Recommended Brands Discussion -Archived

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

 Please, note we have a new Recommended Brands list posted , here's a link:

RECOMMENDED BRANDS DEC 2011

 

I'm closing this one to replies, to avoid confusion.  

 

A HUGE THANK YOU TO FG ADMINISTRATOR ALLYSON, (BETTER KNOWN AS TAQUITO AND PERI'S MOM) FOR PROVIDING THE FORMULA & WEBSITE INFO ON ALL OF THESE BRANDS. ALLY, YOU ROCK!!!!

This list is a work in progress and will be updated as products/evaluations change.

 

THANKS AGAIN, ALLYSON, YOU ARE THE BEST!

 

 

 

 

 

[BG and Gavin]

I am trying a new canned food as a topper for picky pickerson's dry kibble and to fill marrow bones. He would get about two - three tablespoons per day.  It is Eagle Pack Natural Dog Food.  I got lamb, chicken and turkey to find out which one he likes the best.  I thought it looked good, but of course need to run it by my experts.  Here is the Ingredients of the chicken formula - any red flags?  Thanks in advance!

INGREDIENTS

Chicken, Chicken Broth, Chicken Liver, Brown Rice, Dried Egg Product, Guar Gum, Potassium Chloride, Dicalcium Phosphate, Oatmeal, Alfalfa Meal, Ground Flaxseed, Olive Oil, Salt, Carrageenan, Cassia Gum, Choline Chloride, Vitamins [Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin B-12 Supplement, Niacin Supplement, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Folic Acid, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin A Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Vitamin D-3 Supplement], Minerals [Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Sodium Selenite, Manganese Sulfate, Calcium Iodate].

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Looks fine to me, especially used as just part of a total diet.

[BG and Gavin]

Thanks Karen!

[Cary Imeson]

I AM A BELIEVER!  After much research on this and other sites, I decided to switch my 5 y.o Golden and my 12 week Doodle to Orijen (Grain free adult for my Golden and Grain free large breed puppy for my doodle).  I had been in the process of switching my doodle from the breeders food to the food that I had been feeding my Golden - so to avoid another few weeks of mixing I just went cold-turkey to Orijen (no mixing).  I realize this isn't the best way to switch food but it worked okay for us.  Both my Golden and my Doodle loved the food from the beginning and showed no negative affects from the dramatic switch.  What was/is dramatic is the difference it has made in their coats and bad breath!  No less than ten people have commented on how "puppy soft" my Golden's coat is.   My Doodle is growing beautifully with a shiny soft coat.  My Golden used to have terrible breath - but since switching to Orijen we don't even notice when she pants in our face.  This may be the best dog decision I've ever made.  Orijen is a bit more expensive - I buy it at our specialty pet store and the quality of service I get there (carry the bags to my car every time, buy 10 bags get one free, etc) and the difference it has made for my dogs is worth every penny!  If you're looking for a great food watch the video on the Orijen website.

[Jennifer and Sadie]

Many of my doodle friends are raving about a new dog food sold at Costco called:  Pelican Bay, grain free, salmon meal.  Has anyone heard of it?  I heard it's suppose to be close to Taste of the Wild.  My friends who feed their dogs this say it's wonderful and they would never switch and their dogs are doing fantastic on it.  What are your thoughts?

 

Thanks!

Jennifer

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Jennifer, the Pelican Bay Food is nowhere close to TOTW nutritionally. Here's the nutritional analysis from Pelican Bay:

Guaranteed Analysis:
Crude protein (min.) 24%
Crude fat (min.) 15%
Crude fiber (max.) 4.0%
Moisture (max.) 10%
Zinc (min.) 150 mg/kg
Selenium (min.) 0.4 mg/kg
Vitamin E (min.) 150 IU/kg
Omega-6 fatty acids (min.) 3.7%
Omega-3 fatty acids (min.) 1.0%


And here's the analysis from TOTW:
Crude Protein 32.0% Minimum
Crude Fat 18.0 Minimum
Crude Fiber 3.0% Maximum
Moisture 10.0% Maximum
Zinc 150 mg/kg Minimum
Selenium 0.4 mg/kg Minimum
Vitamin E 150 IU/kg Minimum
Omega-6 Fatty Acids * 2.8% Minimum
Omega-3 Fatty Acids * 0.3%

For a grain-free food, the Costco food is very low in protein, which is why the price is also so low. There is a lot of cheaper filler in the Costco food. The 2nd and third ingredients are peas and potatoes respectively, which is why both the protein and the cost are lower.
The ingredients look fine, but my concern would be where is the food made, and by whom? Most of the warehouse brands are made by private label companies that import their ingredients through brokers. I personally like to know who I'm dealing with when purchasing dog food.
I'm glad your friends are happy with the food, but unless they are veterinary nutrition specialists, their endorements don't really mean much. For one thing, what are they comparing it to? What were they feeding prior to this? Anything might be an imporvement over Beneful or Ol' Roy, for example. For another thing, their dogs are doing fine NOW...what about two or three or ten years from now? Kidney and liver disease don't show up right away. It's silly for anyone to say they would never switch from any product; what if their dogs develop an allergy to something in the food? What if there's a recall?
I can't recommend this food without more information about the manufacturer and the source of the ingredients; but the ingredients look okay, and it would be better than a lot of what's out there.

