are you positive?

[ILoveLabs]

newfiemom- are you sure about that? I have heard so much about it, and I know so many people who feed it to there dogs. I have fed it to all my past dogs, and they seemed fine.

Its always hard with foods- because everyone has their own opinion. I have heard bad things about almost every brand of food, there is not a dog food that seems to have all good products in it.

As far as nutro goes, everyone has told me- even the vets- that it is a good food. I have not heard anything bad about it yet, until now. And I have looked over the ingredients- and it seems no different from the ingredients in other dog foods. But I will research it further. Thanks for the information though!

[ILoveLabs]

Oh sorry, this was suppose to go under "New to the board":)

[ILoveLabs]

well what is a good dog food?

[deepseasnake]

BARF, and thats it all the rest are bad, pretty much

only 95% serious :wink:

[corgilady]

Oh phooey. PHOOEY PHOOEY PHOOEY.

I thought Nutro was really good. :-?

[eggrolyn1223]

Well, it was meant for ilovelabs but oh well, thanks anyways newfiemom!!

[Carolk9s]

I respect Newiemoms research and data but I have to throw in some comments here. Well this is longer than originally planned, be forewarned! :P
Many many dogs will do just fine and quite well on the 'average' commercial food. If you are feeding for certain goals, like IMPROVING the health due to a problem seen, increasing performance and/or stamina, feeding a pregnant or nursing bitch, etc, you might need to consider an 'ultra premium' food. Certainly if your dog seems to be doing poorly or has skin problems, hair coat problems or others that point towards their diet, again look at a possible upgrade in the food. On the other hand, if your dog seems to be thriving on the food you are feeding, don't be too quick to make a change.
Do make sure to check the dates on each bag, when you open the bag, make sure you view it for anything that doesnt' look right, such as molds or stuff in there that just does not belong, smell the food, if it smells weird or bad, it probably is. Sift some of the food through your hand, it should not feel excessively greasy, certainly should not be dirty. Store the food properly, if dry, keep it dry and away from sources of heat. Store it in a container to prevent any critters such as bugs or rodents from getting into the food and contaminating it.
While there can be significant savings by buying a huge bag, buy the appropriate size bag so the food is not sitting around after being opened for more than a month.
The premium and ultra premium foods can be very pricey, I freely admit I am TIGHT with my dollars, as a single person with a mortgage and all the other bills, I have to be. I have made the decision to go with a food change as I feel it is in the best interest of the dogs. I'll add, after seeing what this change will cost, my first feeling, as a tightwad, was shock. :fadein:
I've moved past that and will go forward only because of the gastritis Jesse experienced recently. Until Pro Plan altered their formula, both of my older dogs were doing quite well on it. Brittany still is, she's 8.5, has a lovely coat, bright eyes, boundless energy and is at an excellent weight. When Jesse was younger and we were going from agility trial to agility trial, he was on Science Diet and it worked very well for him. He was both physically AND mentally sound, had a blast running the courses and the vet was generally impressed with his overall health.
Candy is still doing fine on Pro Plan adult, I will switch her too so at least the foods being eaten by all 3 dogs will be by the same maker. Candy is also a performance dog, heck knows she already runs circles around me so she does not need more energy but I'll see if this change aids in any improvement for her.
To boil it down, if it aint broke, and make sure it aint first, don't go fixing it.

[Carolk9s]

OK, just a bit more, I wanted to add, the recent gastrits Jesse had was the FIRST time he had ever been sick in his 11 years. I'm not even sure if the formula change caused it as he's been doing just fine since recovering. I take my dogs to a huge open field to run and play with other dogs, it's quite possible he found some not so edible 'treat' discarded by someone and that caused his stomach upset.
Other than his low thyroid, which is not uncommon in belgians, his visits to the vet over the years were for shot updates, teeth cleanings and once he broke a toenail all the way back to his foot pad.
Brittany has never been sick, as a younger dog, she did have some seasonal allergies which caused a rash on her belly, she's apparently outgrown that as it has not happened for over 3 years now. She only had the rash in the fall so I don't believe it was related to her food.

[Rowie-the-Pooh]

ALWAYS LISTEN TO NEWFIEMOM'S ADVISE!!!!!!!!!! :o

sHE IS THE dOGGIELORD ON NUTRIRION AND HOW TO TAKE CARE OF YOUR DOG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :lol:

hehe...luv ya newfiemom! :wink:

[bk_blue]

Thanks Newfiemom, like Carol I've always fed my dog canned and dry pet food from the supermarket, and he is super-healthy, but the more I read about what goes into pet food the guiltier I feel!! I guess if I can prevent my dog from developing cancer from dog food (if there is a link), or some other nasty disease, then I should do it. The only thing is BK does not need to be any more energetic than he already is... watch out for SuperDog if I switch to BARF.... :D

[bk_blue]

Addenda to previous post: I've just moved house but the dog isn't coming until he gets his microchip renewed (next week). Would it be too much for him if I began to change his diet (gradually) as well as moving house? I'm thinking it might be too different for him right away to change both of those major parts of his life (I rate a distant third to sleep and food!!! :wink: )... what do you think?