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.....Pretty interesting study. I believe it was Wendell Bellfield, or some guy with a name very similar! Anyone know more?

Yes, he's a vet near my town. He worked with Linus Pauling on the Vitamin C studies.

I haven't read much about his published work, but I know it's mentioned a lot on vet web sites, such as
http://www.afpafitness.com/articles/DogsDonLie.htm
and
http://www.cyberpet.com/cyberdog/articles/health/vitc.htm

There was a study in Germany, I will have to look up the details, they found that it is not the protein ratio in the food but the calcium phospherous ratio that affects
the growth of bones and can increase pano etc.
Will look for it and try post the info.

OK...I wanted to keep this discussion going on brands...I am not a scientist...nor do I want to be...I just want to know what time it is...not how a watch is build. From the replys so far I have pretty much come to the conclusion that many high grade foods are good and mixing it up is not a bad idea, if a person has the time and/or desire feeding RAW would be the best option....if one is educated enough to know what to feed, how much and knows the nutritional needs of a dog. For me that is not my cup of tea...hell I don't even really know how to feed myself right so I don't think I should be accountable for my pup....I will leave that work to the experts.

I think I have concluded to move forward with my initial plan of Solid Gold Hound'n'Flocken and possibly mix with a Wellness brand and the Embark from Honest Kitchen adding hamburger now and again for an extra treat and variety. My initial plan is to mix up meals with each meal being of a different variety but I fear that it wouldn't provide enough consistency...but I guess I will find out soon enough if his digestive tract will be able to handle it. Any one have comments on my plan?

Eric,
Are you going to hunt your setter? I have three Llewellin Setters. Have you ever heard of Royal Canine (RC)? That's what I feed. Im not sure of the cost in your area but in Missouri it's about $33 for a 35lb bag. I switched my last police K9 from another food to RC and saw a huge difference. I have a new PK9 and I am raising a Mal. That's all that I feed to my dogs. I also have a Basset Hnd and a Chesapeake Bay Retriever. They all do very well on the food. Im sure someone will disagree with this but like many others I don't have the time to feed raw.

I was using Purina, but i switched to Flint River Ranch and the Shepherds like it better, plus they ship it to your door via Ups. In the South it is distributed from Atlanta

I do plan to hunt him...but not as a guide just a 1/2 dozen or more times a year....plus training.

I wouldn't mix up his food like that, I mean, it's one thing to mix it up a lil for variety, but I wouldn't give him 3 or 4 different brands of food every week.

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I've used Solid Gold occasionally. It's good, as far as average petshop stock is concerned. I go to specialty feed stores to find the really good stuff, but I have also used Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance.

Is Solid Gold an average pet shop stock? Here in Minnesota the only place to find it is at specialty feed stores.

Eric,
I have fed Solid Gold (several flavors), Wellness Chicken, Eagle Pack Holistic Duck and Candidae to my GSDs. We also had a bag of Merrick, but it is too expensive to feed on a regular basis. The Solid Gold was too rich for my pup, he got the runs every time I tried. The older dog is fine with all foods. She ate Nutro for years and did well (steady health, good energy, soft coat). The Wellness seemed fine, but he got really bored with it. The Eagle Pack is very difficult to find here. For now, we have settled on Candidae. I supplement with a little canned 100% beef or chicken (usually Abady) to add flavor, Nupro Joint Supplement and a source of fish oils. They also get raw bones, chicken backs, etc for some meals in place of kibble.

I would not just buy a bag of each and mix them up because then you will have no idea if any one food is better then the others for your dog. If anything, try a few foods individually, and then think about mixing. The other problem with mixing is that if you buy the largest sized bags to be economical, and mix several types, each bag stays open with you for a long time, and they may lose some nutritional value that way.
polly

Connie sorry could not find that info about the protein,
will keep looking, Oh and Eric "keep mixing" <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> I wouldn't like to see the state of your dog's bowel and stools after a week like this <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />
Try Big Ben heard it is excellent for time keeping <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />