[Akari_32]

I *can* get monthly doses, but not at this vet. Our other vet does. This vet doesn’t do enough business to sell individual doses. He has one exam room, and two techs. Our other vet has like 5 exam rooms, 2 vets, 5 or 6 techs, office staff, groomers, and they are always busy. Not to mention, its likes 20 minutes away in a direction we never go lol We only use them for when we need to use CareCredit, on big things. I’d rather go right down the street to the people we know best, and pay a little extra. We’ve been going there for like 15 years, and they know us. Plus, I don’t like how the other office has multiple vets. They both have very different views, and one doesn’t speak very good english (I think he’s from India? Not that I care, I just like to know what people are saying, especially when I’m forking out a bunch of money to them lol)

Elanco does offer rebates, yes. $10 for 6 month boxes, and $25 for yearly boxes. I just have to get on their website and do it. The last ones took like 8 months to get back!! :O

I know they have a GF dry cat food. I never looked to see if they had the grain inclusive (Diamond made) one. Tractor Supply is too far away for me to care much lol

[theBCnut]

3 and 4% fat in a canned/wet food is probably too high of a fat level for a pancreatitis dog. The dry matter equivalent is closer to 15 and 20% respectively.

[Susan]

Wellness Complete Health-Senoir recipe Wet, its only 3% fat & 7% Protein, or there’s Nutro Natural Choice-Lite Lamb & rice, Fat-4% Protein-5%.. If you look at most of the senior foods they are normally low Fat & Protein, I have been boiling chicken breast, pumkin & sweet potatoes & freezing little meals, this seems to have helped my boys Pancreatitis, Ive found that when he has his Dry kibble he gets his pain..thats probably why ur Silky doesnt like the dry foods..

[Randall G]

I recently looked at a very long list of stuff that should not be in dog or cat food, and my question is how does the 4health grain free duck and potato and the 4health all stages dry cat food rate as far as their ingredients? I have 18 to feed and I am looking for an excellent food without going in debt. HELP

[Yvonne W]

Hi dchassett, I have her on TOW High Prairie Puppy; yes, I know, I have read all the bad Diamond conversations in the forum. Actually, my decision was strictly based on the ingredients of several quality grain free dry foods. I copied and pasted them all in a word document so I could look at them closely. It took me a month to decide. The fact is I liked the ingredients and there were some that are in Orijen and a few other quality foods that were missing. The ingredients that were not in TOW is what intrigued me about the food as I believe they are partly responsible, if not totally, for the odor and gas. I have not been disappointed. I understand Diamond really blew it in May 2012. With the new FDA rules and all that it costs Diamond, not just in money, perhaps they will walk the walk and understand that our pets are family and pet owners care deeply about them; their health, what they eat, how they feel, etc.

[Ann-Marie M]

My mini schnauzer who is now 12 was eating Canidae dry food and started having problems stooling in his crate and around the house in the middle of the night. Initially I just thought it was his age but then changed him to a raw frozen diet. I started with Nature’s Variety Instinct but changed to Stella and Chewy’s when I found out they are a local company and that Nature’s Variety Instinct gets their rabbit from China. The raw diet completely fixed the problem. He stopped having loose stools in his crate and around the house! 🙂

• This reply was modified 12 years ago by Ann-Marie M.
• This reply was modified 12 years ago by Ann-Marie M.

[Isabel P]

I already feed 2 of my 3 Dr Tim’s grain-free but my 3rd dog is now allergic to potatoes so I am forced to feed her Orijen. I’m shocked to not see it on the list- I’d love to know why…it’s the only dry grain free potato free dog food I have found. It’s very pricey however I thought it was a 5 star rated food.

[Patrica H]

My dog is 15, a silky terrier, who has had a few bouts with pancreatitis. She needs a low fat, and probably lower protein dog food. She doesn’t like dry dog food. She is on Hills Science Diet ID low fat GI restore which recently changed the texture of its canned dog food. It is very dry, won’t even absorb any moisture! My dog almost chokes on it. Also, I don’t think the ingredients are very healthy – pork liver, pork by products, corn…! Please, if anyone knows of a good canned dog food – low fat, low protein please let me know. thanks. —Patty

[DogFoodie]

Lilypeppers,

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

[Jon P]

I’ve been paying about $30 for 30lbs. Victor depending on the variety I pick which is why I want Victor dog food as it is high quality food for much less than other brands.

I ordered two 24lb. bags of Canidae Grain Free pureELEMENTS All Life Stage Dry Dog Food delivered for $73. So far all of the dogs are enjoying this food. I may just drive the 50 miles each way to the feed store and get several bags.

