# What Dog food not to feed?



## dragonsdawn (Jul 23, 2012)

I have been reading about the different foods you guys use, but i was wondering is there any that you wouldnt feed to your dogs? WIth my daughter moving out in two weeks and taking my grandpuppy with her i am getting things ready to get my own little fluff ball that wont go home with someone else. So any info you would like to part please let me know. I plan on making sure she/he has the best of everything i can afford lol.
thanks


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## gidget'smom (Mar 11, 2012)

There are TONS of food choices out there and LOTS of opinions about food. It is a subject very near and dear to people's heart as it is so very important to your little one. Our dogs nutrition is one of the most important aspects of caring for them. Instead of saying what I wouldn't feed my dog because I wouldn't want to hurt feelings in case someone does feed their dog that particular food, lets me say what I feed my dogs. I am a big fan of Ziwi Peak. That is what I feed Lulu. I love it, and I don't have a problem with the protein content because it is such good protein source. My 2nd choice and what Gidget eats is Acana Duck and Bartlett Pear. It is one of their limited ingredient foods and the protein content is less than 28% which Maltese owners usually prefer for their liver and kidneys. Truthfully, it wouldn't bother me to have Gidget on ZP, but my Mom prefers her on Acana and Gidget belongs to her. I would also feed Fromm. Now, I am sure there are other good foods out there that I did not name, but I have satisfied myself with these foods and their manufacturers and recall history and they are easy to get; so to my way of thinking why "muddy my water" with adding other foods to my personal list at the moment. That's just my food opinion.


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## tokipoki (Jun 20, 2012)

I pretty much won't feed anything that you can buy in a grocery store (Pedigree, Beneful, Iams, Kibbles n Bits) but basically foods that have corn, wheat, or soy as a top ingredient. These are fillers and common allergens. I really try to contact companies to get more information on their foods before I make a decision like where they source ingredients from, manufacturing practices, etc but just being in the store and looking at the back of the bag, I don't like seeing generic meats/fats/by-products at the top of the list or grains and automatically cross that off my list. I pick foods that have meat as the top ingredients. The type of animal should be specified...like "deboned chicken" and "chicken meal" is good but "chicken/poultry by-product" or "meat meal" is a no-go. My preference is for grain-free foods but certain grains like oats/barley/millet/brown rice I am okay with. 

I'm currently feeding Toki some type of raw food in the AM (Stella & Chewy's or Nature's Variety) and kibble in the evenings. She's currently on a bag of Fromm's grain-free Game Bird. I really love Fromm as a company! They are really affordable as well! I pay like $12.99 for a 4-lb bag of the grain-free varieties and the same price for 5-lb grain-inclusive formulas. Acana/Orijen are also good choices if you don't mind paying more and they are what I'm looking into for Toki next!

If you're looking for something at big pet stores like Petsmart/Petco, I like Blue Buffalo. All of the dogs in our family have done really well on BB. It can be too rich for some dogs but this has not been my experience. I switched Toki over to Fromm just because it was a better value and from a smaller, family-owned company. 

How exciting to get your own pup! Do you know when you'll be able to bring her/him home? I want so badly to get another puppy so that my 10 m/o yorkie will have a companion...I have been looking at another yorkie or a maltese!


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## shellbeme (Mar 1, 2011)

I like the input you have gotten so far. My list of what I would feed is far shorter than what I wouldn't feed. I will, however, mention one food that I beg you not to feed.

Pedigree. Why this bother's me so much is because I have seen my mom raise dogs on this food-three that have died of cancer, one that is alive but has cancer. This food contains 'animal meat' which is basically mystery meat and 'animal byproducts' again.. what kind of animal? I would NEVER ever recommend anyone feed this brand and I would, in fact, beg anyone who is feeding it to switch to something else.

There are lots more brands I feel close to this way about-but this particular one hits close to home because my mom swears by it. (You would think she'd realize after what's happened.)

I think home cooking is as good as it gets-and there are lots of smers that home cook and can help you with it. I am still afraid to try it on my own, but one day, I think I might end up going that route.