[Joan and Hunter]

Hi Karen

Just new to this site!!!  I LOVE IT!  Any way..  I just started the Costco brand Signature Chicken, Rice and Veg food.   I hate to say this but I am on a very strict income level at this time so even though I would want to spend more for what seems higher quality dog food,  I am really stressed now. This food was rated really well on the site I posted a link to.  But yes, I never thought about where it is actually made and by whom!?  It seems Costco is really  changing over to more nutritionally based foods ie: no preservatives, additives etc for people food.  Also what is your thought on the protein issue.  What started me on this web site in the first place (medical site) was a question about my pup Hunter, 8 mos who is limping on both front legs, alternating. (Not both at the same time).  The diagnosis was Panosteitis (growing pains) and the possibility that too much protein in the diet may cause this. I am taking him off his large breed puppy food with 26% protein. But also cutting back on the amount.  Karen, this food recommended 6 cups a day!!!  for Hunters weight and age.  Too much, but I thought he is a large puppy and very active.  What a mistake.  He is not fat but from what I hear, doodles should be on the lean side for better health!  I am also very open to change and would never stick to something when there may be something better!  Thank you so much for your insight and great information.

Joan and Hunter

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

You may be surprised to find that large breed foods are actually lower in protein than the comparable food that is NOT large-breed specific. The large breed formulas are supposedly designed to prevent the rapid growth problems in dogs who are expected to be very large at maturity.

When it comes to feeding guidelines, you have to look at calories, not the number of cups. If one food contains 300 calories per cup and another contains 400, and the dog in question requires 1200 calories per day to sustain body function, you can see that you would feed less of the higher calorie food. Foods that contain a lot of fillers are usually much lower in calories than foods that contain better ingredients, and I suspect that any food that recommends 6 cups a day for any doodle is a lower-calorie food that doesn''t provide as much nutrition as a more expensive food. This is where you have to look at price in relation to the amount you feed; if one food costs $40 a bag but lasts twice as long as another food that costs $30 for the same-sized bag, the more expensive food is actually a much greater bargain. So you can't look at price per lb. alone. And if you simply cut back the amount of that food, your dog may not be getting enough nutrients and calories to sustain growth or proper physiological functioning. I do agree that thinner dogs are usually healthier dogs.

Jack eats Orijen, which is about the most expensive kibble you can buy. But he only gets 2.5 cups per day, and he weighs 80 lbs. So if I had to feed him 5 or 6 cups of a less expensive food, I would be going through twice as much kibble in the same time period. Unless the cheaper food costs less than half the amount the Orijen costs, for the same size bag, the expensive Orijen is by far the better bargain.

I'm familiar with that formula you linked to rate your dog food. It's been around for a long time, and isn't very accurate. It doesn't take a lot of factors into account, and some of the items don't really make sense to me from a nutritional standpoint. Dog Food Analaysis used to be our "go to" site for rating foods, but it hasn't been active for quite awhile. I think if you read through the information here, you'll have all the tools you need to judge a food.The Dog Food Project website is also very helpful, especially the section "Ingredients to Avoid".

"Too much protein" is a tough one, because nobody knows how much is too much. But 26% is not very high at all. You have to realize that there are only three calorie sources...macronutrients is the term used...Protein, fat, and carbohydrate. Any food can only be providing energy from these three sources in some combination. If the food is 26% protein, that means that 74% of the calories provided are made up of fat and carbohydrate. So you can see that anything less than 26% protein would really not be ideal for an animal whose "natural" diet consists mainly of animal proteins. The jury is still out on whether "higher" protein diets are helpful or harmful, but the scientific research leans in the direction of more protein, not less.

[Joan and Hunter]

Thank you so much for this list!  I have really learned to look, look, look at ingredients. But not only that, but WHICH ingredients are actually beneficial or not! 

I also found this great link to foods and how to rate your own food.

http://www.the-puppy-dog-place.com/best-dog-food.html.  Just more information for us all! 

We as a society are demanding more nutritional foods and not just for us but our pets!!  It is so refreshing to see the change. Thanks

Joan and Hunter

[Jennifer and Jack]

I was wondering what you all thought of the dog food "Go" The health food store where I buy Jack's food told me the other day that she felt that "Go" was comparable to Orijen. She agreed that Orijen was very good, in fact I was surprised to hear her say she thought it was better then TOTW, since she sells that and not Orijen but she really felt Go was comparable to Orijen.

 

Any thoughts?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

It's on our recommended list, Jennifer. It's Petcurean, "Go! Natural" .

[Lauria Orr]

Any input on Timberwolf Organics, Earthborn Holistic, or Primitive Natural Grain-free? It may be here, and I may have missed it????