New food advice for 5 year old lab

[mmcmurray51]

I am looking for new food for my 5 year old lab. The 3 I am really looking hard at now is blue wilderness tatse of the wild and Merrick. I have always done my best to give her the best food I am able to afford and now with a new job I can bump up the quality. She is an extremely active dog. She runs every day and also is worked hard in the field usually 2-3 days a week. She has a sensitive stomach and skin so I have been careful with the foods and also have pretty much stuck with what the vet said about having her eat fish based food. Any input would be great.

[ezzy333]

I am not sure I understand why you would want to change the feed just because you got a raise. I think you are thinking that quality is tied completely to price and nothing can be further from the facts. If she is doing well on the feed you are now using then stick with it instead of listening to the marketing hype that is constantly telling you feed X is the greatest feed in the world. The absolute best feed you can buy is the food that is readily available and your dog does good on. There probably are more healthy dogs eating Ol' Roy than any other feed. Not my choice for a performance dog but it works well for most normal pets.

Ezzy

[Sharon]

We need a fourth choice , "None of the above."


(In answer to some PMs. Edited many times because I deleted my post to keep the peace, then decided there was nothing wrong with it and put it back on x 4)

[mmcmurray51]

Ezzy...you bring up a good point I was hoping to switch to try and help with her itching...it has gotten better but still seems to trouble her at times...and Sharon how did I know I would get a smart a$$ remark in the first couple hours...people like you make me hate coming to these forums...instead of a stupid comment how about some advice. You obviously know it ALL

[Eric]

I'd suggest Victor.

[ezzy333]

Ezzy...you bring up a good point I was hoping to switch to try and help with her itching...it has gotten better but still seems to trouble her at times...and Sharon how did I know I would get a smart a$$ remark in the first couple hours...people like you make me hate coming to these forums...instead of a stupid comment how about some advice. You obviously know it ALL

It is apparent that you are new on here. We have our share of smart-asses including me but Sharon is on the very opposite of that problem and you had no reason to make the comment you made without knowing who and what you are accusing. I shouldn't tell you this but her comment was exactly what I thought when you gave us the options. Sharon is one of our somewhat senior members who is always the first to offer help in any way she can and I am sure she will accept your apology when offered.

As far as the itching is concerned, that would be a reason to switch if you know for sure it is food related, which by the way is seldom the case. Food allergies are few and seldom prove out when someone does the actual testing. It is far more likely something in her environment that is causing the problem and is one of the main reasons it tends to come and go over time.

Glad you have joined us in our little community. Hope you enjoy and also learn some things from a lot of very experienced owners and trainers plus even a couple of good vets.

Ezzy

[Sharon]

Thanks Ezzy. Appreciate that.

Some days are diamonds; some days are coal.

Certainly didn't mean to offend you Mc Murray.

[mmcmurray51]

To me smart "bleep" comment and there will be no apology...will find née forum....mods can close post Thanks

[Sharon]

Sorry to hear that , but I don't feel guilty. If you were that badly offended by that comment, you wouldn't have lasted long here anyway. Sorry to see you go; always hate to lose a new member.

[MJB64]

"you had no reason to make the comment you made without knowing who and what you are accusing."

The same rule applies to her.

Mike

[ezzy333]

"you had no reason to make the comment you made without knowing who and what you are accusing."

The same rule applies to her.

Mike

So you think someone shouldn't answer a question raised by the OP? I don't quite follow your thinking. Or are you thinking she accused him? When offered three options and someone says none of them they are in trouble????????????????????????

[RayGubernat]

Sure sounds like the dog ain't the only one that has sensitivity issues. As Sharon said, someone with skin that thin wouldn't last long here anyhow.

Searching for the "best" dogfood, by listening to the marketing BS put out by these companies is truly a fool's errand. The "best" dogfood is the one you can get fresh, get locally and which your dog eats with enthusiasm and thrives on.

There is a floor on the pricing of high quality dogfood simply because it is the price of the key ingredients(protein and fat) which determine that high quality. There is no ceiling on the price because the ceiling is the highest price the buying public will bear. However the fact of the matter is that, above a certain floor pricing, the price of the feed has very little to do with its actual quality.

Formulating, processing, packaging and shipping methods and costs are pretty similar for every feed from the cheapest junk to the highest of the high end feeds. They are all made pretty much the same way, using the same machinery.

