Gun Dog Forum

Just wondering what the best of the best is out there. I am hearing that Old Mother Hubbard is a good one. I feed Eukanuba to my setter and it keeps her in good shape and her coat gleeming. Just wondering what everyone else feels is top of the line.

Pro Plan Performance here.

I've fed both Euk and PP. Currently feed PP. Both are good.

Best,

Canidae.

And, check out this link:

http://www.gundogforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=112

OK thanks ayers. What about puppy food. How long should one leave a puppy on it?

the best, that I have used for years, is Euk. premium performance. at one time, most of the top pros used it and you saw nothing but pink bags at most field trials. then there were some politics, and also Purina came out with Pro Plan, and Purina is a great sponsor of field trials and hunting dog events. so alot of pros switched to that. the comments i have heard from pros who feed Pro Plan are that the coats are not quite as nice with the Pro Plan, so the pros supplement with Vit. E or other stuff, but otherwise it is a great feed for performance dogs.

i have to say, i am presently feeding Purina Pro Plan performance because my trial dog is home and the pro told me i had to. not only does the trial dog like it, but my home dog seems to find it much more palatable also, and the Euk pan is sitting uneaten.

years ago did a fair amount of blood testing on a trial dog eating Euk., and the vet would say come here look at this. the blood sample was filled with tiny white specks, which he said were fat. i must have looked a little shocked, but he was kind of gleeful, and said that is exceptionally good for an athletic dog. during hunting or a trial, they burn that fat before they go into body fat (of which these dogs have very little), or muscle glycogen. that dog was a couple of months short of 15 when it passed, and always had a rich coat, so nothing wrong with the food.

puppy food, which does not include the infant puppy foods, is intended to be used up to about a year of age. i have heard alot of people say puppy food and the premium performance foods are the same, but do not know myself.

Ryan, we have fed Pro Plan for years, I am switching now to Nutri Source's performance product. The coats on my Gordons does not seem to do as well with Pro Plan. The weim would eat card board, but the Gordons are a bit fussy about their chow. SDGORD

Black Gold

I'm feeding Diamond but as you can see from these posts any dogfood is good. If your dog likes it and is doing OK then it is as good as it will get.

All of the different dogfoods are made to satisfy the owners but practically all will work well for the dog. Remember the advertisements aren't read by the dogs so they are directed at the owners and say what some marketing experts think you want to hear. But every company makes a feed that will bring them repeat business from their customers so they can stay open. If they don't get that business they are soon gone.

Over the years I have fed some of the very cheapest dog foods on the market and a couple of "premium" feeds and can see little difference in the results. Back when I was showing and doing a little trialing I was feeding the cheap brands and had many people ask what I fed after seeing the condition of the dogs. Even sold semi-loads of it to quail plantations in the south. Was cheap but provided everything a dog needs to be healthy.

Pick one that is convient to purchase and stick with it and your dog will be happy and healthy. Anytime you feel you need a little extra fat add a couple of tablespoons of cooking oil to it.

Ezzy

Enhance Hunters edge ...and when we are on the road will up to the Enhance Professional athlete...chelated minerals so the dog can absorb them Dog do great and the prices are way more reasonable then other food also the VF and enhance lines made by Arkat feed are manufactured in a human grade facility \
Kila comparison
Enhance Pro Athlete 30% 22% Kcal 635
Diamond 30% 20% Kcal 366
ProPlan Performance 30% 20% K cal 493

The Hunters edge is a 24%18% Kcal 570
I use my dogs alot on the pheasant preserve running almost daily and they do extremely well just on the hunters edge which comes in a 50 pound bag unlike the rest which is are 40 lbs so feeding a kennel full decent prices very good food dogs do very well on it ...

Pro Plan offers a great line-up. We feed Performance and we have had nothing but great results.

ezzy333 wrote:I'm feeding Diamond but as you can see from these posts any dogfood is good. If your dog likes it and is doing OK then it is as good as it will get.

Ezzy I use to feed Diamond till I tried out a few bags of Black Gold. The dogs looked great while on Diamond but I a buddy of mine and I got a deal on Black Gold at wholesale so we tested a few bags. WOW, I had to clean my pens less and the dogs looked a whole lot better. They've been on it for almost a year now and look awesome!

I pefer Pro Plan Performance.

I used to feed Diamond and have also tried Nutro.

I think PP is easy to clean up in the kennels and I have seen great performance with this food. Purina also has the purina pro club which is a rewards program for breeders who feed PP. Once you build up enough points you can get clothing, and rebate coupons on PP products.

I use all Purina brands. Depending on the dog and how it reacts, Pro Plan or regular old Dog Chow.

