food,food,food,......

[ibbowhunting]

which would be your top three choice of dry bag adult dog food thinking of switching from purina puppy food to the best adult food i can get in my area, i know nothing about dog food,i just want the best for my 7month old britt my vet sells science diet but in a recent post i read somebody said to take the dog off science diet, i asked why with no reply,do you feed different food during hunting season, then the rest of the year? with science diet you can feed a performance food during the hunting season with no change over period and back to the normal food in the off season sounds good to me but what i'm missing? i just want a happy healthy pup, nothing more, nothing less. thanks in advance

[birddog1968]

diamond naturals

eagle pac power

pmi exclusive - if i had to.....


Mine are on diamond naturals Extreme althlete, but i cut it some in the off season with Naturals chicken and rice....for most dogs just the chicken and rice formula would be fine....I've got 4 on that now. Only reason i switch or mix is because the extreme althlete is like rocket fuel and the dogs WILL gain weight quickly if not being worked hard.

[joesuits4]

I currently feed my Brittany Orijen Regional Red. He really enjoys it and stools are normal.

[JIM K]

i like CANIDAE ALS for my lab and my new small munsterlander puppy.
i used nutro-source from breeder mixed in with CANIDAE ALS first week on puppy and had no problems at all.
now at 9 weeks he is eating CANIDAE ALS full time.
this puppy has biggest terds i have ever seen in such small dog.

[birddogger]

Your dog will probably do just fine on Science diet if that is what you want to feed. I wouldn't feed it because I think it is over priced and there are many other brands that are IMO, better for a lot less money. I am not going to make any suggestions because there are too many good ones and it would depend on what you have available in your area. I also keep my dogs on the same feed all year. I just have to adjust the amounts, depending on the activity level of the dogs. At this time of the year, I have to feed less than I do during hunting season to keep them from gaining weight. Hope this helps clarify a little.

Charlie

[ezzy333]

Before I would suggest anything I would want to know why you want to switch. Just a whim, dog not doing well, dog won't eat it, cost too much, or one of a thousand other reasons? Then after you tell me that I could give you some advice.

Ezzy

[Cajun Casey]

In no order except alphabetical, Canidae, NutriSource, ProPlan Performance.

[jcbuttry8]

I now feed Kona Pro Plan. Seems to be the most common around here and easy to get for a fair price. She seems to be doing real well on it. I am no feed expert but I think that most of the feeds listed above are good to work with. I left it to my dog to tell me what she liked. She doesn't leave any in the bowl.

Joe

[ibbowhunting]

Before I would suggest anything I would want to know why you want to switch. Just a whim, dog not doing well, dog won't eat it, cost too much, or one of a thousand other reasons? Then after you tell me that I could give you some advice.

Ezzy

[u]well... she looks good, eats good ,sleeps good, poops good ,cost don't care[/u] just running out of food so it maybe time to switch.
one dog so price is not that big of deal, pups doing very well on purina puppy chow 7+ months old just tryn to pick out the best availble adult dog food the first time so i don't have to switch later im thinking its time to switch in the next month or so, i'm running out of puppy food so its time to buy adult food or more puppy food?

[slistoe]

You picked Puppy Chow because........? You want to switch brands because.........?
The dog food advertisers have done a good job.

[ibbowhunting]

You picked Puppy Chow because........? You want to switch brands because.........?
she been on puppy chow from the day i got her (8 weeks old). she was a puppy and needed food so puppy chow it is. i have no reason to switch brands, purina always work for me in the past, but never had a high energy gundog in the past so i never feed a preformance food before, i just think it is time to switch to and adult dog food,or should i just feed her puppy chow the rest of her life
The dog food advertisers have done a good job.

has nothing to do with me wanting to switch.

[frontline]

I would ask your breeder what they recommend.

[ezzy333]

You picked Puppy Chow because........? You want to switch brands because.........?
she been on puppy chow from the day i got her (8 weeks old). she was a puppy and needed food so puppy chow it is. i have no reason to switch brands, purina always work for me in the past, but never had a high energy gundog in the past so i never feed a preformance food before, i just think it is time to switch to and adult dog food,or should i just feed her puppy chow the rest of her life
The dog food advertisers have done a good job.

has nothing to do with me wanting to switch.

Thew best advice anyone cn give you is to pick a food your pup likes, one that is readily available and one you can afford. If you fill those three areas you will have a good food for your pup.
As far as finding one better than all the others, there just isn't any such feed. Proof is if you poll the people on this board you will get 20 or 30 different answers. And they are right, since they all are feeding something that conforms to those three areas I listed. A couple of things to keep in mind. Price does not always go along with quality. And advertisements are not an indicator of what your dog needs.

