[neezerfan]

The ones I like are Nature’s Logic, Fromm’s Gold, Whole Earth Farms, Evo, NV Instinct and Ziwipeak. Also Darwin’s.

[Bobby dog]

Hi camano:
Welcome to Akari’s cat food recommendations thread that we hijacked from her! lol I second everything that Akari and C4c wrote! If you get tired of reading through this thread or just don’t have the time, just post a question, we all pop in at one time or another to comment. I have fed brands from grocery stores, Wal-Mart, pet store chains, feed stores, and specialty stores. I keep a list of them; mostly so I don’t waste money buying something they don’t like again. So if you are thinking about trying out a food and want to know if anyone has used it before, just ask, one of us has probably fed it before.

Here’s some links to the pages I reference mostly on the catinfo.org site that C4c mentioned:
Home page: http://www.catinfo.org/
Commercial Foods: http://www.catinfo.org/?link=cannedfoods
Cat Food Nutritional Composition Charts: http://www.catinfo.org/docs/SortableCatFoodChartCatinfo.org2-22-13.htm

If you have a budget to keep in mind, check out Akari’s “Coupons!” thread under off topic forums. You’ll find info on sales, coupons, and deals on pet foods there. If you have any coupon questions, Akari is the person to talk to. We discuss our pet food scores on this thread too though:

/forums/topic/coupons/

My five cats’ ages are between 6 -15 years; one has a hyperthyroid. I feed grain free kibble and canned food; I also rotate both foods. I feed mostly low carb foods and try to stay away from gravys, sauces, starches, glutens, grains, fish, and artificial ingredients. They are addicted to fish so I feed it a few times a week.

For kibble I feed Wellness Core Turkey & Duck, Innova Nature’s Table, and Merrick Chic. I am currently feeding EVO kitten & cat food that I got a B1G1 free deal on. Looking for something to replace Innova since Mars bought the P & G pet division.

Right now for canned I am feeding Wellness Complete Health Chic or Beef & Chic, Tiki Cat Sardine, Natural Balance Turkey & Giblets, Innova, Triumph Trout or Turkey, Pro Plan Select Chic & Liver, and Sheba pate’s without fish. I always have Friskies Poultry Platter, Fancy Feast Turkey & Giblets, Chic & Liver, Tender Beef Feast, and Fish & Shrimp Feast Flaked on hand and sometimes Purina One Turkey Pate if I have coupons.

I am trying out Grandma Mae’s canned and all my cats like it. It’s GF but there is fish in all the recipes. The flavors all have similar ingredients just switched around. It went over well so I will probably buy it again. I have to rotate the better canned foods because they get tired of them, so next month I will feed other brands; but, they always eat their Purina. lol

If you are comfortable ordering on-line, check out the on-line retailers mentioned on this site and sign up for their e-mail updates. Chewy, Wag, Petflow, Petco, Petsmart, I know I am forgetting some. Those sites sometimes send through sale info and free shipping deals. A lot of them give discounts for first time customers and discounts for auto ship orders. I tend to only order on line when I definitely know it is a food my guys will eat and of course it has to be a better price than what I can get it for at a local pet store. I have ordered from Petco and Petflow without any issues. Petco.com has great deals about every other month. They will do no minimum purchase deals with free shipping and handling. They also sell smaller bags of kibble for half off during these sales. Another deal Petco does sometimes is buy $100 of products and you get $30 off your order with free S & H.

[Akari_32]

Hi there! I’m extremely happy with Wellness Complete Health. They are grain free, very low carb (posted a picture a few pages back of an email they sent me stating the carb percentages of each recipe I asked for– the ones with out fish, in their entire brand), and seem to be lower fat that most of the premium brands (most premium brands are very high fat to keep costs down for them selves, but they still charge an arm and a leg, such as EVO). With coupons, I can get it as cheap as Friskies, or sometimes even cheaper. We don’t have a lot of feed stores around here, so that’s about all I can recommend. Lol Some Walmarts have decent foods, too. Just check their website, and if you find something you like, click “find in a store near me”.

[camano43]

Hi: this is my first post to this website although I have been on the email alert list for food
recalls for quite awhile. I have 3 dogs and 2 middle age cats. I try to feed them all quality foods and this site is super to analyze the dog food companies. I have wished for a site such as this devoted to our feline pets, but have not had much luck locating one. Any suggestions? I live in an area that has several feedstores/pet stores but not lots of pet specialty stores for supplements, samples and new product info.

[Akari_32]

http://i765.photobucket.com/albums/xx294/Akari53/D04847B7-4DE5-48D0-995B-BBFFACE3E14A_zpsbo5olou8.jpg

$86 baby!

50% off each bag
$2 EVO 6.6 lb or larger coupons (3)
$4 off $20 purchase (3)

I’m now the proud owner of 3 28.6 pound bags of EVO lol

[LexiDog]

Have you had him to the vet to be checked? When my dog was itchy, I took her to the vet and he did a skin scraping on one of the itchy spots to check for mange. The skin scraping didn’t show any signs of mites. Even then she was still treated for Sarcoptic mange to rule that out because the mites can rarely be seen under the microscope. I treated her with Revoluiton and still saw no difference. So it was probably not Sarcoptic mange. Then you have to look at environmental allergies and food allergies.