Just jodge what you use based on the outcome. If your dog is crapping Texas sized piles, and gassing you out, better switch food. If it looks and acts healthy you are probably feeding it just what it needs.

Euk. gives my GSP's some funky gas, so I refrain from using it. I think it's the lamb in the food.

I also appreciate the purina pro club. You must be a breeder or have atleast 5 dogs you are for. Great rewards per pound of food you use.

www.purinaproclub.com

http://home.att.net/~srcusick/deaddogsinfood.avi

When asked, The President of AAFCO said: "If the ingredient say's meat or bone meal, you don't know if it is cattle, or sheep, or horse, . . . or fluffy." then went on to say: ". . . nutritionally, it is still protein." To view the King 5 Television interview with the AAFCO President (Herschel Pendell) The link posted above

Iams Large Chunck Is good also..Green Bag!

Sportmix.

I feed Purina Pro Plan, Performance when hunting or trialing and Maintenance in the off season.
My 12 year old gets Purina Senior and is doing great on it, she will be 13 this August.


Mav....

Purina One off season (large breed Chix & Rice) and switch to Pro Plan for season.

I feed my dogs Pro Plan Performance all year long. I change the amount fed to meet the dog's activity level and condition. In my mind there is a huge benefit to feeding high fat rations to dogs in the summer time for two reasons. First, the metabolism of lipids produces less metobolic heat. Second, feeding a highly nutrient dense food requires less volume which meets a dog's depressed appetite when worked in hot and humid environments.

Jim

Kurzhaar wrote: First, the metabolism of lipids produces less metobolic heat. Second, feeding a highly nutrient dense food requires less volume which meets a dog's depressed appetite when worked in hot and humid environments.

Thats good info I didnt know about thanks Doc

iams for both of them

and there both doin great

I fed Pro Plan for some time before switching to Euk. Coats look great. Euk is it for me!

Black Gold. Good stuff. I switched from Diamond and really saw a big difference, especially in the coat and less waste.

Lvrgsp

time to discuss dog food again? I have fed Diamond Adult Premium for several years with very good results. I have heard very good things about several brands and I believe they are all good. I believe not all dogs are the same as their metabolism or genetics may due better with a certain formula or brand even though one brand may be no better than the other. Black Gold would be one I would try but I don't have a close dealer.

Big Steve 46 I think you have nailed it. Very well said. ..."pear"

Was feeding cash Nutro large breed puppy. Recently switched to adult food. I went with Innova. Its pretty expensive, but I'm impressed with the ingredients. Time will tell how well he does on it. He does seem to like the large kibble.

Do not by pass EXCEED from Sam's it is 30-20 and I have been feeding it to trial dog for some years .
Price is about 22 dollars for 44 lbs.

They eat it as expected, stay in shape and not a lot of kennel cleaning.

This is a good article on dog food. It was copied with permission. I spoke with the author and she mentioned a food that is not listed that is an outstanding food with a good price is Diamond Naturals. This is a fairly new food to the Diamond line and is a high quaility food. I have switched my Setters to Diamond Naturals Chicken and Rice and have noticed improvements over the Pro Plan I have fed for some time.

There is a wide variety of foods available for dogs on the market. And it is hard for owners to know which is best for their dog. Many “Grocery Store” foods are made of mostly fillers. It is always best to know what foods have the best ingredients before selecting a food for your dog. Here is a quick, handy reference for picking the best food for your pup.

Ingredients: With any dog food, the ingredients are listed on the bag or can. The ingredients are listed in the order of which they are most often used. For example, if the first ingredient is beef, that food is mostly beef. Many of the older, more popular brands, such as Pedigree, Purina and Alpo contain mostly ground yellow corn. Dogs cannot digest corn and it is used as a filler. Consider it to be like giving your kids cereal every night. A mostly corn diet will also cause your dog to digest the food quicker and produce more waste, which is why people using this food go through it so quickly. You want a food that is mostly meat and that has little to no corn or wheat at all. This way your dog will get full on smaller amounts of food and produce less waste. With any dog food, the first ingredient should be a meat or meat meal.

Wet or dry?: Dry food is recommended over canned or wet food. Dry food will help control tartar on your dog’s teeth and is also more healthy. No dog food company, no matter how good the quality, can do with wet food what they can do with dry. What this means is that wet food really has no nutritional quality. The only thing that usually comes from an all canned food diet is an over weight dog with bad teeth. However if you need to mix canned and dry food, a little is all right. Try to find a canned food that uses broth instead of water.

