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I have asked a few vets what they suggest for a good food. A few said Science diet (WHICH I BELIEVE IS A HORRIBLE FOOD) and only one suggested wellness for dogs. I have done a little bit of looking around but there are just so many to choose from. Also the babies didn't help since I put samples down for them to try they ate everyone like they couldn't get enough of any of them. I'm trying to choose from California natural, Innova, EVO, chicken soup for the dog lovers soul and wellness. If you have or are using any of these give me your input on how good or bad they are.
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Answers
Good for you for turning down Science-fiction Diet. That food is fit for a chicken maybe, but not for our carnivores. All of the good foods you've listed would be wonderful to try. Try one and see how your pup does on it. Remember to make a slow transition from one food to another. Happy hunting!
Wellness! I was about to reccomend their CORE formula(we use reduced fat) but Azura looks like a pup so Wellness just for puppy. We love wellness. you can't go wrong.
All those foods that you have listed there are great foods. I have had great experience with wellness super 5 chicken. My dogs do really well on EVO as well. I feed their red meats formula with awesome results. I have fed california naturals canned to my cats and they also do well on that stuff. Me telling you how well my animals have done on any of these foods is a little pointless though as just because mine have done well doesnt mean that yours will. You just have to pick one and stick with it for a while and see which one gets along best with your pooch. The list you have there while very good are very different. California naturals is simplistic which is great for the sensitive dog or dog with allergies but a little low in protein. You could go with EVO or Wellness Core. No grains but high in protein. Or innova, wellness, chicken soup which will provide your dog with a variety of things with moderate protein levels. Its all what you think your dog will need.
Thank you SOOOOO much for not choosing Science Diet! It is, to me, the WORST thing you could EVER give a dog! I would recommend Solid Gold because it is a very good brand. Jet eats Eukanuba because his breeder started him on it, but we might change it to Solid Gold. I thought Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul was a book! BOL!!!!! I've heard EVO is sort of a good brand and from what I've heard, California Natural isn't too bad, either. EVO and Innova pretty much are the same.
I recommend Solid Gold and I bet you'll hear a lot of happy customers from Solid Gold. Also NEVER FEED PROPLAN!
I think that alot of vets suggest Science Diet because they SELL it...it is a profit center. My dog
Napoleon was supposed to be eating the U/D for
his tendency towards bladder stones. He wont eat the stuff! Little good it does to buy expensive food the dog will not eat or to have wet food cover it....that isn't prescription....to convince him to eat it! There are lots of whole food recipes on the net !
good dog foods ; Yes, I know what you mean!
We sure do like Innova EVO: Wellness Core and Merrick Before Grain.
So many to choose from!
see here:
dog food experts:
free service en.allexperts.com
Was the vet that suggested Wellness selling it? Everybody recommends what that are selling or what story they bought. The truth is, many of the common brands have more to recommend them than the more expensive ones. There are no test results available to the public. People have posted here that there are, but never followed up with a link. Of course, I don't have a link to the tests I know the service dog schools have done. I do know they feed common brands such as the despised Science Diet, Iams, Pro plan, etc. with great results.
Go to dogfoodanalysis. Read all the hyperventilating about ingredients and then try to find any controlled feeding tests behind ''good'' and ''bad'' ingredients.
"Everybody recommends what that are selling or what story they bought."
True in most cases, but not all. Me? I recommend what I do for pet food based on experience, research, reason, and testimonies.
"The truth is, many of the common brands have more to recommend them than the more expensive ones."
True enough. However, you cannot justify something just because "everyone else does it". "The common brands" get more publicity. Vets are brainwashed into recommending "the common brands", and because people have been brainwashed to believe that the vet is the say all end all of canine nutrition, they believe him.
"There are no test results available to the public."
Until you can prove that there are actual well-conducted studies which back up your claims, I'll have to disregard them. They may exist, but unless I can read into them and exactly how they were conducted, they are not doing anyone any good.
"People have posted here that there are, but never followed up with a link."
