I have a two year old black lab female. She weighs 58 pounds, looks great. I'm feeding her Eukanuba Breed Specific Dry food. She loves it, 3 cups a day. Nice small, firm, turds.

She is a house dog, we walk a mile most days and I throw bumpers till her tongue is hanging out (doesn't take long in this heat). No daily retriever training.

30# is $46.74.....what are, "we" supposed to feed our dogs these days, high protein? More grain??lamb??

How about costs? does this sound right? $1.55#

I know from my old hunt test days, most pros feed fairly inexpensive food due to volume..so whatcha feeding your pups?

Purina Dog Chow. Purina has the largest research center in the world. I've gotten it free over the years. I think its all about the same.

That price is about right for most higher end kibble.

I feed Dr. Tim's Pursuit. It is a 30/20 dry kibble. They use only ingredients from North America and I like that I can talk to the owner directly. He is a veterinarian and competed in dog sledding competitions. The company is family owned and operated.

The ingredients are top notch and no corn is used.

With that said I need to state that I am not saying other foods are terrible or that corn products are necessarily terrible.

People seem to really get defensive about their pet food.

Most pros feed Pro Plan. It's a good food and Purina is a big supporter of dog games. They also offer discounts to the big kennels that feed a lot of dogs. I would probably feed it as well if I had 30 dogs but I don't so I feed what I believe to be a superior food IMO.

It runs me about $65 for 44 pounds delivered to my front door. It has such a high calorie content per cup that I can feed less than I would a cheaper feed. I feed 2 cups a day.

Metabolizable energy (calculated): 3840 kcal/kg
Pursuit is 442 kcal ME/cup (115g)

http://drtims.com/why-dr-tims/

Our dogs get homemade chicken and rice with some fresh veggies mixed in and a few key herbs that my wife says are good for them. Some nights i look at their bowl and look at my plate and get kinda jealous. It's all natural and only about 15 bucks a week, she bakes a big bag of chicken thighs and makes it all up for the week.

I just switched mine over to Diamond Performance, from Tractor Supply, a few months ago and they are doing just as well as they were on the same amount as a higher priced brand I was feeding. 4Healtg performance.

I've been thru a lot trying to get my picky eater a food he would eat. The other one would eat dirt clods. I finally found one he likes and he does really good on it. 4 Health Grain Free Turkey and Potato at Tractor Supply $38 a bag. Tried every kind of do all end all food and this works best for him and she is very healthy and full of energy. Stools are tight also.

The Eukanuba Large Breed Adult is almost nutritionally identical to the Labrador breed specific food. It's cheaper and more lbs per bag.

Purina Pro Plan is also good - pretty similar to the Eukanuba.

I've fed Black Gold for the last 12 years....now feed the Premium Grain Free formula...firm stool, healthy shiny coats...and no gas! It's about 45.00 for a 40 pound bag. They've got a number of formulas.

Used to be hard to find, but now a lot more accessible...I think we buy it from Chewy now...free shipping and it gets here in two days.

$58.98 for 80 pounds free ship. Dogs love it, grain free.

https://www.chewy.com/sportmix-wholesome...mp;gclsrc=aw.ds

Purina dog chow for 25 years.

4 out of 5 rating for the wholesomes chicken on dogfoodadvisor.com. And they have had no recalls either. Not a bad deal. Thanks for the heads up. I'm giving it a try.

Wholesomes is a great food, but it's not grain free. It has rice in it.

Sounds like what you're doing is working, why change?

I've been feeding Iams for many years. I go with the size specific type.
Dogs have always ate it very well and they've always looked good and had
plenty of energy. Can buy it just about anywhere for reasonable cost.

So there's another opinion to go along with everyone else's opinion.

I feed Dr. Tims

Purina Dog Chow

I feed Purina Pro Plan but am currently researching the BARF diet after watching the documentary 'Pet fooled' on Netflix. BARF stands for biologically appropriately raw food. Anyone use this concept on their dogs?

Victor Blue for my dogs.

Buzzsaw,

There is a pretty good chance that you will get a different answer for each reply on this thread. The pet food market is $29billion and there are lots of players. The marketing noise is intense. Sometimes as dog owners we feel the need to change. The next one just sounds so great. Now, there are boutique pet food stores that specialize in all those other brands - crazy!

I think the largest companies (Purina, Iams, Hills) probably have this figured out the best. They have the great nutritionists on staff and work closely with veternarians. I also appreciate the money that Iams, Purina and Hills poor into the industry supporting dog clubs and shows. Purina has been a huge sponsor of the Hunting Retriever Club and the National Field Championship, to mention a couple.

I have either fed Eukanuba or Pro Plan over the years and had great results with my gun dogs. My dog is very active and being trained or exercised at some level most every day of the week. I feed 30/20 pro plan sport.

Jay, something that I seem to get mixed opinions on when researching foods is the use of corn gluten as protein source. Pro Plan uses it as a major source of protein. Some web sites like Dogfood advisor and others really bash it stating it's used because it's cheap. However, I've also read that it's highly digestible and just as good as meat based protein. I'm not sure what to believe about it.

The two reasons I went with Dr. Tims over PPP (with regards to ingredients) is the use of corn gluten and chicken instead of chicken meal.