The one thing that stands out is that he started getting itchy again when you added the Acana Lamb & Apple. If it is the old formula (I don’t think the new one is available for purchase yet) it is grain inclusive. So it could possibly be due to the grains. One way to find out if he is sensitive to one type of food, you could do an elimination diet. I personally have not done this, but others on here have. So they will be more helpful with that.

As you will find out that some types of foods are better than others. For example, canned is better than kibble. Homemade raw is better than canned and so on… You can check out Dr. Karen Becker’s rankings at http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2010/07/21/13-pet-foods-ranked-from-great-to-disastrous.aspx

[Eric Q]

im having the same problem. I got my puppy last September from north shore animal league. I was feeding her what they were giving her (just some super market brand puppy chow) I immediately started swiching her to the better food (wellness just for puppy) she would maybe 2 times a week finish her food. I tried many brands from call of the wiled, wellness, nutro, and others. I tried mixing wet with dry , only dry , only wet and nothing seems to interest her. She is now 11 months old and im at my wits end. I took her to the vet several times they say she looks good she is not under weight. but I know she is hungry. I do not as a rule give her any people food. Im the only one in my house so I know someone is not giving her stuff behind my back. I do sometimes give her a milk bone or a small carrot as a treat but nothing more and she devours the milk bone or carrot and looks for more but when it comes to meal time she will eat a little and walk away. I now get dried liver training treats from the pet store and grind them down and sprinkle it over the food. sometimes it helps sometimes it doesn’t. Does anyone have any advice? Please help!!!

[Robert M]

EVO Turkey and Chicken large breed

[Bobby dog]

Hey Sharon J:
My standards for pet food changes daily. lol As I learn more about the manufacturing process I imagine it will continue to evolve.

by Nature actually contacted me again a few weeks ago to ask why I wouldn’t buy their products without this information. Interestingly it was just a few days before Purina v BB hit the media. This suit brings back memories of BB’s 2007 accusation that their co-packer made substitutions to their recipe without their knowledge.

I explained that I was aware some companies use co-packers, some do not, and I had no problem with this practice. The problem I have is some co-packers have an abysmal history; that is the reason I need to know. They replied that they would bring this concern to their management and would contact me with further info if they decide to change their policy.

Tripette and Halo will not disclose their co-packers either. I think C4c knows who co-packs CS canned foods. If not, if it’s important to you just contact them and see what they say. 😉

[Bobby dog]

Hey Akari:
I would tend to lean towards since he is used to eating other varieties of Wellness, he would be okay with CH. I always end up giving several cats different brands each day anyway. But, you never know; at least you have some of his usual food on hand.

Did you ever try freezing a feeding of canned cat food when you have to be out most of the day? I have done this a couple of times; learned it from catinfo. 🙂 Freeze an amount of food you normally feed in advance. Feed Kitty as usual, then before you leave for the day place the frozen portion in another dish so he can eat it later when it’s thawed. I would suggest if you want to do this try it first when you are home and see how it works out for him. I wouldn’t think there would be any issues, but you never know.

Alright, went to the sale today. Since Bobby is pretty well stocked up on kibble, canned, and dehydrated food I only picked up a small bag of kibble for him. I thought I would try Grandma Mae’s Farmhouse Blend, it’s the Pork & Fishmeal formula. For the cats I only needed to stock up on canned food. I bought Natural Balance and Grandma Mae’s to try out. Stocked up on Triumph, Wellness CH, Innova, and EVO.

[Bobby dog]

Hello:
Checked out the NV canned cat food to see if my pet stores had the deal C4c ran into, they didn’t. 🙁
I picked up beef liver for the ABC diet. I went to two grocery stores and that was the only thing on my raw list I could find. 🙁 I was going to hit a third grocery store on my way home, but I ran out of time. That one probably will have some of the items I am looking for; next time I will start there first.

I also picked up lactobacillus & bifidobacterium capsules and plain Greek yogurt for the kitties. I have been sprinkling one capsule each/day on Tyler’s food; he does not like yogurt. I have been alternating yogurt and capsules with Archie; he’s a good eater. I hope Archie’s coat continues to fill out. The bald spots are really growing fur now. His skin is still dry, but has improved a great deal. I’ll keep you up to date in case anyone else has these types of issues with their cats in the future.

Akari:
Hope all is well.

Not a coupon deal, but one of my pet store’s deal this month is B1G1 free any size dog or cat food of Cali Nat’l or EVO. Picked up two small bags of EVO for the cats for $9.99 total and three cans of Wellness using my $1.00 off coupons for each. 😉 I was in there looking around for food to buy this Sunday during their anniversary sale, 25% off everything, wahoooo!

[JamesKelly]

I had a miniature poodle who loved Xxxxx treats. She got blood in her stools, vet found very high liver enzymes (couldn’t figure out why). Suspicious me, I then took her off of Xxxxx treats. While she was disappointed, her appetite did improve. About about a year later wasn’t looking too lively, took to vet for standard testing. She died when her liver fell apart & she bled out at the vet’s office.

Don’t care to get sued so I leave it to you all to figure out who is Xxxxx.

No idea which ingredients destroyed her liver or where Xxxxx is made.

I do know that most of us European-type humans have eaten grain for the last 5000 or so years. Don’t believe Dogs participated in the agricultural revolution. I only get dog food or treats with no grain, made in USA and ingredients I can pronounce. No guarantees, but if you buy grain Dog may not digest it well. Even many humans can’t handle the gluten in grain varieties developed over the last four or so centuries. Wolves/Dogs eat meat, and some vegetables.

