# Comparing foods all on one thread



## gidget'smom (Mar 11, 2012)

I am relatively new to the forum, so ya'll may have done this before. I wanted to see what everyone feeds their dogs and why they choose that or maybe why they may be rethinking their choice etc. I am asking this because I feel like I am about to get to the end of a LONG (and my darlings would say annoying) search for dog food/supplement setup that I feel works, but I would love to know what others do in case you know something I don't and should be doing. I'll go first. I searched through several brands and I tried home-cooked, but I ended up, a few months ago, feeding Ziwipeak which I love. I changed though because it is high protein and high fat and Lulu put on weight--I am trying to get a lb off her now. I am currently feeding Gidget and Lulu Acana Duck and Barlett Pear and Acana Pacifica for the fish oil and topping it with Nupro supplement. I am hoping this food is as good as I believe from my research and Lulu wil lose the lb I want her to lose.


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## hoaloha (Jan 27, 2012)

Wow, Tina- You're asking a lot of us to answer in STORY-FORM! LOL! 

keep in mind that Nutrition is VERY individualized, so I think we can use the following format:

--Maltese's current age:***
--Existing Medical Conditions or Allergies:***

--Current Food: *** (brand name, wet vs dry, home cooked, combo, etc..) and reason why you/your pup likes it
--How long on current food: ***

--Foods Tried in Past: *** (and reasons why you switched)


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## hoaloha (Jan 27, 2012)

--Maltese's current age: 14 months
--Existing Medical Conditions or Allergies: none; He is a good eater now and has a stable weight from when he came to us at 9 months 

--Current Food: Combination of dry Fromm 4-star Nutritionals Grain-free varieties + fresh produce (various raw vegetables and fruits) twice daily; I like that the kibble provides the essential nutrients and probiotics, but that I can give healthy, fresh produce for extra nutrition. I can vary up the produce so that Obi doesn't get bored and rotate the protein sources from the different varieties of Fromm flavors. He also gets Stella and Chewy's as a topper on occasion since he loves it, but I try to give more vegetables as the Fromm already has a good source of protein.
--How long on current food: 2 months

--Foods Tried in Past: Nature's Variety Prairie (did not seem to enjoy the taste compared to other foods), Wellness Small Breed Puppy, Wellness Core Ocean (kibble were way too big and the protein is on the higher side for my liking)


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## gidget'smom (Mar 11, 2012)

That's wonderful, Marisa. All of this is so new to me. I fed the same food for years that was really not good, but I didn't know any better. I knew nothing about grain-free, raw food, titers and not over-vaccinating, etc. until I stumbled across another forum when my chi got sick back in January. Then I found this forum for my Maltese. Before this I only knew what a vet told me, so I am just soaking in tons of info right now. And thanks in advance to everyone. Please use the format Marisa laid out if that's better.


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## zooeysmom (Aug 1, 2011)

--Maltese's current age: 5 years

--Existing Medical Conditions or Allergies: seasonal allergies; not sure about food allergies

--Current Food: Fromm Salmon Tunalini dry--Zooey chows it down, but then again, she is the least picky eater I've ever had! I like the small kibble size and the fact that she's maintaining a healthy weight :chili:

--How long on current food: several months

--Foods Tried in Past: most varieties of Orijen and Acana (did not like the weight gain on either of these and was concerned about high protein), Pinnacle (no problems, just harder to find), California Natural (kibbles too big, I was afraid she'd choke since she eats fast)


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## gidget'smom (Mar 11, 2012)

Thank you for this Elizabeth. I have heard great things about Fromm. If ever Fromm doesn't work for any reason I can tell you with Acana, the Acana Pacifica does have 36.6% protein and 20% fat which might account for weight gain if you are sticking with seafood-type foods. The Duck and Barlett Pear has 27.7% protein and 18.8% fat which is, to me, quite a bit of difference in the same brand. I use the same method as dogfoodadvisor.com's dashboard to come up with those figures. I bought them both and was feeding both to give the fish oils. but I am going to atop the Acana Pacifica since my goal is weight loss. Lulu is allergic to chicken and possibly lamb. That makes things challenging as well.


