what dog food should i use?

[DizNee143]

so i dont know if you all remember..but me and my fiance got a beagle puppy (Lucy) back in july...
well now its time to start introducing adult dog food to her...but i have no idea what-so-ever on what kind to give her...do i just pick one and go with it?..or what?
my parents for there dogs through the years have used either Science Diet or Iams...
my soon to be inlaws use Beneful for there two dogs...and the thing with this food is..everytime we bring Lucy over there she doesnt say hi to anyone she runs right to Jake and Dakotas (inlaws dogs names) food bowl and starts eating..so i know she likes this food..but i dont know what to get? or what kind..since every food brand then has different types..its all so confusing...help please...
*also if you would like to see pics..you can see them if you go to my name and then click to go to my homepage*

[murphy1]

My border Collie Murphy eats NutraMax and the cats get Science Diet. I have always fed my animals a top food. I really think it maintains their health and weight. I also switch like puppy, to active/adult, then to older food b/c of how their nutrients change. And please don't feed your pup a bunch of table scraps, my sister's dog is very heavy b/c of this. Congrats on your pup!

[Mickey'sGirl]

My doggies get Nutram. It is a natural food and is very expensive because it's contents are human grade. They have done well with it -- and DS4 has too (hence the human grade requirement... :D). They also get rice and vegetables (in their dishes, not from the table).

Don't be fooled by any product you can buy in the grocery store, including IAMS. Full of fillers at best, plastics and other refuse in the worst case scenarios. I recommend speaking with your vet to see what he/she recommends, or to the owner of your local small business pet needs shop (not Petsmart!). It's all part of the responsibility. :soapbox:

[tinklover]

I would say go with what she likes. seeinga s though she runs right for Jake and Dakota's food bowl and eats it she must like it. If she is not having any side effects from it I would say use what they eat.

[DizneyRox]

I recommend speaking with your vet to see what he/she recommends, or to the owner of your local small business pet needs shop (not Petsmart!).
While I often value the opinions of my vet, with regards to food it's often better to do your own homework. Vets will more often than not suggest Science Diet, or Iams, etc. They are often provided some financial incentive to push those products.

We use Nutro Natural Choice Large Breed and have two dogs in EXCELLENT shape. I wouldn't touch anything avaialbe at a grocery store, it's all by products and other garbage. Nutro makes a good food in general. We've been very happy with all their products

[disneydrmr]

Unfortunately my dh and I can't afford the high price 'natural' stuff.. we've used the Beneful product and both our doggies love it and did well on it.. we have recently switched to Purina One Healthy Weight and again, they both love it and are doing well on it...just be sure to pick one type and stick to it as if you switch foods alot it can cause tummy / digestive issues for a dog... good luck!

[kakn7294]

My dog eats Iams Mini Chunks, Small & Toy, or Maturity simply because she's allergic to lamb and I have to be careful what I feed her. I know she can eat these 3 so we only switch between them. We've tried other foods in the past but she does best on these. She really should have the Maturity all the time because of her age but it's much harder to find - the Mini Chunks and Small & Toy are the same food just in different sized pieces. The cats like Purina One Senior Protection - also lamb-free in case Maggie decides to sample it. I tried the doggie version for Maggie but she didn't seem to like it as well and it's more expensive than Iams. :confused: I looked at the fat and fiber contents as well as whether it contained lamb before making a decision on what to feed our pets.

[tinkerbell04]

We have been using Beneful for some time now and are very happy with it.

[MsMin]

I use Science diet for my pups, we are on puppy and adult here. The adults love the puppy food and the pups love the adult. I think some of it is that it's someone else's food. I like the fact that Science Diet didn't have any recalls with that big scare. My dd has taken animal nutrition and thinks that the biggest difference among the better brands is that some are more palatable than others.
We use the lamb and rice formula b/c it's supposed to help with allergies but beagles are known to have fewer allergies. Rice is easier to digest than corn so you may want a product that contains rice instead of corn.
Just avoid the generics and store brand "like walmart" foods. My kids call the generic brands "I hate my dog" brand dog food :D

[Tinkerfreak]

