Dog food recommendations

[cassie]

I have been feeding my dogs Purina One for a number of years. I chose it because meat is the first ingredient, it is affordable, and until recently my dogs did very well on it. I don't know if they have changed the formulation or what, but my dogs don't seem to be digesting it like they used to. My Fox Terrier cross is, I kid you not, having to poop five and six times a day. She leaves big piles, too and they are not as firm as I think they should be. I tried Iams several years ago but I wasn't happy with it. Neither were the dogs. I am looking for a food that is nutritious and one the dogs will probably like. What dog foods have you had good experiences with? I don't know where to start. Homemade and raw diets are not an option.

 

[HollowOfWisps]

I wonder if your dog has built up an allergy to the type of meat used in your feed. My husky gets diarrhea and my Akita vomits if they have chicken based fees. Then there is my sheltie who seems to have issues stomaching large amounts of beef. They however, all do very well on lamb and salmon based feeds. We have tried American Journey, Taste of The Wild, Acana, Blue, Orijen and Fromm. I think Fromm so far has been the best value and quality for the money. Acana and Orijen are great, but very expensive and my dogs seem to do just as well on Fromm.

 

[Jaime918]

We wanted a better quality for ours and used to have a super picky pitbull and now have a super picky Chihuahua mix and they both enjoyed Canidae.

 

[Weeg]

I didn’t read your whole post, so forgive me if I missed something.
I suggest this with so much confidence. Raw diet. I could go for days about why I suggest this, but I wont start here. In short, I will never, and would never feed my dogs kibble. Absolutely out of the question. If your interested it id behappy to give you more info.

Edit: saw a homemade raw diet was not d an option. If your concerned about making it yourself, you can get pre mades and RawDelivery.con is very affordable.

 

[saysfaa]

My dog did well on Blue Buffalo salmon. I tried it because my research found it was the closest I could get to the raw that was the first food we found that she did well on.

From puppyhood, she had a lot of digestive issues. I don't know what the root cause(s) were but when she was a couple of years old and I reached the end of what our vet could do to help, I went to prey model rawfed. That worked well for several years, then life got pretty hectic for a while. I meant to do just a bag or two of the Blue Buffalo but she did well enough that I kept her on it.

This was several years ago. I'm not sure what has changed in dogfood.

 

[NatJ]

I don't know if they have changed the formulation or what, but my dogs don't seem to be digesting it like they used to.

I tried Iams several years ago but I wasn't happy with it. Neither were the dogs.

I have no personal experience with that brand, but it might be worth re-trying any brand you considered in the past. Just like your current one has changed, the others may have changed as well (and could now be better or worse than they were before.)

I am looking for a food that is nutritious and one the dogs will probably like. What dog foods have you had good experiences with? I don't know where to start.

Purina Puppy Chow and Purina Dog Chow are the only ones I have any experience with. They worked for the dogs I've had (Dog Chow was years ago, Puppy Chow was more recent.)

You could also look at foods labeled for puppies. Many of them have fine print that says the food meets standards for all life stages (meaning, nothing wrong with feeding it to adult dogs, as long as you get the portions right.)

 

[21hens-incharge]

We currently feed a Petsmart brand called Authority the variety we use is adult chicken and rice formulated for ages 1-7.
The store was out once so I got the variety with "tender bits". That was a mistake. My Pitsky was allergic to something in it and had a rough few days.

Over the years we have fed several others from Dog Chow and Pedigree to Taste Of The Wild.

While what is working for our 6 large breed dogs currently may work for yours I will say each dog is an individual and it really matters most what works for the individual.

Personally my dogs over the decades did the best on Pedigree, Kirkland chicken and rice (a Costco store brand) and have been doing very well on the current Authority chicken and rice.

 

[cassie]

We currently feed a Petsmart brand called Authority the variety we use is adult chicken and rice formulated for ages 1-7.
The store was out once so I got the variety with "tender bits". That was a mistake. My Pitsky was allergic to something in it and had a rough few days.

Over the years we have fed several others from Dog Chow and Pedigree to Taste Of The Wild.

While what is working for our 6 large breed dogs currently may work for yours I will say each dog is an individual and it really matters most what works for the individual.

Personally my dogs over the decades did the best on Pedigree, Kirkland chicken and rice (a Costco store brand) and have been doing very well on the current Authority chicken and rice.

Thank you. I will try Pedigree and see what happens before going to one of the pricier brands. It is readily available here and it is affordable. If it doesn't work, there is a shelter close by that will be glad to take what I don't use. I just want to find something Pixie will digest. This taking her out to poop over six times a day isn't fun and I am hoping a change in diet will fix whatever is causing this.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

You could try Dog Chow. Mine are doing great on it. I go back and forth between Dog Chow and PPP weight management. Some refuse to eat anything but Dog Chow, and my one with a history of gastroenteritis can eat Dog Chow without problems. Purina one is hit and miss here. Ingredients read better but my dogs do better on a lower fat and protein, and seem to prefer Dog Chow. Dog chow is higher in calories so they need less.

I have read good things about Pedigree. I have 7 dogs. Most poop twice a day.