Question by asweetangelseyes: Which (non comercial) natural dog food is best? We have tried Cannidae and Cali-Natural?
My dog was adopted in March. She had hot spots/bare patches. She was skin scraped and is mange free…I switched her from Science Diet (EWW) to Canidae. She improved so much, was so soft and hardly shed at all. For the last month, her shedding has increased a lot (again) and she has a few patches back. She was at the vet about 3 weeks ago (no visible patches) but the vet stated she wasnt happy with her coat/skin and told me to switch her food again. So this time we are on California Natural Chicken formula. She is in the process of switching over and is not on it 100% yet. She likes it so far…The vet doesnt want to test her for allergies yet (i dont either) bcz I think we can find a remedy on our own or at least try to. I dont want to put her on prescription medicine. I think my next resort will be wellness fish/sweetpotatoe or even a raw/barf diet… any ideas/suggestions for what to do?! I will ultimately take her back to the vet, but they dont want to test her yet.
she gets cod oil mixed with her food and an immunity booster with water (tasha’s herbs for pets)… she was also on prozyme but the vet told me the supplements dont do THAT much to help?! I am so confused. I did give her some shed defense pills but we ran out and not sure if i should continue those or not. I want to see if the diet alone could help her… All treats are natural (bilJac, old mother hubbard), or human food (very limited to p-nut butter, yogurt, small raw meats,etc.) No commecial treats with fillers..Could she also be having a reaction to her monthly FRONTLINE meds? YIKES! HELP!
Best answer:
Answer by abbyful
There isn’t one single dog food that is the overall “best” on the market for all dogs. For example, some dogs do best on grain-free diets, for others, grain-free is too rich and they need a little lower protein diet. What you want to find out is what high-quality dog food is the best food for your dog.
On choosing a dog food:
Read the ingredients on the food you buy. Go with a high quality dog food. A grain should not be in the first couple ingredients ingredient (corn and such are mainly fillers, dogs don’t digest it well). Avoid foods that have a lot of “by products” listed.
Here is an article about byproducts:
http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=ingrd
And an article on what ingredients to avoid:
http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=badingredients
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Some GOOD foods are :
* Merrick – http://www.merrickpetcare.com/
* Solid Gold – http://www.solidgoldhealth.com/
* Canidae – http://www.canidae.com/
* Timberwolf – http://timberwolforganics.com/
* Orijen – http://www.championpetfoods.com/orijen/orijen/
* Wellness – http://www.omhpet.com/wellness/
* Chicken Soup brand – http://www.chickensoupforthepetloverssoul.com/
* Innova – http://www.naturapet.com/brands/innova.asp
* Innova EVO – http://www.naturapet.com/brands/evo.asp
Or check this website for good foods: http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/
(I recommend only feeding foods rated 4, 5, or 6 stars. Anything 3 stars or less, I would stay away from.)
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Stay away from grocery stores brands. They are low-quality foods chalk full of fillers, preservatives, dyes, etc.. (Grocery store foods are those like Beneful, Old Roy, Alpo, etc.)
Beware “premium” foods. “Premium” does not mean good nutritionally, and is not a nutritionally high quality food. It has the same types of ingredients as grocery store foods, just a bit better quality of those not-so-good ingredients. (Premium foods are those like Iams, Eukanuba, Science Diet, etc..)
Another thing to be wary of: A lot of vets will recommend what they sell in their office. They get profit from the brands they keep on their shelves, that’s why they push it. Truth is, vet schools don’t focus a lot on nutrition. It’s not saying that a vet is a bad vet because he recommends those foods, a lot of vets just are told “this is good food”, so they pass the message along without proper nutrition knowledge. Also, some dog food brands (like Hills) support vet schools, so vets have heard of it from the time they start college, which makes them think it’s good as well.
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When switching foods, do it gradually. I do this over about a two week timespan:
25% food A, 75% food B
50% food A, 50% food B
75% food A, 25% food B
100% food A
What do you think? Answer below!