They are supposed to be building a Costco near me so I may look into their Kirkland brand.

How long is the dog food good for before going bad? I was unable to find an expiration date on the Victor bags.

[chrissy r]

Im fosteri.g a boxer male 4 years the previos owner fed him spaghetti,pizza fries and alittle iams once in awhile. Hes been on ivs and probiotics and i/d canned and dry im trying to find him a better food i feed my other dogs natural balance and was looming at that brand but the synergy does anyone know anyother top foods that may help???

[Mom2Cavs]

Betsy, I used to love Merrick! I even fed the dry for about 3 months after the change to the new Classic, Grain free lines. But I had some problem with some of the kibble. I still fed the canned food until I found weird looking, mold-like, stuff in the middle of a few of them. So I won’t buy them anymore. I really miss buying them, too, because they had a lot of variety. Now I tend to stick with Wellness, but I do add a few others in now and then for more variety. Our kibble is Victor, atm, but I just found out Wellness has some new formulas for smaller breed dogs that look good. I was always asking them to come out with Simple in smaller size kibble and to have other flavors in Small Breed formulas. Now they have! However, I have a ton of Victor I will feed first before trying them out.

[Corey T]

I just wanted to say I’m happy to support this site after all the years of great dog food advice it’s been giving me. Without this site, who knows what my dogs would have been eating? Haha, Beneful or some nonsense! Right now my guys are on Nature’s Variety Instinct with the raw boost, and Merrick canned foods, but I’ll definitely go with an editor’s choice when we switch dry foods. Maybe a feature you could do in the future is why some of the 5-star foods don’t make it into the editor’s choice. Thanks!

[Tina Sharp]

I have a 10 week old english bulldog that has a stage 2 heart murmur. I need a dry large breed puppy that has low salt, low protein and low calcium food. Does anyone have an idea on a large breed puppy that meets this criteria? Thank, Tina aloveoflabs

[Alexa H]

Obviously you don’t feed them just chicken that’s why I said “dry and chicken”. Oh, and their is still a ton of fish products in the wet food regardless if they are chicken or turkey.. Huh. Imagine that. Oh, and iams is much better than any purina product or pedigree product. Our Czech shepherd went from eating two 8cup bowls a day to 4 cups a day and gained the 15lbs he needed. And this site even rates it 3 stars sooo.

[Bobby dog]

Hi Akari:
Sending positive “we got to keep this adorable, sweet, furry, kitty” thoughts your way!

I am not sure if the pet stores near me sell Eagle pack cans either. Only two out of the three pet boutiques/chains near me are listed on their site as selling Eagle Pack but that could just be the dry food. One of the chains I go to is Pet Supplies Plus so I’ll see at the end of the month when I make the pet food run. Petco and Petsmart are about 7 – 10 miles in a direction I never travel anymore so that is why I only order over the Internet from them. I printed the EP coupons just in case.

The Sheba is $1.00 off 24 cans or multipack and a b10 g2 coupons. I printed several of each. They expire 4/24/14.

[Paola G]

Hi, I have a 10lb Rat Terrier that I adopted from ASPCA at 2 years old, she is now 7. I had her on IAMS ProActive Health, that was the food she was on at the pound, for about 3 years after I got her and never had any issues. Then one day I decided to change her to better quality food and she was doing well until 8 months ago when she started having these small bumps on her skin on the back that would become dandruff and were very smelly,no flea/tick bites. Then eventually the flakes/dandruff stopped but she now has these red spots on her belly and on her “armpit” that look very dry and itchy and she still smells. Took her to the vet who put her on Hills Prescription Diet for two weeks, gave her a cortizone shot and changed her shampoo to a prescription one, she got a little better but the rash did not go away. I’m keeping her on Hills Grain Free food and I’ve been changing her food for the past few months to no avail. Her demeanor/energy level never changed and her appetite hasn’t changed either. The groomer suggested the I give her Benadryl but I don’t want her to be groggy. Does any one have any idea what this could be? Thank you!

[Akari_32]

Iams is one of the worst foods out there, actually. And the easist way to get around canned food with fish in it is to just not buy any with fish. Huh. Imagine that. Dry food is terrible for cats because of the higher level of carbohydrates needed to bind the food together, as well as it being just that– dry. Some canned foods (like Iams) can actually be just as bad with carbs. Feeding just boiled meat is extremely imbalanced, as it doesn’t provide all of the nutrients your cat needs to stay healthy. Now, if you were to add supplements yourself, then that would actually be better than any commercial diet, but you would first have to know how much of what nutrients to add, and they can be costly.

