[Boxerdad]

Hello all,

3 weeks ago, I had to put one of my beautiful boxers down due to lympatic cancer. Putting her down was one of the hardest things to do. Atleast we put her down while she was still happy and somewhat healthy. That lympatic cancer hit fast and hard. My wife and I still have an 7 year old next month boxer. She was in surgery last week for a stage 1 mast cell tumor that was removed from her hind quarter. Vet said she is ok and the cancer did not spread anywhere. Our dogs are our kids....

My wife and I just bought a 10 week old brindle boxer a week ago today. She is adorable and is a hoot!.

Anyways, after putting Abby down from cancer, Libby having a mast cell, and now getting a brand new puppy, Chloe; I started really looking at the dog food we were feeding. We were feeding Pedigree and after looking up this dog food on the internet, I found it was one of the worse dog foods to feed a dog. It made me sad knowing I had been feeding my boxers this crap for so long. I went to Petco today and bough a 30lb bag of Blue Buffalo after reading about all the positives about this food. This stuff is swesome but expensive. It was $49.00 for the 30lb. I know that I will be feeding my dogs less with this food as aposed to the pedigree; and this will off set some of the price because I will not have to be buying dog food as much now.

What is the best place to purchase dog food online. If I can save just $10.00 from ordering online, then it will be worth it IMO. My wife is a full time dental student, and I am a cop; so we are on a budget right now. However, I believe my dogs are worth every penny and I wish I would have been feeding them Blue Buffalo since they were pups. It may have prevented them ever getting cancer.

 

[CorgiPaws]

Welcome to the forum.

I am so sorry to hear about your loss, i can only imagine how tough that must be. Boxers hold a special place in my heart, gosh, they're jsut special aren't they?

There is currently a thread about online ordering, I think you might find it useful.
http://dogfoodchat.com/forum/dry-canned-dog-food/2945-quick-review-petfooddirect-heartypet.html

Also, Kirkland brand dog food is a great alternative when money is tight, and really isn't too bad at all. If you have access to a CostCo, I would look into it.

 

[RCTRIPLEFRESH5]

Hello all,

3 weeks ago, I had to put one of my beautiful boxers down due to lympatic cancer. Putting her down was one of the hardest things to do. Atleast we put her down while she was still happy and somewhat healthy. That lympatic cancer hit fast and hard. My wife and I still have an 7 year old next month boxer. She was in surgery last week for a stage 1 mast cell tumor that was removed from her hind quarter. Vet said she is ok and the cancer did not spread anywhere. Our dogs are our kids....

My wife and I just bought a 10 week old brindle boxer a week ago today. She is adorable and is a hoot!.

Anyways, after putting Abby down from cancer, Libby having a mast cell, and now getting a brand new puppy, Chloe; I started really looking at the dog food we were feeding. We were feeding Pedigree and after looking up this dog food on the internet, I found it was one of the worse dog foods to feeding a dog. It made me sad knowing I had been feeding my boxers this crap for so long. I went to Petco today and bough a 30lb bag of Blue Buffalo after reading about all the positives about this food. This stuff is swesome but expensive. It was $49.00 for the 30lb. I know that I will be feeding my dogs less with this food as aposed to the pedigree; and this will off set some of the price because I will not have to buying dog food as much now.

What is the best place to purchase dog food online. If I can save just $10.00 from ordering online, then it will be worth it IMO. My wife is a full time dental student, and I am a cop; so we are on a budget right now. However, I believe my dogs are worth every penny and I wish I would have been feeding them Blue Buffalo since they were pups. It may have prevented them ever getting cancer.

there are alot better choices then pedigre, that can be purchased with little incovenience, and little change in spending. if yo uare on a budget there is no necessity to buy the number 1 or number 2 foods for 70 dollars when yo ucan get a number 5 food for 40 dollars.

anyways some good foods that should help your dog live longer and happier are...
canidae grain free als i get 30 pounds for 49 dollars after tax but most places charge a lot more.

taste of the wild(high prairie or wetlands)-this is around 30 pounds for 45 dollars after taxes.

kirkland dog food is like 22 dollars for 40 pounds i think?

im sorry about your boxer being put down, chloe sounds adorable hope to see pics.

on a related note i have a question. has anyone ever seen those commercials with iams, and purina dog chow9two of the worst foods around) claiming to add many quality years to your friends lives? they say its scientifically proven. how can they say such crap (edited by CorgiPaws for foul language its pretty disgustin.

