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)

[LuvMyAbby&Kaela]

Have you ever thought of mixing tin fish in foods when you cant find fish versions or they are out of it etc...?

I know a guy who aways poured tin tuna in the food.

I would do salmon myself. (no mercury)

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I do give Jackdoodle canned tuna occasionally; the "chunk light" tuna has half the mercury of the albacore. I also sometimes broil a fish filet for him.
But kibble makes up the bulk of his diet, and he needs variety. I rotate the Orijen flavors. He's probably past the point where he would develop food allergies from always eating the same proteins, but with his immune system, who knows?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I do buy the Red Meat formula on a rotation basis for Jack. The five lb bag is only a dollar more than the 6 Fish. He likes it, because it's a novelty. By the time we get to the end of the 2 weeks, he's lost interest again.
They had small sample size bags of the Red at Pet Supplies Plus this week for 2.99.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

They're a chain, but they are small specialty stores, nothing like Petsmart, and I think they're more like franchises, with individual owners. It's where I do most of my pet food shopping, there are several in the Chicago suburbs. I know they are in other states, too, but not sure which. Here's their website:
http://www.petsuppliesplus.com/

[Patricia & Jeremy & Charlie]

We are bringing home our first puppy next weekend (mini goldendoodle). My parents feed their puppy and 1 yr old dog Eukanuba Natural Lamb & Rice. Their dogs really like it and have no health issues. So my husband and I want to give our puppy Eukanuba as well. However after reading some of these posts, it seems many people on this board are categorizing Eukanuba's quality along with grocery store brands like Purina and Iams. Why is this?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Because it contains unhealthy ingedients which are imported from China, for one thing. Because it outsources its purchasing of these foreign ingredients through Menu Foods, which is the company responsible for the illnesses and deaths of hundreds of pets during the 2007 recall debacle. Because the quality control on these ingredients is non-existent. Because the food contains fish meal preserved with ethoxyquin, which is known to cause serious disease in dogs.
Here are the ingredients in this food:
Lamb, Brewers Rice, Corn Meal, Ground Whole Grain Sorghum, Fish Meal (Source of Fish Oil), Chicken Meal, Ground Whole Grain Barley, Chicken Fat (Preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Dried Egg Product, Dried Beet Pulp, Chicken Flavor, Potassium Chloride, Brewers Dried Yeast, Salt, Sodium Hexametaphosphate, Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Ascorbic Acid, Beta-Carotene, Vitamin A Acetate, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate (Source of Vitamin B1), Niacin, Riboflavin Supplement (Source of Vitamin B2), Inositol, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Source of Vitamin B6), Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid), Choline Chloride, Calcium Carbonate, Minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Potassium Iodide, Cobalt Carbonate), DL-Methionine, Rosemary Extract
Brewer's rice, a waste product leftover from the processing of grain alcohol, as the second most abundant ingredint in your dog's diet?
Corn, which should not be in dog food at all and is the leading ingredient responsible for food allergies in dogs, as the third most abundant ingredient?
An overall crude protein ratio of only 23%, which means the actual usable protein, which should be the main macronutrient in a dog's diet, is lower than 20%?This is a very poor quality food.

[Patricia & Jeremy & Charlie]

Wow I guess we have a lot of research to do.. I didn't know about any of this. I already bought a small bag of the Eukanuba Lamb & Rice. We get our puppy next weekend. So I will have to figure something else out by then. I'd like a food available at Petsmart because of the convenience to where I live. I have a friend who uses Blue Buffalo Chicken & Rice for her cocker spaniel puppy and recommended it to me. What is the consensus here about this particular food? The ingredients look much healthier:

Deboned Chicken, Chicken Meal, Whole Ground Brown Rice, Whole Ground Barley, Oatmeal, Rye, Whole Potatoes, Chicken Fat (preserved with Natural Mixed Tocopherols), Menhaden Fish Meal (natural source of DHA-Docosahexaneoic Acid), Tomato Pomace (natural source of Lycopene), Natural Chicken Flavor, Whole Carrots, Whole Sweet Potatoes, Dried Egg, Blueberries, Cranberries, Flaxseed, Barley Grass, Dried Parsley, Alfalfa Meal, Kelp Meal, Taurine, L-Carnitine, L-Lysine, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Green Tea Extract, Turmeric, Garlic, Sunflower Oil (natural source of Omega 6 Fatty Acids), Herring Oil (natural source of Omega 3 Fatty Acids), Dried Chicory Root, Black Malted Barley, Oil of Rosemary, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin C, Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Beta Carotene, Calcium Ascorbate (source of Vitamin C), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Niacin (Vitamin B3), Calcium Pantothenate (Vitamin B5), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Folic Acid, Biotin, Choline Chloride, Dicalcium Phosphate, Zinc Amino Acid Complex (source of Chelated Zinc), Iron Amino Acid Complex (source of Chelated Iron), Copper Amino Acid Complex (source of Chelated Copper), Manganese Amino Acid Complex (source of Chelated Manganese), Potassium Amino Acid Complex (source of Chelated Potassium), Cobalt Proteinate (source of Chelated Cobalt), Dicalcium Phosphate, Potassium Chloride, Sodium Selenite, Salt, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bacillus subtilis, Bifidobacterium thermophilum, Bifidobacterium longum, Enterococcus faecium.

Please let me know your thoughts, everyone that has responded seems very knowledgeable. This is our first dog and I don't want to start off on the wrong foot. Thanks

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

The ingredients look fine, and this is a much better choice than the Eukanuba.
I know this commercial foods section is very long, but if you take the time to read thru it, you will learn about all of the things you need to look at when choosing a food, how to read the labels, which ingredients to avoid, and we have specific info on many foods, including Blue Buffalo. We write or call the manufacturers and ask certain questions, and it may have been done for the B.B., but I would have to look back thru myself to find it. Basically, you need to know if the Menhaden fish meal listed in the ingredients has been preserved with ethoxyquin. Some manufacturers state the absence of ethoxyquin on the bag; with others, we have inquired directly. You also want to ask if the food is made in the U.S., and if any of the ingredients are imported from China (or anywhere else). As I say, it may be posted somewhere here in the C.F. section already.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Okay, I just did a search in our dicussions here, and found that Blue Buffalo has stated that their fish meal is not preserved with ethoxyquin; so you should be fine.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Patricia, I just noticed that you mentioned that you don't have the puppy yet; you are going to have to start with whatever the breeder has been feeding the pup. After that, it's a good idea to stick with a food that uses the same primary protein sources for awhile until the pup adjusts to these huge changes in his life. So before you buy anything, what is the breeder feeding?

[Patricia & Jeremy & Charlie]

The Breeder is feeding Purina Pro Plan puppy food. I got a small bag of the Pro Plan so that I can transition him over a week or so to the new food. I decided to go with Blue Buffalo. Both have "chicken" protein source I believe. Is that what you meant? We'll see how it goes, will keep everyone updated!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Yep, that's what I meant! Please do keep us posted!