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Colby

Any suggestions on what food I should switch my 12 month old lab/pit mix to?

I have had him on Innova large breed puppy since April but desperately need to find a less expensive option without sacrificing quality. Thanks for the help! :)


Asked by Colby on Jul 13th 2010 Tagged food, innova, largebreedpuppy, nutrition in Other Food & Nutrition
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Howard

Do not feed dog food brands like:

Iams
Purina
Kibbles 'N Bits
Ol' Roy
Nutro
Eukanuba
Bil-Jac
Royal Canin
Science Diet
Pro Plan
Pedigree

There are so many other bad brands of dog foods to look out for.

Dog food brands I highly recommend:

Orijen
Solid Gold
Merrick
Halo
Wellness
Timberwolf
Canidae

Bad dog food is one of the leading causes to medical problems. Do not get a dog food with corn, soy, artifical flavorings & colors, by-products, and all the other bad ingredients that goes into dog foods.

Check out this amazing site about dog food -

www.bornfreeusa.org

Good luck on finding the right food!

Paw-mail me for any other questions you may have.


Howard answered on 7/13/10. Helpful? Yes/Helpful: No 2 Report this answer


Hector

I have to go the home prepared food route. I have 4 dogs, all but one are large breeds. I too didn't want to compromise quality but the premium brands are very expensive. I found I can make it myself cheaper and I know exactly what they are getting.

If you try the home prepared food, figure out the days your local market has good quality beef/chicken and turkey on sale. Load up on it, so you won't run out during off sale days.

I buy turkey once every couple or three months when they mark it down to 39 cents a pound. I can find a marbled beef roast atleast once a month for between 99 cents a pound to 1.39 a lb. I have no problems eating this meat as well if needed. I can fix a healthy portioned plate for each of my dogs for what it would cost me for 2 cans of premium labeled dog food. It would take 4 cans or more of dog food for my guys, (large cans) so though it sounds outrageous, it is much cheaper for me, and my dogs LOVE their food, and I LOVE knowing what they are eating.


Hector answered on 7/13/10. Helpful? Yes/Helpful: No 3 Report this answer


Jack

Howard posted some good basic information on which brands of food are generally reliable and which are bad or even dangerous.

Unfortunately, his answer didn't address the cost which is what I think you were concerned about since you clearly already have Colby on a superior brand.

I agree with Hector in theory. Home feeding is great, but it's work and you have to get the balance just right or else you risk having a dog who has too much of one nutrient and not enough of another.

If you decide to keep feeding prepared food, I'd suggest either Wellness or Holistic Select (which are by Eagle Pack/Innova.) These foods are literally interchangeable, with the ingredients being virtually the same on each food/formula but with the first two ingredients switched. They are decidedly cheaper than Innova. Also on the cheaper side is Natural Balance, which is a not as great of a brand, but not bad at all.

Sadly, I'm not aware of any other brands that are cheaper that don't sacrifice quality.


Jack answered on 7/14/10. Helpful? Yes/Helpful: No 0 Report this answer


Guest

Innova and Blue Buffaloe are really great products. I found these products online at superbarket.com
About half the price of known retailers.Good luck,


Member 996914 answered on 7/14/10. Helpful? Yes/Helpful: No 0 Report this answer


Eve

I agree with Howard. Personally I use Wellness for my Shih-Tzu. Not saying it's the best brand out there, but it definitely does the job.

I believe if you want quality you are going to have to pay a bit more than the cheap/well named brands. But you puppy will be happy and healthy!

And don't forget to gradually change Colbys food over so he doesn't get an upset tummy.


Eve answered on 7/16/10. Helpful? Yes/Helpful: No 0 Report this answer


chow

i would suggest feeding merrick, wellness , really good high premium food. You should also try lotus, lotus is a food that has sources of omega 3s and 6s to help with diggestion. the kibble is actually baked so its easier to eat for puppes but you should considering switching them into an adult formula. the adult formula has more to offer it has glucosomine and chondroit to help with the hips and joints .if you have any further questions feel free to ask :)


chow answered on 7/16/10. Helpful? Yes/Helpful: No 0 Report this answer


Madison

Everybody had really solid answers but if your not comfortable going the home cooking route, I would reccommend Taste of The Wild here its like $43 for a 30lb cheaper than any other premium dog in my area. I buy it from tractor supply they also have a coupon you can get for $5 off a purchase of $25 or more. I have also fed Blue Buffalo which is $46 for 30lb. You might also try feed stores. Some feed stores carry premium dog food and don't have the markup as big name retail stores such as petsmart or petco. Also trying signing up for whichever brands newsletter via email they sometimes tend to send coupons.


Madison answered on 7/19/10. Helpful? Yes/Helpful: No 0 Report this answer


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