If you buy Chinese food for your own use, you get what you deserve. Your pet does not deserve anything from China.

[Bobby dog]

That’s good Akari, I got frustrated looking for something as low as EVO and it isn’t even for my cat! lol So this might not be as frustrating for you as I thought.

And you are right they are all pricey; that old saying comes to mind you pay for what you get. But, it’s not too bad considering we are not feeding alot of it. 🙂

[Bobby dog]

Jakes mom:
Glad everything is okay, sulking is good! Jake is a chicken back eating machine!! 😉 Bobby didn’t want to go outside today for a walk because it is cold, rainy, and windy. He said he is much too delicate for this weather! lol

Akari:
I think you have a tall order to fill. I was just tooling around the Internet to check out GF, no fish, low carb dry cat food and I don’t think there are any; well there are a few. The few I found with the lowest carbs are California Nat’l, EVO, Solid Gold (forget which one), and some Vet formulas.

They aren’t the most budget friendly, but they might not break the bank either with a reduced feeding schedule.

What carb % are you looking for? You might have to change your criteria a little bit in regards to fish and carb %’s.

[Akari_32]

I’m currently using the Rabbit and Chicken Simply Nourish Source. It has some fish in it, too, but its way far down. http://www.petsmart.com/food-health/dry-food/simply-nourish-source-adult-cat-food-zid36-20985/cat-36-catid-200028?var_id=36-20985&_t=pfm%3Dsearch

I remember why I shied away from EVO. Do you think that the fish that “high” would pose any problems? Especially considering that he only gets half the recommended amount because I mix dry and canned. 24% is a bit high for me, even though he only gets half! I didn’t realize that Source was that high in carbs o.o’

I heard him being bad in the kitchen, and was looking on the counter for him. He wasn’t I looked further up, since mom said she saw him on the fridge yesterday, and there he was, just sittin’ up there, checkin’ me out. I had to laugh, and go get my phone for a picture. Then I squirted him right in the face >=D He didn’t like that much lol

[Bobby dog]

I looked at the chicken & turkey Simply Nourish Source and EVO Turkey & Chicken Formula. Before I realized EVO lists carbs on their website I did my own calculations and came up with 10% carbs, they list max carbs of 12%; I wasn’t too far off. lol If I did my calculations right, Nourish has approximately 24% carbs. I believe your main concern is carbs and EVO wins for lower carbs. EVO has 10% more protein, 2% more fat, and 3% less fiber (good or bad depending on Kitty). EVO contains some fish, Herring is the 6th ingredient and Salmon meal is the 8th ingredient. EVO also contains a prebiotic (chicory root) and probiotics and Nourish just chicory root.
First five ingredients:
~ EVO – turkey, chicken, chicken meal, tapioca starch & chicken fat
50% protein, 22% fat, 2.5% fiber
~ Nourish – chicken, chicken meal, turkey meal, dried potatoes & dried peas
40% protein, 18% fat, 5.5% fiber
I would say EVO is a better recipe, but Simply Nourish is nothing to sneeze at! Not sure, other than carbs, what you look for in dry cat food, but this is pretty much what I take into consideration for kibble. That’s my critique of the two! 😉

[Akari_32]

I’m taking the cat ones. I know both are good dog foods, but I’m still trying to figure out this cat food thing lol I’ve got Source now, and want to try EVO again in a larger bag at some point (the 2.5 pound bag didn’t last long enough to see any difference LOL).

And you HAVE to get their popcorn! It’s the kind you cook on the stove. Comes in a resealable bag. 🙂

[Bobby dog]

Surburban Gal:
Thanks for sharing your cat food recs with us. All of us cat lovers appreciate it! 🙂

Sharon:
Please, no bragging about your proximity to Trader Joe’s!! lol

I agree with C4c, if diarrea and vomiting have been an on-going issue in the past and he is vomitting again for unknown reasons, I would take him to the Vet for a check-up & bloodwork. I just recently had both of my oldest cats in for bloodwork, fecal exams & urinalysis’. One is the hyperthyroid kitty the other has no issues, but it was time for his wellness visit. Both cats’ tests came back perfect so that was a big relief.

Only one of my cats will eat Halo and he leaves all the vegetables in the dish, too funny. None of them are too keen for Core canned foods; they prefer Wellness GF canned. They only go for EVO canned once in a while. It must be nice to be that picky and get away with it! 😉

Me and C4c are big fans of catinfo.org, that is our go to cat site!

No one should feel bad (I don’t) for feeding any brand of canned foods regardless of their financial status. As Dr. Pierson states on her website, she would recommend a canned food over feeding kibbles.

Unfortunately, cats tell us what they will eat. I know it is taking longer than I want to change my cats’ diet, but we have made great strides since September. The important part is to learn how to read labels so better choices can be made in regards to what our pets eat. Each grocery store brand/flavor I feed has a few undesirable ingredients, but are low in carbs to keep the UTI’s away, have a named meat as the 1st ingredient, most don’t have added colors, and all are void of grains, glutens, and starches. Who knows, I may always have to rotate in what I call “grocery store” canned foods, maybe not; time and my cats will tell! 😉

C4c:
I really don’t appreciate you bragging about your new TJ’s! lol I do have an Aldi’s near me but I know for a fact it is not anywhere near a TJ’s shopping experience. I read somewhere, and this may just be an Internet rumor, that when Aldi’s and TJ’s split apart in Germany and each later came to the U.S. that they made an agreement that each company will only build in certain states. If that is true, I may never have a TJ’s close by. 🙁 I guess I will have to I buy the popcorn when I eventually make it there!!