Yep, they have. Have you asked them for their source?
"Of course, I don't have a link to the tests I know the service dog schools have done."
How convient.
"I do know they feed common brands such as the despised Science Diet, Iams, Pro plan, etc. with great results."
Ah, so now you use the term "great" rather than just "good"? Clever. Now: Define "great".
If you had asked me how my dogs were doing back when I fed corn-based puppy crack, I'd have said "Oh, just great.". Wonderful even.
But guess what? They're doing even better now on their meat-based diets. The proof is in the pudding.
"Go to dogfoodanalysis. Read all the hyperventilating about ingredients and then try to find any controlled feeding tests behind ''good'' and ''bad'' ingredients."
Ah yes, that's the first step in attempts at brainwashing: disregarding another source as "nonsense" or "ignornance" or "hype" without giving any factual reason why. You have yet to give afactual reason why this DFA is stuff and nonsence. You claim that you have not read the books used as sources because they'd just have the same "misinformation". I'm going to be checking these books out for myself when I can find them,but how do *you* know that these books do not speak of well-conducted studies. Aster, how many sides have you actually looked at? You've said yourself that the majority of your information comes from that guide dog school. If you have not looked very deeply into the other sides on your own and seriously considered them, then how can you be sure that your side has *the truth*?
Tell me, Aster: You claim to have been trained in this area by top professionals. If this is so, why do you not use the hard facts you have learned to really drive your point home? That would be so much more convincing than the general puting down of other's intelligence that you do 99.9% of the time here.
As for me, I may get onto you a lot, Aster, but at least I encourage people to look into all sides (including yours) and tell them not to trust any one person over another. Neither I do not claim to be any expert as you do. But I do claim to use logic and reason, and I do claim that my experience backs up my choices regarding pet food. And I can provide proof of these claims.
Here are my dog's before/afters: fc02.deviantart.com www.dogster.com
Whether people choose to listen to me or not is their choice.
I say this a lot and I'll say it again: Anyone at all, including those proclaimed experts, can lie or be misled, so do your own research (be sure to look at all the sides), and do your own thinking.
I'd like to say one more thing, Aster. I am a young person trying to get all sides, not trying to sell any product. In fact, I loathe the use of commercial products in general. I wish that things were not set up the way they were with the marketting system. I'd honestly prefer to get fresh meat from hunting rather than buying meat from the grocery store. I'd prefer to grow my own food, too. But sadly my situation prevents me from doing either.
Even when asked for tangible sources from others, you in my experience do not give it to them. When I asked for studies on pet food, the first PM you sent me after answering that question contained nothing but the degrading of others and philosophy. I asked you to avoid either and just get straight to the facts. You avoided bashing others all right, but you also managed to avoid sharing any facts that back up your claims. It was then that I became fully convinced that there is zilch to what you say about pet food. (That said, I'm still willing to listen to what you have to say.) I can provide proof if asked.
You have gotten some really good answers. Basically look for a food that has a named meat and/or meat meal in the 1st 5 ingredients. No corn, digest, unnamed meat/protein, and no byproducts.
There is a lot of information on the net, Cookies gave you some good links and you can research further on your own if you choose. Many vets only have a few hours of nutritional training provided by some of the big dog food companies. They end up sounding like a commercial for science diet or Purina.
Disregard Aster’s ranting. As far as anyone can tell, the big service dog schools are a figment of his imagination. They have no names and there is no information about them. Furthermore, just because a service dog school feeds what it can get at a discount, doesn’t mean the food is high quality. Anyone can claim to be an expert; a real expert has credentials anyone can check out.
Good luck.
Here is a link to a thread on the Food and Nutrition forum by our furiend Sedona on everything you need to know about dog food and what to look for. WTG on rejecting Science Diet. You just have to learn how to read the nutritional content and know what you are feeding your dog.
It is also depends on what your pup like. Kobe is very picky so there is a lot of good food that he does not like so we keep searching and searching. Good luck.
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