There is a raw food diet, and I think it's much better than most kibbles out there but I am not 100% sold on it. Still, if it's something you want to do, I would consider it a wonderful choice. There are some here that go raw as well  and you can do pre-made or home made.

My favorite kibble is Fromm. I also feed their wet food. I like freshpet, Acana, Ziwi Peak, Go!, redbarn, pinnacle. There are probably others I could add to this list but can't think of at the moment.

There are brands I approve of, and they wouldn't be my first choice but I certainly wouldn't frown on them. These would include Hills Science Diet and Royal Canin. I really believe these companies are careful with quality control and I, personally like the feeding trials and the research behind their prodcuts. I am not crazy about the ingredient list, but I feel they are still decent brands.

Honestly the only foods that would make me frown are bargain store brands, (pedigree) and many of the regular grocery store brands you find. Beneful, Old Roy, did I mention, Pedigree?

I am obsessed with dog food-because I love food for myself and I want my boys to enjoy theirs too. I watched a documentary recently on petfood. What do I want them to be eating? Juicy chunks of chicken breast, yummy steak, a nice fillet of fish. A documentary I watched recently, made me realize, even in the premium brands, when it says fish, it's probably fish heads. When it says chicken meat, its likely from the head and bits left over after human grade is taken. The more I research the more I realize, for them to get, what I really want them to have, I"m going to eventually have to home cook.


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## Tanner's Mom (May 27, 2005)

Go to dogfoodadvisor.com & dogfoodanalysis.com, both will give you very good information.


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## gidget'smom (Mar 11, 2012)

shellbeme said:


> I am obsessed with dog food-because I love food for myself and I want my boys to enjoy theirs too. I watched a documentary recently on petfood. What do I want them to be eating? Juicy chunks of chicken breast, yummy steak, a nice fillet of fish. A documentary I watched recently, made me realize, even in the premium brands, when it says fish, it's probably fish heads. When it says chicken meat, its likely from the head and bits left over after human grade is taken. The more I research the more I realize, for them to get, what I really want them to have, I"m going to eventually have to home cook.


Shelley, I could not agree with you more. If you do begin to homecook, I saw a video a vet spoke on once on the internet where the vet said if you homecook it is vital that you give your dog vitamins and supplements because we tend to cook them out of the food when we cook it, and at least they are added into the kibble. I give Lulu and Gidget a supplement called Nupro mainly for 2 reasons: 1. When I took them off ZP I could not get them to eat their Acana and they will eat anything with the Nupro on it because it taste like a liver gravy. 2. I just feel like it is an added boost of nutrition. I also give a chondroitin/glucosomine supp. My vet has a list of vit. & supp. he suggests that owners give their dogs. Now, with all that said, I do not give them all the vitamins and supplements on my vets list because I think too many vitamins is just as bad as not enough.


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## dragonsdawn (Jul 23, 2012)

Ty I will go to those site. But has anyone heard of or tried chief Michaels?


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## dragonsdawn (Jul 23, 2012)

OK never mind about the Michael thing. The site didn't list any puppy food (dry that is) what would ya'll recommend?


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## tokipoki (Jun 20, 2012)

Best Puppy Foods

Dog Food Advisor is a good starting point just to see what is out there!

I started out feeding Toki the Blue Buffalo chicken and oatmeal small breed puppy formula and switched her to the BB Wilderness for puppies. She did well on both formulas! She is 10 m/o now and on grain-free Fromm kibble and has a soft, shiny coat. Fromm's Four Star Nutritionals line is an all-life stages food and it's worth a try if it's available locally for you. I'm looking to try the Acana/Orijen next though!


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## tokipoki (Jun 20, 2012)

Also I'd stay far, far, far away from the Chef Michael's...I don't see anything redeeming about this food at all. It's very carb heavy (corn/wheat/soy) and has unidentified/generic animal fat/digest/by-product. There are a lot of better alternatives at a comparable price point.


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## dragonsdawn (Jul 23, 2012)

I will avoid it like I do pepper. Seeing how I am deathly allergic . Ty for the advice!