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## maggieh (Dec 16, 2007)

Maltese's current age:Sweetness: 4.5
--Existing Medical Conditions or Allergies:Tendency to develop oxalate crystals and UTIs. Also can't tolerate Heartguard but that's not related to what I feed

--Current Food: 50/50 mix of Royal Canin Urinary SO and Drs Foster & Smith Lamb and Brown rice (brand name, wet vs dry, home cooked, combo, etc..) and reason why you/your pup likes it: Royal Canin was vet's recommendation because of UTIs and crystals but I'm mixing it with the F&S because it's better quality food. F&S is on Whole Dog Journal's list of recommended dog foods. I also mix it with warm water to bring out the flavor and ensure they get enough moisture
--How long on current food: 1.5 years

--Foods Tried in Past: Fromms chicken a la veg (Tessa has a sensitivity/allergy to poultry and wanted both on the same food), Natural Balance Sweet Potato and Venison (increased UTIs and crystals from the sweet potato) 

=======================

Maltese's current age:Tessa is approx. 5 years old (rescue so not sure)
--Existing Medical Conditions or Allergies:sensitivity to chicken

--Current Food: Drs Foster & Smith lamb and brown rice, moistened to bring out the flavor 
--How long on current food: 1.5 years

--Foods Tried in Past: Fromms Chicken a la veg repeatedly triggered colitis. NB Sweet Potato and Venison was fine but Sweetness started having UTIs and problems with crystals. So far, F&S has been wonderful for both fluffs! :chili:


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## shellbeme (Mar 1, 2011)

I was always of the impression that the list went like this:

Orijen
Acana
Fromm

Then I read more. I feel like orijen is far too rich for most dogs, and after comparing acana and fromm, fromm is far superior in my opinion. Here acana is more expensive than fromm four star even though the ingredients are not as good.

I feed fromm and have since my oldest pooch was a pup. Other brands I like, but dont necissarily use are blue buffalo, I do use freshpet, and there is also a brand called sojos that I would consider one of the better companies. I have also recently found out about red barn products from one of the other posters here, I can not find it locally but I was impressed with the list of ingredients.

And this is going to blow the minds of many out there, but I feel like science diet and royal canine are decent companies. Dont get me wrong, I do not care particularly for the ingredient lists but I trust that the facilities are very well kept, which in this day and age, seems to be saying something. It is my understanding that the hills facilities are always open for tour. That is big in my book. That said,.I would probably not feed these unless something devistating happened with the fromm company


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## Zoe's Mom88 (Apr 25, 2011)

I agree that Acana and Origen are high in protein. After trying several foods I have decided to homecook and have been doing that for 6 months now. It really is easy and I know what I am putting in and know its healthy. I have tried a lot of canned foods like Wellness, Blue Buffalo, Natural Balance and a few others but I have a picky eater. I think that Fromm is a good food and want to try that for the occasion that I don't have the time to cook. Good luck on LuLu losing her lb. BTW, Gidget and LuLu are both adorable!!


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## Bailey&Me (Mar 8, 2010)

--Maltese's current age: Around 2.5 years (he is a Poodle mix, around 12 pounds. Definitely not a Malt but I'll share our experience with food anyways)
--Existing Medical Conditions or Allergies: He may have some mild environmental allergies but otherwise is very healthy

--Current Food: 

I strongly believe in changing up Bailey's diet so he gets a huge variety. I mainly rotate between different dehydrated foods, canned food and some frozen raw. I like this type of food because I feel like it's less processed and more natural than kibble, and also healthier for them because of the moisture. Usually, I go through one or two boxes of the same food and then switch to something different. Bailey has developed a pretty strong tummy and rarely ever has any food-related tummy problems. Below are the brands I mainly use in Bailey's rotation:

Dehydrated: The Honest Kitchen, Addiction, Stella & Chewy's, Ziwipeak (I only feed this on training/agility nights as it's easy to feed as treats during class but also counts as his dinner). He's currently eating The Honest Kitchen's Love (beef) and before this he was on their Zeal formula (fish). These foods do have a higher protein content, which Bailey does totally fine with, but some dogs don't. 