The higher the protein and fat content of a feed, the more it HAS to cost. Protein and fat content is most of what drives the cost of production for one feed versus another. but if one feed uses REAL chicken and another uses chicken meal, the difference in actual quality is minimal. In fact the feed that uses the chicken meal might be a higher quality, depending on the source of the REAL chicken.

Then there are the marketing costs. And the BS begins....

You feed what works and if it ain't broke, you don't need to fix it.

But then what do I know?

RayG

[mmcmurray51]

8 years in the marine Corp and 2 tours to Afghanistan...yep I'm real sensitive..."bleep" your forum

[Sharon]

Remarkable sacrifice. My Dad was overseas 6 years in WW2. He came home a shadow of himself.

Thank you for your service.

[ezzy333]

8 years in the marine Corp and 2 tours to Afghanistan...yep I'm real sensitive...

May not be sensitive, just not real smart. I have no idea what being in the Marines has to do with sensitivity but it appears nothing. I had the opportunity to spend a few years in the service as most able bodied kids did in my time but I never felt the need to use that as a defense of my actions. Hope you get over it and come back again.

[pato y codoniz]

"you had no reason to make the comment you made without knowing who and what you are accusing."

The same rule applies to her.

Mike

Of course it was a smart "bleep" comment because if it was sincere she would have explained why "none of the above".

Of course he was justified in calling out the smart-assed comment.

Of course rushes in to condem the new poster and defend the clique.

[pato y codoniz]

8 years in the marine Corp and 2 tours to Afghanistan...yep I'm real sensitive...

May not be sensitive, just not real smart. I have no idea what being in the Marines has to do with sensitivity but it appears nothing. I had the opportunity to spend a few years in the service as most able bodied kids did in my time but I never felt the need to use that as a defense of my actions. Hope you get over it and come back again.

What actions does he have to defend?

Little patience for unhelpful comments?

[shags]

Now there are two of 'em that need to pull on their big boy pants :roll: What special little snowflakes.

How about a mature response from the OP something like "Are my first three choices lacking in something? What would you suggest as the fourth choice?"

But no, he blows up and gets so offended by a mild response lightened by an emoticon, even, that he needs to leave forever.

Tell ya what, Marine Corps or not, service or not, doesn't give him the right to be vulgar and rude on here either.

Don't worry about it, Sharon. You either, Ezzy.

[bobman]

every man should know girls are meanies LOL


to the OP I've had excellent results with Nutri-source grain free chicken

[Sharon]

LOL Bob man




Can we start over?

"Could we please have another choice like maybe 'none of the above' , because I don't feed those and could recommend possibly a better choice ?"

[ezzy333]

"you had no reason to make the comment you made without knowing who and what you are accusing."

The same rule applies to her.

Mike

Of course it was a smart comment because if it was sincere she would have explained why "none of the above".

Of course he was justified.

Of course rushes in to condem the new poster and defend the clique.

I am getting tired of the language being used and having to delete it. Seems you are more concerned with trying to belittle anything I do instead of following the rules you agreed to when you got on the forum. I am glad it is me you are railing about as it demonstrates very clearly where you are coming from. Plus you are not downgrading the other members which is a quick way to lose your privilege of being here. Think before you post and things should get better. By the way if you have to have none of the above explained then you do have a problem.

[ezzy333]

8 years in the marine Corp and 2 tours to Afghanistan...yep I'm real sensitive...

May not be sensitive, just not real smart. I have no idea what being in the Marines has to do with sensitivity but it appears nothing. I had the opportunity to spend a few years in the service as most able bodied kids did in my time but I never felt the need to use that as a defense of my actions. Hope you get over it and come back again.

What actions does he have to defend?

Little patience for unhelpful comments?

I'm glad he didn't need to have what actions he needed to defend pointed out and you probably wouldn't either if you knew what was going on that you are privy to. It is always a good idea to save your comments for things that effect you instead of jumping in trying to stir trouble.

[mnaj_springer]

To the OP, those foods seem to be more hype than anything else. But you gotta chill out. If you joined a retriever club and asked the same question, would you respond the same way? Or would you accept that people have personalities and move on?

[CDN_Cocker]

Some people have too much time on their hands. Go train your dog(s).