# FOOD



## McCord6 (Sep 28, 2011)

We still trying to get Caesar's weight up but healthily. He does NOT like the IAMs that hubby bought for him. We took him to the feed store and ask if we can have samples pulled out in different bowls for him to pick out himself. Must have been our luck, he ended up picking out the cheapest food there is there: Old Roys. It must be the kind he been fed by his perverse owners. Anyone have any says on that brand?


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## angelbaby (Feb 4, 2010)

Its garbage. Id look up some better brands if I were you , if a dog is really hungry they will eat. really you get what you pay for.


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## EL CUCO (Jul 25, 2011)

:goodpost::goodpost:


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## Didi (Sep 12, 2011)

Ditto above, Ol' Roy is just horrible dog food!!! Find something better for your pup!!


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## bahamutt99 (May 14, 2008)

You wont find a good food at a grocery store. You can find slightly better ones at places like Petsmart and PetCo, but you really have to read the ingredient labels and understand what you're getting. It has taken me years to get to the level of food understanding I have now, and I still learn new things from time to time. The best resource I can give you is this website: Dog Food Analysis - Reviews of kibble It is not all-inclusive or terribly up-to-date, but it does explain things and give you a good basic understanding of what you're looking at.


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## KMdogs (Apr 22, 2011)

bahamutt99 said:


> You wont find a good food at a grocery store. You can find slightly better ones at places like Petsmart and PetCo, but you really have to read the ingredient labels and understand what you're getting. It has taken me years to get to the level of food understanding I have now, and I still learn new things from time to time. The best resource I can give you is this website: Dog Food Analysis - Reviews of kibble It is not all-inclusive or terribly up-to-date, but it does explain things and give you a good basic understanding of what you're looking at.


Thats probably one of the best reviews out there to check out, it doesn't take into consideration other aspects of feeds that can affect overall quality like marketing costs, productivity costs, actual amounts they put into the ingredients, etc but it does give you a basic idea of what to look for.. After all you don't need to know every single detail to chose a good or great feed, just use a little common sense once you've read up on what to look for and don't and you will be fine.

Grocery stores and other stores that are not animal specific are only going to carry very low end food. PetStores are a level up though chains (PetSmart, PetCo, etc) overall will carry "okay" feeds. Blue Buffalo Wilderness and Wellness Core are the better feeds these stores carry, which by all accounts are a good feed for your dog.

Just keep in mind you won't find the best pricing at these chain stores, for instance Wilderness at PetSmart usually runs around $55 for 24lbs, a local store here where i get my feed also sells Wilderness for $48 for the same bag. Granted its not a night and day difference but it does add up. Also the local store does buyer rewards, buy 9 get the 10th for free where as stores like PetSmart will not offer programs like these.

Based on what your feeding now you may be in shock when you see pricing for higher quality feeds, keep in mind though the higher the quality is the less you will end up needing to feed. Less stool you will generally have as well. In the long run (for instance a year) you will come out pretty close to the same amount spent if you compared a lower quality to a higher quality simply because you are feeding less and each individual bag is lasting longer than the other food. Just something to keep in mind.


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## erod32 (Mar 9, 2011)

McCord6 said:


> We still trying to get Caesar's weight up but healthily. He does NOT like the IAMs that hubby bought for him. We took him to the feed store and ask if we can have samples pulled out in different bowls for him to pick out himself. Must have been our luck, he ended up picking out the cheapest food there is there: Old Roys. It must be the kind he been fed by his perverse owners. Anyone have any says on that brand?


buy diamond, large breed in lamb or chicken..or u can also buy him blue buffalo theyre both good food.
Dog Food | Cat Food | Diamond Pet Foods
Blue Buffalo - Discover the Best Dog Food and Cat Foods with our Pet Food Comparison Tools


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## bahamutt99 (May 14, 2008)

Don't jump on another brand because a user says so. Research, pick a good kibble that is available to you, and then wean your dog over slowly. Give it 3 or 4 months to work its magic before you decide if it is what you're going to stick with. I wouldn't feed Diamond if you paid me to. Blue Buffalo is the best feed that Petsmart carries, but nowhere near the best feed out there. We can throw out brand names all day long, but the OP has to decide for herself if they're really workable in her situation.'

