Dog owners: which brand of food?

track3000

Legacy Member
Im bascially torn between professional opinions of both sides. I just adopted a 10 week old french bulldog. There doesnt exist any specific brand for this breed so im trying to select the best possible food but its not that easy.

Im currently feeding the puppy a mix bewteen Eukanuba puppy for small dogs and a Hills mix recommended from my VET.

In my non-professional opinion lol, VETS are great at what they do but they arent nutritionists. They can also be bias to sell a product they have endorsed as they make direct profit.

Now looking to switch to HOLISTIC, but concerned about certain by-products (lacking) that can actually be beneful for a growing pup. So much info on the net, problem is everything is contradictive :(

What brands do YOU use? would you use holistic?
 
google pic

french-bulldog-baby-anu-reimanm.jpg
 
Trial and error. The best food for one dog will make another one scuff at it's sight or outright barf it.

Set-up a budget, buying from a pet store reputable food is more expensive then generic Wall-Mart food. Read the ingredients & look for pure meat product, less filler stuff. Don't trust Vets don't trust publicity.

Holistic can be good but it can also be marketing scam.

If you are around West downtown I can refer you to my gf's store.
 
Whats the store?

I know there is a natural food store in westmount near clairemont, I used to get cat food there before my grandparents adopted my cat
 
I have Cesar for Puppy (~15$ at Wal-Mart)
http://www.cesar.ca/en-us/products/dry-food/puppy-dry-food

It's all the same crap anywhere i compare the nutrition fact in Petshop and market and it's in the best spec.
Same thing in Petshop would have cost me twice the price.

From what i heard it's the Protein that is the most important for a puppy this one had 32%.
I checked 3 petshop and anyway "near" the nutrition facts of Cesar was 25/30$ and up, only found 1/2 other brand with 32% protein.

Our sales rep at the office use to sell the machine to pack the food and told us it's mostly the same everywhere that in convention most of the animal food company rep where laughing their ass of seeing customer paying premium price for dog food.

Anyway am far from being a expert, just got a dog for my wife couple weeks ago and it's my first one personally. Only thing i could say there a "2 weeks" transition that you will have to mix the old food your dog is used to and the one you will choose.


edit: Sorry for poor english, i am far from being perfectly bilingual.
 
From what i heard it's the Protein that is the most important for a puppy this one had 32%.
I checked 3 petshop and anyway "near" the nutrition facts of Cesar was 25/30$ and up, only found 1/2 other brand with 32% protein.

Depends, you can get a pretty nice protein count feeding your dog sphincters of horse's asshole...

Anyway am far from being a expert, just got a dog for my wife couple weeks ago and it's my first one personally. Only thing i could say there a "2 weeks" transition that you will have to mix the old food your dog is used to and the one you will choose.

Good advice.
 
Ah btw those brand are all from the Mars Corporation:
Royal Canin - PetShop Only and x2 of Cesar (checked both brand last week and mostly same nutrition spec)
Cesar - Grocery store and others....

Pedigree
Whiskas
Sheba
 
Depends, you can get a pretty nice protein count feeding your dog sphincters of horse's asshole...

Sweet could be cheaper!

Only thing i don't trust the "Grocery food is bad! PetShop is the solution and only good source!"
Would i trust a 16y old or 43y old women thats getting minimum wage and haven't even finish highschool to explain me nutrition facts on animal food when she probably eat KraftDinner after KraftDinner with her crappy pay ?

It's all commercial crap and marketing, it's like car company all of them have the "highest safety rating in the industry", that sure they own have their own "study company".
 
Ah btw those brand are all from the Mars Corporation:
Royal Canin - PetShop Only and x2 of Cesar (checked both brand last week and mostly same nutrition spec)
Cesar - Grocery store and others....
Pedigree
Whiskas
Sheba

All of the above, I would not recommend.

Would i trust a 16y old or 43y old women thats getting minimum wage and haven't even finish highschool to explain me nutrition facts on animal food when she probably eat KraftDinner after KraftDinner with her crappy pay ?

What's your point? Maybe, before dissing out someone's opinion on the basis of your perceived salary that they earn, you should listen to what they have to tell you. You'd be surprised how many of these 16y or 43y old are genuinely interested in your dog's well being. At grocery stores and Wall-Mart... not so much.
 
