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dog food???

3K views 24 replies 14 participants last post by  earthboy66 
#1 ·
Ok--so I'm sorry if this is a repeat question! If so just point me in the right direction to go :wink:

I have been reading over this section for awhile now and have found some useful tips. But I am looking to switch Ace off of Purina puppy chow. Basically I think he coat is not shiny at all, and he sheds awfully, and he poops too much IMO! So I have been trying to figure out how to read dog food labels, what main ingredients should I look for, etc. As I read here I get more confused?! Should I go organic, cheap, expensive, raw, add tons of supplements? Should I do an all stages or should I stick to puppy food to avoid too much protien? The choices are overwhelming!!! 8O

I googled dog foods and am unsure of the info I get and it seems alot is outdated. And so many dog foods were recalled awhile back. So does anyone have like dog food 101 site for beginners?! Or just their opinons on what they like/dislike as far as brands?

Oh, btw, he will be 9 months on the 7th!
 
#6 ·
From what I have been reading it seems like everyone likes Canidae. But I have read somewhere on it here it might be hard on his tummy?  I have noticed Royal Canine and Chicken Soup. Sheesh! So many choices!

Well I go to the feed store tomorrow and we will see what I make it home with! He has just has really lost his appetite for the last month or two, so I hope I find one he likes. That is good for him, too! :D
 
#7 ·
Canidae has some quality ingredients in it and is about $1 per pound compared to merrick and others at $1.50 lb

Chicken Meal, Turkey Meal, Brown Rice, White Rice, Lamb Meal, Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Herring Meal, Flax Seed, Sun Cured Alfalfa Meal, Sunflower Oil, Chicken, Lecithin, Monocalcium Phosphate, Potassium Chloride, Choline Chloride, Linoleic Acid, Rosemary Extract, Sage Extract, Dried Enterococcus Faecium, Dried Lactobacillus Acidophilus Fermentation Product, Dried Aspergillus Oryzae Fermentation Extract, Dried Bacillus Subtilis Fermentation Extract, Inulin (from Chicory root), Saccharomyces Cerevisiae Fermentation Solubles, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Mixed Tocopherols (source of Vitamin E), Zinc Amino Acid Chelate, Manganese Amino Acid Chelate, Iron Amino Acid Chelate, Copper Amino Acid Chelate, Cobalt Amino Acid Chelate, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Ascorbic Acid (source of Vitamin C), Niacin, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Riboflavin (source of B2), Beta Carotene, Calcium Pantothenate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Calcium Iodate, Folic Acid, D-Biotin, Sodium Selenite, Papaya, Vitamin B12 Supplement.
 
#8 ·
Chicken soup here..for a year now..from nutro garbage natural lamb and rice..nutro used to be decent.. :roll:
 
#18 ·
This is the Sticky in the food and diet info section

http://www.boxerforums.com/modules.php? ... pic&t=2063

It helps out a lot...

I also feed Odin Royal Canin Boxer / Score 103 A+... but have been considering another swap... LAST ONE I SWEAR! lol I've done lots of research in the area recently to see for sure which are the best ones around and I think I'm going to swap him over to Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance Ultra Premium / Score 122 A+. It's cheaper and I didn't even know it was sold any where here in town... but it is and very close by actually SO I think I'm going to be doing that...

Good luck in your search to find the proper food. I know some people have issues with the high quality stuff and find that their dogs do better with Purina... so it also has to be what you're dogs body can handle.
 
#19 ·
So after lots of time in the store. Reading all the bags and looking over percentages and ingredients 8O .....I came out with Blue Buffalo. The only other one was thinking about was Chicken Soup. But they didn't have it!

Got it home, mixed some old food with new, and watched him go at it!! :D
 
#20 ·
Ugh.....I hope this gets better!!

So when we brought the food home and mixed it with the old one Ace loved it! Basically licked the bowl clean! Now he barely eats. We still mix the old food with the new, about half and half now. But a bowl full of food will last him all day. As far as his generall health he seems fine. Same old Ace as always. Just not eating very much. I don't know if it will just take time for him to get adjusted to the new food, or it is more fulfilling for him, or he has decided he doesn't like it!!

How long do ya'll think I should let this go on?  :(
 
#21 ·
When I fed kibble I never free fed my dogs.  IT sounds like you are leaving it out all day for him to eat when he wants?
I think it is harder to really gage how much they eat with free feeding, and mine would just over eat if i had done that.
Higher quality foods don't require you to feed as much- so you may be seeing that he just doesn't need to eat as much.  I would suggest splitting his daily food requirement (listed on the bag) and split it into 2 meals.  One in the morning and one in the evening.  Then he will have a chance to get hunry again ;)  Having them on a schedule makes it easier to plan potty breaks too.  He is 9 months so is probably already housetrained though ;)
Congrats on choosing a new food!
 
#22 ·
Nikki08\";p=\"102634 said:
So after lots of time in the store. Reading all the bags and looking over percentages and ingredients 8O .....I came out with Blue Buffalo. The only other one was thinking about was Chicken Soup. But they didn't have it!

Got it home, mixed some old food with new, and watched him go at it!! :D
We tried the Blue Buffalo, too.  Duke ate it the first couple of times, then absolutely refused to eat it after that, especially the little black bits in it!  I'm glad my lab, Chipper, isn't so finicky.  He'll eat anything you put in front of him.  In fact, we're feeding him a little of the Blue with his regular food everyday, just to get rid of it!!
 
#23 ·
I put his food out in the once in morning and once in the evening. And he never finishes one full bowl, like he used to(eat a full bowl at each feeding). Maybe it is that he doesn't need as much anymore. But I just don't see how he can go on that! I guess I'll wait him out and just see how he does. I sure would hate it if I spent that much money on dog food and he doesn't like it!! Too bad they don't have a dog food swap thing, where ppl could trade foods that their dogs didn't like :wink:
 
#24 ·
Nikki08\";p=\"103972 said:
I put his food out in the once in morning and once in the evening. And he never finishes one full bowl, like he used to(eat a full bowl at each feeding). Maybe it is that he doesn't need as much anymore. But I just don't see how he can go on that! I guess I'll wait him out and just see how he does. I sure would hate it if I spent that much money on dog food and he doesn't like it!! Too bad they don't have a dog food swap thing, where ppl could trade foods that their dogs didn't like :wink:
You could donate the rest of it to a rescue.
 
#25 ·
Who would have thought it would be so difficult finding a good dog food at an affordable price??!!  We are just starting the trial and error thing with our first boxer and now we are fostering to adopt a 2nd boxer.  I hope once we find a food that works it will work for them both.  I originally was going to start out with Pro Plan Sensitive Stomach, but now I think I am going to start out with Canidae.
 
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