DoodleKisses.com

Labradoodle & Goldendoodle Forum

Ok, so I want to start Bear on a more healthier dog food without it being too expensive.......I tried to grade this Nutro Natural Choice, but I am having trouble............can someone PLEASE help???? Here are the ingredients:

Venison meal, whoel brown rice, ground rice, rice gluten, rice bran, poultry fat (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of vitamin E), rice flour, dried plain beet pulp, oatmeal, natural flavors, sunflower oil (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of vitamin E), soybean oil (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of vitamin E), dehydrated potatoes, calcium carbonate, potassium chloride, L-Lysine, dried egg product, dried kelp, taurine, choline chloride, vitamin E supplement, zinc sulfate, zinc protienate, ferrous sulfate, ascirbic acid (source of votamin C), biotin, maganese protienate, manganous oxide, niacin, calcium iodate, calcium pantothenate, copper sulfate, vitamin B12 supplement, riboflavin supplement (source of vitamin B2), vitamin A supplement, glucosamine hydrochloride, thiamine mononitrate (source of vitamin B1), copper protienate, sodium selenite, chondroitin sulfate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), folic acid, vitamin D3 supplement

I have also noticed for only getting a 1/4 cup with his 3 3/4 cup of other dog food (Iams: yellow bag) he has had a lot of gas :( what should I do? Should I take it back or wait it out a bit? thanks!!

Views: 121

Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Yes, and petsmart also has a punch card system where you buy so many bags and then get one free:)
http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=menadione

Obviously, we can't reproduce the entire Food Group Conversation here in this discussion, but here's a link for information on one of the ingredients in the food you are now feeding: menadione (3rd from last on your list). It is a synthetic form of Vitamin K that is linked to liver disease, blood disease, immune system problems, & others. My Jackdoodle has immune system problems; his specialist vet treatments- apart from regular yearly check-ups, shots, etc.- cost me approximately $250 per month. It would be a lot cheaper to switch foods than to take a chance on your dog having these kinds of problems. I fed Nutro for the last 18 years, and just switched recently, in large part because of the above, and other problems with Nutro. You could not have rated this food for having synthetic ingredients, because the bag doesn't tell you it's synthetic; they call it a "source of Vitamin K". They use it because it's cheap.
You are asking for help, and we are giving it. All of the suggestions here are excellent, and there are many more resources available to help find the best prices for the best foods. It doesn't have to cost more, but even if it does, as Lynne said, that's still a lot cheaper than the alternative; take my word for it!
I love Blue Buffalo, It is about the same as Nutro maybe a bit more. The changes I have seen with my dogs have been huge.
It is Gluten free, which I love.
Something to keep in mind is with super premium foods you have to feed your dog less.Just follow the feeding chart on the back and make changes accordingly.
hi holly...
to answer your question on gas....YES we have it here...i use nature's variety. it is a very good (from what i understand) dog food. i use either the venison, chix, or the salmon and all 3 give tucker (our puppy) gas, and lots of it!! lol But, he only gets it at night when he is plopped in front on me! the venison is the worst!! ha ha and the chix causes the least.
Izzy (she is almost 2) and has an iron stomach...will eat anything and no gas! so i guess it depends on the pup not the food....but i do have to agree with what everyone has said concerning the problems that can come with not so good foods. I used to use nutro, and at one time it was considered a very good food, but they like so many other companies have gotten so big and making so many varieties that have to skimp somewhere...

i saw somewhere here the pricing on the foods, i just bought a 15lb bag of the chicken ( the venison & lamb & salmon are a bit more) but at the boutique i purchased it, i paid $22.99, and from what i have found out on DK that some pet stores do sell nature's variety...we have none here where i live... but apparently some do i am sure that would be even cheaper there.
i used to feel the same way you do...i have 3 kids, 2 dogs,1 cat and a rabbit...oh yes...the husband that has to work to pay for all the food....lol
but in the long run...with a better food you do feed less, they digest more, my favorite....poop less (ha ha)

i am not even sure i have even come close to answering your question...other that yes it can get a bit gassy here (lol) and i keep feeding the nat. var. hoping it will go away...

only a mother could love!! : )
Thanks Amy :) I am going to take this one back and get one of the others on the list........
holly, it is a tough choice!! and good luck with the gas problem!! like i said....only a mother could love! : )
Hi Holly,
What did you finally decide to do? There is so much info out there it does get overwhelming. We so want to do the best for our pups and if it didnt cost an arm and a leg, it would be great.
I am sure that whatever you decide, you will keep an eye on Bear. You can always change if you have to.
Adrianne
Hi Adrianne :)

I ended up going to Pet Supply Plus with 2 brands in my mind...........my first choice was Merrick and then if they did not carry it I would go to Petco to buy Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance. When I looked at the website for Pet Supply Plus it said all stores may not carry the same, so I just had it in my mind I would have to go to another store. When I got to the store, I noticed that they carried A LOT more types of dog food and they were even on the website that was given to me by someone I was chatting with on here.

I did end up getting the Merrick and was very impressed on seeing REAL vegetables in the food. I have NEVER seen Bear eat so fast.......so I assume he likes it. I blended it with his Iams and he really did not seem to have that bad of gas as he did yesterday. I am not saying he didn't, but it DEFINITELY was not as POTENT as it was yesterday :) As Amy says, it is only a smell that a mother could LOVE......LOL.

I really appreciate you asking me what I had decided.......that was truly nice of you.......thanks again!!!
I have been doing the same thing lately - reading a lot about dog foods and getting totally overwhelmed with all the details and weird ingredient names... I liked the rating system with that list of questions that can be found on the Internet, where you add so many points for this or that, and take away so many for this or that. Here's one of the many, many sites that has it: http://www.playdogexcellent.com/DogFood.htm. To be honest,I don't know much about this stuff,so the only reason I liked that system, is because it is straight forward and easy to understand - now, how correct it is, I have no idea!

Anyway, I started the research with the same thing in mind: to find good quality food for not too much money. I was surprised to see that Costco's Kirkland Signature Food, according to that rating system, is one of the highest quality foods out there. And you only pay 60 cents per pound for it!!! One of the highest rated on that list, and by far the cheapest - can't go wrong with that! According to that list, the Kirkland Signature food is, quality wise, very close to Canidae, pretty close to Innova, too... check the list for yourself. I wonder why it's not used by more Doodlekisses.com people. Purina is very, very low on that list! E.g. Kirkland Signature has 110 points, Iams 73 and purina 16!!!

Some people have mentioned in some other posts that that list is outdated, since there have been changes made to many brands since the list was made. Even if it's 90% accurate, I am still impressed that Costco can make such a high quality product for such a low price. Makes you wonder if all that's listed on the packages is really true.

I'd be interested to know why the Costco food is not used by more people here on Doodlekisses.com. Any idea, anyone?

Maya
For me personally, I don't belong to Costco or any warehouse clubs, so it's not an option for me. I have heard of it mentioned on smaller sites, though, and probably a lot of people here use it who don't speak up much in these discussions, lol!
I also like this website better for dog food ratings; you don't have to do any math, and it's constantly updated. They go into more detail about the specific ingredients. I've linked to a review of one Kirkland product, there are others also reviewed.

http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/showproduct.php?pro...
I hope that it works out for you both.

RSS

 

 Support Doodle Kisses 


 

DK - Amazon Search Widget

© 2024   Created by Adina P.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service