Taste of the Wild vs. Chicken Lovers For The Soul (and others)

[Jerry Kandel]

The breeder we are getting our puppy from has had him on Chicken Lovers for the Soul) - there are no stores around us carrying that brand - furthermore, I understand it's not grain free - so researching grain free foods it looked like TOTW had some high ratings and a lot of followers. So my few questions:

1) Do most believe that grain-free is better for a puppy?
2) TOTW has high protein -- would that be good or bad for a puppy?
3) How do most of you feel about TOTW (I know every food will have a few negatives - but do the majority feel that this is a pretty good food?
4) Lastly: would most recommend the salmon or one of the other flavors?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Well, there's more confusion, lol! i thought your post said the breeder has been feeding the Chicken Soup formula, lol.
Jerry, if you read through some of the many discussions here in the Food Group, you'll get an idea of what we base our recommendations on and some of the issues involved in choosing foods for your pup. The analysis sites are strictly looking at ingredients, which is one important aspect; they favor grain-free diets, and are therefore rating grainfree foods higher. We do not necessarily agree, and many dogs here are thriving with high quality foods such as CN and Fromm that contain healthy grain. The grain vs grain-free issue is another one to consider when choosing a food. Third, as Dianne has pointed out, there is the issue of the company and the source of the ingredients. Because of global trade, the big companies import ingredients through food brokers, and this is what led to the deaths of thousands of pets in 2007 from tainted ingredients imported from China & falsely labeled as rice gluten when it was in fact melamine. For these reasons many of us prefer to buy from small private companies such as Champion. (Orijen & Acana).
Some of us here have been reading and researching these issues for over a year, and of course we still don't have all the answers...but it helps all of us to share what we do know. Hope this helps.

[Jerry Kandel]

I wasn't trying to confuse you - yyes, the breeder has been feeding Chicken Soup formula - but it has been for such a short period of time (what will amount to less than two weeks) - that it should be fairly easy to wean him off of that and put him on just about any premium food. I realize I could through this group thread but doing so will most likely only add to the confusion as I am sure there are multiple opinions here. Is there any surveys here - which show what most people are using?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Jerry, if you go up above to "Back to Food Group Discussions" you will find a listing of all the many discussions we've had here over the past year. There is a lot of valuable information, recommendations, pros & cons, etc. right here for you to look through. This is really the best way to educate yourself on these issues. The discussion "Commercial Foods- the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" is of enormous value. I realize it's long, but try skimming through it, you will learn a lot. Getting other people's opinions is helpful, but it's best to edcuate yourself and make choices based on your own situation...you may have different priorities, budget, etc. than the next person.
We did do a survey on what our members are feeding;here's a link to results of our Food Group Survey this past year. But keep in mind that most of us have changed things around since then. The info on the Diamond Foods connect with TOTW influenced many who were using it to change. I'd say the most popular foods right now are Fromm, Orijen, Acana, California Naturals, Solid Gold, and EVO.
http://www.doodlekisses.com/forum/topics/dk-doodles-are-eating-good...

[Dianne Carter ~ Trinity Doodles]

And if I can just add to this Jerry, it is extremely important to never rely on a single site for all the facts you will collect in order to make an informed decision. These are just a few reasons:

Some of these sites have reviews and analysis' that are dated before the '07 recalls.

Some of the sites are frequented not only by manufacturers reps who praise their own food but also by their competition who are eager to tear one another down.

Many brands have since had formula changes - some not even known yet because the law allows a manufacturer 6 months to change their label AFTER a formula change.

Many brands have been acquired by new owners or large conglomerates, almost ALWAYS a sign of more interest in profit margin than quality.

Some companies have changed manufacturers for their products, which may be a plus or minus.

And some of this information like the ethoxyquin or a whole host of other 'dirty little secrets' in the industry have only recently been brought to light.

Many (many, many) years ago Eukanuba and Iams used to be good foods, things change, people get greedy and take shortcuts.