AKari:
I will have to check out those foods later tonight, but do you have to choose between them or is one of them going to be purchased soon? Both are pretty good from what I remember! Also, this may be a stupid question so please forgive me in adavance, are we talking dog or cat food?

[Akari_32]

Here’s a question for you guys, how do you think Simply Nourish Source and EVO dry stack up against each other? Are they similar, does one look better over the other?

I wish Trader Joes was closer to me! They have awesome pop corn…. Lol

[arwyru24]

Good to know about Diamond only manufacturing dry!! I learn something new on here everyday. It also makes me feel better about feeding TOTW rocky mountain canned because my cats really love it.

I use this chart as my go-to reference: http://catinfo.org/docs/FoodChartPublic9-22-12.pdf
And I mostly use the wellness grain free cans, tky/sal, tky, ckn, ckn/hrg, (my cats seem to like them in that order) They LOVE HALO pate chicken sooo much, I feed that A LOT and I can always get coupons online. I feed the evo adult chkn/trky sparingly like maybe a can every other week, and I know its crazy high in fat (no wonder they love it) but Im ok with it. Oh, I also use the CORE chicken,chickenliver, Newmans own turkey 95%, chicken and liver 95%, california natural salmon and sweet potato, TOTW rocky mountain, NV rabbit, chicken, duck, venison, NB LID chk, salm, venison. What I rotate in depends a lot on what I have coupons for, what is on sale, what they have been turning their noses up at recently etc and its just easier for me to refer you to that site. Im sure I forgot some.

I feel like when I was feeding fancy feast, the ones I used didn’t have fish in them because I was more focused then on avoiding fish….I used the liver and chicken, chicken and beef, turkey and giblets, chop grill, and I had a hard time getting them off the crack. lol. they also LOVE the friskies shreds like the chicken and salmon, chicken, turkey, they love love loved them. I hated myself for it because of alllll the carbs and gluten but made myself feel better because I am poor and at least they were getting well hydrated. But I got them off of all of that and they are happy with their food, and if they prefer the turkey and salmon wellness then so be it, I am not going to get too upset that whitefish is the third ingredient. lol

[Bobby dog]

Hi Sharon:
That is so funny your cats did not like the Wellness indoor, mine didn’t either! That has been the only dry food they wouldn’t eat since I changed how I fed them back in September. I gave it a try because it didn’t have fish meal and indoor formulas typically have a little more fiber which my kitties needed at the time, oh well. For dry I feed Wellness GF Turkey & Duck, Merrick GF chicken, and Innova Nature’s Table GF. I probably will not feed Innova after Mars completes the buyout. So I am going to try another dry cat food soon to add to their rotation.

I use Wellness canned also, but I have to continually rotate because they get bored with food. I use Friskees poultry platter, Wellness, Merrick, Evo, 4Health, Blue, Tiki Cat, Against the Grain, and Soulistic regularily. I just added a few flavors of Pro Plan, One, Fancy Feast and Sheba. I got tired of them snubbing their noses at expensive cat food so I am giving in to some grocery store foods that don’t have fish (or contain a little), wheat, corn, or soy and are low in carbs. Innova sent me some coupons for canned food and my cats liked it so I will add that to my rotation as well.

Jump over to the coupon thread Akari started for coupons and sales info! It’s under the “off topic forums.”

Akari:
Let us know how Kitty does on the yeast! 🙂

[Akari_32]

We love to hear about what others do well with! I’ve heard the biggest problem with most of the expensive brands is that they are high in fat, which is why I don’t have much if a beef with the three flavors of Friskies I picked out.

My guy doesn’t seem to like the Wellness Grain Free (purple cans) very much, but he eats them anyways lol It’s a good thing he likes to eat! I personally try and stay away from fish because it’s said to be addictive and can also cause hyperthyroidism in cats. He gets it maybe once a week because some of the Wellness has it in it. For how good of a deal I got on those, I figured it wouldn’t hurt if I spaced it out with other flavors and brands.

I managed to get Simply Nourish Source dry food for $5 for the 3 pound bag, and I mix it straight into his canned. He gets just a little more than a 1/3 cup Source, and then half the recommended feeding of whatever canned I’m giving him. For canned I have the grain free Wellness, Friskies Special Diet (Beef, and Chicken and something….), and Sheba. I also have a few stray cans of etc here and there that I snagged a good deal on. I’m pretty opportunist on what I buy, provided it’s low carb (I like to stay under 2%, but less than 5-10% is fine), and low-ish in fat. If I’m just buying a few cans I don’t really care, but if I’m stocking up, it has to meet my standards.

I do want to try the Wellness Core dry, but I’m concerned at how much carbs I has. Even the Source is a bit high for me, at an estimated 10%, but since it’s only half his diet, and I add water to his food at each feeding, and monitor his litter box habits, I’m ok with it lol My friend has fed it to her cat, and she did great on it. Then again, that cat pushes their 60 pound pit bull out of the way for water, and I can’t hardly even get mine to consider his fancy $30 fountain. I also want to try dry EVO again, but I guess it’s high in fat? Idk lol

Canned really does break the bank! $5 in just canned (with or with coupons, depending on what you can find on sale to match) can only last me a few days to a week! I have to feed all my animals (god, that’s a long list LOL) on $10 a week, and I don’t feed anything I’m not fully comfortable with. Thankfully I’m always on top of sales and coupons, and can usually stock on months worth of dog and cat food for my monthly $40. I did allow my self to slip up and buy a 40lb bag of NutriSource Super Performance for $40. Only because I had been doing so good on other food deals and had been wanting to try it forever lol

[arwyru24]

Hey all, I am new here, have been lurking around this site for a little while for dog food because my parents just added a new puppy, but feeding cats on a budget happens to be my specialty. I have 2 pretty big guys (12 and almost 14lbs) The 12lb guy has a really sensitive system, but his body condition is ideal, and the 14lber tends towards the tubby side and so I have to really pay attention to his weight (they are both indoor only). I have tried most of the higher end foods on the market at one time or another. I subscribe to the idea that cats need the moisture in their diet and ideally should be on all wet food, however I supplement with dry to help meet my budget.
I primarily feed wellness grain free canned food, the 12.5oz cans are really cost effective, I primarily feed the turkey and salmon (purple can) it seems to be their favorite and the one they eat the most consistently without turning their noses up to it. I also rotate in the chicken (orange can), turkey (green), and chicken and herring (royal blue) and the minced turkey, chicken, and turkey salmon. I like wellness for a number of reasons and they have done really well on it. I rotate in a number of other brands: Evo (again those big cans save money), california’s natural salmon and sweet pea, (I am a little wary of Natura but I havent had any bad experiences) natural balance LID can’s, HALO pate, Instinct all work and are tolerated well.
The cat that loves crunchies isn’t picky at all really. He never met a kibble he didn’t like….. that is until I bought a 6lb bag of what I am feeding now: Wellness Core Indoor formula. I just bought a trial size bag of Orijen yesterday for $3.99 and am mixing it in with the Wellness. Its the first I have tried Orijen, because it is so expensive, but with the Orijen mixed in I am feeding less than 1/2 a cup of kibble a day total so it is affordable. Dry food lasts me forever it is the canned that really breaks the bank.
Sorry to chime in uninvited to this forum but am glad to have a place to share my experience 🙂

[Suburban Gal]

Out of all the foods I recommended, I’ve had the best luck with Blue Buffalo’s wilderness line, Holistic Select, and ByNature.

Blue Buffalo is probably the most readily available. Heck, PetSmart has a whole isle devoted to Blue Buffalo.

[Shasta220]

Definitely check out the large breed puppy thread, I’m sure skimming over that (and adding comments) would help tremendously as to how to get started.

I’m not too worried about it being 7wks. I know 8wk is the “ideal” age, but my baby boy was only 6wks when a friend gave him to us. He grew into the most loyal dog I have owned – never had one as good as he was.

Congrats on the lab pup journey! We went through a black lab once, but I don’t remember much about her as I was pretty young when we got her (she was clear at 5wks when we rescued her). We didn’t know much about dogs (I was too little to do any training, my mom had never owned a dog, and all dad had were the farm dogs that roamed around)… So she was a typical “evil” lab with her leash-pulling, biting, jumping, etc. LOL! Now she’s enjoying senior life, and I often wish I could go back to her puppyhood now that I know a thing or two about behavioral adjustment and training, hah! But she’s a sweetheart.

Then I’m pet sitting a chocolate lab pup currently. She’s one of the better behaved ones I’ve had! Very very mouthy and mischievous, but in the week we’ve had her, she’s only had 2 piddles in the house!

[crazy4cats]

Hi sbd421-
Congrats on your new pup! However, it is recommended to wait until at least 8 weeks for pup to leave mom. I wouldn’t worry about transitioning pup to new food right away if you can continue with the Iams for a few weeks at least. He’ll be going through so many changes to begin with. Just let him get settled in. Labs are so full of energy! I should know, I have two. There is an entire thread devoted to large breed puppies on the diet and nutrition section. There is a lot of information on the requirements of large breed pups. Most importantly is the calcium content. It is explained very well on that thread on its importance to growth. Also Hound Dog Mom has a great spread sheet on the foods that are acceptable for them. She has listed foods that are both grain free and grain inclusive in all price ranges. Check it out! I’m not sure if you have had a puppy before, especially a lab, but you are in for a lot of fun! Keep an eye on him as they will eat just about anything. Lol!

[LexiDog]

I wonder how that would work with frontline or revolution. I have to research this. Thanks for the suggestions and ideas!

[Shasta220]

Most foods on here that are 4-5 stars are trustworthy. Be sure to find one with as much quality protein as you can. Avoid by-products and fillers like corn, wheat, and soy. Diamond makes the most affordable 4-5 star foods (I buy Kirkland from Costco. Made by Diamond, very similar to Diamond naturals, and only about 25-30$/40lb so very economical), but many people avoid anything by that brand due to recalls.

Also be sure plenty of stimulation, training, and exercise comes 😉 I’d recommend finding a group obedience class. You’ll learn TONS of tips to last a lifetime, and it’ll help get the pup on the right track, as labs are very mischievous when not given a job. I grew up with a lab, so I can’t remember much about puppy phase. But I’m getting a lab pup this weekend to take care of for two weeks, so I will very much remember the chewed up tables and wet carpets, I’m sure!

[Mike Sagman]

Budget-friendly dog foods are special. They can indeed be Editor’s Choice companies. However, they may also have a few minor flaws that may prevent them from qualifying for the EC list. Yet still allow them to be considered above average quality and good value. That’s why we divided the list into two sections.

The fact a company has recalls does not ever preclude them from any list of quality products. We avoid companies that hide recall-like events from consumers or have a history of making recalls recalls a habit.

Example: Natura, the makers of Innova, California Natural, EVO and others is still a great pet food company. Until last year, they had a history of zero recalls. The fact they’re owned by a larger company can be a good thing. Larger companies typically maintain better quality control, on premises labs, access to pretested raw materials, etc. They are still under consideration for Editor’s Choice.

By the way, 3 star products are still recommended dog foods. Another example, when it comes to feeding large breed puppies, some of the most scientifically based and tested products are only rated 3-stars and come from very large producers.

Hope this makes sense.

[TheNaturalDog]

Evo kibble is marketed as the lowest carb kibble on the market. I know that there have been some recalls recently, but the company is claiming to have addressed the issues (per their website). It is also one of the highest protein kibbles on the market.

Side Note: I have no affiliation with Evo/Natura/P&G, just pointing out the GA of the food.

[Shasta220]

Glad that he’s gonna be okay, and hope you feel better soon! I’ve had my darn foot beat up three times in the last month (first I stepped on a jagged rock, then it got kicked by a horse, and THEN my cow decided to step on it….uggggggh!)

I’ll also agree with Patty, that popping em seems to make them even /more/ mischievous. I have some friends that own two golden/labs, and they are completely old fashioned with the whole smacking your dog when it’s bad…. They think it’s the best, and get quite confused when I say “I don’t need to hit my dogs as a correction.” Their dogs are friendly/calm as can be, but they don’t ever understand the correction. They go get into the chicken coop, then come back out. Owners run over and smack them…..they just think they’re getting popped as a regular thing, they don’t understand “oh. I went in there. That was bad. Oops.”
Luckily they’re very easy going dogs and forgive quickly….if anyone dared to try that “method” on my Loki, they’d prob end up in the hospital and then go shoot him. He will not put up with getting shoved around like that, and I can’t say I’d blame him!

Sorry for that vent….not sure what that has to do w leave it.

But that’s good he does know those commands! Try to get to the point where he might ignore /anything/ unless you gave him the “ok!” (“Ok” is about the easiest one to learn. It just means “free time” or “you can have it”. I’m sure he already knows it pretty well. I always do it in a super-excited higher pitched voice so they know that they can take a break from working, or gobble up that food.)

[Amy S]

There is an entire section devoted to large breed puppy. A great place to start is to type large breed puppy in the search feature under forums at the top of the page. Here is a forum topic link and also a link to a spreadsheet that has a bunch listed out by calcium content.

/forums/topic/large-and-giant-breed-puppy-nutrition/

Spreadsheet:
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BwApI_dhlbnFTXhUdi1KazFzSUk/edit

I am not sure how old the spreadsheet is, I believe it was updated last year.

[Shawna]

To clarify — Dr. Dodds is still not recommending “against” raw diets but is certainly warning about feeding an imbalanced raw diet… Something myself, BCnut, HDM and many other raw feeders here completely agree with..

This is what Dr. Dodds says about raw (same article as above).
“The rationale behind the concept of BARF (an acronym for Biologically Appropriate Raw Food) is that this is the type of diets dogs were programmed to eat during their evolutionary development (6). Therefore, the BARF diet represents a biologically-appropriate food for dogs, rather than cooked or processed foods. With a BARF diet, the perfect meal would contain muscle meat, bone, fat, organ meats, vegetable and fruit materials combined in precisely the correct balance, just as nature intended.”

• This reply was modified 11 years, 8 months ago by Shawna.

[Akari_32]

And I was just considering EVO and Innova again, too! I better buy it before it gets ruined, then :/

[Mike Sagman]

No matter when you join (yesterday, today or tomorrow), you’ll ALWAYS have full access to the complete EC list as it exists at the time you view it. The presence of any brand on the list is based upon merit only and not on some predetermined quota. Or on the day of the month.

Please keep in mind that Editor’s Choice is a service — not a list. So, the value you get as a member comes just as much (and maybe even more) from the brands you DON’T find on the list as those that you do.

From the FAQ page which has been posted from the very day Editor’s Choice was launched:

How many recommended brands are included in the Editor’s Choice list?

We have no plans to limit the number of Editor’s Choice brands to a specific number. However, at any given time, we would expect the total to vary somewhere between 10 and 20 companies.

How often do you add or remove dog food brands from the Editor’s Choice section?

In most cases, our list of Editor’s Choice companies should remain relatively stable with only occasional additions to — or subtractions from — our selected group.

However, members should expect to see some changes to our lists as new information is discovered or evolving events are brought to our attention.

[Akari_32]

He did great on Innova Prime Red Meat (beef and lamb). The recall has made me reluctant to go back to Natura in general, but I’ve got some EVO coupons that I want to use. He did ok on the Purina One. He was on that because I was being lazy and I had so much of it lol But then all the sudden he got terrible red, itchy skin again, and then we’ve been fighting ever since to get him back to normal again. The Pure Balance is the first food since then that’s helped.

Good job! I’m actual my couponing right now lol the table is covered in coupons and I’m trying to figure out where to get the best deals :p (and when I say “covered” I MEAN covered!).

