Commercial Foods-The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Tell us what commercial foods have worked for you and which have caused problems; information, questions, warnings and advice on dog food companies, ingredients, brands, and switching foods.
(Recall information now in it's own discussion here in The Food Group)

[Nina Vantschip]

Thanks for that info...in your opinion what is the best and at a good price point?

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Nina,
Karen really knows her stuff as far as food quality goes. So whatever advice she gives you is the best. The really good foods are expensive but you use less because there are fewer empty calories. If your dog is not a huge eater, then even though you pay quite a bit more, you will actually come out ahead price wise. If your dog is a big eater you might want to go down a notch on quality so that you feed more per serving (you won't be saving money) or you can add fillers yourself (like green beans) IF he will eat them. There is a website called petfoodanalysis.com that has a food rating scale that might help you get an idea of better brands. Not all the brands are available in all areas. Again I would just listen to Karen's advice and follow it. That is what I do.

[Nina Vantschip]

Thanks..I have 2 large golden doodles, and they aren't HUGE eaters. They probably get 3 1/2- 4 cups/day, and no human food at all. I don't have a problem with Orijen, but lately one of my guys has been a bit itchy and licking and chewing at one paw a lot. Just not sure if it's the food, the heat, a bug ??? I'm probably over analyzing, but just want the best for my dogs.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

We are always trying to balance cost with quality. I have four dogs and 2 are doodles. No matter what I do, my guys lick or scratch or chew a bit. Only Ned seems to scratch or rub his cheeks and get sores, but because his coat is so thick, it only happens about once a year. We also give the dogs Evening Primrose Oil which makes an obvious and visible difference in our Springer's coat.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Food is the last thing you look at if there is a suspected allergy, contrary to what you see on most forums. And even if there are allergies, just changing brands doesn't help; the allergy would be to a specific ingredient, not a brand. So you would have to know which ingredients the dog is allergic to, and avoid those in a different food; the only way to determine that would be to do a 3 month food trial, which mean feeding the dog a limited ingredient food like a duck and potato formula and see if there are any improvements. Even in the extremely unlikely case that the itching is caused by something in the food, the last thing that would help would be going from a top quality grain-free food to a food filled with corn & other ingredients most likely to promote allergies like Iams.
The symptoms you describe are common symptoms of allergies, but considering the time of year, if it is allergies, it's most likely to be seasonal inhalant allergies, probably to pollen. Although food doesn't have an effect on inhalant allergies, a high protein food like Orijen is the best kind for dry itchy skin. If the itching is the only reason you're looking to switch, I would strongly advise you not to. You might try a different formula of Orijen, like the 6 Fresh Fish if you aren't already feeding that one.
As Nancy mentioned, giving one 500 mg. primrose oil capsule each day can really help the itching. You can purchase them in most stores that sell human supplements & vitamins.

[Nina Vantschip]

Thank you! I feel better now! I walk them through a very grassy area (it used to be a golf course, and now just a big parklike area where they can run off leash), and it has been so hot and dry here (British Columbia coast), so the pollen allergy makes sense. I will stick with Orijen as I believe grain free/high protein is the way to go. As for the evening primrose oil....I work in a pharmacy so can buy that anytime (wouldn't hurt me either....peri menopause and all that...ha ha)...thanks again for your expertise...:)

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Yes, EPO is good for ladies, too!

[Camilla and Darwin]

We use Holistic Select. It is a decent food, and has pretty good ingredients. No ethoxyquin, (spelled right?) no corn...

It was recently sold, however everything I have been able to find out online and from the food bakery's owner, said that the changes were good. I think that they lowered the sodium, and added a vitamin.

We pay around 30 dollars for a 16 lb bag... and the recommended guidelines are 2 1/2 cups to 3 cups per day for Darwin's weight. (65 lbs)

My pet food store sells EVO (which I am hesitant to use because of the P&G buyout), Canidae, and other brands...They did just start selling Orijen, but I really don't think we can afford it... also, he does well on kibble with grains.

My question, does anyone know about Holistic Select? Would we be better off using Canidae... or Blue Buffalo? I am horribly sad Fromms is NOWHERE near me. I really can't start using it because shipping is expensive.... and my apartment has problems with packages being stolen (ugh)

Anyone?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Holistic Select is one of the Eagle lines, and it's on par with Canidae & Blue Buffalo. I get so mixed up with all the buyouts and mergers as to who owns who, but I believe they are connected somehow. I think Diamond Foods may be the connection. Off the top of my head I want to say Eagle is owned by the same company that owns Wellness, but I may be confused. It's 1:30 a.m. here, lol. I'll check it out again. I don't think any of them are better than any others, depending on the formula you use & hoe your dog does on it. Blue Buffalo has a grain free, though- Blue Wilderness, that's very highly rated.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Okay, Eagle pack, Holistic Select, and Wellness are all made by the same company, Wellpet. Now I have to go check on the others.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

And Canidae is one of the foods made by Diamond, which has had it's problems in the past...but so many companies have. I would not use any Canidae formula that contains fish meal of any kind, because of the ethoxyquin issue. Blue Buffalo is apparently not related to the others. I wish Dianne was here right now, lol. She would know for sure.
But I just looked at a few of the Holistic Select formulas and i really think the Blue Buffalo is a better quality food. The HS has beet pulp, which isn't the best source of fiber (BB uses tomato pomace, like some of the higher priced foods) and is suspected of contributing to yeast infections, and it has more grains and less animal proteins than the BB formulas. Plus it has chicken fat higher on the ingredients list. I think I would try the Blue Buffalo.
Camilla, is there a Whole Foods near you? They sell Paul Newman's line, and I've been looking at that one lately; they have really quality ingredients. If you look at their website, they even sell it in some Walmart stores. I have no idea how the prices are, but their cat food is reasonable.

[Camilla and Darwin]

there is a Whole Foods right by me. I will check out Paul Newman's food, I never even thought to look at Whole Foods... Thanks for all the info, I really appreciate it. Also, I guess I just assumed anything at Petsmart was out, but I started looking at the BB and realized that it is a great food. Petsmart is really close to me too. Decisions decisions!