 

[CorgiPaws]

on a related note i have a question. has anyone ever seen those commercials with iams, and purina dog chow9two of the worst foods around) claiming to add many quality years to your friends lives? they say its scientifically proven. how can they say such crap (edited by CorgiPaws for foul language its pretty disgustin.

Started a new thread on this to respond without hijacking the thread.
http://dogfoodchat.com/forum/dog-fo...de-dog-food-marketing-material.html#post29601

 

[buddy97]

canidae grain free als i get 30 pounds for 49 dollars after tax but most places charge a lot more.

taste of the wild(high prairie or wetlands)-this is around 30 pounds for 45 dollars after taxes.
.

while those are cheaper choices for grain free foods (canidae, at more than 100 cal/cup more the better value, imo), i definitely think they should be avoided for larger breed pups due to calcium content. granted, a boxer is not a large breed, but not a small breed either. im not as familiar with boxers and growth issues as i am with GSD's, but it is something to think about.

otherwise, yes, there are much better foods even at the large chain stores. Blue Buffalo is available at Petsmart. Wellness and Solid Gold are avaialble at Petco.

again, i know a boxer may not be in the large breed category, but at the gsd site i belong to there are quite a few boxer owners that love the results they have gotten from Wellness Super 5 Large Breed Puppy. and, as suggested, Kirkland is relatively cheap if you have a Costco. another fairly cheap choice is Chicken Soup for the Dog Lovers Soul.

sorry for your loss. dont beat yourself up over what you were feeding. many of us, at some point, didnt know much about what we were feeding our dogs. im sure you gave your girl lots of love and a great life, which is the most important thing. and quite honestly, feeding the most expensive food available may not have prevented the cancer, so it is not worth dwelling on.

finally, thank you for your service to your community and doing a very tough job.....and a future thanks to your wife for causing as little pain possible when drilling the locals teeth.:biggrin:

 

[kevin bradley]

BD,

As Linsey said, I started the thread on online ordering. Check it out...hope you find it useful.

I'm pretty opinionated on food and have been through a number of brands...Orijen and Acana are held in special regard...with Natura's products #2. Petfooddirect and Heartypet are my only experiences in online ordering. Only issue w/ Hearty was their packaging...no other issues. PFD was perfect in every way.

Gonna be hard to save $10 on every bag of food...you'll have to load up on deals.

 

[goujon]

I have a boxer and have fed him Blue Buffalo for two years and wouldn't feed anything else. I have access to PetSmart, PetCo and Tractor Supply. The prices at Tractor Supply are slightly lower but they never have sales. PetCo's prices are higher than PetSmart but they have better sales. Register at PetCo.com and PetSmart.com. They periodically send coupons through the mail and by email. They also let you know when they have sales. Sometimes Amazon.com has sales with free shipping. You can get a one-time coupon from Bluebuff.com. You can also get a $5.00 coupon by signing up at Tractor Supply. Have all of your friends and relatives sign up at Blue Buffalo and Tractor Supply and give the coupons to you.

