Dog Food Ratings & Recommended Dog food choices

[zeusmommy]

i just put my sammy on natural choice chicken meal rice and oatmeal blend do u think thats a good food for him im new at all this had him on royal canin but herd alot about natural choice so i switched him slowly?

My reply will be a little biased, because I do not like any food that has grains. I prefer grain free or raw.

I have a question too. Many grain free foods have high protein - ranging from 32-40+. When I fed my Pit Bull, I never went higher than 36% protein and never over 1.3% calcium. Can this apply to the EB too, or maybe not cuz he is a lower energy dog?

 

[ScuttleGirl]

We've always fed our Golden Retriever Iams. When he came to us he was on Purina and was doing very poorly. So when we got out EB we switched her to Iams also. She was on Science Diet, that was what the ACPS feeds all their dogs, and didn't seem to like/eat it as much. But since we switched to Iams Naturals she eats all her meals and is doing really well on it. Sailor, our golden, too hasn't shown any signs of an allergic reaction. (Ironically Sailor has the food allergies in this house.)

 

[ABEBD]

My reply will be a little biased, because I do not like any food that has grains. I prefer grain free or raw.

I have a question too. Many grain free foods have high protein - ranging from 32-40+. When I fed my Pit Bull, I never went higher than 36% protein and never over 1.3% calcium. Can this apply to the EB too, or maybe not cuz he is a lower energy dog?

Bulldogs have different nurtitional needs than other dogs. There are lots of breed of dogs that can all eat the same food without any problems. You could have several different breeds in a household and could all eat the same dog food.

Bulldogs are different. There are health concerns and genetic concerns that have to been considered.
There are a lot of similarites among all bulldogs, but not for ALL bulldogs. Why are some people allergic to peanuts and others are not?
What does YOUR bulldog need? Not based upon a list or ratings, but rather what does YOUR bulldog need? The lists and opinions are a great place to start since there are SO MANY brands of food out there.

A premium brand will be better. The bag will cost more, but you feed less so the cost per serving is about the same as the cheaper priced foods. But it is the health issues that have to be considered.

I met a breeder the other day who bred and showed bulldogs as far back as over 30 years ago. She make a very honest and revealing comment. She said that she is responsible for the chicken allergy. Why did she say that? She said that back in those days, the only feeds that were available were BEEF or CHICKEN and everyone fed chicken. Along the way bulldogs have developed a sensativity to chicken. With so many other brands available, those bulldogs that are sensative to chicken need not be affected.

And the same goes for grain. While not ALL bullies are affected, most are.

So a premium grain free, no-chicken, limited carb, limited protein brand is recomended. And there are more and more brands that are developing new formulas.

Pick a good brand, watch for results (check the poo also !), consult with your vet, do allery testing, switch slowly.

 

[Katrik]

I am in desperate need of help. I have a 2 year old female bulldog. We used to feed her Royal Canin Bulldog formula, but noticed that she was getting ear infections, which I was told was from the dog food. We then switched her to Taste of the Wild, she really likes the prairie formula. We have since noticed that she is having a lot of eye boogers as well as reddish brown stain in the wrinkles around the corner of her nose, between her toes, in her ears, and around her pee pee area. What is this is? And should we look to change her food? If so, what brand is recommended. She doesn't seem to be bothered by this, but I know this can't be good. The vet did comment on her toes and says it looks like a mild allergy reaction that may have to be treated with medicine if it persists. HELP!!

 

[Phyllis]

I had Meatball on Blue, but my vet told me to switch to Royal Canine as it has everything a bulldog need.

 

[2BullyMama]

I had Meatball on Blue, but my vet told me to switch to Royal Canine as it has everything a bulldog need.

Nooooooooooooo.... it is junk food.

 

[cowsmom]

@Katrik the high prarie has so many different things in it could be anyone of them causing it. try the pacific stream of the sierra mountain one and if there is still these things then you can figure its not the protein its the potato. then you can look for a new food. @Phyllis if they are doing fine on blue then id leave it alone. royal canin is lots of money for junk. ive had sarah on it and she had tear stains and all kinda things going on

 

[Chunksmama]

I had Meatball on Blue, but my vet told me to switch to Royal Canine as it has everything a bulldog need.

Royal Canin is what Chunk was on when we got him ... ear infections, skin infections, tear stains, runny poop ... as soon as we switched him off, all those things cleared up! It's junk.

 

[Phyllis]

wow - I took meatball to a vet that is suppose to deal with bulldogs & they recommended it, stating there is scientific proof that it has everything a bulldog needs. I'm so confused......originally he was on wellness & stool was very loose, then switched to blue & he was much better. I'm going to look at the food rating & find another food. Thanks everyone!

 

[2BullyMama]

wow - I took meatball to a vet that is suppose to deal with bulldogs & they recommended it, stating there is scientific proof that it has everything a bulldog needs. I'm so confused......originally he was on wellness & stool was very loose, then switched to blue & he was much better. I'm going to look at the food rating & find another food. Thanks everyone!

Unfortunately, most of the vets are not very knowledgeable in nutrition and some are compensated to 'sell' certain products.

 

[rainyruth]

I am switching from Blue Buffalo to Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream.Hopefully eating grain free will help Nigel's skin problems & both of them really like the taste. Thanks again for this forum,I'm learning alot of useful info!

 

[JAKEISGREAT]

I am switching from Blue Buffalo to Taste of the Wild. Hopefully Nigel will get rid of his problems by eating grain free. Thanks again for this forum,I'm learning alot of new info!

Please let [MENTION=2014]JeannieCO[/MENTION] know how this goes! She is looking for Dog Food Change success stories!

 

[JeannieCO]

I am switching from Blue Buffalo to Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream.Hopefully eating grain free will help Nigel's skin problems & both of them really like the taste. Thanks again for this forum,I'm learning alot of useful info!

rainyruth. I've had really good success with Blue Buffalo Basics for Wilson. When I got him he was on Science Diet, I transitioned him to Wellness and he had runny poo and then transitioned him to BB Basics. I also changed all his scooby snacks to grain free or w/o chicken (he's allergic to chicken and has been allergy tested). Remember the snacks aren't doing your guys any good if they're reacting bad to the ingredients that are in them. I've learned so much from this place and Food was my #1 learning experience. Please let me know how Nigel's skin problems are after he's been on Blue Buffalo for a few months as it may take that long for his skin issues to fully clear. But please please keep us, and me updated on his progress.

to EBN too.

Thanks Becky for the tag! Emma's keeping me quite busy with other other two hooligans. [MENTION=2092]JAKEISGREAT[/MENTION]

 

[Sarah]

[MENTION=4263]rainyruth[/MENTION] I'm also in the process of switching to TOTW Pacific Stream. They were on Natural Balance Alpha Trout, Salmon, and Whitefish and were doing fine but TOTW is better quality, less expensive, and I can get it from Agway which is less than 5 minutes from my house (as opposed to going to PetCo, 15 minutes away for the Natural Balance)

 

[rainyruth]

Yes, TotW is easy to find here in western Ne.also. It's rated a six star dog food,maybe it's not quite as good as Fromm,but it seems like a hassle to me to have to order online.