Recommended Dog Food?

[atp160]

Hello all,

Have my 17 month old english mastiff on Eagle Large/Giant Breed. Duke seems not like it sometimes and sometimes he just won't eat. What is everyone else feeding there mastiff's? Thank you.

 

[BlackShadowCaneCorso]

We use Acana Wild Prairie and Pacifica.

 

[Enzos Dad]

Taste of the wild Pacific stream My EM loves it

 

[mia]

I almost hate to admit it but when I adopted Big Mamma I put her on Kirkland lamb dog food as I just wasn't sure what to put her on and it's pretty decent yet simple food and by george it's totally working for her, not a lot of gas, firm poops, nice coat. I do know a ton about dog food, my ex was in the business. Here's a great site to research foods: http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/ at times though it comes down to what works for the dog... I know with Dobes, they have fussy tummies so often the simpler foods work better. I do find some of the newer foods are overly 'fancy' and or too high in protein for some dogs to handle. I tried a couple with my other dogs and their systems just couldn't take it.

 

[moose]

Actually Kirkland gets pretty good ratings and is very reasonable price!

 

[BlackShadowCaneCorso]

We use Kirkland for our rotties as I don't find their coats are as amazing on it but they aren't in the ring. They do well on it and it is the one food one of our rotties doesn't puke up. I say you go with a quality you can afford and this one isn't bad for the price.

 

[Little Monster]

Check out the website Mia suggested (www.dogfoodanalysis.com) it has a ton on helpful information. When I was trying to decide what I was going to feed my dogs, the first question I asked myself was "are my dogs carnivores or omnivores?" Seems simple enough, but people can't agree. Once you have decided on your position on this, then decide what dog food you will feed. If you are in the "my dog is a carnivore" group feed a high protein diet that is low in carbs. If you are in the "my dog is an omnivore" group, then feed the less expensive higher carb lower protein food. That's the reason Kirklands is so cheap compared to Orijen or Acana, there isn't that much meat. While Kirklands may be a better quality food for the price, I always say, you get what you pay for.

 

[Bones664]

We use Innova with a wet mix of Grandma Lucy's Artisan at 1/4 wet to dry.

---------- Post added at 04:37 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:37 PM ----------

Adding the wet mix really increased his appetite after eye surgery.

 

[Bones664]

...

 

[PresaDogue]

Taste of the Wild.

 

[mia]

If you are in the "my dog is a carnivore" group

The only way to really do that is to feed a raw all meat diet. All processed dog food has filler in it, it's a matter of what kind and how much. I also find with older dogs the higher protein is harder on them, in his last year my old dog I ended up cooking for him as he couldn't handle much protein at all...

 

[Little Monster]

The only way to really do that is to feed a raw all meat diet. All processed dog food has filler in it, it's a matter of what kind and how much. I also find with older dogs the higher protein is harder on them, in his last year my oil dog I ended up cooking for him as he couldn't handle much protein at all...

I was referring to choosing a brand of dog food. Yes, all dry dog kibble foods have fillers and preservatives. Otherwise they wouldn't be in convenient shaped kibbles in bags that can be stored at room temperature for months at a time. If you want to go to the extreme and forget dog food, then feeding a home prepared diet would be best. I made the very basic distinction to show that there are two basic and different views on dog food: those that feel dogs have evolved over time into omnivores because of living with people and those that feel that despite living along side people have kept their original carnivorous nature and physiology. With the omnivorous philosophy, the human induced evolution, it is appropriate and cost effective to choose a dog food that is lower in meat derived protein and higher in carbohydrates and plant derived protein such as corn and rice. People of this following typically will take the stance that excess protein is not only wasteful financially, but also biologically because dogs will excrete the excess protein they don't metabolize. If this is the case, feeding Kirklands is great. Those that feel dogs have not deviated from their original design (BARF and raw people typically fall into this category) will feed a higher protein diet. Orijen dry dog food was designed to mimic the raw diet because they feel it is more biologically appropriate to feed a high meat based protein diet. Older dogs don't always fit the mold, especially if they are dealing with kidney issues. Dogs already dealing with kidney insufficiency wont tolerate high protein well because their kidneys can't filter as well as they used to. Some older dogs just have hard time tolerating anything, but maybe that's because of the foods we are feeding dogs nowadays... dry dog food isn't a very natural choice no matter what brand you feed.

 

[Dogue]

I like Diamond and Nutro (lamb and rice) with Kirkland wet mixed in with their kibble.

 

[atp160]

Thank you all for the information.