[Alexa H]

Just so everyone knows my vet said to only feed a cat a small amount of wet food a day. It actually has way to many fish products which can hurt their liver. She said it’s better to feed dry and boiled chicken and other meats. Also, I just switched from a crappy dry cat food to authority which looks to be a pretty good food for the price. It’s cheaper than iams, and iams cat food is no where as good as iams for dogs. Which is what I feed my dogs.

[Bobby dog]

I am using 2 cloves of fresh garlic, sliced about 10 minutes before feeding, three days a week.
http://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/garlic-for-dogs-poison-or-medicine/

I used to feed Bug Off from Springtime to my horses years ago when I boarded them. When I moved them to my home, I stopped feeding it. Two years of having the opportunity to be around them 24/7, I never saw any difference with bugs and ticks. I use fly predators for the barn area, groom them daily to check for ticks and use an herbal bug repellant spray now.

Last summer I used the Bug Off tablets for Bobby with no success. However, I still want to give fresh garlic a try especially since I changed his diet. I am hoping since he is healthier and does not have that yeasty smell the fleas might not be so attracted to him and the garlic might have a chance to work. If I could get away without a chemical flea preventative I would be a happy person.

I still will be giving Bobby his Ivermectin for HW prevention. I usually use Frontline Plus during flea season only. So I guess I will see how a fresh and healthy Bobby that smells like garlic does during flea season this year. If he starts showing signs of attracting fleas, I will have Frontline on hand to use.

That was a good deal on the Purina One canned! FYI, I was on your coupon website last night and they have a link to Eagle Pack coupons posted under pets. That is a sister company to Wellness. It is a $1.00 off two cans of Eagle Pack canned dog food and $3.00 off dry dog or cat food. They also had Sheba cat food coupons.
http://printablecouponsanddeals.com/Category/pet-products

Poor kitty. Sedated cats only ever went two ways for me. They either have slept it off with no problems or were freaked out and needed my complete attention until the seditive wore off. Good luck tomorrow!!

[Jackie L]

I have a 7 year old Bernese Mountain dog (Jax) who has had to have his anal sac glands drained by his vet every 5-6 weeks for years now as the vet said they are not draining naturally. Since he was 3 his vet has had him on Royal Canine Joint and Bone formula as he has bad hips and knees.
Now it seems that the vet is having a difficult time draining his glands and she needs to use a special instrument (costing double the $$$$) in order to drain and has now recommended surgery to remove the glands. I am having a very hard time understanding why now would this be necessary after all these years ??? So I am researching the web and came across this great forum. Our vet never mentioned to us changing his diet to a grain-free high fiber diet nor has she mentioned trying green beans, pumpkin or sweet potato to help naturally harden his stools. He doesn’t scoot and he doesn’t smell – but seems they do not empty on their own and the vet says they will absess if not drained.
So before I see our vet tomorrow – I am wising up and looking into my own solutions for my Jax. Can anyone recommend a good grain-free high fiber dry dog food that I can start him on ?

[Akari_32]

For the dogs canned food, I honestly just get what’s cheap. The Pedigree was free (3 big cans), the Purina One was on clearance at PetSmart for 70 cents each, and I have coupons for $1 off 3 cans, the alpo was 94 cents after BOGO sale and coupons (I got like 10 cans of that), the pro plan was free lol Haley needs canned mixed in her dry or she can’t eat very well, and gets upset tummy. I split a can between Haley and Dweezle, it’s not a big part of their diet, so I don’t worry about it too much. If they ate more of it, I’d be looking for better ones, but I figure it doesn’t hurt. They grew up on all the nasty stuff, as it is lol

How much are you givng for the garlic? I’d imagine it keeps mosquitoes away, too? Flea and heartworm prevention is sooooo expensive!

Oh, and expect some good stories of drugged kitty tomorrow LOL The vey said no food after 8 and no water after midnight. I don’t get off work till 8 anyways, so I gave him a big can of wellness, and that’s all he gets! He doesn’t drink, but I’ll take up the water dishes anyways.

