NGC-Dog Food

[Rough Edge racing]

actually they are omnivores, cats are true carnivores.

Yes all cats are obligate carnivores but people keep them indoors on a steady diet of dry food .That's why they piss in your shoes....I would call dogs opportunists.. From what I have seen observing dogs for many years, they will most any table food, carrion, beer, sweets, feces. just about anything. Some might call this a scavenger. I assume the thousands of years association with humans has changed their behavior somewhat.

[Red07]

My wife and I attended a big dog/food "Hoop-de-Do" a few year back.  It REALLY opened my eyes to what we feed our pets.  They had many brands ranked and rated in accordance with their respective ingredients.  From that day forward, we feed our German Shorthairs Diamond dog food.  (Lamb and rice)

Many "top" brands were rated much lower than I expected.  Science Diet was given an "F".  I believe it scored like a 60% - 65% out of 100.  Purina Dog Chow was less than 10 out of 100.  The Diamond was given like an 85 or so, out of 100.  Diamond was the only high ranked food I can find locally.

Years ago, I owned a wonderful German Shorthair named Chance. (Tremendous pheasant hunter). As he got to be about 13yrs old, he was getting sick frequently, and just wasn't acting right.  We took him to a good Vet for tests.  I was asked "What the hell do you feed this dog?  His cholesterol is 660!!!"  That was the end of cheap dog food for my pets.  (He was eating Purina dog chow)

I was also told to stay away from any foods that contained poultry.  They said it is amazing the amount of canines that have poultry allergies.

Just my experience

Randy

[rboe]

Yes all cats are obligate carnivores but people keep them indoors on a steady diet of dry food .That's why they piss in your shoes....I would call dogs opportunists.. From what I have seen observing dogs for many years, they will most any table food, carrion, beer, sweets, feces. just about anything. Some might call this a scavenger. I assume the thousands of years association with humans has changed their behavior somewhat.

Dogs will put a goat to shame. 

[drums4money]

Give them some Ol' Roy. You'll clean up!

 
My dear black lab Jezebel was on a premium formula dry food until she was 13.  Going blind, cripple, and seemingly near death, my stepfather switched her over to Ol' Roy from WalMart.  "What's the benefit- she's lived a good life on the farm, so let's keep her fed."  She lived another 3 years without the signs of pain and lethargy up until the switch in feed.   

We were amazed.  I'll start eating that stuff when I turn 70!!

Of all the things I miss the most- I miss my brain and my dog!

[PJPR01]

From that day forward, we feed our German Shorthairs Diamond dog food. 
I was also told to stay away from any foods that contained poultry.  They said it is amazing the amount of canines that have poultry allergies.  Just my experience Randy

I looked up this brand:  http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/diamond-dog-food-dry/

Is this the same stuff?  Doesn't seem to get more than an average rating, and seems to be, pardon the pun, filled with fillers, in addition to having had several recalls.

[Lannis]

I take back what I said.

This has the potential to be WORSE than an oil thread .... !

Lannis

[TDF]

Give them some Ol' Roy. You'll clean up!

On the flipside of that statement, and to prove that some of the above advice about what works for one may not work for the other, I present to you Mr. Marbles, my boxer mix.  11.5+ years old, and has eaten Ol' Roy his entire life (for God's sake I'm a Guzzi owner therefore, by definition I am cheap).  I started him on it as a pup figuring I'd have to switch him to something healthier once he matured, and started to get overweight.  11.5 years later, and he's weighed exactly 58 lbs for his last 9 or 10 yearly vet visits.  You can feel his ribs, but usually not see them unless he stretches.  Deep chest, narrow gut.  Looks great and has more energy and stamina than any dog we've had him around.  When we hunt pheasants, he goes all day, but the others are always crashed in their kennels in the truck at noon.  For about a month or so a year he'll quit eating dog food entirely after deer season when we throw the deer carcasses in the yard for him to nibble on. (the fed ex guy get's a kick out of that I'm sure) plus I save all the deer trimmings and freeze them in one pound packages to let him snack on when I get home from work.  I've never had to limit his food.  His dog feeder (a converted hog feeder, remember Guzzi owner=cheap) holds almost 25 lbs of food, and I keep it topped off.  He can eat whenever, and how ever much he wants.  He's kenneled during the day, but allowed to run free while I'm home from work, over my quarter section and sleeps on the couch every night.  Get's lots of table scraps, even polishes off my chili bowl, and I like it spicy, has the toughest stomach of any dog I've ever had.  Never bother to clean the spices off of my steaks etc. when giving him the scraps.  I can count on one hand the number of times he's been sick or crapped in the house, and those were always attributed to over indulgence of road kill or table scraps (gave him a bunch of ham fat one time, that wasn't pretty). 