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## tobysmom (Jan 1, 2011)

i don't feed anything that is not meat-based, as in meat meal not being the first ingredient (unless it's behind fresh meat), and not

-anything with any "by-product meal"
-anything with the word "animal" in it
-anything with sugar
-anything with gluten stuff (corn gluten-meal, etc)
-anything with a bunch of different types of meat protein sources in it

etc.

Once i read through the dogfoodreviews site and got a good idea of how everything works, i'm able to scan ingredients of anything and get a sense of what's good food vs. bad ingredients

I also won't consistantly feed dry food that is above 30% protein, doesn't work well for my dog. Although for partial feeding, raw stuff with high protein works well)


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## ladodd (Jan 8, 2012)

I have Lily (8yrs) on Acana, she's doing great on it. I fed Orijen for a time, but she was putting on weight, and I read here about the high protein being not good for her. I have 2 pups that are 5 months old, they're on Red Barn and I supplement with dry Innova, puppy kibble. They both have the most beautiful coats I've ever had on Malt.


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## jmm (Nov 23, 2004)

I would NEVER feed or recommend EVO - I've seen a number of dogs with elevated kidney values that were related to feeding it.


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## tobysmom (Jan 1, 2011)

jmm said:


> I would NEVER feed or recommend EVO - I've seen a number of dogs with elevated kidney values that were related to feeding it.


Makes sense, the dry verion is over 40% protein! Might be right if your dog herds sheep, but other than that, ay yi yi.


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## BradyLily (Sep 9, 2009)

shellbeme said:


> I like the input you have gotten so far. My list of what I would feed is far shorter than what I wouldn't feed. I will, however, mention one food that I beg you not to feed.
> 
> Pedigree. Why this bother's me so much is because I have seen my mom raise dogs on this food-three that have died of cancer, one that is alive but has cancer. This food contains 'animal meat' which is basically mystery meat and 'animal byproducts' again.. what kind of animal? I would NEVER ever recommend anyone feed this brand and I would, in fact, beg anyone who is feeding it to switch to something else.
> 
> ...


What kind of Fromm kibble are you feeding? I just got a $5.00 coupon from Fromm and I'm looking to switch from NB to Fromm. I would love to get your opinion. Thanks!:aktion033:


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## Snuggle's Mom (Jan 3, 2008)

I have been feeding Chrissy and Snuggle's Blue Buffalo for a number of years and they both are doing very well. I switched them over to BB Grain Free and that has helped with Chrissy's tearstaining.


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## tokipoki (Jun 20, 2012)

BradyLily said:


> What kind of Fromm kibble are you feeding? I just got a $5.00 coupon from Fromm and I'm looking to switch from NB to Fromm. I would love to get your opinion. Thanks!:aktion033:


We've been rotating through the grain-free varieties...Toki's favorite is the game bird one! She's had the salmon a la veg, GF Beef Frittata Veg, and we are about to start a bag of the Surf n Turf! She likes them all!


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## pammy4501 (Aug 8, 2007)

I don't use dry food at all. My most recent find (and highly rated on Dog Food Advisor) is PetFresh. It is available in a few nicer grocery stores. It is refrigerated. You can also get it a most Pet Co. or Pet Co. unleashed. They also make a grain free version called Vital. I had been feeding a very expensive dehydrated raw diet, but they stopped eating it. The FreshPet they are crazy for!


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## jmm (Nov 23, 2004)

I've been adding Fresh Pet to put a little weight in So...he loves it.


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## shellbeme (Mar 1, 2011)

BradyLily said:


> What kind of Fromm kibble are you feeding? I just got a $5.00 coupon from Fromm and I'm looking to switch from NB to Fromm. I would love to get your opinion. Thanks!:aktion033:


I like the four star line, all of it  so we rotate flavors. Some of the four star line has grain, some does not. The bags that are glossy have the grain the ones that are more frosted looking say grain free and well, those are the grain free ones. I think they are all great, the boys seem to like the pork and applesauce and the game bird recipe quite a bit!


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## BradyLily (Sep 9, 2009)

shellbeme said:


> I like the four star line, all of it  so we rotate flavors. Some of the four star line has grain, some does not. The bags that are glossy have the grain the ones that are more frosted looking say grain free and well, those are the grain free ones. I think they are all great, the boys seem to like the pork and applesauce and the game bird recipe quite a bit!