[Akari_32]

I don’t feed the dogs dry pro plan unless I get a reeeeally good deal on it. It’s been about a year since that’s happened, and I don’t see that happening again anytime soon lol Even then I can still get a better deal on Wellness most of the time. Haley is at a point now where anything with too much corn causes her to drop weight. I took her off Purina One and put her back on Wellness CORE and she gained all her weight back. Then I tried Purina One Beyond because it was super cheap after coupons (10 bucks for 20+ pounds), and she was doing really well on it. We’re back to wellness again, keeping the rotation going. Thankfully she doesn’t need all grain free, because we seriously have a thing of dog food for each dog right now, and it’s mom driving crazy LOL Can’t wait for the the Purina One to be gone so Haley and Dweezle can be on the same food again. Also can’t wait to try Nutrisource, and a few other foods…. >=3

Anyways, back to the cat LOL I’ll be keeping an eye out for those new foods. I’m interesting in seeing what they do with that grain free one, not that I’m likely to try anything dry with him. More out of curiosity lol As for the k3, you can’t expect *that* much from Purina LOL

Oh and kitty kitty is going to get neutered Thursday! Lucky him LOL

[Bobby dog]

Bobby will eat anything and does well on everything I have tried so far; I do kibble and canned or fresh meat also. Out of Purina’s Pro Plan recipes for dogs I would feed the Select beef or chic & brown rice canned formulas and the Select chic & brown rice dry. I would also feed the Beyond One formulas. Bobby is on a rotation diet and so far I can feed GF or grain inclusive with no issues.
On another subject, I was looking for coupons on the Purina site and saw they are adding new flavors to the Beyond One line for dogs. It looks like they are also changing the dry cat Beyond One formulas, adding more flavors, and adding canned food. The canned will be grain inclusive and GF. They will be out in the summer so they will probably have promos for it. I will be checking out the canned cat food when they debut it.

[Akari_32]

I feed the dogs canned pro plan, too. They eat anything, eatable or not LOL Haley can’t handle straight dry food, so I mix with canned. PetCo puts out free prop plan can coupons every so often, so I stock up on them.

[Dori]

Hi Lea J. I feel like this is my mantra but I will say it again. I have a 4 1/2 year old Maltipoo, Katie, has had severe food allergies and intolerances as well as environmental allergies since we got her at 9 weeks of age. I’ve tried any and all suggestions out there. Went through a ton of food, most of which to no avail. What finally worked for her is commercial raw foods. I like Primal Pronto the best. I also rotate her foods with Darwins, and Answers raw. I’ve tried Stella and Chewy’s raw and Nature’s Variety Instinct Raw which I didn’t like at all. Anyway, I have three small dogs that I feed 1/4 cup twice a day. I do add and/or feed sardines (canned in water, not oil), coconut oil, probiodics, digestive enzymes, fresh fruits and veggies. Their treats consist of fresh fruits or veggies. I don’t use store bought treats. To many issues with Katies allergies. My 14 1/2 year old Maltese has arthritis in her right hip and also two degenerated discs mid spine. I rotate supplements as well as their foods. I haven’t found any particular joint supplement that has worked miracles. I have just ordered Sprintime’s Joint Health and Fresh Factor. Some people have been reporting that they are having good luck with these. Anyway, I think I’ve digressed here from my mantra which is: Grain, Soy, Poultry (in all forms), White Potato and Rice Free food as well as anything else you think your dog may be allergic or intolerant to. Your allergy list really doesn’t seem to be that bad though I wouldn’t doubt that she has more problems than just the ones you named. Full disclosure, I don’t believe that food allergy testing for dogs can be trusted. My dogs allergist/dermatologist as well as their traditional vets all would not do the testing. They said the tests are inaccurate, misleading and cost a lot of money. When vets tell you they won’t take your money, you know they are being accurate. To this date there are no known food allergy testing on animals that are accurate. As far as kibble goes, I can’t really recommend any because I’m not comfortable in my knowledge of their ingredients anymore. I figured out most of Katie’s food allergies by her reactions to the foods I was feeding and then comparing ingredients with other foods trying to figure out what was bothering her. She has many many issues. She just recently became allergic or intolerant to alfalfa. Allergic or intolerant to me is all the same. All I’m sure of is that either way, she can’t eat it so I don’t care whether some people say that it’s not really an allergy, it’s an intolerance. It’s all trial and error really and constantly researching ingredients. What works for my dogs may not work for others but eliminating the obvious typical allergens is a good place to start. It’s an incredibly long road in helping our allergy prone dogs but the work is well worth it for them. Exhausting on us. Oh, Spring is finally here in Atlanta where we live so for the last two days I’ve been giving her Benadryl twice a day. I hate having to do that but there is nothing I can personally do about environmental outdoor allergies. Trust me, if there was a way I would have found it by now. This is the first time I have ever had a dog with allergies and I’ll just say it keeps me on me on my toes with all things food related for her. Katie’s how I came across this site a couple of years ago and I, she and my other dogs have benefited immensely. Good Luck. If you need any clarification on anything I’ve said or any more questions please ask.