[theBCnut]

Editor’s Choice is more about companies than it is about individual foods and P&G makes Evo. That might have something to do with it. It still looks like a pretty good food otherwise.

[Jetster]

Does anyone know why Evo isn’t on top 20..is it due to the recall they had last year? Any input on whether to avoid this high rated dog food..cheaper than my Orijen and right now on serious sale 😛

[Shasta220]

I would just like to give all of you awesome members a huge shout-out.

I am NOT a person who likes arguments, drama, debating, and disagreeance. I believe that everybody is entitled to their own opinion. As long as you can back it up by results, experience, and/or research, then I will not bash you and force my opinion down your throat, simply because I don’t like what you think.

Everyone on here is so kind and respectful. Even if y’all don’t agree with something, you very seldom directly say “you’re wrong. I’m right. Blah blah blah!” And even when you guys are /truly/ right on something (e.g. If the topic is “I love Hills Science”), you still aren’t mean or hurtful, simply informative with articles, recalls, past experiences, etc.

I’ve not been on many forums due to idiots, drama, and everyone wanting to argue with EVERYTHING I say (literally, if I would say “my favorite color is teal” I’d prob get a mob of people scolding me for it). The few forums I have been on, I left in a real hurry for those reasons. This is the only forum that I’m happy to jump on, read responses, and write my own replies, knowing that I’m not going to get chewed out for saying my thoughts.

Even on touchy subjects revolving around training, you guys say what you think/have experienced, but are never trying to lift yourselves up by tearing someone else down.

Again, congrats. You all rock….youz guys are like my dog-crazy family! =D also, I really hope I’m living up to what I just said…if I ever come across as being “mean”, please let me know and I will try to either apologize, or reword what I said. Misunderstandings are one of the biggest reasons for internet drama, y’know. Hah!

[Akari_32]

I’ve got a Jack Russell/Maltese mix with various food and seasonal allergies. I’ve tried just about every food on the market around here (most of the Innova’s, all the Wellness CORE’s, all the Rachael Ray Nutrish, Nature’s Variety Instinct Beef, and several other random brands with different types of proteins, with and with out different grains), and all he’s done good on were Innova Prime Beef and Lamb, and now, since I’m reluctant to go back to them since the recall, Pure Balance Grain Free Salmon and Pea.

I’m really surprised at how well he is doing on the PB. And its only $16 for 11 pounds (or $6 or $8 for 4 pounds?). His fur is growing back, and he’s itching less. My next step is to try some local honey for his seasonal allergies, and I’d also like to try the new bison flavor PB. I do also want to try him on EVO (despite the recall crap) because I’ve got some coupons and he did so well on the Innova Prime before it was recalled. They’re pretty much the same, just the EVO has much more protein. He really likes red meats. I think he was a wolf in his past life, taking down a rancher’s cattle LOL

[DogFoodie]

Lilypeppers,

Evolve has been reviewed here: /dog-food-reviews/evolve-dog-food-dry/

[Lilypeppers]

I have been buying Evolve Grain Free Salmon and Sweet Potato Recipe. It says it is made in the USA. Of course, nothing about the source. I am able to buy it in my regular grocery store so it is convenient and very well-priced. Would love to see your review of it.

[Mike Sagman]

Editor’s Choice was designed to be an evolutionary project. Although this list will (for the most part) remain stable, there will almost certainly be additions (and subtractions, too).

The current list is only a starting point. That’s all. Many of the comments I read here and elsewhere are surely valid. And some will have a considerable influence on the future development of this list.

That’s why we created this special forum area. Your help and observations are truly appreciated. Please feel free to post your comments and suggestions.

They will each help us develop a more valuable list. Thanks for all your help!

[Shasta220]

I am honestly very disappointed at my dog right now. Cassy is my 12y.o. Lab/GSD, and has NEVER been picky about her food. I’ve been giving her coconut oil recently (finally got her up to 2tbsp), and normally she loves it; but this week, she decided it was the most revolting thing ever.

She eats outdoors (that’s where the food is stored, out in the woodshed), so the coconut oil stays hard. I crumbled it up over her food, but she was still able to spit out the tiny pieces. Today, I tried melting it and pouring it over her kibble. That didn’t work either, because it hardened and was stuck to the edges of the bowl with some of the kibble.

Any suggestions to get that full 2tbsp in there without her noticing? I wondered if I could add some olive oil or something to keep it more of a “liquid”, because she doesn’t seem to notice it too much when it’s like that. Or possibly some flavored liquid to mix with it so she doesn’t smell it as much?

At first, I thought maybe she has just lost her appetite; but she eats everything else perfectly fine (and then some…she’s our vacuum cleaner!)

[Akari_32]

Just thought I’d stop in and let you guys know that I just thee $2 off any 6.6 pound or larger bag of EVO dog food in the mail yesterday! Yay! They expire in June, I think, so I need to get on that, but I’m super excited to use them 😀 I’ll probably give them to mom for use for Bentley, unless they go on sale and I can get the 13.2 pound (or whatever size they are) bags for a good price for the big dogs.

[Bobby dog]

Hey Akari:
You can’t have all the coupons and deals to yourself, it’s about time they put their foot down! lol. How did they break the news to you that you could not use all of your coupons? Were they polite about it?

I am looking through my coupons right now because I have to pick up horse feed soon at TSC and I can use some Wellness coupons there. Petco is having a no minimum purchase over the Internet this weekend. I am buying a small bag of Rotations to try, they have them listed at 1/2 price $9.99. I also am ordering a few cases of Soulistic. Perfect timing for the free shipping sale because I don’t need too many things from them right now.