Canned: The main one I use is Party Animal Organic but also Weruva, Addiction and Tiki Dog

Frozen: I have used Nature's Variety and Paw Naturaw. Just got a trial bag of Primal and will transition him to this from THK. 

--How long on current food: Bailey has been on this type of rotation for about a year and a half now (I've had him a little over 2 years). He just had his annual physical a couple of days ago and his blood work and everything else was perfect!  

--Foods Tried in Past: For the first year or so that I had Bailey, he was mainly on kibble with some canned food mixed in. I went through and tried several types of kibble with him. As a puppy he was on Canine Caviar and then switched to their adult food. He also tried a few varieties of Acana (gained weight on it) and Fromm. If I were to feed Bailey kibble again, I would do Fromm or Petcurean's NOW.


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## gidget'smom (Mar 11, 2012)

shellbeme said:


> And this is going to blow the minds of many out there, but I feel like science diet and royal canine are decent companies. Dont get me wrong, I do not care particularly for the ingredient lists but I trust that the facilities are very well kept, which in this day and age, seems to be saying something. It is my understanding that the hills facilities are always open for tour. That is big in my book. That said,.I would probably not feed these unless something devistating happened with the fromm company


I totally understand what you mean. When I was researching foods I would be totally happy with a food but unhappy with the supplier of the food. Look at Diamond Pet Foods. Some of the foods they make are 5star foods, yet one of their plants was closed (don't know if it still is) for numerous violations. This has to affect the food. Thank ya'll so much for this!! I really love seeing what/why other people choose what they feed their pups as it helps me so much. I have put such blood, sweat, and tears in this in the past few months, and to know what others are doing and why will most definitely teach me new things. As far as Orijen, I haven't studied it deeply, but I do believe the protein content is higher than I want for my small relatively inactive dogs. I think of it as more a food for working dogs. As for Acana, the protein in the Duck and Barlett Pear that I feed Gidge and Lu is not as high as some of Fromm's varieties, so it just depends on the one you choose.



Zoe's Mom88 said:


> After trying several foods I have decided to homecook and have been doing that for 6 months now. Good luck on LuLu losing her lb. BTW, Gidget and LuLu are both adorable!!


Thank you for your kind words. I also tried homecooking for about 6 weeks, but Lulu really put on weight then and she couldn't make it all night long without being hungry.  She would wake me up starving. This was also when I discovered she is alergic to chicken. Are you giving any kind of supplement for vitamins or mineral missing is cooked food or are you following a recipe?


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## MaxnMinnie (Aug 5, 2010)

Maltese's current age: Max 4 Minnie 2
--Existing Medical Conditions or Allergies: no allergies that I know of. Both do have tear stains

--Current Food: grainfree fromm's surf and turf (first bag)

--Foods Tried in Past:
liked:
castor and pollux natural ultramix grainfree poultry free - faces were dry, kibble had variety - wished the bag was resealable
freshpet - good for treats but not enough imo as a meal

dislked:
acana and orijen - felt like protein was too high
holistic select - beetroot ingredient
wellness - i thought i could get better quality for the price i paid
dr harvey's veg to bowl - it was just too hard with my schedule


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## Blizz (Jul 2, 2012)

This would be a good read 

Focusing on Protein in the Diet | petMD

I get that "high protein" lecture almost every time I buy Orijen at shops from Nutritionists and Pet shop sales reps.


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## chrisnjenn (May 26, 2012)

Blizz said:


> This would be a good read
> 
> Focusing on Protein in the Diet | petMD
> 
> I get that "high protein" lecture almost every time I buy Orijen at shops from Nutritionists and Pet shop sales reps.


Thanks. My vet agrees (and after research on my own I agree as well) with this vet's article which is why I started feeding Rocky Orijen. I love reading differing opinions, but I never do what others say regarding Rocky until I do my own research (professional sources) and come to my own conclusions.


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