What are you guys feeding your dogs these days?

I know this may turn into a 'what handgun do you recommend' type thread but we just brought home our first pup (8-month old border collie) and I'm doing some research on what we should start her on. Figured the OB is always a good starting point.

Her fosters had her on Merrick Grain-Free Buffalo but that seems pricey. TIA

We've been using Flint River Ranch for the last 6 years. Never had any issues with it. Runs about $35 for a 20lb bag and delivers to your door in about 2 days.

Purina Pro Plan

Just about everyone I know that runs bird dogs uses this.

Science Diet for 13 years on the Vet's recommendation.

Blue Buffalo when I can find it on sale, Nature's Instinct regularly, shipped from Amazon monthly or every other month.

Probably overly expensive and unecessary, but makes the rib feel good about what we're feeding the lab dog, so I don't care.

I feed my Australian Sheperd puppy Taste of the Wild. A bit pricey but worth it.

The friend I got her from suggested it. He feeds his dogs Taste of the Wild and has no issues - no allergy issues, skin issues, etc. and he says it keeps their coats healthy.

Purina Pro Plan for our lab- recommended by a vet friend. He has a terribly sensitive stomach so sometimes we switch to Canine I/D prescription diet when he has digestive issues.

We currently feed them Blue Buffalo but we are going to switch over to Costco's Kirkland Select later this year.

http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/kirkland-signature-dog-food/

^

Dogfood advisor is a site run by a human dentist with a clear bias and no scientifically controlled studies or meta-analysis of other controlled studies. His reviews should be taken with a grain of salt

Nothing wrong with Kirkland brand

Purina smart blend.

Fromm's

Kirkland's is interesting. We just bought a Costco membership last weekend.

We feed the Kirklands grain free food after switching over from Taste of the Wild. It is manufactured by Diamond, same as TOTW, but is significantly cheaper. We get a 35# bag for just under $30, but paid upwards of $40-45 for a 30# bag of TOTW. One of my labs has grain allergies so it is the most economical grain free foods.

[This message has been edited by mneisch (edited 8/6/2013 12:58p).]

My parents feed the standard purple bag from Costco, not grain free, but still very good. Their dogs are much happier after switching from Science Diet.

Check this site:

http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/

Ranks foods by their various ingredients and seems non-biased. I feed mine Go! Grain-free Endurance formula.

Another vote for Costco grain-free

+1 for Pro Plan for my lab. Have 2 other friends with labs that also feed pro plan, an everyone they know around here(B/CS) does the same. All are or will be bird dogs.I go with the Focus(blue) and they use the Savor(orange). One of them talked to the food specialist at one of the petco or petsmart and she said to feed puppy food through about 18 months so I'm doing so. Focus puppy for large breed dogs. Our dogs are from 8 months-15 months.

Purina pro plan for our two lab bird dogs and our non bird dog golden retriever.

I feed my lab victor dog food. It is rated pretty well on that first site sent out. You can get it at most grain or feed stores. I don't believe any big box stores sell it. Not to bad of a price and have grain free as well if you want that option.

Purina ProPlan - Lamb & Rice. I've used it for my current Lab mix and the Lab/Dane I had before him.

just switched to fromms. So far so good. Was using dick van pattens natural balance for a while but my dog starting have 4-5 BMs a day.

ive heard the dogfoodanalysis.com site is propaganda. dont know if true or not but if it is, then about 90% of what you see in chain pet stores is crap.

This stuff is like rocket fuel for dogs at 529 kcal per cup

http://www.nutrisourcedogfood.com/nutrisource/products/super_performance

http://www.nutrisourcedogfood.com/images/nutrisource/ns_superperfor_a_02.jpg

Been using Victor from the feed store lately. Less waste. Dogs like it. And it's reasonable. Just have to go to Hondo to get it... but then again, I am down there monthly...

"Today, we showed the resolve of the United States. Today we made a statement to the world... That you can hit us, you can knock us down, but we're gonna get up. And when we do, we will find you and kick your ass!"
- Robert E Clark II, Cpt USN, Commandant of Midshipmen May 1, 2011

table scraps

Regularly switch between Wellness Core and Innova Evo.

For you guys that feed purina pro plan what type do you feed?

I have a pointer and that is one of the brands recommended so that is what I started her on. She is just a pup so I feed her the chicken and rice puppy right now.

Typically Authority Weight Management. Grew up feeding Ol Roy (not kidding), or whatever was the cheapest at Kroger that day. All our dogs ended up living longer than average, so I'm probably not as picky as most.

Will be getting a new lab pup in October and wanted to get started off on the right foot. My 8 year old Boomer died about a month ago and I'm really having a hard time getting over him being gone. He had Iams his entire life, but now that I think back, he always had allergies and skin infections. Don't want those problems with the new dog. There are so many dog foods out there it's really hard to decide. I know you should stay on what the breeder has them on for at least a while, but how do you make a decision after a few months? It seems everybody has a different recommendation.

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For you guys that feed purina pro plan what type do you feed?

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Been feeding my Heinz 57 mix the Pro Plan shredded chicken and rice since we got her 2 years ago. Started w puppy and transitioned to adult. Coat looks great and no skin issues or digestive issues.

Aggie Dan, I feed my Setters Pro Plan Sport Active year round and Performance during hunting season

Rocdoc - No companies do more research on their foods than Purina, Science Diet, and Royal Canaan. I am sure anyone of those lines should have a food that will suit your needs. Those are the three most recommended brands by veterinarians.

Plenty of dogs are going to do well on anything ranging from Ol' Roy to Blue Buffalo. Like all of us, you'll eventually find a food that suits your dog and after that I'm sure you can come up with plenty of reasons why it's the best just like everyone else on here

As far as allergies go, the most common food allergies and dogs relate to the protein in the feed, not the carbohydrate. People will often switch foods to a grain free variety or something similar and then assume their dog had a grain allergy without noticing the fact that the protein changed as well which was the likely culprit.

Does grain free seem to be the way to go? And how about the protein source?

Rockdoc when I moved to an animal health job from human pharmaceuticals, one of the things that surprised me was to see the placebo effect in Animal health studies. People tend to transpose their own thoughts and beliefs about food ingredients to their dogs. If it makes you feel better to feed your dog grain free, by all means use a grain free diet. Their is no one size fits all approach as all of our animals and budgets are different.

I like Purina simply because I know it's a research driven Company, they support in NSTRA events, and my dog has compact easy to clean up waste.

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Rocdoc - No companies do more research on their foods than Purina, Science Diet, and Royal Canaan. I am sure anyone of those lines should have a food that will suit your needs. Those are the three most recommended brands by veterinarians.

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How many vet schools require or offer classes in canine nutrition? A&M requires one 2hr nutrition class. "Nutritional management of medical and surgical cases"

Most vets I've met don't know much about canine nutrition other than what their sales reps are telling them. No offense, but there are plenty of better foods on the market that aren't much more expensive.

And no offense, but, most consumers have no training in pet nutrition whatsoever and get the bulk of their information from the internet or the marketing arms of the ultra premium food manufacturers.......including how to define 'better' without showing blinded controlled studies proving anything

And round and round we go