My theory is that his high exercise level, he covers a lot of ground roaming the place, regularly goes about chasing down and dispatching raccoons, possums, woodchucks and the like, and loves chasing the four wheeler/ snow mobile/ dirt bikes/ deer etc. around the place, helps him burn off all the fat in the Ol' Roy. 

Either way whatever it is it works for him.  And I realize he's not the norm.  I've owned a lot of dogs over the years and this one has been special.  Never been to the vet for anthing but neutering and shots, even at almost 12 he's not showing any signs of slowing down other than his hearing is starting to fade (pretty common for boxers), and he's gray from his nose to his ears, but his eyesight, stamina, joints etc. are all as healthy as they've ever been.

TDF

[fotoguzzi]

On the flipside of that statement, and to prove that some of the above advice about what works for one may not work for the other, I present to you Mr. Marbles, my boxer mix.  11.5+ years old, and has eaten Ol' Roy his entire life (for God's sake I'm a Guzzi owner therefore, by definition I am cheap).  I started him on it as a pup figuring I'd have to switch him to something healthier once he matured, and started to get overweight.  11.5 years later, and he's weighed exactly 58 lbs for his last 9 or 10 yearly vet visits.  You can feel his ribs, but usually not see them unless he stretches.  Deep chest, narrow gut.  Looks great and has more energy and stamina than any dog we've had him around.  When we hunt pheasants, he goes all day, but the others are always crashed in their kennels in the truck at noon.  For about a month or so a year he'll quit eating dog food entirely after deer season when we throw the deer carcasses in the yard for him to nibble on. (the fed ex guy get's a kick out of that I'm sure) plus I save all the deer trimmings and freeze them in one pound packages to let him snack on when I get home from work.  I've never had to limit his food.  His dog feeder (a converted hog feeder, remember Guzzi owner=cheap) holds almost 25 lbs of food, and I keep it topped off.  He can eat whenever, and how ever much he wants.  He's kenneled during the day, but allowed to run free while I'm home from work, over my quarter section and sleeps on the couch every night.  Get's lots of table scraps, even polishes off my chili bowl, and I like it spicy, has the toughest stomach of any dog I've ever had.  Never bother to clean the spices off of my steaks etc. when giving him the scraps.  I can count on one hand the number of times he's been sick or crapped in the house, and those were always attributed to over indulgence of road kill or table scraps (gave him a bunch of ham fat one time, that wasn't pretty). 

My theory is that his high exercise level, he covers a lot of ground roaming the place, regularly goes about chasing down and dispatching raccoons, possums, woodchucks and the like, and loves chasing the four wheeler/ snow mobile/ dirt bikes/ deer etc. around the place, helps him burn off all the fat in the Ol' Roy. 

Either way whatever it is it works for him.  And I realize he's not the norm.  I've owned a lot of dogs over the years and this one has been special.  Never been to the vet for anthing but neutering and shots, even at almost 12 he's not showing any signs of slowing down other than his hearing is starting to fade (pretty common for boxers), and he's gray from his nose to his ears, but his eyesight, stamina, joints etc. are all as healthy as they've ever been.

TDF

I get that way from Ham fat too.. sounds like he's got the perfect life with the perfect owner..

[Red07]

I looked up this brand:  http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/diamond-dog-food-dry/

Is this the same stuff?  Doesn't seem to get more than an average rating, and seems to be, pardon the pun, filled with fillers, in addition to having had several recalls.