[Dori]

Hi Mountainhound. Though I have no objection to any of the ingredients specifically, it does seem as though there are an awful lot of lentils, peas and garbanzo beans. Just thought I’d add my thoughts for anyone thinking about this food. I feed raw, but if I were to go back to feeding kibble I would not feed this change up. When I was feeding kibble Acana Pacifica was in my rotation, none of the dogs did particularly well on it. Not anything really bad other than my allergy prone sensitive stomach girl who couldn’t eat the Acana. I eventually switched to all raw because of her. They are doing fabulous now EXCEPT Spring has come to Atlanta and, of course, allergy girl also has environmental allergies. So bad that I’ve had to put her on Benadryl twice a day for the last couple of days. I hate it!!!!!

[Akari_32]

Well, apparently, I’m a genius and didn’t read past the 04/20 on the expiration date, because the year on the $1 off coupons were 2011 LOL They weren’t mean about it, though. Besides, its not my fault they even took them the first two times lol They should have looked at the expiration date, too! Oh well, I’ll get more that aren’t expired eventually XD

It is hard to feed canned food with out fish in it! Even the chicken, and other “non-fish” flavors have fish! Thats why I sat on Friskies website and went through every single flavor, and picked only ones with no fish. The first list wasn’t very long, maybe only 3-4 other flavors. I couldn’t believe how many had fish of some form.

Named anything is hard to find in Purina– you can’t expect much of them LOL I would like to see named products, don’t get me wrong, but when you’re buying 52 cans of cat food for $16, you can’t ask for much :p

My list got as far as those three, right now. I’m doing my homework early, so on Tuesday, when I’m in between classes for an hour and half, I will add more. I’m going for less than 2% carbs using this calculator (http://www.scheyderweb.com/cats/catfood.html ), but I wont go over 2.5% if I can help it. It seem so t work pretty good for dry food, too.

I did see that, Jake. I have Wellness, and other brands as well, though, so it should be ok. He seems to still be having some problems, and today is the last day of his medicine, but he’s much better, even still. Maybe it’ll help him…? We still have to go back to the vet and get him fixed and whatnot anyways.

[Barb D]

I have a nine month old Bichon shih tzu & I have tried Orijen, Acana, Blue Buffalo, Natural Balance both wet & dry & cannot get him to eat dog food. I have tried adding chicken broth & broiled chicken & salmon. He will pick out the dog food & will eat the chicken & salmon. The vet checked him out & there is nothing wrong with his health. I am at my wits end so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[Mark S]

Lost our 23lb, 14 yr old spaniel to Heart Tumor. Just rescued a 12lb YorkiePoo. The foster was feeding him Hill’s Science Diet for Small Dogs. Not listed on 4 stars or above. We fed previous dog Newman’s Own Dry that at one time had 4 stars. But this guy is only 12lbs with ideal wgt about 15lbs. Suggestions?

[Tammi H]

I have tried many types of dry food for my Shepherd, we have even had him on two different types of prescription food. He still has itching. The vet suggested allergy testing, not sure I want to go that route. My boyfriend wants to try the raw diet, but I am not sure about that either, because he itches so much I am not sure where we would eve begin. Any suggestions?

[jakes mom]

stopped on the way home from work and bought some grain free canned and dry food, for allergy prone cats. Hope to find one or 2 she really likes and will stick with that for a while. Maybe things will improve. Thanks for the advice.

[MastiffLove]

Hello everyone!

I would love some help in figuring what would be the “best” diet for my dog. Alot of you here seem to have alot of knowledge about this subject and i want to give the best diet to my dog so he will be in top health, shape and growth so he can live a great life without issues due to his diet.

On the 9th of April i am getting my Englsih Mastiff His dad is 220pounds and his mom is around 185 pounds he will be 8 weeks old he is one of the biggest of the litter. I am mentioning this so we can have an idea on an average he could possibly weight once adult and i want to promote growth and size without risking ANY health issues due to exessive or poor feeding.

I’ve been reading for quite awhile and theres so much information to consider that i’m getting overwhelmed with info lolll.

He is currently being fed with First Choice Puppy Medium and Large Breeds (4stars on the reviews here) and i will switch him to Orijen Puppy Large once i feel he feels confortable in his new home (most likely after 3 weeks he’s been here) .

I have read on here that mixing a puppies diet with diferent brands and types of food is a good thing also mixing dry kibbles with canned food is good and/or adding home food to his meals will supplement for whats missing.

