Variety Pet Foods?? *help.

Normally, I refuse to buy dog food at a pet store. After exhaustive reading about pet nutrition, I ended up coming to a conclusion about the direction I want to go with feeding Dixie. I'll feed her the way I feed my family - if I don't recognize the ingredients, I avoid it as much as I can.

When we got her, she was used to Nutro, so we've kept her on that diet because her digestive system doesn't like change very much. But now that she's older and more developed, I want to try to transition her to something better.

I've already searched these forums to exhaustion, and I've gleaned a lot of fantastic information. I just want to ask about a food I'm having trouble evaluating.

VARIETY PET FOODS (they have a website!)

As near as I can tell, this food is darn near perfect. I read the ingredients list on the can, and here is the list:

Turkey, Turkey Broth, Poultry Liver, Cracked Barley, Ground Brown Rice, Whole Brown Rice, Carrots, Chicken Meal, Sweet Potatoes, Potatoes, Peas, Egg Product, Guar Gum, Flaxseed Meal, Potassium Chloride, Calcium Carbonate, Dicalcium Phosphate, Salt, Carrageenan Gum, Zinc Amino Acid Complex, Iron Amino Acid Complex, Sodium Selenite, Manganese Amino Acid Complex, Copper Amino Acid Complex, Calcium Iodate, Vitamin A Acetate, Vitamin D-3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin, Niacin, Calcium Pantothenate, Choline Chloride, Folic Acid, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, Biotin, Ascorbic Acid.

Guaranteed Analysis: Crude Protein (min.) 8.0%; Crude Fat (min.) 6.0%; Crude Fiber (max.) 1.3%; Moisture (max.) 78%

I recognize all the ingredients, and would even eat them myself if they didn't come out of the can all gross and mushy!

So my question, finally, is if any of you guys can see anything that I can't -- any red flags that I missed? If I'm going to use this food regularly, what sort of supplemental nutrition would I need to provide, if any? Is a wet-only diet okay for a dog? (She has plenty of things to chew for her dental hygiene.) Does anyone feed their corgi on Variety products?

As a new corgi mom, I really appreciate any insight you wonderful bunch can provide :) I just want the best for my little girl!

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Permalink Reply by Amelia Craig on February 26, 2012 at 6:31pm

I just want a food that's made from recognizable ingredients, with appropriate nutrition. I tend to supplement her diet with whatever we have at home (fruits, veggies, lean meat) and then cut down her portion of kibble to make sure she isn't overfed.

After reading the comments and going through dog nutrition information, I'm currently thinking about transitioning her onto Taste of the Wild's kibble, and continuing to give her a share of our meal when it's dog-friendly! I like that TOTW is grain-free with chelated vit/min.

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Permalink Reply by Anna Morelli on February 26, 2012 at 6:48pm

Sounds good to me!

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Permalink Reply by Melissa and Franklin! on February 26, 2012 at 7:34pm

I really like Taste of the Wild because it is a good food yet easy on the pocket book! It rates just has high (or higher depending on the website) as some of the other premium dog foods, but generally runs $15-$20 cheaper per bag, plus Franklin LOVES it! I switch protein sources with each bag just to mix things up a bit and since I still haven't figured out what the ideal protein level is, I rotate between their 25% protein varieties and their 32% protein varieties just in case in the future we find one is better than the other lol.