 

[whiteleo]

If your particular about what your feeding your dogs than you should also be particular about the treats you give them also. 1-2 ingredients is best when dealing with treats, I only buy 1 named ingredient when buying treats for my dogs. Just for general FYI

 

[Unosmom]

Welcome and sorry to hear about your dogs, unfortunately boxers arent the healthiest of breeds (at least not anymore due to all the inbreeding and BYB dogs).
Youre definitely on the right track with diet, there are several affordable options besides BB, most which can be found at local feed stores, here are few:

1) Healthwise ($34 for 35 lbs)
Where to Buy Healthy Dog Food, Healthy Cat Food & Healthy Puppy Food Brands – HealthWise Pet Food

2) Canidae ($36 for 35 lbs)
CANIDAE® Pet Foods: Store Locator

3)Taste of the wild ( $43 for 30 lbs -not for dogs under 1)
Taste of the Wild : Dealer Locator

4) Diamond Naturals ($36 for 35 lbs)
Pet Nutrition Retailers for Diamond Pet Foods

5)Kirkland Signature from costco (only available at costco, around $22 for 40 lbs)

6) Chicken Soup for dog lovers soul ($39 for 35 lbs)
Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul : Dealer Locator

7)Premium Edge
($38 for 35 lbs)
Premium Edge Pet Food | Dealer Locator

8) 4Health - only available at tractor supply ($29 for 35 lbs)

9) Whole Earth Farms ($28 for 35 lbs)( no store locator for this one, but you can ask at feed stores if they carry it)


If I were to reccomend a food, I would go with Healthwise for puppy and Taste of the wild for adult dog.

 

[ghostrunner]

Another option, if there is a Costco nearby, is Nature's Domain, sold exclusively at Costco. I haven't tried it, but there has been some discussion of it on this forum. It is grain free, although a bit high on the carb side. It's main selling point is value. It is certainly several steps above Pedigree, etc.

 

[kevin bradley]

I really think we're doing the OP a disservice by offering up compromised brands of cheaper options.

Sure, some of the foods mentioned are "ok." I won't debate that...

But he's disclosed the fact that he and his wifes dogs are part of the family...loved beyond measure...and heartbroken at the loss of his Boxer.

In terms of Cancer, there are some real reasons to go Grain Free...I haven't read ALL the evidence but going to a high protein/grain free food seems very sensible.

Even on a budget...we've got to encourage the BEST. Especially with someone who clearly indicates his love for his Dogs. In my opinion, he either needs to look into a raw diet or really focus on searching out truly uncompromised foods from Natura and/or Champion....

I do think there are those who will never go to Evo or Orijen...but we've got a real opportunity to influence someone to go w/ the BEST out there.

 

[luvMyBRT]

I've been to Roswell! Had some friends that went to NMMI. :smile:

I too am not sure if Boxers are considered large breed, though they are not small. Hopefully CorgiPaws will chime in with her opinion on the best puppy food for your new girl. Congrats, by the way! :biggrin:

Wellness Large Breed Puppy is a good food, so is Innova Large Breed Puppy. Orijin Large Breed Puppy would be at the top of the list and if price wasn't a factor.

I live in a small Eastern Oregon town, so finding decent kibble is pretty hard (as well as good meat prices to go raw). I have been able to find Taste Of The Wild. My older GSH Pointer is eating the bison formula right now and she just loves it. I would order on line, but the shipping for me is $20+ dollars PER bag, so that is way, way more than I can afford. However, I do watch for free shipping specials, when I can stock up and save a little money.

 

[RCTRIPLEFRESH5]

I really think we're doing the OP a disservice by offering up compromised brands of cheaper options.

Sure, some of the foods mentioned are "ok." I won't debate that...

But he's disclosed the fact that he and his wifes dogs are part of the family...loved beyond measure...and heartbroken at the loss of his Boxer.

In terms of Cancer, there are some real reasons to go Grain Free...I haven't read ALL the evidence but going to a high protein/grain free food seems very sensible.

Even on a budget...we've got to encourage the BEST. Especially with someone who clearly indicates his love for his Dogs. In my opinion, he either needs to look into a raw diet or really focus on searching out truly uncompromised foods from Natura and/or Champion....

I do think there are those who will never go to Evo or Orijen...but we've got a real opportunity to influence someone to go w/ the BEST out there.

price aside id say for a puppy, orijen large breed is the best. i do consider boxers large breeds in general. large breed is from 55-100 pounds.

for an adult, id say orijen red mat, or evo herring is best regardless of price.

with that being said i don't think it is right to try to convince someone on a budget to buy these foods when taste of the wild (wetlands or high prairie) is close enough without making them poor. TOTW is 30 dollars cheaper for 1.4 extra pounds. the difference is negligible. but if he has the cash then go for it but try totw first and see.