But here are my questions:

1.Should i keep him on Orijen after his “switch” has been done until he reaches a certain age/weight or should i right away start “mixing things up” to best his diet?

2. Would any supplements or additives be used as a mixing ingredient to his kibbles?

3. Orijen has a Calcium (min/max) of 1.2/1.5% as wirtten on the 13kg (28.6pnd) bag enough or too much calcium? And could it be clarified, is it per portion served, over the whole bag, in one kiddle alone and such…how does those precentage work? so i can in the furture know what i’m dealing with.

4. Could someone give me a good idea on how to proceed thrue all of this like weeks old you do this, at a certain weight (considering hes not over or under weight and such) you start adding those kind of things…so on and so forth.

I understand theres alot of factors to consider like activity levels, too fat too skinny, etc. and so i will be monitoring his weight and growth weekly thrue his first year so i can spot anything different at a certain event like using a certain type of food or supplement etc. So try to be positive in giving as much detail as you can…i want to learn and i love precise and detailed info.

P.S. I live in Canada Quebec both parents are American living here in case you wish to suggest some food brands please consider i might not have access to it other then by shipping.

Sorry for the loooong post i’m french and i try to be clear on what i’m concerned about.

[Shasta220]

So I’ve mentioned the retired man with the two GSDs who suffer through being on Beneful dry and Alpo/Pedigree canned, right? Well, I’ve previously dropped a bug or two in his ear about some fairly good foods at great prices, and he still thinks that Beneful’s “…wholesome ingredients like wheat, soy, and egg…” are doing his dogs good.

I was pet sitting them the past couple days, and noticed that his giant male, Caesar (he’s 150lbs and is NOWHERE near overweight), had a disgusting hot spot on his thigh. The owner had mentioned that the female, Camile, sometimes gets them, and he just puts some anti-itch spray on. That’s usually enough to make them go away (for a little bit at least…). I decided this time, I will get as “firm” as I will ever get.

I know I’m not making the /best/ suggestion, but virtually any food is better than Beneful, so here’s what I just messaged him:

“…I noticed a huge hot-spot on Caesar’s rear leg. I sprayed it with some of the anti-itch spray.

Not sure how often they get itchy, but Cassy used to get so bad that we had to put a cone and a sweater on her. We switched her to a food without corn, soy, or wheat, and she hasn’t itched since.

http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com is my favorite website to compare brands and quality. We found a 4star food (Kirkland) for less than $1/lb. ”

What do y’all think? If you were uneducated about dog food, do ya think you’d switch? 😀 and yes, I will warn him about being extra careful for a slow transition if he sounds interested in switching. Gosh I REALLY hope he switches….those poor dogs have dull coats, bad breath, and a NASTY odor 🙁 if he doesn’t get some good nutrition in soon, they’re gonna go downhill FAST (they’re already 7y.o.)

[Bobby dog]

I feel your pain. My five cats eat me out of house and home, but I just adore and love them. You are much more diligent than me when it comes to proportions, good job! Thinking about it I estimate what each cat is eating in canned food. On average 3 – 5 ounces/day with ¼ cup of dry food each. But if they are begging for more they get it because there are no weight problems and other than my one cat with thyroid issues, everyone is healthy.

I know I always mention Tractor Supply, but if you are near one or happen to be by one at some point, their 4Health cat food is priced the same as Friskies, maybe 3 cents higher, at 49 cents 5.5 ounces or $1.00 for 12+ ounces. They don’t have the 4Health canned cat food on their website. They have their Friskies version (Paws & Claws) pictured with the 4Health logo under it. Just like C4c buys Authority as one of her budget friendly foods, I buy 4Health to throw into my mix. I mix it with the good stuff here and there. They use named meats, no wheat, corn, or soy etc. The only thing I don’t like about it is their recipes include brewers rice or potatoes as ingredients, so it is probably higher in carbs which is why I don’t just feed that brand; it just helps keep costs down and the other ingredients are pretty good in it.

You probably already have done this, since you are the coupon guru, but sometimes on the Fancy Feast and Sheba websites they have coupons/special offers. I got a free sample from Sheba not too long ago. When they are on sale or I have a coupon I buy those brands also.

[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!!