I also use Science Diet. I did try the Beneful for a while but it was no cheaper because they just need to eat more of it to get the same nutrition. My dog also gained weight when I switched her to Beneful. I went back to the Science Diet and she shed the extra weight. It cost me no more for the Science Diet because she ate alot less of it. I also could see a difference in her coat. It was more shiney and sleek looking with SD and she also had more energy. Some people think that there is no difference in the foods but I say there is.
My pets are like my children and I don't feed my kids food because it is cheaper so why do this to my pets. They deserve healthy nutritious food also. My other big advice is NO TABLE SCRAPS!!! Dogs systems are not designed for the preservatives in people food. Sorry I snuck that opinion in there but it is a pet peeve of mine.

[mudpuppysmom]

We have two akitas and they are prone to skin problems (well, at least Toby is!). We tried several different things until we figured out it was a systemic yeast infection that he had. Once I cut out all the yeast from his food he did fine and continues to do fine......unless he somehow gets ahold of a loaf of bread (DH leaves it out of the freezer to thaw on the counter).

Anyway, we feed Eagle Pack Anchovie and Salmon (I think that is what it is -- I just call it the fish food). It stinks, but it is good stuff.....real ingredients! They also get fish based treats (again, they stink, but they smell better than the dog with open sores and yeast growing all over him!). Locally we get the food at a warehouse and it recently went up $5 per bag (we have to get 40# bags since they are big dogs....and we go thru about 80# per month, less than what we used to go thru with the "other" foods we fed them).

I think personally that our older dog, Sasha, has made a complete turn around from being a senior dog to more puppylike since we started feeding them the better food -- she is more playful and active, so it's been a good thing all the way around!

[DizNee143]

seems to just be a matter of opinion..now the trouble is who to follow!! lol..
right now she is on nutro ultra puppy..its good stuff..i guess..i mean she eats it..but the thing is i can only find it at petco and its like a 30-40 minute drive for me..i would love to find one she likes and its good for her in my local supermarket it..obviously iams..science diet..beneful..etc..are good..if they werent..they wouldnt make them..and my parents dogs always lived a longer life then what is expected of there breeds....on those types of foods...so i just dont know what to do..i might just go with the beneful..but then again..i dunno...:confused:

[George_22]

The best thing to do is to read the ingredients. Since the ingredients go from the largest to smallest amounts that are in the dog food. You want your first ingredients listed to be whatever type of food you get. Like beef if that is the "flavor" of the dog food or lamb if it is "lamb & rice". You want to stay away from foods that have corn or some corn bi-product as their first ingredient.
You would be amazed at some of the high dollar brands that have some type of filler as their main ingredient.
I have two dogs, a basset hound and a cocker spaniel. We get Purina One-Health Weight Formula, like I said we have a Basset. Purina-One is available at grocery stores, but if you look at the ingredients that is the best way to go.

[RenDuran]

Why don't you just go with the brand you've been using and switch from puppy to adult? That seems the most logical.

I had to laugh when I read some of the comments about asking your vet. Our vet has given the recommendation that most pet food is pretty balanced in this day and age. Her dogs ate Ol' Roy and Big Red and lived to be 15-20 years old! And those are pretty cheap brands.

[DizNee143]

Why don't you just go with the brand you've been using and switch from puppy to adult? That seems the most logical.

logical yes..but.. like i said im trying to find a brand of food i can find more easily..seems the brand im using...is hard to come by in grocery stores..

[tinkerbell04]

I had to laugh when I read some of the comments about asking your vet. Our vet has given the recommendation that most pet food is pretty balanced in this day and age. Her dogs ate Ol' Roy and Big Red and lived to be 15-20 years old! And those are pretty cheap brands.

That is funny! My vet told me to use Dog Chow, that is along the same line as ol roy! :mickey:

[BigRedDad]

Talk to your vet to see what they recommend. Mine recommends the higher end stuff like Science Diet.

[Advnt05]

I empathise with you having a beagle. I have one as well who is now two. We jokingly refer to him as "crack puppy" as he never stops. Can't run him off leash as he gets a scent and "bam" he's gone.
We feed him beneful. He eats if fast. We've gone with it because of three reasons: 1) He likes it 2) It's a dry food and helps with his teeth and 3) You can buy it across the country wherever you go.
We tend to be on the lazy side and want to be able to pick him up more food wherever we may be travelling verses having to hunt down a specific brand.