I still feed my cats fish once or twice a week, if I didn’t they would revolt! I try my best to avoid canned food with fish in it, but it is almost impossible. The next thing I try to look for is a named fish rather than “fish or ocean fish” and it not being named as a top three ingredient. I look for sardine, mackeral, menhaden (spelling), trout, terms like wild caught, fresh water even better etc.

If you don’t mind, would you share the list of cat food you come up with? I like to hear about what other people use so I can try out different brands and varieties especially for the cats. I am checking out the Friskies you mentioned above. I did buy some poultry platter that C4c mentioned to use as a mixer for when they get bored with what I am serving. They all love their Friskies.

[aquariangt]

My pets are my hobby, but a well worth it timesink. I work as a dog trainer part time, but during my main jobs busy season I don’t do it much. The rest of my hobbies revolve around my main job. I’m a chef-tho right now I work as an f&b director so not much hands of cooking- so I’m constantly researching and eating. I’d like to get to the point of cooking for my animal family, but not ready/feel not educated enough yet. I like to garden, and am currently getting some hydroponic stuff ready for this years planting, but it’s more for fresh produce to play with than the enjoyment of doing it. Grew up Oma hobby farm, so that was always a big part of my life, and hopefully soon I’ll be able to purchase property large enough for that of my own. I did show rabbits around the country for 10 years as well. I listen to country music, and try to get to a few shows a year (Colorado- we have red rocks, best concert venue in the country!)

[Iride4tnt]

The kiddos got their first chicken back and neck today. I gave them frozen and was amazed how quickly they were devoured. No ill digestive effects so far.

[Bobby dog]

Hi Shasta:
I have plenty of cats, five, who decided to live with me. Like C4c I have a budget to keep in mind for my zoo. I pretty much feed the same brands as C4c. I highly recommend you check out catinfo.org for cat food info and other tips; it’s my go to site for my cats like this site is for my dog. I have guidelines I try my best to follow and feed mostly poultry based canned foods without fish, wheat, corn, soy, and little to no starches if possible. However, my cats are older and like what they like, they need their fish and dry food fixes so they do get fish a couple times a week and a little GF kibble daily.

I rotate brands and flavors frequently, but I would suppose it would be up to your cat to decide if she likes rotation or not. I even mix different brands and flavors together if they seem to be tiring of what I am feeding. I look for GF kibble without fish meal. I feed Wellness GF Turkey & Duck meal (my favorite kibble for them) and Merrick GF chicken kibbles. I have recently fed Innova Prime GF chicken kibble and will probably add that to my rotation.

I like and have fed the brands you listed. I regularly feed EVO, Merrick, Wellness, 4Health, Soulistic (chic flavors only), and Tiki cat canned foods. I will buy any quality brand on sale that meet all or most of the standards I follow for pet food purchases. Cats are funny creatures, they pretty much will tell us what they will eat and when they will eat it, but you got to love that about them!

As far as oral health, I haven’t had too many issues with my cats through the years and I have never tried any oral health products for pets. When I see tarter on their teeth I have always been able to remove it gently myself (with my fingernails) and my Vet says all their teeth look good.

PS: your kitty is beautiful!!

[Gina S]

I’m a long time lurker who has a similar issue with my dog. Due to an arrhythmia, mitral valve problem, enlarged heart & pancreatitis issues my dog must be on low sodium, low fat food. At first I had him eating one of the hills prescription diets, but it became too expensive coupled with all his meds (he’s a bit guy who eats a lot). So I began searching for a new food. Here’s what I found:

Wellness dog food: I emailed them recently so this is current
Chicken .14% Sodium 12% fat
Lamb .23% sodium 12% fat
Healthy Weight .11% sodium 6% fat
Senior .11% sodium 10% fat
Simple Grain-Free Salmon 0.29% Sodium 12% fat
Simple Grain-Free Turkey 0.24% Sodium 12% fat
Simple Lamb & Oatmeal 0.20% Sodium 12% fat
Simple Duck & Oatmeal 0.08% Sodium 11 % fat
Core Original 0.53% Sodium 16% fat
Core Ocean 0.69% Sodium 16% fat
Core Reduced Fat 0.50% Sodium 10% fat
Core Small Breed 0.23% Sodium 16% fat
Core Puppy 0.37% Sodium 18% fat
Core Large Breed 0.22 % Sodium 12% fat
Core Wild Game 0.22% Sodium 16% fat

California Natural/Innova/Evo all info about fat & sodium can be found on their website
http://www.naturapet.com/brands/evo
Some of the foods that I do have info on some california naturals
Grain free chicken .34% sodium 12% fat
Grain free kangaroo .26% sodium 11% fat
Chicken & brown rice weigh man. .2% sodium 7% fat
Lamb & brown rice weight man. .24% sodium 7% fat
Chicken & brown rice Senior .19% sodium 8% fat

Tufts University also has a list of dog foods
http://vet.tufts.edu/heartsmart/resources/reduced_sodium_diet_for_dogs.pdf

The food we settled on was Natures Logic Sardine Meal 10% fat and .33% sodium. Their other food while low in sodium are higher in fat.
I’m sure there are many, many more that fit are low fat, low sodium my advice would be to visit their websites and if sodium isn’t listed call or email them. Hope that helps.