we have hunting dogs that are a 1year and 4years old. the 4year old is very picky but fat,1 year old will not
by admin on Monday, August 30th, 2010 | 3 Comments
we have tried hi priced dog foods but it does not all work. we have 5 dogs ,need cheaper ways to go.
Try a homemade raw diet. They are the ultimate diet for most dogs and they can be cheaper than the kibble worth buying.
You dont say high quality, you say high priced. That makes me slightly concerned you’ve been paying a high price for crappy food.
Avoid anything with corn, soy, wheat, by-products, colors, Menadione Sodium Bisulfate(Source of Vitamin K Activity), chemical preservatives, BHA, BHT, ethoxyquin, and any euthanasia drugs(Read quote below).
“Because of persistent rumors that rendered by-products contain dead dogs and cats, the FDA conducted a study looking for pentobarbital, the most common euthanasia drug, in pet foods. They found it.” Quoted from .
Look for a food that has a specified meat source as its first ingredient. It is better if the second ingredient is also a meat. (Artemis is a great food to compare other foods with grains in them if you dont know what to look for)
Avoid too many grains.
A vet that sells food is not trustworthy when it comes to nutrition. If you plan on feeding any diet that is not in your vets ofice, your vet may object, understand that it is going to lower his funds, especially if you choose to feed raw.
High quality dog foods:
Evo(grain free)
Artemis-fresh mix and natural 6 mix
Merrick
Orijen(grain free)
Innova
Wellness core(grain free formula)
Canidae(old formula)
Middle grade foods:
Chicken soup for the pet lovers soul
Canidae(new formula has more grains in it, non-specific sources and is produced by a well known low quality company(diamond))
Wellness adult formula(a lot of grains)
Fromm
Eagle pack holistic(not to be confused with reg. eagle pack)
Low grade foods/Foods to avoid:
Della Natura – Wenaewe Adult
Purina
Science diet
Beneful
Pro plan
Iams
Eukanuba
Cesar
Nutro(involved in recall)
Mighty Dog
Pedigree
Burns
Anything found in a grocery store.
With richer foods, you have to feed less. If your pup is still having loose stool, try lowering the food and mixing in plain mashed pumkin.
This site can tell you some great info about dogs and their diets.
Try RAW diet, google RAW diet for dogs or BARF diet for dogs, it’s really good, I feed my dog’s that, except for when my feamales are pregnant which I give them high quality puppy food, but I sugest BARF/RAW for you.
I have two bluetick coonhounds and a Shepherd mix and I feed Nutro Natural Choice Venison. My female Bluetick is picky – the other two are not, but when I went to this all liked it and they all come to the container where i keep their food and wait, wagging their tails and howling. I went from Eukanuba and Science Diet to the Nutro Natural Choice because I was looking for a Grain -Free product (it is also good for sensitive stomachs in case that would be why your one dog is picky but all can eat it). Until I switched to a grain-free product, I had issues with loose stools, itchy skin and throwing up and now I have none. Their stools are small and compact – makes clean up of the yard a lot better, I’d say – lol
The Nutro Natural Choice venison comes in a 30 lb bag (unless they have the bonus – 40 lb) and runs 34.99 to 39.99, but you actually come out ahead than you do buying a cheaper product as you don’t need to feed as much. I can feed 3 large dogs ( 2 at around 70 lbs – the Shep mix – 110 and not fat – she was stray on streets – not sure what she is- possibly some Mal cause of size and Collie because she has Collie ears – Shepherd for coloring?) for a little over two weeks on a 30 lb bag, and they look great/weight just right according to vet.
Not sure how cheap you are talking about – but this is a good inexpensive grain-free option that I use and my dogs are happy and healthy on it and my picky one loves it (if she loves it – anyone will)
Edit: Nutro Natural Choice (dry) was never involved in the
recall.