Ma chienne mange du caesar depuis 12 ans et elle toujours vivante et petante de sante ....
Juste celui au poulet :p
 
get your food at the vet. more expensive yes, but it keeps the vet away. big store food are very salty and dont always have the nutriments they need and you dont want your dog to be sick and go to the vet and maybe have a "pierre au reins" and spend 1000$ on that. just buy good food.

check out hills, medical and purina
 
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Personally, I feed my German Shepherd with Hill's DD Formula, Duck and Sweet Patatoes (which is sell by my vet). We chose this brand because it is hypoallergenic (skins problems) and our dog just love it! You should try to get the best food you can....forget about foods that are sell in groceries.....or Walmart or any kind of store that doesnt relates to dogs.

We tried:

Royal Canin - Big dog = BIG ZERO. Hard time to digest, very expensive.
Nutro Ultra Holistic = Great food
Orijen - Red Meat = One of the greatest! Expensive, but the dog just LOVES it!
I heard VetDiet was really good also.

Try not to change his food too often.....if he likes it and digests it well, just make sure the grains are not the most pupolar ingredient into it. Try to feed him with the most natural food you can find.

Any photos of your baby??? :p
 
Ma chienne mange du caesar depuis 12 ans et elle toujours vivante et petante de sante ....
Juste celui au poulet :p

C'est clair que ya pas une marque de bouffe qui va carrément empoisonner un animal. C'est pareil pour les humains. Est-ce que tout le monde qui mangent tout croche se réveil à 40ans avec un cancer généralisé? Non...

J'en croise des tonnes qui nourrissent leurs chats au Whiskas à 100% et leur chat vivent super vieux. Pourtant la liste des ingrédients suit plus les tendances de la bourses du blé qu'une recette idéales pré-établis.
 
What's your point? Maybe, before dissing out someone's opinion on the basis of your perceived salary that they earn, you should listen to what they have to tell you. You'd be surprised how many of these 16y or 43y old are genuinely interested in your dog's well being. At grocery stores and Wall-Mart... not so much.

Tu te fait cet avis la quand ça fait 5/6 employé d'animalerie qui te dis que RoyalCanin "is the shit!" pour ton chien et que tout ce qui est vendu hors d'une animalerie c'est mauvais et que du Cesar c'est limite du poison pour mon chien, quand je demande le pourquoi chaque fois il tourne le ti-sac et me montre la fiche sur le côté.... wow! Je demande ou je pourrais lire d'avantage sur la bouffe pour chien hors des site de fabriquant et oups y'en a jamais un sacrement qui sais quoi dire à part que le fabricant quand il est venu il leur à dis "bla bla bla bla bla....".... wow super vendeur tu vient de me convaincre en sacrement de trader mon sac de Cesar (from Mars Corporation) @ 15$ pour un sac de RoyalCanin (from Mars corporation) @ 32$

Faut dire que je suis à Granby les PetShop c'est rien de débile, pas mal certain qui à des endroit plus spécialisé à Montréal avec de meilleur sélection mais ici les 3 place que j'ai fait c'est que du gros commercial et ce qu'il avais de mieux c'était sois RoyalCanin ou ScienceDiet.
 
Les rep de Royal Canin sont extrêmement agressifs envers les animaleries dans leur marketing. Ils distribuent le matériel publicitaires à la pelleté.

Les meilleurs compagnies n'ont souvent pas la machine à marketing derrière eux pour pousser leur produits de cette façon ou à travers les vétérinaires ou même en inondant l'internet de faux témoignages positifs.

La liste d'ingrédients ne devraient pas laissé place à l'interprétation. "Gras animal", "sous-produit", "grains"... c'est tous des indications de no no.

Je suis pas un pro non plus. Le lien suivant est intéressant:

http://www.wikihow.com/Choose-Healthy-Dog-Food


  • General Principle
  • Understand that arguably, the best ratios for a healthy dog's diet are about 50% meat, 50% veggies, and no grain, wheat, or other cheap fillers. Choose pet food close to this ingredient ratio. However, this type of information is not available from the regulated part of the label (ie, guaranteed analysis or ingredient list).
  • Ensure that meat meal protein sources are high in the ingredient list. The meal is basically the pre-cooked meat, which ensures that it won't reduce down anymore during the cooking process. (It takes 5 pounds of the animal meat to make one pound of the animal meal.) You could look for three of the first five ingredients listed on the label as a form of protein such as chicken meal, lamb meal, venison meal.