[T S]

We have two male JRTs (5 & 7 yrs) and a female Labrottie (9 yrs). After seeing ads and getting some samples from a local rep, we tried the Blue Buffalo–dogs rejected it outright. We tried the Wild stuff, various flavors, and inevitably at least one of the three turned up their noses at each flavor of the food. Talked to vets, who sell canned Canin and Hills, about allergies, food ingredient quality, flavor variety. Went back to Fromms, tried three different flavors (chicken, beef and pork), and all three dogs are happy with the dry pork & applesauce formula. They’re energetic, different vets are all REALLY happy with all 3 of their overall health, especially weight maintenance vs activities levels, and their coats, teeth and skin are all great. None smells, they all sleep and BM on schedule w/o problems. We looked at MANY of the so-called ‘holistic’ and ‘organic’ foods. Local pet store guy recommended some ‘natural’ and raw foods, but it made no sense to change from what’s working now. Fromm’s is US made, only US ingredients, and no recalls we know of. We don’t feed them ANY human food, and they almost never get snacks or treats–so no threat of allergic reactions. Labrottie came to us from a poor-quality non-US food diet, and she’s a much happier, healthier, energetic dog now.

[Shasta220]

I’ve posted a thread or two with some canned questions… My Maddy is a spoiled littl girl, and I just started her on canned food a couple months ago.

I’m curious as to what favorite brands are, and is it safe to switch brands regularly without a transition? She has free choice of dry, and then gets about 1/4-1/2 of a 6oz can daily. I wanted to keep her on just one or two brands, then switch the flavors out since rotating meat sources is good. But Ms. Picky Pants /only/ likes foods with poultry as the first ingredient. So I thought that changing the brands would be good since some have liver as the 2-3rd, some have fish, etc.

So far I’ve tried Natural Balance, Chicken Soup, and Felidae. So far her favorites are Felidae and CS, she likes NB, but not as much as the other two. I’d like to try a few others as well, since I’m using DFA’s canned ratings as a guideline – I’d definitely assume the same brand would produce the same quality for both cat and dog foods.

Also, I am getting a bit concerned as far as oral health goes. She eats little-to-no dry anymore, and doesn’t bat an eye at our other cat’s raw bones. Brushing is obviously out (that’d be a miracle to see – a cat who’d allow you to brush its teeth!), so the only thing I can think of (other than regular dentals by a vet) is water additives? Does anyone have a favorite brand? So far, about the only one that I have tried is TropiClean… (I had an organic one, I looooved it. But it was in a specialty store far away, so I doubt I’ll be able to get it again) I’m not too impressed with it, honestly.

[Naturella]

At the moment we feed Bruno about 75-80% dry mixed kibble and about 20-25% additives: pumpkin, yoghurt, cottage cheese, flax seed meal, coconut oil/butter, canned sardines, and one raw egg/week and an RMB/week (right now I rotate between chicken backs and pork neck bones).

With the amount of dry food brands I want to rotate between, if I don’t mix it would probably take AT LEAST 1/2 of Bruno’s life to go through all of them ONCE, if not more time than that. There are many high-quality kibbles out there and he seems to adapt well in rotation. He does love his raw too though! 🙂

It is my husband and I’s dream to own land and a farm one day – doesn’t have to be huge, just enough to raise goats, some sheep, chickens, rabbits, and, if by a lake – ducks and maybe fish. We would like to grow our own fruits and veggies, at least some of them. (I only have 10 fruit/nut trees in mind, no more. LoL Not counting the bush fruit/nut-giving plants.) We would like to hunt our food – deer, ducks, geese, pheasants, rabbits, fish, whatever, and know where our food comes from. So THEN, I would like to be giving maybe 80% or more balanced raw with supplements. I really hope we get there some day. 🙂

[kvee]

I take Susie to the local dog park, on Sundays there is always a lot of non-regulars. One day this woman comes in the park with a huge bowl full of dry dog food that was a “leftover”, when she sees the horror on my face, she tries to reassure me that everything is OK as the food is “beneful and good quality” I went bananas, grabbed Susie and as we were walking away I told her that she cannot feed stranger’s dogs and especially cardboard food.

Needless to say, I do not go to the dog park on the weekends anymore.

[Gloria D]

My female beagle, 10 years old, about 32 lbs. has a heart murmur (is on meds for it) so I have to be careful with salt and fat. It was suggested that I put her on Hill’s Science Diet prescription HD formula for cardiac health which is low in salt, but I don’t like the ingredients in it. It was also suggested that we try looking at some of the senior diets because they may be low in salt, but so far I am not coming up with anything. I really don’t want to have to prepare food myself if at all possible. I’m discovering just how little information is out there when you are looking for specific needs in a dog’s diet. Any suggestions? Thanks!

[Naturella]

Akari and Bobby dog, I just printed me some coupons! Yay! Printed some for my friend too!

