Food????

[Kimberly and Mikey]

Have an 8 month old g doodle that has been on blue buffalo freedom large breed for about 2 month and he just doesn't like it. Not enthusiastic at all about it. Prior to that he was on acana Pacifica and his stool never would firm ever. We tried pumpkin and nothing. Took him to he vet and they tested him for everything just to be sure and he has no parasites or worms. So my question is there are so many dog foods out there it's actually overwhelming. My vet says put them on science diet and I know that tons of people use it. They said that sometimes grain free is not the best for every dog. Honestly I spent so much money in acana. That really is nowhere near my budget right now. My parent use purina one and science diet and he constantly is trying to get at their dogs food. I love my dog but orijen and acana are just not in the budget especially after he still had stool issuing while on it. A lot of these food on the list are not easily accessible to me. I have to drive an hour to get to a petsmart or petco. There are no specialty stores. I don't want to rely on mail ordering my dog food.
Thanks in advance

[Becka]

Kimberly, what is your question exactly? There are literally hundreds of discussions about food on this site, as well as the meticulously researched list of recommended foods. I'm sure that our resident expert on all things nutrition can answer any question you have--but you haven't asked one yet. But one thing that I can tell you from my own experience is that your dog doesn't have to be enthusiastic about his food--he just needs to eat it when he's hungry. He won't starve himself. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Exactly right.

The Food Group has information on everything you've mentioned and more. :)

[Willow and J]

There are picky eaters, and sensitive tummies! Please don't get too disappointed that your puppy isn't too enthusiastic about his food. Have you tried adding a bit of plain non-fat yogurt on top? Toppers can make a difference too. 

I am guessing you wanted an advice for inexpensive but good food option for your puppy? You've asked about food a couple of months ago, so you probably read through recommendations on Food Group? I doubt anyone on DK would tell you to go for food not listed on the Food Group list, but please have in mind that so-called "premium" dog food is not always more expensive, because one doesn't have to feed as much. We give less than minimum indicated on the bag for less active dogs even when Willow is very active with at least 3 walks a day. She's lean, very healthy, and always energetic. We get praises from our vet every time we weigh her in her office.

We also didn't find canned pumpkin and sweet potato helpful, but what was most effective for firming up stool for Willow was dried yams.  Although it doesn't always break up entirely and we find orange bits in her poo, it doesn't seem to do any harm. We buy Sam's Yams from Entirelypets.com (look for online coupons for this company when you place an order) at a much lower price, or we make them at home with dehydrator. I believe you can also get a similar product (nothing added, just dried yams) from Petsmart, but we haven't tried it.

Good luck! It can take a while to find a working formula for your puppy - it took us several months, and then Willow's allergy started so we're never completely off, but that's a story for another day -, but once you find what works and see your puppy happy, there's nothing more rewarding than that!

[Lori, Quincy & Frankie]

In my limited experience, 8 months is around the age that a dog is a teenager and asserting independence and - probably sounds silly - testing boundaries to see what else is around to eat!  Do browse the Food group, the advice there is priceless and given by Karen and others that are really knowledgeable.  My advice?  when he's hungry he will eat! 

[Kimberly and Mikey]

Yes that was my question. Taste of the wild kibble was very small and he just inhaled it without chewing. I might look into wellness core.

[Jessica, Loki and Moose]

I think wellness core is at petco... I currently drive about 50mins- 1 hour to go to a family owned and operated shop that sells Fromm Family for my boys so I understand the pain of it all. There are closer places I could go to since there is a pet co close to me but oh well :)

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Here is the link to the best foods.  Some are less expensive than others.  Grain-free isn't for everyone. Unless your dog has a specific problem and Must eat one of the crap foods, choose from the list to feed your dog the healthiest way possible. http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/thefoodgroup/forum/topics/recomme...

Both Solid Gold, Canidae and Wellness can be found in many stores.

One of the things about the foods not on the list is often sourcing - they get their ingredients from places, like China, who have no controls/laws for what goes into those bags.  Another is that the food is not nutritional - like Science Diet.  One of the 'marketing' ploys for making the cheap foods more appealing is that they have fat on them.

A healthy dog will NOT starve himself.

[Adina P]

We get our food via mail order and prefer it that way. Unless I mess up the delivery schedule, it's nice to have it arrive and not have to drive to get it. And it's not any more expensive. We use Petflow, but Chewy.com is popular with lots of members. Just saying, it can be MORE convenient.

[Lori, Daphne, Lucy & Pippa]

Purina One and Science diet are just pure crap! If you had a child and fed him nothing but cookies and candy he would love that and beg for more. But that would not be healthy and have any nutritional value. Thats pretty much what Purina and Science Diet serve. Sure the dogs love it but its still not good for them. Karen has given every one of us amazing advice and researched all the foods on the list so that we can be assured there is nothing in them that will harm our furbabies. Like Willow and J said, the best food is really not more expensive. The recommended amount is actually less food than the other brands so that it actually lasts longer. You use less of it because their bodies actually use more of it and they in turn have less poo.

[Kimberly and Mikey]

I see wellness and natures variety instinct kibble are both on the approved list. I have easy access to both but I read in May 2012 that wellness had a recall regarding diamond. So is wellness a part of diamond? What are your feelings on these 2 foods. Thanks

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Since that recall 3 years ago, Wellness no longer uses Diamond's manufacturing facilities. They were never "a part of diamond", they used their manufacturing facilities. They no longer do.  I feed my own dog Wellness, which I consider a pretty good endorsement. 

Again, lots more info on this in The Food Group. 

[Kimberly and Mikey]

Ok great. Headed there now for wellness. Hope this agrees with him. Thank you