That is the same company, but not the same food.  We use Diamond Naturals.  A higher grade.  The lamb and rice.  No poultry.  Not the top food on the market, but the Dog food advisor site does give it 4 out of 5 stars.  Most of the foods that garnished 5 stars I've never heard of.  The Diamond brand that you referenced looks like it received 3 stars.  Several manufactures offer different levels/price food variations. 

Also, looks like around 120 various recalls in the dog food industry in the last 5-6 years.  Including the brand we prefer.

Randy

[PJPR01]

Aha...got it!  That's a good site...the Dog Food Advisor.  Good information there!

[Texas Turnip]

At least dogs have enough sense not to eat steel cut oats! We sure have some tough riders on WildGoose that claim they eat and LIKE them. I've never been so sick in my life. Even messed up the taste of my after breakfast cigar.

Tex

[EldoMike]

Jake, my one eyed Rat, gets grain free Blue Buffalo....seems to work for him....

[Dimples]

Here's an interesting analysis of many dog food brands and their ingredients. They are also rated.

http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/brand/

[Spuddy]

OKAY.  What's the skinny on Kirkland Signature?  Layla, our somewhat hyperactive Briard eats that stuff.  (Armstrong has a digestive problem so he eats Hill's WD.)

Spud

[PJPR01]

OKAY.  What's the skinny on Kirkland Signature?  Layla, our somewhat hyperactive Briard eats that stuff.  (Armstrong has a digestive problem so he eats Hill's WD.)Spud 

 

You can now look it up on the Dog Advisor site recommended above:  :)

http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/kirkland-signature-dog-food/

[charlie b]

I am just glad our current pup, an Old English Sheepdog, will eat just about anything we put in her bowl.  Yeah, we had to work through different foods to find one she wasn't sensitive to, but, at least she will eat stuff.

Previous dogs, Yorkies, Shi Tzu's, mutts, all were really picky eaters.  One of the Yorkies would not eat dry dog food and would not eat most canned dog food.  Most of her life she ate cooked chicken, beef or beef liver.  Veggies or rice (or both) mixed in.  Glad she wasn't a big dog or we would have gone broke feeding her.

Every dog we've had has liked different food.  Some were sensitive to one type and not another.  I won't call them allergies since in many cases they were not really tested.  And just cause the dog tosses it back up does not mean it's an allergy.

[Two Checks]

That Walmart stuff?

I wouldn't feed that to a dog .....  so to speak.

Lannis

Yes, that stuff...and if you do, you will be cleaning up...a lot!

It's all useless filler and you know what that does...

[Tobit]

With our now departed Border Collie / Aussie Shepherd mix of 12 years it was just plain old Purina Dog Chow, then the Senior Dog Chow, bacon drippings, milk bones and for better or worse, we didn't know any better.  We had to put her down last year due to inoperable bladder and Mast Cel tumors.

This past spring we were offered a returned Rhodesian Ridgeback.  I say returned because that's what is stipulated in the breeder's contract.  Upon purchase of a pup, either show or pet quality, if for whatever reason you can't keep it, it must be returned to the breeder.  The original owners went bankrupt, divorced and the 4 year old went back. 

I asked the breeder what to feed her.  They recommended Blue Buffalo or similar so that's what I started her on.  Then after joining a few Ridgeback forums became aware of the dog food wars.  Turns out that BB is or has been involved in lawsuits for doing precisely what they say they don't regarding additives or mis-represented ingredients.

Oni seemed to be having trouble passing the food so after some web searching I ended up with Eagle Pack brand.  So far so good.

One of things I've learned, that may be breed specific, is to completely ignore the feeding schedule on the bag.  One weighs 90 lbs and following the recommendations on the bag, I'd be feeding her 6 cups a day.  All I've read and conversations I've had with Ridgeback owners say the adult female is good with 1 1/2 to 2 cups a day.  It works.  She's lean, active and has just the points of rib showing. 

For treats I buy the dried duck feet or pig ears and she gets maybe 2 or 3 a week.  A Ridgeback will eat until there's nothing left to eat so it's important to control their intake.   (No small children yet Jim!)

A big beef bone from the butcher will keep her busy for a few days too.

Fascinating breed.  Watching them run is mesmerizing.  Loyal, protective yet sensitive.