 

[luvMyBRT]

I really think we're doing the OP a disservice by offering up compromised brands of cheaper options.

Sure, some of the foods mentioned are "ok." I won't debate that...

But he's disclosed the fact that he and his wifes dogs are part of the family...loved beyond measure...and heartbroken at the loss of his Boxer.

In terms of Cancer, there are some real reasons to go Grain Free...I haven't read ALL the evidence but going to a high protein/grain free food seems very sensible.

Even on a budget...we've got to encourage the BEST. Especially with someone who clearly indicates his love for his Dogs. In my opinion, he either needs to look into a raw diet or really focus on searching out truly uncompromised foods from Natura and/or Champion....

I do think there are those who will never go to Evo or Orijen...but we've got a real opportunity to influence someone to go w/ the BEST out there.

I hate to start a debate and don't want to get off topic, but I am a bit offended here.

My dogs are "part of my family", "loved beyond measures", and I WAS heartbroken over the loss of my Rottie to cancer. Because I can't afford to feed my dogs Orijin right now does not mean that they mean any less to me.

I feed the best kibble that I can afford right now. That's not to say that if in the future I won't change to Orijin or RAW if I can afford it. I would LOVE to do that.

I don't see ANY problem with giving suggestions to ALL acceptable kibbles. Let the owner decide what works best for his dog and his budget. Just because you don't feed your dog Natura or Champion products doesn't mean you care for them and love them any less. :smile:

 

[kevin bradley]

Sara,

Certainly wasn't my intention to offend....if the food you choose is the best you can afford...we all do what we can.

However, I have to be honest is saying that I believe Orijen/Acana/Evo are the best foods available....and by a wide margin. Again, this is only my opinion but I'd be doing a disservice to someone asking the question of what to feed and telling them to feed a Diamond based product ---IF--- they can afford something else.

This is an important point here....I don't feed Orijen/Acana/Evo simply because it's nice to feed them. I feed them because I truly feel they are superior and will prolong/strengthen the live's of my Dogs.

I'm not touching a debate about loving your dogs less because you don't feed Champion or Natura....hell, I fed Pedigree before I knew what I was doing. I don't want anyone else telling me this, but I'll say it...I was a crappy owner for doing this. Horrible. I still don't forgive myself and wonder many days if I impacted the lives of my guys by doing so.

Someone feeding Chicken Soup, Kirkland, TOTW...admittedly, is a million times ahead of what I was doing with Pedigree. However, as I said...I do feel there are superior options...

 

[RCTRIPLEFRESH5]

Sara,

Certainly wasn't my intention to offend....if the food you choose is the best you can afford...we all do what we can.

However, I have to be honest is saying that I believe Orijen/Acana/Evo are the best foods available....and by a wide margin. Again, this is only my opinion but I'd be doing a disservice to someone asking the question of what to feed and telling them to feed a Diamond based product ---IF--- they can afford something else.

This is an important point here....I don't feed Orijen/Acana/Evo simply because it's nice to feed them. I feed them because I truly feel they are superior and will prolong/strengthen the live's of my Dogs.

I'm not touching a debate about loving your dogs less because you don't feed Champion or Natura....hell, I fed Pedigree before I knew what I was doing. I don't want anyone else telling me this, but I'll say it...I was a crappy owner for doing this. Horrible. I still don't forgive myself and wonder many days if I impacted the lives of my guys by doing so.

