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Permalink Reply by Sam on November 14, 2007 at 9:24pm

One of the things I look for in dog food is that it should not have corn in the first five ingredients. Corn is definitely a filler. I have to say there is no "one" magic answer to what dog food is best but I will say I think a premium dog food is best. I choose to feed my crew Natural Balance. It contains no corn, soy or grain products. Yes, it is a bit expensive but the ingredients are used far better within the body. There is a dog food comparison chart on the internet....will show you comparisons of different foods. This may help you make a choice that you are happy with. Good luck!

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Permalink Reply by Cindi on November 14, 2007 at 10:22pm

Animal digest is all the crap that comes from the inside of the animal....notice it doesn't say WHAT kind of animal. And yeah this is crappy food. Really. You were right to read the label. That's what I teach in my classes: read the label.

Me and CorgiMom feed our group Bil-Jac. Moira slimmed down really well on it. The corgis love it. And Ayla, our catahoula/bassett eats it right up. Ayla has a very sensitive stomach.

The reason for using Bil-Jac? First, it's a US product. Second, it's processed at a low temp so as to not cook out all the nutrients. Third, they don't add the supplements until after it's cooked. To me, that meant better nutrition for my dogs.

Interested to hear what others are feeding and why...

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Permalink Reply by Avyon on November 15, 2007 at 6:46am

thank you for answering that question lol eww.. animal digest...

I showed the ingrediants to Chris and he did the "But they have little bones in it!" thing jokingly :)

Def. going to look around and take suggestions from people on here, she really is eating junk food for dogs right now :(

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Permalink Reply by bex on November 15, 2007 at 8:34am

I feed our guys Innova. It is a good food for my boys. Of course, not every dog is the same, but with the Innova, there is nothing but human grade ingredients, (list at the bottom). I'm of the opinion that if you put more money on what goes in the body, their health is better, and therefore you spend less on health problems in the long run. In fact my cats are both on the cat Innova and have never had a UTI or been sick in the eons that we've had them. (Except for the herpes that one has and the flare ups, but she was born with that and surprisingly L-Lysine has been a dog-send in keeping her not drippy or snotty).

One of the forums I frequent considers foods like Purina and Kibbles and Bits to be the "McDonald's of dog foods." It's convenient, cheap, tasty, but not the healthiest. Of course, OTOH, my mother has a 10 year old Great Dane who is suffering from old age who was eating nothing but Old Roy her entire life. But there is always an exception. Only you know your dogs but honestly I'd not like to eat the Purina.

Dang they put a lot of stuff hidden in their copy/paste. . .The website that I got that info from is http://www.naturapet.com/

The one that Sam referred to is http://www.dogfoodproject.com/ That is an excellent resource.

Here's the Innova list of ingredients

Turkey
Turkey is the clean combination of flesh and skin with or without accompanying bone, derived from the parts or whole carcasses of turkey or a combination of thereof - exclusive of feathers, heads, feet, and entrails.

Turkey is an excellent source of highly digestible protein. Natura uses table-quality turkey in many of our formulations.

The turkey Natura uses is not only human-grade, but also tested to be free of hormones, antibiotics and pesticides, as well as chemical preservatives such as BHA, BHT and ethoxyquin. This is an important distinction because manufacturers are not required to list substances that are present in the ingredients when they go into the pet food.

Chicken
Chicken is the clean combination of flesh and skin with or without accompanying bone, derived from the parts or whole carcasses of chicken - exclusive of feathers, heads, feet, and entrails.

Chicken is an excellent source of protein.

The chicken Natura uses is not only human-grade, but also tested to be free of hormones, antibiotics and pesticides, as well as chemical preservatives such as BHA, BHT and ethoxyquin. Natura does not add these harmful ingredients, and they are not present in the ingredients we use. This is an important distinction, because manufacturers are not required to list substances that are present in the ingredients when they go into the pet food.

Chicken Meal
Chicken meal is the dry rendered (cooked down) product from a combination of clean flesh and skin with or without accompanying bone, derived from the parts of whole carcasses of chicken -- exclusive of feathers, heads, feet, or entrails.

Chicken meal is considered to be the single best source of protein in commercial pet foods. Natura uses high-quality, low ash chicken meal extensively. This ingredient is very digestible, very palatable, and very expensive.

Barley
Barley is a major food and animal feed crop, a member of the grass family Poaceae.

Ground barley is the entire barley kernel, ground or chopped.

Ground Barley is a good quality source of carbohydrates. Because Natura uses the entire barley kernel, it contributes additional protein, barley oil, bran, vitamins and minerals to the diet.

Brown Rice
Potatoes
Potatoes are whole, freshly cooked, Idaho russet potatoes, that include the skins.

Natura uses only whole, freshly steam cooked potatoes. They are not pre-processed, so they retain all of their important nutrients (including 'protector' antioxidants).

Potatoes provide B vitamins, carbohydrates, zinc, vitamin C, copper, iron, magnesium, niacin and po

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