Wellness Core. I'm not sure where you live, but we have also been talking to our local holistic/natural pet food store and have looked in Canisource, which is a kibble but human grade food and dehydrated (Canadian). There are a few options of dehydrated and freeze dried but I haven't looked into the options extensively yet. We've also looked briefly at raw (pre-ordered and packaged monthly for us based on dog's weight, age etc.). I doubt we will go that route - we don't have the freezer space. There are so many options available now, it's really hard to know what is best!
I feed my youngest Orijen large puppy, and intend to switch to Orijen adult food (in time). I've been happy with it and it suits my puppy. I'm not sure there is a great deal of difference in the top end foods. There isn't actually a lot of difference between Orijen large breed puppy and adult - the puppy food is slightly lower calorie, and slightly higher in protein.
Libby is 5 months and we had to move her off chicken. It just didn't agree with her. For the last month, she has been on Taste of the Wild Seafood Puppy. Everything is normal now. When she is ready to move to adult food, we will put her on the adult version of this formula.
Hello Johnny.....my vet moved Cooper (now 2-1/2 years old) to adult food when he was 6 months old....He was on Fromm Gold Lamb, Duck for a long time....then, all of a sudden, he went "off" it. So I went to Orijen Adult 6 Fish.....he loooooved it. Now I have him on Blue Buffalo Wilderness Salmon (that he also loves) and have ordered another bag of Blue Buffalo Wilderness Adult Duck. I tried the BB Duck with a small bag about a month ago, so am sure he will enjoy the bigger bag, too! I know you said that cost was not an issue BUT Orijen Fish is about double the Blue Buffalo Wilderness Salmon! BB has no grains and under Food Advisor, is shown as a 5 star as is Orijen 6 Fish. Good luck.....I am sure your pup will love either.
Why not raw meat and raw meaty bones? It's not as instant as pellets (need to defrost) but on all other accounts it's just as convenient and same price as high-end pellets. And you have much greater control over what you're feeding, knowing exactly what you're putting in your dog's bowl if you're feeding whole meats (not ground up meals). And your dog has an interesting meal that can be different each time and that takes a little longer to chew. I feed my dog raw meat and bones even though we are a vegetarian family (I do apologize to the poor dead animals!).
If I had enough freezer space i would go raw meats. I have an excellent boucher in the family. However, isn't there some sort of calculations do to to make sure enough nutrients are given when on a raw diet? Example, organs etc etc... I know dry food isn't the "best" and most top brands are virtually identical.... I'm just looking for a top quality dry food for now. Too bad we can't mix ... that would be ideal. Orijen has been "ok" for him with the exception of soft stool once in a while (doesn't help that he puts everything in his mouth). I'm just looking into bulking him up and maybe reduce the amount of protein, since Orijen is quite high. Thanks for all the recommendations. It is much appreciated.
If you search The Labrador Site there's an article that I believe explains how to feed the right proportions for nutrition. I was worried at first but it's simple once you get the principles right. Re mixing: Our boy gets mainly raw. But he also gets training treats (can be anything incl food scraps. Also orijen pellets - convenient to keep in car for treats on walks) plus he loves raw veg to crunch on. And he's a scavenger of note - he'll eat anything he finds on walks. I am sure that pure raw is ideal just as it would be ideal if I lived on fresh greens! But sometimes we have to acknowledge we live in an imperfect world. Do you know if there's any logic re not being able to mix pellets and raw? I am dubious of this notion.
I think your're kidding yourself if you think ANY kibbles are "close to nature as intended". Best to think of better/worse quality/ingredients.
No - I feed kibble & wet for convenience, but I realise it's no where near natural. I like the idea of raw but don't have the space to store it. Nor the inclination if truth be told.
'As close as nature intended' is probably extremely gross, does not involve human grade meat and bones, and is much more likely to mean the scraps discarded by, and much more disgusting waste produced by, humans. If you think about it, and the most likely path to the domestication of dogs scavenging around human settlements. No. I think I'll stick to kibble.
I would love to feed Teller raw but I have roommates who would heavily object to things like turkey necks and green tripe on the carpet. Besides, beef (I'm unsure if it's other red meat too) gives him the most horrible gas; we're talking WMD-grade here. So I feel like feeding him a raw diet with a potential red meat restriction might me more headache than it's worth. I feed him TOW Wetlands kibble (it has a 32:18 protein/crude fat ratio) because it's one of the only top-quality brands that doesn't give him the farts.
Sorry if I confused some of you by saying 'closest to nature' .... I should have said 'The best quality' kibble.
TAste of the Wild has had a couple of recalls that make some of us leery of it. BB is the one food I have heard of more problems and complaints about. It must work for some dogs though. If your current food is working why not read up on it's adult versions? To research food I like The Dog Food Project. You will have to do more work as it's more of an educational tool to teach you how to read labels, what AAFCO means, what ingredients are. Oh, and I just looked at it to get the link for you and the top notice right now is BB settling a lawsuit. http://www.dogfoodproject.com/