There was seminar at the national amateur meeting the other day where a couple of canine researchers from Penn., spoke on bloating in dogs. Food was brought up as well as feeding times..alot of what we have been told is myth according to them.
They ended their seminar with the statement that unless you are feeding wolves, no other canines are carnivores, so they don't recommend feeding pure meat.

Robby

I feed Tractor Supply 4 Health. It is their premium band. Usually feed Salmon and potato. It comes to 90 cents a pound because I wait for their sales and buy 4-5 bags at a time.

Consumer Reports did a study several years ago and concluded that all the brands tested were fine. They went on to conclude that puppy food was not necessary.

I have seen your dog go with Dr. Tims as fuel. It is working well for her!

I think it's an excellent food and of course there are many many successful dogs running on Pro Plan. I just like discussing it and interested in dog nutrition. There seems to be some FT pros going to Dr. Tims.

Been using the 30/20 4health from tractor supply for a while. For my last pup too. Only difference is I feed pups twice a day then just once a day after fully grown.

I highly recommend VICTOR dog food. It is manufactured in Mt. Pleasant, has been around since 1950. 30% protein 20% fat is .77 dollars / lb. You can buy it at many farm stores.

I will also second Victor brand. I recently picked up a picky setter and she eats the new food just fine.

Victor

Just try Victor, your dogs will love it. Their coat will be soft and full, their teeth healthier, and they will be begging for more. It's not cheap but definitely worth the extra cost.

Pro Plan Sport 30/20

Mine all eat Pro Plan. When I was hunting my female she got the high performance version then their prescription joint food.


I think the grain and corn issue in dog food has been blown WAY out of proportion. Some dogs are truly sensitive. Unless you have one that is, there's no reason to avoid it.

When a food allergy is suspected, the best test is a food trial for up to 6 weeks to see if the dog improves. This mean a novel protein and carb source the dog hasn't had before. This is where things like duck and potato, lamb and rice, heck there's even a kangaroo formula out there.

Lamb and rice is no longer used as a novel source because it has become such a popular choice in 'regular' dog foods.

Most dogs can get by on about any commercial diet out there. The athletes, working dogs, etc may perform better with better nutrition....just like humans. I do advocate for a commercial diet that's been balanced by a veterinary nutritionist over a homemade diet.

Thats my . That and a couple bucks will but you a coke.

Of yall that feed Victor. I am curious. Which food would you feed to my hunting cockers? Currently I am feeding 4health Grain Free Turkey & Potato Dog Food. https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/produc...-dogs-30-lb-bag

Diamond Hi-energy off season, Diamond Performance during the season. Excellent protein and fat levels for your hunter. Very reasonably priced at tractor supply.

For grain free

If you can afford it Orijen

Cheaper option but still a very high quality food is

Dr. Tim's Kinesis Grain Free

https://www.chewy.com/orijen-regional-red-grain-free-dry/dp/133949


https://www.chewy.com/dr-tims-grain-free-kinesis-formula/dp/37827?utm_source=google-product&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=f&utm_content=Dr.%20Tim%27s&utm_term=&gclid=CNCd-pahkdUCFYe4wAodn14Nbg&gclsrc=aw.ds#Nutritional-Info

Sport Dog Food! It is designed for high energy working dogs, has no phytoestrogens (great for breeding dogs), no By products, excellent ingredients. They have a 30/20 Power formula that I plan to try next. I have fed the Performance and loved the muscle, coat and energy. I currently rotate between that and Elite Whitefish, but will try Power and Beef as well. You can purchase on Amazon, they are also now on chewy.com. And price is super! Some formulas come in a 50lb bag for under $60!

My dogs have done well on Diamond Naturals.

Check ratings:
http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/dry/

What do you say, Bill? Puppy food, no puppy food?

I have a rat terrier I use for rabbits, squirrels, and general vermin control around the property. I was feeding a more expensive dry dog food from Muenster Milling that I really liked, but had to change due to finances. I now use Sportmix Premium Energy Plus 24/20 formula. He looks great, exercises for several hours each day, and eats the food really well! I can get a 44lb bag at Tractor Supply for 27 bucks. I've concluded that most dogs will do just fine with most commercial diets. Obviously some dogs need a special diet because of allergies or another medical condition, but most dogs do just fine with meat meals, grain and foods without chelated minerals. Feed for good body condition and give them enough exercise and they will be ok most of the time!

Victor, black gold, or pro plan

I have met and talked with the owner of victor. GREAT people 👍🏻

I just switched to Victor Hi Pro Plus in the teal colored bag. Dogs love it and less stools. Even my picky eater loves it. Win Win for me. Made right here in Texas!

I feed pro plan. My only complaint is the cost.

I am feeding Purina turkey and venison 30/17 year round now. I have fed most of the brands mentioned here and this is the best I have fed yet. I fed it through hunting season and the dogs perform as strong as I have ever seen and look fabulous. All is firm in the pen at clean up also. I am paying $38 for a 40 lb. bag.

Try Purina Dog Chow during the summer months. It's half the cost. I now feed it year around.

Black Gold Performance Blend 26-18 year round. When I am hunting them for lions and the temps are at or below zero in the mornings, I supplement with Dog Forte. Keeps them eating and gives them extra protein and fat for energy.
Adios,
Gary