I need help choosing a dog food

I have been feeding Gonzo Science Diet since we took him home, as recommended by our vet. Recently I began researching dog foods because I know that some are better than others, and Gonzo has never seemed to enjoy Science Diet. I found that Science Diet really isn't the worst but certainly is not the best quality either. Gonzo recently went three days without eating, and since we took him home he's frequently gone a full day without eating. I think maybe he simply doesn't like the taste, so I've decided to begin switching foods. Additionally, he is almost a year old so I'd like to get him on an adult food soon. I do not want to use canned food, only dry. In the past I have found that my dogs didn't react well to canned food. They would have diarrhea that just smelled horrible.

In my research, I've found three brands that I believe are acceptable and affordable for me:

Avoderm

Eukanuba

Nature's Recipe

I am now having difficulty choosing a food. I certainly want the best out of the three. Is there anyone out there who knows a lot about dog food ingredients and what should and should not be in there? I would be happy to provide the ingredient lists for you if you'd be willing to help.

Thanks for any help!

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Comment by Cindi on January 3, 2008 at 4:45pm: Hi Nicole...This is a hot-button subject for lots of folks. You are correct about Science Diet. They were bought out by a large manufacturing company (I think it was Colgate) and their formulas changed. They have much more byproduct than they used to. You're paying top dollar for byproduct.

Nature's Recipe is good. No beef, corn or wheat. Instead of a meat base, they use meals to get their protein levels. Not always a bad thing. And they have many different formulas.

Eukanuba's okay. Folks tend to like it fine. But it's nothing special.

We just started carrying Avoderm so I'm still looking at it.

The two others I would mention are Blue Buffalo, an uber-holistic dog food with no byproducts, soy, corn, wheat, antibiotics, artificial colors or flavors. It has an excellent source of meat protein, as well as several different formulas. If you read the side panel on this one, you'll think you can put milk on it and eat it for cereal! It's some serious nutrition.

The other would be Bil-Jac. We use it for all of our dogs and they have flourished on it. Bil-Jac does use byproducts, however they are organ meat and liver only. The kibble is small and does not swell in the stomach. It's been a life-saver for our "kids."

When I teach nutrition in class, it all comes down to being a smart consumer. Read labels. Look at the first 3-5 ingredients. That's the bulk of what's in the food. Look at the manufacturing process to be sure all the nutrients aren't cooked out of the food. (Thats' one of our reasons to use Bil-Jac.)

There will be those who favor a raw diet. I'm sure it works great for them. I'm just not a fan of it.

Good luck!