I finaly found a kibble that Dexter will eat, has good poop, minimal gas and no allergic reation to and he looks better then when he was on raw.

But I hate that feed ingredient list. It is pro plan but not chicken. I feel so bad giving him that but I tried every thing and he is picky and won't eat or spit out the food after a few bits.

I know many dogs do OK on low quality food but I have a problem giving that food when my other dog is on raw food.

I tried digestive enzyme with the feed that give him soft poop but did not help. The pro plan is like magic. He eat it and look goood on it. But I think it is like giving fast food to a kid.

The feed he did not want to eat was not because he was over feed. He would look at the bowl and whine. I tryed the feed for a couple more days in hope that he would give it a try but no luck.

I guess I just want to know if it is acceptable to give him that?

Its not just acceptable, its neccesary. If he's not doing well on raw or any other food, there's no benefit to keeping him on it.

FWIW, my previous dog was fed Pro Plan for most of her life, and she lived to be 12, which is pretty elderly for a Dobe. She had a nice coat, great poop, a good appetite, and was healthy and happy most of her life.

Honestly, back then, I never gave much thought to dog food. It wasn't until I acquired one of my current dogs who had a lot of digestive and skin issues that I started researching dog nutrition.

It sounds like you have tried raw, tried various brands of premium kibble, and Dexter continued to have bad reactions. Now you've found a food he is tolerating well and even thriving on. IMO there is your answer. It's a mystery why Dexter is doing so well on that particular brand, but since he is, I don't think you should feel guilty.

I confess I do feel like a bit of a pariah at times when I talk about the dogs being on a cheaper dry food, I feel guilty about it too, I really wish I was in a position to feed either the very best dry, (prohibitively expensive) or raw, which just isn't possible at the moment.

The Pointers have aways been completely fine on dry, have been since pups, they are now 8 and 9, the BB's were fine up until recently, when I put big boy on Brown Rice and Chicken for his yeast problems, (he s doing really well on it so far), but Sugar has stayed on the cheaper brand, and she has good poo, clean ears, tolerable farts and good teeth and coat/skin, and maintains the right weight.

I have probably beaten myself up more about what the dogs eat than I EVER did the kids lol, but while they are 'well' and happy, I am going to have to keep to what I feed them for specifically, at least at the moment, financial reasons, if things change with their health, god forbid, and it IS food related, then I will have to suck it up and take it from there.

I do sympathise with your guilt, but I don't think in your case it is justified

 Quote: steve strom

Its not just acceptable, its neccesary. If he's not doing well on raw or any other food, there's no benefit to keeping him on it.

I totally agree. Dogs can't read labels. He doesn't know or care what's in it. He just knows he likes it and it makes him feel good. If he does well on this feed, I'd count yourself lucky. Think of all the people who struggle to find any feed their dog does well on...or who pay three times the cost of this one. He's lucky, you're lucky. Buy him a new collar to satisfy your sense of fairness.