What is meal?: Meal is made by removing all moisture from the meat or grain. Keep in mind that meal is not necessarily a bad thing. In most cases, the ingredient is weighed after being turned into meal. Therefor, if a recipe calls for lamb meal, you are getting more meat as all that water that was removed would weigh more. For example, an ingredient list that reads ‘Chicken, corn meal, ...’ actually contains more corn, since the chicken still contained water when it was weighed and the corn did not. A list that reads ‘Chicken meal, rice, ...’ contains more chicken. A list that reads ‘Lamb, lamb meal, rice,’ is a good list!

What do they mean by “Organ Meat” or “By-Products”?: Most quality foods will use the liver in their food which is actually a healthy organ. However some low grade foods will use beaks, feet, intestines, etc. in their foods. Ask your local pet store which foods use which organs. Also keep in mind that while most organ meat is very nutritional, it is also higher in fat. If you’re dog is on a diet, you may want to stay away from organ meat.

Top recommended foods
These foods are in the order in which I would personally recommend them. This list is based only on my personal opinion and experience.

1.Innova
Innova dog food is an all natural food for dogs of all ages and sizes. They use a variety of ingredients including, turkey, chicken, cottage cheese, apples, carrots and herring. Innova gives dogs a healthy coat and antioxidants for a healthy system.

2. California Natural
CN is made by the same company that makes Innova, EVO, and Karma. CN is an all natural, human grade food that uses very little ingredients. The lamb and rice diet is especially good for dogs with bad allergies, dry skin or sensitive stomachs.

3.Wellness
Wellness is made by the same company that makes Old Mother Hubard biscuits. They use all natural and human grade ingredients. There is no corn, wheat or soy in their foods. Wellness seems to work especially well for small breed dogs.

4. Nutro Natural Choice
NC is a high quality food that uses no corn or wheat. They have a skin and coat guarantee on their food. Your dog’s waste will be smaller and easier to manage. NC is also great for joints and contains more glucosamine than any other brand on the market. It comes in a range of flavors and varieties including Large Breed, Large Breed Senior, Puppy, Lamb Meal and Rice, and High Energy.
NOTE: Nutro now makes Nutro Ultra, a holistic dog food. They use three different sources of protein, (Chicken, Lamb and Salmon) and use brown rice as a main carb source. Brown rice is one of the more easily digested grains used in pet foods. If you have an over weight dog, you may want to check out Nutro Ultra.

5. Nutro Max
Max is also made by Nutro although Natural Choice is their premium food. Max does contain corn but very small amounts. Max also comes in a variety of flavors.

6.Natural Balance
Natural Balance is a new food that uses a variety of protein sources such as chicken, lamb and duck. They have a hypo allergenic formula of duck and potato. No corn or wheat. They also carry a vegetarian formula. Natural Balance is formulated for all life stages.

7. Eukanuba
Eukanuba is produced by the IAMS company. It is a premium food and can there for be rather costly. Eukanuba has quality ingredients but does contain corn meal. Eukanuba is most often chosen by owners of premium performance dogs. (Breeders, Agility Trainers, etc.)

8. Nature’s Recipe
Nature’s Recipe can only be found in pet supply stores, or at most vets. They are a quality food that has many alternative recipes for allergenic dogs or dogs with sensitive stomachs. The Venison and Rice formula is popular with dogs with allergies. This food is good, but can be expensive.

9. IAMS
IAMS is not as much a premium food as Eukanuba, but it is still a good food all around. The first ingredient is meat and it does contain corn. IAMS is now conveniently located in grocery stores as well as pet supply stores. It is one of the few quality foods you can buy in grocery stores.

10. Pro Plan
Pro Plan is made by Purina and is their most high quality food. The ingredients are still not as good as some other foods, but the first ingredient is a meat. Purina also has a food sold in grocery stores called “Purina One”. Purina One and Pro Plan are basically the same food. The only difference is that Pro Plan is found only in specialty stores, where Purina One is found only in grocery stores.

11. Hills Science Diet
Hills is not as high quality a food as the above mentioned, but it is still better than most grocery store foods. Hills does use some questionable additives. Many people do swear by their special diets such as Sensitive Stomach, Oral Care, or Sensitive Skin. Hills boasts that it is the most recommended by vets. That is mostly because Veterinarian offices get paid to sell it.

I feed Pro-Plan and have had nothing but great results!!!!

Setters,

I believe that article has been posted before . If not I have seen it some place else. It's a well written piece but is not accurate. It appears to be one persons opinion and nothing more as many of the facts stated are not true.

Ezzy

SettersRus wrote: I have switched my Setters to Diamond Naturals Chicken and Rice and have noticed improvements over the Pro Plan I have fed for some time.

I would be courious as to what the improvement's were and how you determined them.

This thread just keeps getting picked up, with nothing really new added other than the occasional "well I feed..."

So it's locked. There are plenty of other, more recent threads within the "Health & Nutrition" forum with the same topic.