Ezzy

[northUpland]

ibbowhunting, Personal opinion asked...Dr. Tim's (Momentum or Pursuit), NutriSource(Performance), RedPaw(PowerEdge 32)...since you are located in upper MN, NutriSource or other Tuffy branded performance foods might be the easiest to find and most economical. Second question you asked...I feed performance year round but closely adjust ration(portion size per day) down or up given given daily activity level and outside temps. Just makes it easier for the dogs to ramp up quicker for the hunt season to stay on a performance food year round. Best of luck out there. -Mark

[mcbosco]

Dr. Tim's is a good way to go because you can buy it on PetFlow in 44lb bags, no shipping cost or tax.

[JIM K]

In no order except alphabetical, Canidae, NutriSource, ProPlan Performance.

those 3 are what most feed. my puppy was on nutrisource great food now CANIDAE.

[ezzy333]

Not sure I could agree those three are what most feed. Most pros or people with kemmels feed a more economical feed than people with one dog. And the best reults seem to come from those cheaper feeds.

Ezzy

[JIM K]

isnt it nice that we all have opinions in MY area those 3 are what is fed the most to puppys and adult dogs.
46 yrs ago i fed PURINA to all my beagles and hunting labs.

[CHJIII]

If I could afford it then it would be these three:

1. ProPlan Performance
2. Nutrisource
3. Loyall

[ultracarry]

There have only been two that I keep feeding without problems... EVO and loyall.

[JIM K]

If I could afford it then it would be these three:

1. ProPlan Performance
2. Nutrisource
3. Loyall

CANIDAE ALS in 44# bag is 45 dollars at feed mill here.i get around 2 and 1/2 months out of bag on my 71# pointing lab.
i have small munsterlander puppy now so he eats it .
i would guess i will be using 44# bag every 1 and 1/2 months for both dogs at 45 dollars a bag.

[slistoe]

isnt it nice that we all have opinions in MY area those 3 are what is fed the most to puppys and adult dogs.
46 yrs ago i fed PURINA to all my beagles and hunting labs.

In my area you can't even find two of those foods to buy and I know of very few people who are feeding the third. Not that they may not be good foods - but they are not what is fed the "most".

[slistoe]

There have only been two that I keep feeding without problems... EVO and loyall.

How many other foods have you fed? I am supposing that all the other foods you fed gave you problems? Why did you keep trying all the other foods if you were having no problems with the food you were on?

[JIM K]

isnt it nice that we all have opinions in MY area those 3 are what is fed the most to puppys and adult dogs.
46 yrs ago i fed PURINA to all my beagles and hunting labs.

In my area you can't even find two of those foods to buy and I know of very few people who are feeding the third. Not that they may not be good foods - but they are not what is fed the "most".

2 years ago ONLY purina was seen locally.
we got the feed mill to start carrying those 2 others.
NOW they cant keep CANIDAE ALS in stock even tho they had problem with DIAMOND FOODS recently.
i had to order my last bag of CANIDAE ALS on internet from MR.CHEWY.
from now on i am buying 2 ,44# bags of canidae so i have it when they are sold out at mill.

RICH women in their SUV all buy canidae als.

[Ron R]

Pro Plan Performance - Black Gold - Sport Mix (black bag). All good feeds that I have used that your dog should do great on.

[ezzy333]

Pro Plan Performance - Black Gold - Sport Mix (black bag). All good feeds that I have used that your dog should do great on.

Those three plus Tuffy's, Loyall, Diamond, and several other reasonably priced feeds will work very well and seem to be the feeds of choice for active dogs in our area. I seldom even see the higher priced ones that MsBosco is always promoting but I am sure they are popular with the higher income pet dog owners and are good feeds.

Ezzy

[BigShooter]

In my area you can't even find two of those foods to buy and I know of very few people who are feeding the third. Not that they may not be good foods - but they are not what is fed the "most".

Does anyone know how well the dog food distribution in your area of Western Canada relates to the availability in northern MN? In Northern MN (depending upon the size of the town) typically the less expensive & higher volume regional suppliers are Mills Fleet Farm with Purina, Nutro & store branded, L & M Fleet Supply, which carry Purina products, Menards with Diamond & Walmart. In addition some cooperatives & local feed stores have supplies as well. However, often they are lower volume suppliers with slightly higher prices.

[Angus]

I use Pro Pac Performance and am very happy with it. Eagle Pack, Nutrisource, Tuffy's, Sportmix, Earthborn, Canidae, Fromms... all good feeds. I don't think there has been a bad feed mentioned, only different opinions on different feeds.