I saw an interview with a dog nutrition expert recently. He suggested in order of best to least:
1) Ground meat (raw), vegetables, and vitamins
2) High quality canned dog food
3) Dry food.

His claim was that dogs are set up to eat raw natural stuff in the wild. My last dog lived 8 years on dry food and got tumors. Can't tie that to the food as she rolled on dead animals and drank nasty water as well.

[RenDuran]

..but.. like i said im trying to find a brand of food i can find more easily.

Sorry, I missed that post!

And I realized after I posted the first time that I never mentioned what I even feed my own dog. She gets Purina One Lamb and Rice. We also tried Beneful, but I didn't like the amount of corn listed in it. My sister works at a vet clinic and she says a lot of the dogs at their practice use Beneful and have beautiful coats.

[Jeff G]

About three months ago we added a goldendoodle, Max, to our family. When we picked up Max the breeder begged me not to feed him Iam or Science Diet, to many fillers. Her recommendation was for Innova which is a natural food. At first I thought she was insane but then I did some studying. With just a little research I couldn't belevie how many fillers are in the so called healthier premium foods like Iams and SD so I gave Innova a try on my puppy. He is doing great.

Percy, our 12 year old pug has been on Iams his entire life. In the past year or two he really started to show his age with poor vision, arthritis and pottying in the house. At the end of last year he was having a really hard time with the Wisconsin cold and moved very gingerly, we didn't expect him with us through this winter. In November we switched him to Innova Senior to see how he did with it. In the three months since we have noticed a big change in him. He moves a lot better and has many times where he chases the kids around and no accidents. Words can't explain how much better he is doing. I can safely say that the new food has really been a good thing for him and seems to have made him a couple years younger acting. His coat is nicer and he sheds a lot less too. I've got three friends/family members who switched to Innova after seeing the change in Percy.

[Jasper]

I have been a firm believer in any animal feed made by Purina, also sometimes sold as Ralston.

We have had a whole menagerie of different animals over the years and used to struggle figuring out what to feed them. One day just by accident I was at the story and saw the Purina bag of dog food and read the label and was impressed by what is actually in it. Long story short over the next two years we gradually moved all our animals over to Purina.

Then a few years ago my son as part of his participation in the American Rabbit Breeders Association was invited to tour the Purina Farms out side of St. Louis. That tour made me a life long advocate of Purina. The main reason is consistency. There is no one brand out there from the cheapest to the most expensive that does the kind of testing and holds their formulas to the kind of tolerances that Purina does.

For example, if the label says that the dog food has 16% protein, the protein can actually fluctuate all over the place depending on the ingredients available at the time. The only thing that matters for their labels is what the protein is in the bag that undergoes government testing. At Purina, they never allow their protein to fluctuate more than one half of a percent either way of what is listed on the bag. And, since they test every batch of food they run regardless of what mill it is run in they can control it that tightly. There is no other manufacturer that tests EVERY batch of food they run.

And no, I am not on Purina's payroll nor do I own stock in their company, I am just a very satisfied customer who has done their homework!

[Stitchahula]

going by the ingredients is the best way. Make sure that it's meat,chicken,or whatever flavor is in the 1st 3 ingredients and it's not a byproduct but the real thing. Also try it for a few weeks see if it agrees with your dog sometimes different foods have different effects on dogs. Watch to make sure their coat keeps a nice shine to it or that they don't all of a sudden have enough energy for 3 dogs, or suddenly gain weight. It is also important that they like the food. I've used different foods on all my dogs depending on what their needs were and how they responded to it some looked great on paper but my dogs coat suddenly didn't look so great, and some they liked better than others.

[DizNee143]

so i bought beneful - healthy radiance on sat..and started her on it for dinner that night..WOW she LOVES this stuff..she actually eats when i put her food out now..instead of letting it sit there for hours on end and then eventually eating..she eats it right up now..she is loving it and seems to be doing great with it!! :thumbsup::D