[Yoshismom]

Hi,
My name is Michelle. I am a native to North Carolina and still reside here in the Asheville, NC area. I am married and have a daughter that will be 18 August. I have 5 fur sons, Theismann "BLK's Beyond The Glory" my Harlequin Great Dane that I show in AKC conformation. Yoshi and Chibi my SC and LC Chihuahuas, Riggins our Weimaraner and last but not least Hazzard our oversized Sheltie . I am very protective of my boys and always looking for the best kibble food for them. Have been frustrated lately over all the buyouts of dog food companies. Wellness has ofcourse changed and causing allergies in dogs (I am currently using Wellness Core) and ofcourse P & G's bought out Innova, etc.. So I am just hoping you guys can help me find a good kibble food. I like the grain free's a lot but worry a bit about some of the high proteins. I do not want a kibble that is manufactured by Diamond or P & G, I also hope to stay away from the kibble's that have been recalled in the past. I want to find something local as I am not big into shipping (my own personal reasons) and I am not interested in RAW at the time and also worry about Home Cooked and do not feel it is doable with our lifestyle as of yet. My husband plays a big part in my decisions as he refuses to pay a lot or go to a lot of trouble for the foods we feed and hasnt done the research that I have, he just doesnt understand.

Here is what I can get locally...

Blue Wilderness (high protein) I have the Chihuahuas and the Dane.
Merrick Before Grain (recalls in the past)
Canidae both grain and non grain ALS (It's manufactured by Diamond).
Wellness (Recent buyout and change in food formulas without letting consumers know seems to have caused allergies in a lot of dogs.
Eagle Pack (they changed their formula and isnt what it used to be)
Artemis (manufactured by Diamond)
Solid Gold Not as familiar with this
Flint River Ranch Not as familiar with this
Natural Balance (recalls, not sure who manufactures)
California Naturals (not sure on who manufactures)

Sorry to bombard you with all within my introduction :-(

Any and all opinions and advice is greatly appreciated.

 

[chowder]

Hi and welcome from another NC person. I am in the Raleigh area. We have a lot of people from NC here.

I had show quality Chows all my life but after losing two of them in one year I recently got my first rescue Chow mix and then my son got a Rottweiler rescue and a Chihuahua rescue who live with us now, along with an AKC Lhasa. Right now this is what I feed:

Chow/Husky - 2 years - Evo, Orijen , any grain free canned
Rottie mix - 4 years - Evo, Orijen, any grain free canned
Chihuahua - 5 months old - Evo small bites , any grain free canned
Lhasa - 13 years - Evo, any grain free canned - allergic to Orijen

We can get Orijen locally at a specialty pet store after a bunch of people started asking for it, however I usually order it from Petfooddirect or Heartypet.com with a big discount coupon. I haven't had a problem using either of those places with my food. There are quite a few pet stores in our area that carry all the grain free foods, and if I can't get it here, then there are places in Chapel Hill that carry it. Your stores could probably order Orijen for you if you wanted to try it.

 

[wags]

Hi and welcome to the forum! :smile:

I also like Orijen, Acana they are the best out there right now! I also like Instinct and have used wellness core, my dogs have not been affected by the change though I have to say so I am lucky that way! Right now I am on the last of the EVO and won't get this anymore! I have Acana right now also!
I don't care for diamond products and I stir away from recalled brands also!
I also do toppers or should say I mix in wet foods in the evening meals!
There is a lot of knowledgeable folk who can suggest other foods also! Have fun here!

PS I can relate to the hubby thing LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[luvMyBRT]

Hi and welcome! It's nice to have you here.. :biggrin:

I can recommend the Champion foods (Orijen/Acana) and Horizon Legacy. All these foods are wonderful and you can't go wrong with them. I hope you can find one that works for your fur kids.

And, your not alone! I can totally relate to the husband thing too!

 

[Yoshismom]

Thanks guys for the warm welcomes and the information.

I hope to learn a lot here. I am always researching dog foods and trying to learn as much as possible about pet nutrition. It is such a confusing and shady world out there in the dog food industry :-( When I go to shows I hear some of the major breeders and major dog food retailers tell me such different information than what I find on my own. It is so hard to know what to trust anymore

 

[Yoshismom]

Hi and welcome! It's nice to have you here.. :biggrin:

I can recommend the Champion foods (Orijen/Acana) and Horizon Legacy. All these foods are wonderful and you can't go wrong with them. I hope you can find one that works for your fur kids.

And, your not alone! I can totally relate to the husband thing too!

Horizon Legacy I have never heard of. I just went to dogfoodanalysis site and it seems to have a very good review. Not sure if I can get it local or not but was wondering what everyone's thoughts are on 40 % protein for 4 1/2yr old and 2 1/2 yr old smaller scale Chihuahuas and a 3 1/2 yr old Dane.

Quite frankly my Dane is a very slow maturing line and I am having trouble keeping weight on him. Satin Balls do not even work for him. I use BilJac Frozen a few weeks before a show as this is the only thing that will bulk him up but I am not a fan of the food itself :-(

 

[ziggy29]

When I go to shows I hear some of the major breeders and major dog food retailers tell me such different information than what I find on my own. It is so hard to know what to trust anymore

And the sad irony is that so many of these shows are sponsored by Big Pet Food, whose food (I hope) none of the show dogs are being fed.

 

[whiteleo]

Ziggy, you'd be surprised how many of those dog show people feed Purina One.

 

[Yoshismom]

Yes Purina One and Purina Pro Plan are a big choices for a lot of show breeders.

 

[ziggy29]

Yes Purina One and Purina Pro Plan are a big choices for a lot of show breeders.

Am I a bad person for suggesting that they are probably given this food for free (or even paid to feed it) in exchange for marketing PR? That if breeders will feed their dogs this stuff, we should too?

 

[DaneMama]

Hello and welcome!

You will definitely have to post pictures of your kids up! I'm partial to Danes...not a big surprise there!

I wouldn't worry about the protein level in the food and it causing problems with your dogs. If even satin balls didn't get your Dane boy to fill out, even at 3.5 years, he might do really well on a more substantial food with more protein. I have raised both of my Danes on higher protein diets (raw) and have had no issue with growing. I know a lot of other raw fed Danes that haven't had an issue. Contrary to popular belief, high protein levels are good for growing giant breed dogs...or any dogs for that matter.

I hope you find all the help on here that you need, and don't hesitate to post up any questions you might have.

 

[chowder]

Horizon Legacy I have never heard of. I just went to dogfoodanalysis site and it seems to have a very good review. Not sure if I can get it local or not but was wondering what everyone's thoughts are on 40 % protein for 4 1/2yr old and 2 1/2 yr old smaller scale Chihuahuas and a 3 1/2 yr old Dane.

Quite frankly my Dane is a very slow maturing line and I am having trouble keeping weight on him. Satin Balls do not even work for him. I use BilJac Frozen a few weeks before a show as this is the only thing that will bulk him up but I am not a fan of the food itself :-(

Our Chihuahua is 5 months old and currently 2.4 pounds. We started her on Evo when she was 8 weeks old and 1.2 pounds because she had been on Nutro at the place we got her from and had hypoglycemic episodes. The vet had no problem with us putting her on a high protein diet and she has really grown well and has never had a hypoglycemic episode since then. She has tremendous energy and is really lean and sleek. Personally I think she could be heavier but she bounces around too much!

I dont' know about giant breeds, but my boy is 75 pounds and has been raised since puppyhood on high protein (Orijen LB). He still eats Evo and Orijen and has never had a problem. He is only 2 so I dont' have any long term results to tell you about but so far, so good.

 

[Yoshismom]

Am I a bad person for suggesting that they are probably given this food for free (or even paid to feed it) in exchange for marketing PR? That if breeders will feed their dogs this stuff, we should too?

I think that for the most part these breeders are old school breeders that have been breeding for years and this was before the premium dog foods came along. They look at it as their dogs are healthy and that they thrive on this food so why change it. From my understanding Purina has never had a recall?

 

[Yoshismom]

Thanks again everyone I will try to get some pics up soon.
My little LC boy Chibi is a smaller guy just under 3 lbs, my SC Yoshi is just under 3lbs. Chibi had Hypoglycemia issues when I got him he was 4 months and I found out the reason he was given back to the breeder (apparently multiple Hypoglycemia attacks) apparently the owner couldnt handle it. The breeder did not feel that I needed to know this as he hadnt had a episode for a few weeks. Still make me angry that she kept such information from me, we almost lost him :-(.

 

[magicre]

hi and welcome.....we did switch to raw when wellness changed its formula and we decided that we no longer wanted to deal with pet food companies.

we all have to feed our wallets and our comfort zone, in my humble opinion and it sounds as if you've gotten some good advice.

isn't there a dog food sold at feed stores that's considered pretty good? costco's kirkland brand also has a brand of kibble that is acceptable....

certainly i would stay away from nutro products as they use menadione, which is very controversial...and soy..which is on my list of no no foods....along with corn and sugar and wheat....now you know why i feed raw...LOL

there are very knowledgeable people here and good luck to you and your pack

 

[Yoshismom]

Thanks for the welcome and the information!

When I get time I will find out what that Thanks button means, I was scared it was some kind of reward for great information and shouldnt be overused?

 

[danesandhorses]

Welcome, I have 4 Danes. One I recently switched to raw because of skin issues. He is 11 months and I havent had any problems with the raw. His skin is clearing up and he loves his food. I have my older male who is almost 6 years on Natures Domain grain free with a can of Merrick or Evangers with each meal, I know Natures Domain is from Diamond but havent had any issues, he is doing better than he was on the Solid Gold. My last two girls are on Solid Gold Hund-n-Flocken with a can at each meal. They are doing great also. Am considering switching them to Natures Domain or possibly all to raw. Am not sure about dealing with all of them on raw??? Still debating!

Would love to see pics of you Dane = )