AND, I have a PetCo coupon for $5-off any bag of Wellness. Issue is, that coupon doesn’t become active until July 1st. BUT, the above coupons expire in April.

BUT, can I print them again in July, do you know??? I am referring to the $3-off dry food coupon.

[Melissaandcrew]

Just curious how/what every one is feeding these days. In other words, mainly all dry, all raw, 50-50 etc.

We have gone from about 75% dry/25% raw/toppers/canned etc to just the opposite. We feed more raw than dry now.

Favorite dry foods to rotate-Acana,Nature’s Variety, Hi Tek, Nutrisource, and a few others sporadically.

Whose next?

[Shasta220]

Ah yes, I just found that brand. Win win for sure! Ah I wish Costco was closer than 2hrs. Now I’ve got to stock up on their dry food, canned food, AND coconut oil next time I go (better start saving!).

[Corbin S]

Thank you both for replying. What I’ve been told by my Vet is Incontinence sometimes happens to spayed females. She will sometimes leave a pool after she has been sleeping. She is completely house broken and never has an accident except when she is sound a sleep. She feels bad and yes the Proin pills have solved the problem however, if I could put her on a dry food diet that would help, I would try to get her off the pills. I know it would be a long shot, but I thought I would try. Again, what I’ve read, people have said to feed her grain-free food and free of starches. Starches include potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, green peas, beans and lentils. I can find grain-free but it seems like they all have potatoes etc. Bobby Dog, I’ve look at your link you sent me now. Thank you.

[thegoodlife]

You can try liver powder. I am a pet trainer and I just tell my clients to sprinkle a bit of this on their pets dry food once a day https://www.wholebites.com/index.php/benny-bullys-livermix-crumbs-and-powder-pet-treats.html

[crazy4cats]

Well, if you make the trip to Costco to pick up the Kirkland dry food, look for their canned cuts in gravy as well. You have to buy a case of 24, but it’s only $18.79. So, only 78 cents a can for a 5 star food. Can’t beat it! Also, in addition to pure balance, Walmart carries Variety canned food that isn’t too bad. It’s a little high in fat, but a decent food at a reasonable price also.

[Shasta220]

Costco is a couple hours away…but I intend on stocking up on Kirkland dry food next time we to (since Diamond makes them, and the dogs are on DN – similar ingredients.). I think our little tiny Walmart finally started carrying PB, so I’ll have to look into that 🙂

[Akari_32]

Hey, suggest away! I’ve been adding water to his food for a while now, anyways. Mainly to make the dry/canned mix more the same texture as just canned. That’s probably what kept his UTI from getting out of hand before we realized what was going on.

He did say to make sure he’s drinking enough water, and to try a fountain waterer, and to switch from plastic bowls to glass or stainless (I bought stainless ones– and a brush lol), because the plastic can hold in bacteria and whatever. He also said to change his water out a few times a day.

He doesn’t have a name yet. I sort of want to name him Logan or Eric (from X-Men), but I don’t want to give him too much of a human name. I’m weird like that lol Pets have to have pet names. But then again I have a goldfish named Bruce (Batman :p), so who knows LOL Really i just can’t find a name that suits him. He’s quite most of the time, but he know how to cause trouble, and I’m pretty sure he’s plotting Bentleys doom LOL I may scoot around the Humane Society’s adoptable cat page and see if there are any names I can steel lol Anyone have any suggestions?

As for the food I’ve settled on, based on cost and how much is fed, it’s mainly going to be Friskies, as much as I hate to do it, based on the company alone. But many people use it, and it’s the most recommended of what I see online. I guess many “premium” brands use a lot of fat to keep costs down, and their cheaper lines are pretty carby. Friskies is grain free, low fat, and high protein. So, despite the Purina thing, and the by products, i guess that’ll be most of his diet, as well at Grreat Choice’s version of Friskies, and Authority. (And of course anything I find on sale/that has coupons).

[Patrick E]

I have a question for those out there who have experience with German Shepherds. I have a 12 week old male German Shepherd, and he is very active. I would like some feeding advice on habits, frequency, and brand advice. I’ve seen some negative comments here on the manufacturer of Diamond, unfortunately for me the breeders have fed the puppies nothing but straight up Diamond brand Lamb and Rice. They have also told me to keep the bowl full at all times, which I already knew was bad advice. I just want to make sure that my Dodger is going to be as healthy as possible. Problem is all these 5 star rated dry foods that I have been seeing range from $60-$70 per 20lb bag. Hence the frequency and amount for puppy. Is the bag going to last me a week? 2 weeks? Just some friendly advice is very welcome!