Big no no

  1. Grains can be a long-term source of energy and energy storage for dogs, but they can also be used as a cheap filler in order to boost the food's protein percentage. Watch out! Any grain you feed your dog should be used in whole form so that it supplies more fiber, vitamins and minerals. The best grains for dogs (when used in the proper percentages) are rolled oats, barley, quinoa, millet, and brown rice.
  2. Often, low quality dog foods will list a meat ingredient first, which will be followed by several by-products and fillers. In this case, although meat is listed first, there are actually MORE fillers, which changes the ratio noted above.
  3. A well-planned vegetarian diet can work for dogs, although dogs are carnivores by nature. Dogs need animal protein. Would a dog naturally be vegetarian? No. Most veterinarians and holistic practitioners agree that although a dog can survive on a vegetarian diet, they may not thrive on it.
  4. Be aware that while preservatives may be necessary to keep the food edible, preservatives do not have to be artificial chemicals that might be cancer-causing agents. Avoid pet foods that use chemical preservatives BHA, BHT and Ethoxyquin. Vitamin E & vitamin C are great preservatives that are much better for your dog.
  5. Choose Premium Brand dog foods instead of Economy Brand dog foods. The cheapest ingredients are rarely the healthiest ones.
  6. Go holistic. Holistic foods are 100% natural and 100% nutritious. They contain human-grade ingredients. One holistic pet food manufacturer provides an free online video "The Truth About Pet Food" you can watch here. (Actually, the term "human-grade" is a marketing technique. As is "holistic". To be able to market a food as "human-grade" the food has to be run through a series of trials and tests that AAFCO officiates. If the food does not pass ALL of these tests and trials it is actually illegal to put the term "human-grade" on the bag.)
  7. Some may consider this rule of thumb: If you wouldn't eat it, your dog probably shouldn't eat it either. (Think animal fat and added salt or sugar.) But there are some things you would eat (such as chocolate, grapes, raisins, white flour and onions) that are NOT good for your dog. Don't make the mistake of thinking all human food is appropriate for your canine. Canine and human nutritional needs and likes differ, such that what is appropriate and appealing for your dog may not be something you care to eat. In addition, some ingredients considered undesirable by US consumers (eg, bi-products) are enjoyed by humans in other cultures.


Tips
  1. If you really want to know what's in your dog's food, try making your own dog food. It's not as hard as it sounds! There are plenty of recipes and meal plans available online, but beware. Really research what you're doing. Consult with your veterinarian to make sure the diet is well-balanced. A very helpful book is "The Whole Pet Diet" by Andi Brown, and she gives some good recipes. If you'd rather save time and pay more for the same thing, she also produces Halo Spot's Stew, which is her homemade recipe canned.
  2. Every dog, like every human, has different nutritional requirements. It is very important you check with your veterinarian to determine what foods best meet your pet's needs.
  3. A good way to see if your dog's diet is suitable is to check how it comes out the other end. No, you don't have to get too close to it, but as you pick it up in your poop scoop or baggie, check it for consistency and general appearance. A healthy dog's output should be firm and without any traces of blood or mucus.
  4. When changing your dog’s food it is important to switch gradually, as it is easier on the dogs digestive system, and reactions to the new food will generally be less severe. It is recommended that you gradually increase the amount of new food in the following sequence: 1/7, 1/3, 1/1, 3/1, 7/1, and 1; this being the portion of new food to old food (first change: a total of 8 cups of food [that would be one big dog!] with one cup of new food with 7 cups of old food). Each change should be gradual with several days (5 days to a week is best) between changes. All in all it should take a month or more. Even a 4-day transition can help avoid digestive upsets.
  5. Sometimes you can't afford the very best for your pets, so it comes down to trying to find the best that fits your budget. Use what you've learned about ingredient labels to make the best decision.
  6. Often, you'll find what seems to be a good dog food in almost every aspect, but it has too much grain. To help balance the ratios, try a grain-free canned dog food to supplement your dry food with. Dogs love canned food mixed with their food.
  7. Raw food diet is often found the most beneficial for dogs' health. You can find meaty bones in the stores or order online. In addition dogs could eat some vegetables or fruits (tomatoes, carrots, apples, etc.). Also vitamins should be given as a supplement.
 
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