Preferred Dog Food

[2ski]

Fair question. Used to be that way. But in the past decade or so the markup of vet-sold pet food has gone down and has become more of a PIA to carry it than it’s worth most days. A lot of vet clinics now only carry prescription diets (liver disease, kidney disease, etc.) because people don’t want to take a RX and get it elsewhere, like through the mail or order through big box pet stores.

That makes a lot of sense. I think sometimes in a lot of professions people start to buy into the misinformation and not trust the professionals. It's goos to know the inside sometimes.

Thanks you.

 

[Jwamja]

We feed our GSP Victor professional. We switched him to this from PPP a few months ago. The PPP gave him terrible gas. So far, the Victor has significantly reduced his gas issues.

 

[arlenmyles]

I think this gets overlooked. People look at the $/pound but there isn't a good way I can find that equates that to volume to figure out how many servings their dog will get per lb or bag.

Inushuk has a dog weight, daily food per calories and daily cost calculator on their website

 

[DuckDogDr]

Veterinarian here as well and have a small zoo of dogs between myself and my girlfriend.

My duck dogs get fed Eukanuba performance 30/20. I did admittedly have trouble keeping weight on my boys during heavy hunting / mid to late season or heavy training for Hunt Tests in the spring and fall with Purina Pro Plan Performance. We are also hunting 60 days of a 90 day season.

All the rest of our dogs get fed Purina Prescription products be it Kidney diet for our Boxer mix and GI health for our little Chihuahua (He had a helicobacter infection) and the GI health foods are all he can keep down but is otherwise doing really well and put weight back on.

As others have said you kind of pay for what you get , no sponsorships here or via clinic programs / rebates etc. just trying to provide quality food to clients. There’s a lot of researched science behind the name brand foods to fine tune for pet health and needs vs a fly by night manufacturer

 

[Mule3006Elk]

As kids, my parents gave all of our dogs Costco dog food whatever that was 30 years ago. All the dogs lived to normal ages and none had premature pathology arise. Does premium food really make that much of a difference? Honest question b/c I don't know.

My 2 y/o male GSP gets 2 cups of Diamond mixed with 2 cups of PPP Performance 30/20 (chicken/rice). I weigh him 3-4 times per week and his weight is stable. I mix b/c Diamond cost less but also has joint health.

My 5 y/o GSP gets one cup of the same PPP and one cup of Orijen Six Fish. Orijen is crazy expensive but she is a very picky eater. Even with tough love > here is what you get eat it > she won't eat for a few days. She thinks she is a princess. However, this combo she will eat.

 

[8grenade]

If there was truly one best dog food for all dogs, and all owners in all markets, the others would cease to exist.

You'll get lots of recommendations - I feed Taste of the Wild, for example - but different dogs have different needs and there is, unfortunately, some trial-and-error involved. One of my three seems to need grain-free. Another seems to thrive on almost anything. A third is prone to pancreatitus and needs a low-fat diet.

There will always be cheap, grocery store brands out there doing lots of national advertising. But even among premium brands, there is a tremendous variety and there is a reason for that.

 

[Wiscat]

We feed our British lab Native. I buy it from them our breeder when I can make the trip. That cuts the cost from 89 to 50.

 

[406flyfish]

PPP 30/20 with a few pumps of Fish oil works for my two dogs.

 

[kpk]

I fed my last lab PPP his entire life and he always did awesome on it. It's not agreeing with the new puppy though as he constantly has very loose stools and terrible gas.

 

[Blackdog317]

PPP 30/20. No issues over the last 15 years (2 labs).

 

[MallardSX2]

I feed my labs twice a day.

1 cup of pedigree and crack 1 fresh raw chicken egg on their food both morning and evening.

We have a surplus of eggs, and the dogs love it.

 

[Hunter456]

Purina PP

 

[Mosby]

I have been feeding the PPP Salmon & Rice. 527 kcal per cup. I also add in a food topper that I make myself. I had a Vizsla that was a finicky eater and she wouldn't eat dry kibble. Mixing the dry food with something really helped. Fatty stew meat, chicken liver and gizzards and beef liver. Sometimes add veg like carrots. Fill up a crock pot and add a little water. Cook overnight and blend in blender until relatively smooth. Makes several quarts for around $25. Dogs love it. I float their food and it makes a great gravy.

That said, I am switching my Vizsla and GSP to Inukshuk 30/25. I found a feed store that sells it for $52 a bag. Higher calories and fat and less $$$ per bag. I have been blending it in with my Purina and when the PPP is gone, I will give them the Inukshuk with the food topper.

 

[Ducker]

We use Pedigree Chicken, Rice and Vegetable to power our Chessie. She seems to enjoy it, and it is reasonably priced.

 

[TaperPin]

Our little dogs seem to last a long time on nothing but Costco dry with a spoon full of cat food on the side for desert. I lie and every feeding tell them the cat food is made with real cats - it must be working our wiener made it to 17.

 

[samc]

Purina Pro Plan 30/20 for my dog. I alternate between the chicken and salmon and he likes them both.

 

[cmahoney]

How do these ingredients in dry dog food look to you guys that know dog nutrition?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[sierracharlie338]

Have you tried the chicken and rice pro plan? My GSP was on eukanuba puppy food and she had loose stools constantly it seems (she also eats anything she can get her mouth on).

Switched to prop plan performance chicken and rice and she really likes it and her stools are regular again. Plus it has a GSP on it lol