ETA: You don't need large breed or really even puppy food. A high-quality kibble can be fed to a dog over its entire life, and doesn't have to be size-specific. Terra (in my avatar presently) ate Canidae from puppyhood right up until they changed the ingredients a few years back.


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## angelbaby (Feb 4, 2010)

erod32 said:


> buy diamond, large breed in lamb or chicken..or u can also buy him blue buffalo theyre both good food.
> Dog Food | Cat Food | Diamond Pet Foods
> Blue Buffalo - Discover the Best Dog Food and Cat Foods with our Pet Food Comparison Tools


This breed doesnt count as a large breed, I would stay away from large breed food, normal puppy food or normal adult food is all thats needed. research different brands and find what works for you financially and works for your dogs. there are many good quality foods out there but what works for 1 dog maynot work for another so youmay have to try a couple to get the right one.


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## KMdogs (Apr 22, 2011)

erod32 said:


> buy diamond, large breed in lamb or chicken..or u can also buy him blue buffalo theyre both good food.
> Dog Food | Cat Food | Diamond Pet Foods
> Blue Buffalo - Discover the Best Dog Food and Cat Foods with our Pet Food Comparison Tools


Diamond isn't a huge step up from Iams, especially if its regular Diamond and not Diamond Naturals. Regular Blue Buffalo is okay but Wilderness is a huge step up from their regular line.

Also, APBT's and other breeds that fall under "Pit Bulls" or "bull and terrier" breeds are not large breed dogs therefore do not require the same feed as those such as Mastiffs and other "true" large breed dogs.

It may not hurt anything but its not recommended for various reasons.


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## pitbullove (Dec 22, 2010)

I get Diamond Naturals chicken and rice ,its rated 4 stars and it is like $30 for a 40lb bag here at Tractor Supply .


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## jmejiaa (Dec 8, 2009)

bahamutt99 said:


> Don't jump on another brand because a user says so. Research, pick a good kibble that is available to you, and then wean your dog over slowly. Give it 3 or 4 months to work its magic before you decide if it is what you're going to stick with. I wouldn't feed Diamond if you paid me to. Blue Buffalo is the best feed that Petsmart carries, but nowhere near the best feed out there. We can throw out brand names all day long, but the OP has to decide for herself if they're really workable in her situation.'
> 
> ETA: You don't need large breed or really even puppy food. A high-quality kibble can be fed to a dog over its entire life, and doesn't have to be size-specific. Terra (in my avatar presently) ate Canidae from puppyhood right up until they changed the ingredients a few years back.


:goodpost:

IMO take the suggestions on the site and work with those + others to decide what you want. I thinkt he suggestions here would be a decent starting point since most of us have done our HW and decided what was good.

For me, Taste of the wild has been great on my dog. It's not overly expensive, grain free and gets great reviews.


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## Didi (Sep 12, 2011)

I agree with many of the others, do your research and find a brand that you think will fit your dog. Also like the others mentioned "Pit bulls" are not large breed. I originally fed my pup Iams but due to allergies and after lots of research I switched to Taste of the Wild!


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## bahamutt99 (May 14, 2008)

Taste of the Wild is probably one of the most economical high-end foods out there, and you can sometimes get it at Tractor Supply. I like Nature's Variety as well. Solid Gold is another in that range. Innova. Canidae (used to be better, but probably still pretty okay). Orijen. Lots of good foods out there.


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## NateDieselF4i (Sep 14, 2010)

Give this a read

http://www.gopitbull.com/health-nutrition/3749-pet-food-rating-comparison-chart.html

I used to feed Taste of The Wild Sierra Mountain and have recently switched Kane over to Orijen Regional Red.

Nothing but good things to say about both foods.


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## KMdogs (Apr 22, 2011)

NateDieselF4i said:


> Give this a read
> 
> http://www.gopitbull.com/health-nutrition/3749-pet-food-rating-comparison-chart.html
> 
> ...


The point system does not work. Who says what ingredients are worth ___ amount of points and others are not?

Some lower quality brands rate higher than actual high quality feeds, because of this its flawed.

For instance, some Natural Balance is 120 or so points on the point scale where as on dogfoodanalysis.com it is a 4 and 3 star feed. Also, some purina, iams, nutro, etc are rated in the 80s and 90s. That high of a rating for when we know these foods are garbage feeds?

Unless we are to believe Kirkland, Pro Plan, Royal Canin, Diamond Naturals, etc are close to or even better than feeds like Orijen. lol


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