I have a sample of the pork and applesauce. I wasn't sure about feeding them pork. Maybe I'll try a little and see if they like it. I would like to switch to Fromm because I've been reading so many good things about it and I really want to feed them a high quality food. I was looking at the beef, but thought the protein might be too high. I feed them kibble in the am and BB canned at night. What are your thoughts about protein content?


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## tokipoki (Jun 20, 2012)

If your dogs don't have any medical conditions requiring a lower protein diet, I wouldn't be so concerned about the protein content being too high. I would rather my dog get her calories and energy from high quality protein sources and fat as opposed to carbohydrates. Higher protein foods aren't necessary if your dog is not still growing or very active but also should not be harmful in a healthy dog if your dog tolerates it. 

My personal preference is for grain-free so the foods I feed generally have higher protein levels (30% or more for dry kibble and even higher for the raw ). Toki has had the Beef Frittata Veg and did really well on it! This formula has pork meal in it and I didn't notice any issues whatsoever but different dogs will react differently to the same formula. What concerns do you have about feeding pork? The Pork and Applesauce seems to have a modest protein and fat content so if your dogs' systems tolerate it and your pups gobble it up, I'd go for it!


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## BradyLily (Sep 9, 2009)

I'm definitely going to try the pork and applesauce. I guess I was a little nervous because I've never really seen pork in dog food. I really don't have any reasoning behind it. I'm really not comfortable with the NB LID Chicken and sweet potato because I read so much about sweet potatos coming from China and everytime I buy a bag, the kibble looks different. Some times it's light colored and plump, this time it's dark and flat. That makes me nervous although they are still eating it. Maybe I'm just over thinking it, but I really just want to find a good kibble to switch them to for a while. I've been feeding the NB for about 3 years and I know people say if it's not broken, don't fix it.


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## shellbeme (Mar 1, 2011)

BradyLily said:


> I'm definitely going to try the pork and applesauce. I guess I was a little nervous because I've never really seen pork in dog food. I really don't have any reasoning behind it. I'm really not comfortable with the NB LID Chicken and sweet potato because I read so much about sweet potatos coming from China and everytime I buy a bag, the kibble looks different. Some times it's light colored and plump, this time it's dark and flat. That makes me nervous although they are still eating it. Maybe I'm just over thinking it, but I really just want to find a good kibble to switch them to for a while. I've been feeding the NB for about 3 years and I know people say if it's not broken, don't fix it.


I get out of my comfort range with protien at over 30%, I think fromm might have one that is 32%, I think it's the beef fritatta and I'll still feed that. I rotate formuals so one bag a little higher isn't going to be the end of the world. See what your little ones think of the pork and applesauce  there are so many different formuals that it's kinda neat.

I was a natural balance fan until the recalls, and they are VERY potato heavy if you look at the ingredient list. I want to say in the first several ingredients, like three of them are potato? I really don't like that they are basically refusing to tell people where their potato comes from-that puts them even lower on my list, I do not like that at all. 

It's up to you what to do, if you are comfortable with nb, by all means continue it, if you are not, there are so many other great options out there that ya may as well try some


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## BradyLily (Sep 9, 2009)

I opened the sample bag of pork and applesauce and they both ate a few pieces. I think they thought it was cookies! I'm going to start mixing in the pork and see how they do. The pet store down the street from my house sells Fromm, so if they like it I will buy a bag. 
Thanks so much Shelly for all of the info. Btw, my family calls me Shelly too!!


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## shellbeme (Mar 1, 2011)

BradyLily said:


> I opened the sample bag of pork and applesauce and they both ate a few pieces. I think they thought it was cookies! I'm going to start mixing in the pork and see how they do. The pet store down the street from my house sells Fromm, so if they like it I will buy a bag.
> Thanks so much Shelly for all of the info. Btw, my family calls me Shelly too!!


:thumbsup: My full name is Michele too, hehe, and you are most welcome!


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## BradyLily (Sep 9, 2009)

shellbeme said:


> :thumbsup: My full name is Michele too, hehe, and you are most welcome!


Good name Michele!! B)


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