i just asked another question regarding constipated pup, and solutions to this problem, it is still open i am hoping to hear more responses..
this next question regards switching her food.. she is a 35 lb, 3.5 mo old black lab female... big girl i know... not fat at all, good muscle tone.
the food she came to us on was regular purina puppy chow..
then we got a large bag of purina beneful... vet said it is like mcdonalds for dogs..ok. well we are near to the end of this bag and have been looking for a more natural food to give her...
the vet suggested IAMS... but then i hear a lot of bad things about the Iams company and animal testing and such...
i have always had pets.. and this never seemed to be such a big issue..but as now i would prefer to be more knowedgeable for this dogs health.
i am wondering if there is something better, more natural... dry food preferably.. and not the b.a.r.f. diet...
Answers:
Well Beniful is junk in a bag! so is Iams. Anything you can get from a grocery stoe is not a quality dog food at all.
There are several really good foods.
Canidae all life stage-This is what I feed my golden's
SolidGold
Wellness
Timber Wold
Innova
These are all very god dog foods. All of them are all natural with no by products, corn, wheat, soy or beet pulp. Plus no dye's or chemicals used in processing. Plus none of these food were involved in any recalls.
Check them all out and pick one that you can find easily and give one a try.
Good for you to look for a much better food for you pup!
The vet likely told you Beneful was crap because they want you to buy the Iams from them. My dogs eat Beneful and are extremely healthy, my vet is always trying to sell me new foods and I found out it is because they get a cut from the company to sell it at the vet office.
There are a good number of more "natural" dog foods out there...Nutro Natural Choice, Dick Van Patten's, etc. are sold at most pet food stores. Often there will be reps from the brand available at stores like PetSmart and PetCo that may be able to give you more info on the ingredients. But don't freak out too much, if anything out there were really that horrible for your dog they wouldn't be able sell it.
We have a store here called Trader Joes that offers an all natural dog food, if you dont have one of those try any all natural store or look around on the internet. The petsmart by our house has natural alternatives on the shelves as well. I have never heard anything bad about purina and continue to use it with no weight or health problems.. I also have not heard good things about Iams. good Luck
There are a lot of good foods out there you just have to look beyond the chain pet supply stores. Either you find at smaller shops, groomers and even some vets carry the better stuff.
One I am currently using is Timberwolf the Southwest Chicken and Herbs which is a good food for puppies.
Good thing about Timberwolf is they offer free shipping:
http://timberwolforganics.com/
I like to rotate foods every few months and I am trying Canidae next which I have only heard good things about.
This food is resonably priced but I end up paying more for shipping because I have to buy from a place like pet food direct. http://www.petfooddirect.com/store/...
The above two foods are all life stages food which means it is good for puppies or adult dogs.
Other foods that are supposed to be good but haven't tried:
Innova, Orijen
the vet was being kind when he said beneful was like mcdonalds, the first ingredient in beneful is corn ... do you know how bad that is ...
I think one of the best dry foods to feed is Canidae
you can also supplement your dry dog food if you wanted to with different things and you can get that information from this site -- gives fresh foods you can add plus different vitamins ... excellent site, you can gain a ton of information here
http://www.b-naturals.com/jan2005.php...
If you insist on feeding kibble, then there is one brand that I recommend for dogs. Dogs should not have grains, so I say go for one that is grain free.
Evo is the only dog food I recommend that is grain free.
http://www.naturapet.com/brands/evo.asp...
Places to buy near your location:
http://www.naturapet.com/where-to-buy/...
Feeding Evo and rotating the different types between beef, chicken, and adding in some of the variety of the canned will help to keep your dog healthier. The variety keeps the dog satisfied and helps keep allergies away (from having the same food daily!)
If you won't feed a raw diet, this is the BEST of the BEST for dry dog food...
I'm including one of the write ups on their site:
If you like the idea of feeding raw pet food, but prefer a gently cooked food that provides benefits that match raw, frozen or home prepared high-meat pet diets, EVO庐 Pet Food is the answer.
EVO is the first grain-free ancestral diet that provides the benefits of modern nutrition in a safe, convenient and cost-effective natural food. Use EVO alone or as a supplement to your raw or home cooked pet food for a complete and balanced natural feeding.
Good luck.
You want natural......
http://www.rawfeddogs.net
http://www.rawfed.com
And, yes, you vet was doing you favor by steering you away from the Beneful. BUT...Science Diet, Iams, Eukanuba, and Pro Pac are all crap as well (these are all touted as being better than the "grocerie store brands".) And, yes, Evo may be grain free, but it is way too high in protein. AND.there is nothing natural about a carnivore's food being cooked in any way.
If you don't want to feed raw, then The Honest Kitchen is the way to go: http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/index.sh...
OR
A freeze dried diet such as Stella %26 Chewie's or Steve's Real Food:
http://www.petnetdirect.com/page/1/prod/...
http://www.stevesrealfood.com/
But, FYI, a raw diet is the very best you can do AND it is cheaper than commercial diets. A "Prey Model" diet (which is what you see on rawfeddogs.net is superior to a BARF style diet simply b/c it is in the same form that your dog would find it in the wild - not ground up w/ all sorts of stuff added).
Lahoma
http://www.ahealthierpet.com
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