HI, I introduced my pup in the new member area. He is a 6 month old BC I rescued from the pound. After doing research on dog food and reading tons of forum posts and ingredient lists and dog food theories etc., I started him out on Dr Tim's Kinesis GF. He was doing very well on it, his stools and coat were very nice. After a few months, however, he started limping and the vet said he had pano and that I needed to switch him to something lower in protein and fat. I switched him to Annamaet encore and the pano subsided, however, his coat seemed to be more dry. His stools were still good, a little more loose but slightly smaller than on Kinesis. Since his coat was more dry and 25/14 seems low for a puppy, I decided to switch him to Kinesis ALS to see if it would work out better.
As of now Luke is not extremely active, I take him on a walk every day and play with him. When he is older, however, I plan to run with him a few miles about 3 times a week and go on 6 or so mile hikes probably twice a month. So not extremely active but more so than an average house dog.
Anyway, that's my dog food journey so far. I have some questions I was hoping you all could answer. In my mind the types of quality dog foods available can be categorized, roughly, into two types based on ingredient lists and protein/fat levels. First, there are Annamaet, Dr. Tims, Fromm type foods that seem to be well respected, have lower (as compared to group two) protein levels and use "meal". Second, there are Acana, Oijen, and NV Instinct type foods that are very high in protein and do not use meal.
My questions are First, is there a significant difference between the two approaches. Specifically, is that much protein good or unnecessary in a diet. All these foods seem to be well respected although the protein/fat profiles are very different. Second, what are your opinions within each group. Third, how important are AAFCO feeding trials since Dr. Tim's is the only one of the group that has submitted the food to such trials.
I really appreciate any help. Wading through the plethora of information and divergent opinions has been interesting and a bit confusing but if I'm going to take care of a dog and spend money on food for him I'd like to get the best I can for him (for a reasonable price that is Orijen is a little much, I'm not sure my food cost that much lol). Thanks again.
As of now Luke is not extremely active, I take him on a walk every day and play with him. When he is older, however, I plan to run with him a few miles about 3 times a week and go on 6 or so mile hikes probably twice a month. So not extremely active but more so than an average house dog.
Anyway, that's my dog food journey so far. I have some questions I was hoping you all could answer. In my mind the types of quality dog foods available can be categorized, roughly, into two types based on ingredient lists and protein/fat levels. First, there are Annamaet, Dr. Tims, Fromm type foods that seem to be well respected, have lower (as compared to group two) protein levels and use "meal". Second, there are Acana, Oijen, and NV Instinct type foods that are very high in protein and do not use meal.
My questions are First, is there a significant difference between the two approaches. Specifically, is that much protein good or unnecessary in a diet. All these foods seem to be well respected although the protein/fat profiles are very different. Second, what are your opinions within each group. Third, how important are AAFCO feeding trials since Dr. Tim's is the only one of the group that has submitted the food to such trials.
I really appreciate any help. Wading through the plethora of information and divergent opinions has been interesting and a bit confusing but if I'm going to take care of a dog and spend money on food for him I'd like to get the best I can for him (for a reasonable price that is Orijen is a little much, I'm not sure my food cost that much lol). Thanks again.