Someone feeding Chicken Soup, Kirkland, TOTW...admittedly, is a million times ahead of what I was doing with Pedigree. However, as I said...I do feel there are superior options...

you're not a crappy owner for feeding pedigree kevin relax lol. if you didnt know there was anything better out there, and saw no issues with your dogs that would provoke you to search for better options, then you were just another blindsighted fool feeding the advertised foods, that we all at one point thought were the best options. i was never that blind,i alwways knew grocery foods were bad. but when i got Shane i thought nutro was the best.(big step up from grocery foods..but horrible food either way).
and also i didnt think the science diet the humane society gave us, was bad at all..but i know better now.

the two best foods on the market in my eyes are naturas innova evo herring and salmon...and champions orijen regional red. these foods are great for people who are not a budget. i do not believe the difference in quality between these foods and TOTW is as big as the difference in price would suggest. even if the op could afford it, i dont think he should put himself into the poor house when totw will be sufficient for his girls.

his puppy on the other hand,would benefit from orijen. it is the only grain free food that is safe for her. in that case the quality difference is greater than the price difference. but once chloe reaches adulthood, she should have no problems on totw.

plus there is no guarantee that innova evo, nor orijen will be better than any other food for the op's dogs.ive ehard of dogs doing terible on both(more cases with regional red than with herring evo)

 

[CorgiPaws]

I really think we're doing the OP a disservice by offering up compromised brands of cheaper options.

Sure, some of the foods mentioned are "ok." I won't debate that...

But he's disclosed the fact that he and his wifes dogs are part of the family...loved beyond measure...and heartbroken at the loss of his Boxer.

In terms of Cancer, there are some real reasons to go Grain Free...I haven't read ALL the evidence but going to a high protein/grain free food seems very sensible.

Even on a budget...we've got to encourage the BEST. Especially with someone who clearly indicates his love for his Dogs. In my opinion, he either needs to look into a raw diet or really focus on searching out truly uncompromised foods from Natura and/or Champion....

I do think there are those who will never go to Evo or Orijen...but we've got a real opportunity to influence someone to go w/ the BEST out there.

I personally thing that making recommendations in ALL price ranges will do far more good than to make someone feel terrible for not being able to afford the absolute "top notch" foods (which plenty of dogs don't do good on, anyway)

Unless you have the OP's bank statements and budget right in front of you, it's not fair to assume that these insanely expensive foods are in the question. I know that the brief time that I used EVO was so expensive, no way I could have fed it to my dogs long term. And NO, that doesn't mean I love my dogs any less than someone who can do it... it means that I don't have unlimited income.

Also important to note that not all grain free foods are low carb.

 

[Boxerdad]

Ok people,

I have also been looking at other food that our local Tractor Supply Store sell.
What does everybody think of these foods?

4Health or the Diamond food?

I keep hearing everybody talking about the Diamond dog food. I can get the 40lb for $34.99.

 

[RCTRIPLEFRESH5]

Ok people,

I have also been looking at other food that our local Tractor Supply Store sell.
What does everybody think of these foods?

4Health or the Diamond food?

I keep hearing everybody talking about the Diamond dog food. I can get the 40lb for $34.99.

diamond naturals is alright, but regular diamond is horrible it has chicken by product as the first ingredient. i say go for taste of the wild high prairie or wetlands if you can afford it. its around 45 dollars for 30 pounds! i say if you want dog food to noticeably improve your boxers life go for a grain free food.

ill be honest i find it funny that diamond reccomends the same daily feeding amount as innova. kinda pisses me off, innova doesnt say to feed less...(not just innova but all premium foodss..just know for certain innovas guidelines for feeding food) guess diamond isnt the one trying to steal.

 

[buddy97]

Ok people,

I have also been looking at other food that our local Tractor Supply Store sell.
What does everybody think of these foods?

4Health or the Diamond food?


I keep hearing everybody talking about the Diamond dog food. I can get the 40lb for $34.99.

id say diamond natural and 4health are on par with each other. not great but not horrible. i think for about the same prices, the Chicken Soup line or Kirkland (at costco) would be a bit better, or for a little more, Canidae (all still Diamond produced foods, which turns many folks off).

i was talking to some Boxer owners on another board, and they all stay away from the grainless foods (other than orijen) until adulthood due to the calcium levels, much the same as owners of large breed pups do. so, personally i would stay away from grainless foods like TOTW until at least one year.