OK. I picked up my first dog this past weekend and I am very excited. He is a 9 week old English Setter. I have had a cat for decades and have become a firm believer in higher quality pet food....until watching 8 weeks to 8 months video I didn't realize that there are better foods out there that trump Science Diet, Iams, etc....so upon discovery I am scrambling to find the absolute best food for my pup. Two different, unrelated stores that I visited in Minnesota recommend a certain brand food...but thought I would see what the general concesus is in the real world. Thanks,

Eric

Most people on this board will tell you the best is to feed raw, I'm inclined to agree with them if you have the foods available to you that can complete a balanced raw diet and have the time to prepare the food (which, since it's raw, means you don't have to cook anything <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> - and also wether your dog will eat it or not, apparently I'm the only one having trouble getting my dog to eat certain foods <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" /> so you should be good to go with that.

http://www.leerburg.com/articles.htm#feed

I personally just switched to The Honest Kitchen diet (www.TheHonestKitchen.com), it's dehydrated food that you mix with water, let it sit 10 minutes, then feed it to your dog. Even though this is a balanced diet, I think it's important to add additional things to this, and it even says so on the label, for a very active dog. You'll see my experience with The Honest Kitchen in my thread "Bones Bones Bones", so go ahead and read that <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I think I'll answer for everyone when I say...RAW! Tons of info on this site. You really shouln't have to post on this; you can go under "search" and you'll get hundreds of hours of reading on this topic.

Having said that: There are finally some decent foods out there for those who can't/won't feed raw. The ones I've personally used when raw isn't an option are: Innova Evo (just went through a bag of this with great results-even my cats were sneaking into the bag!) It IS expensive ($44/28lb bag) but look at the serving difference. It's protein content is so much higher and there are no cheap fillers, so the dogs eat less. I see some of the same benefits as raw with this food (smaller stools you don't need to clean up b/c they disappear, drinking less water, no doggy breath or smell, etc.)

There's also Wellness, Chicken Soup, Canidae (decent kibble for the money!) and several others I can't think of. If you're going to stick with kibble, mix it up. Don't feed the same one all the time. If I have to feed kibble, I buy 3 small bags of it and mix them together or feed one one day, a different the next, etc. This is important for minimizing chances of allergies and deficiencies.

There are also some raw frozen and dehydrated foods-available on this site-for easy raw feeding. Not cheap, but indeed easy. Once you get the knack for feeding raw, it's actually cheaper than a premium all-natural kibble, and way cheaper than vet bills! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Search food on this site-you'll be busy for hours <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />!

Hi Eric. I am not able to feed my dog the raw diet due to time restraints and cost. I've fed my puppy Solid Gold, Blue Buffalo and am now feeding Natural Balance (the Dick Van Patten brand) and have had good results with it. The SOlid gold was a little expensive, the Blue Buffalo was good but gave my dog gas and I have had great results with the NB. I give her kibble with a spoonful of canned to give it a little punch. The think I like about NB is that there is a variety of meats/protein sources in the different styles so I'm going to rotate her food so she doesn't develop any allergies. It's also available at Petco/Petsmart so it's easy to find. Hope this helps.

I guess Mike types faster <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />! I should've known someone would beat me to the punch and I was rambling unnecessarily <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />. Sorry for the repetition <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />.

Thanks everyone for replying...I like the streaming information. But just to clarify...I am not interested in heading down the RAW path so I should clarify what is the best food off the shelf that I can feed my pup. One reply stated to mix it up to avoid allergens...is this important with these Ultra Premium Dog Foods?

Hi Eric:

I've heard and read on this board that if you feed the same kibble repeatedly for a long time, some dogs can develop an allergy to a certain grain or source of protein (meat source) in the foods. If you can rotate it so that they're eating chicken and then lamb and then venison, etc., it helps to avoid these problems. There are no guarantees, but it should help avoid these problems. Also, it keeps the dog from getting bored eating the same thing for the next 10 years.

I also add supplements to the kibble including a dog multi-vit, fish oil supplements as well as SynFlex which is a joint formula. Hope this helps.

Canidae made my Shepherd itch.

Flint River Ranch made for very loose stool in the Shepherd. My other dogs did great on both foods.

I am now feeding Bil Jac which they all seem to enjoy. I know it is as expensive as premium kibble but I do not believe the quality is as good but for some reason the dogs have done the best with that food.

I'm currently dogless until early next Fall, which has given me time to do some research on food. I intend to feed a modified raw diet (mainly raw but with some kibble). The main reason for this is that there could be times when raw feeding would not be possible (such as having to board the dog or during an emergency situation). After a great deal of research, I will most likely be feeding Timber Wolf Organics for the kibble. They have several different options for both dry and wet foods.