[CHJIII]

I use Pro Pac Performance and am very happy with it. Eagle Pack, Nutrisource, Tuffy's, Sportmix, Earthborn, Canidae, Fromms... all good feeds. I don't think there has been a bad feed mentioned, only different opinions on different feeds.

I switched to ProPac 2 months ago and am very pleased with it. For 9 dogs it's priced right and they do well on it.

$23.50 for 44lbs. I use 5 bags/month.

I've got a female pointer (Molly) coming home in 4 weeks. She was bred and I''ll get her Pro Pac Puppy to eat.

Haven't advertised the litter yet, should be some nice pups.

[Onk]

I've only fed two diamond and Loyall. Dog did real good on both as far as looks and energy. Diamond just had a bit more waste and seemed to gas him up a bit ( I could live with that, the wife could not). I asked the same question you are when I first got my dog and joined this forum and this is a hot button topic with a million answers. Find a food that is in your budget and your dog does good on. Start with smaller bags till you find "The One"! Just because I feed something that works for my dog doesnt mean it will work on yours. Good luck and have a blast with your pup!

[bb560m]

EVO red meat. It's expensive, but they don't have to eat much b/c of the high protein/fat. 2 cups/day max - up to 2.5 if he's out hunting a few days a week.

[mcbosco]

EVO red meat. It's expensive, but they don't have to eat much b/c of the high protein/fat. 2 cups/day max - up to 2.5 if he's out hunting a few days a week.

That is a great diet.

[big steve46]

Pro Plan Performance - Black Gold - Sport Mix (black bag). All good feeds that I have used that your dog should do great on.

Those three plus Tuffy's, Loyall, Diamond, and several other reasonably priced feeds will work very well and seem to be the feeds of choice for active dogs in our area. I seldom even see the higher priced ones that MsBosco is always promoting but I am sure they are popular with the higher income pet dog owners and are good feeds.

Ezzy

I agree. I usually feed Loyall AA, but am currently feeding Sportmix 26-18 blue bag. It's a good feed, and a bit less expensive than Loyall. I like to switch around a bit, and will likely go back to Loyall this Fall.

[ultracarry]

There have only been two that I keep feeding without problems... EVO and loyall.

How many other foods have you fed? I am supposing that all the other foods you fed gave you problems? Why did you keep trying all the other foods if you were having no problems with the food you were on?

Had her on EUK for almost the whole first year, then switched to EVO, then to diamond, and finally loyall. The amount of matter and consistency of it when feeding EVO is by far the best with loyall being really close. Diamond she would be good for a day or two and would be taking a dump for 10 minutes, it would start like soft serve and then get worse from there.... The gas is another story. EUK was about the same as diamond.

[gotpointers]

I found a deal on science diet puppy 40 lb bags for 15 a bag. I am not real impressed with the ingredient label. Purina puppy looks better on the ingredient label and costs less when i have to pay retail. I just feed the pups that are being sold with bag food. The keepers eat raw.

[AZ Brittany Guy]

I keep between 8 and 12 dogs and have been through Purina, Diamond and finally Loyall. I receintly switched from Loyall AA to Loyall Hi Pro with good results. I like the Opti Cook method. It seems to help with the teeth. Delmar Smith had a saying on dog feed.....words to the effect of "if you can kick their turds across the driveway without getting any on your boot it is a good feed".

[MikeB]

ibbowhunting,

So what have you decided to change to?

[ultracarry]

I keep between 8 and 12 dogs and have been through Purina, Diamond and finally Loyall. I receintly switched from Loyall AA to Loyall Hi Pro with good results. I like the Opti Cook method. It seems to help with the teeth. Delmar Smith had a saying on dog feed.....words to the effect of "if you can kick their turds across the driveway without getting any on your boot it is a good feed".

That's a good one.

Someone should do a study and weigh foods prior to consumption and after.... For research of course. But then again I usuallly couldn't scrape all the diamond off the grass so it wouldn't be a precise weight.

[AZ Brittany Guy]

I keep between 8 and 12 dogs and have been through Purina, Diamond and finally Loyall. I receintly switched from Loyall AA to Loyall Hi Pro with good results. I like the Opti Cook method. It seems to help with the teeth. Delmar Smith had a saying on dog feed.....words to the effect of "if you can kick their turds across the driveway without getting any on your boot it is a good feed".

That's a good one.

Someone should do a study and weigh foods prior to consumption and after.... For research of course. But then again I usuallly couldn't scrape all the diamond off the grass so it wouldn't be a precise weight.

Leave it to Delmar. he's a treasure.

I had the same experience with Diamond products however, I like their puppy feed.

[ibbowhunting]

ibbowhunting,

So what have you decided to change to?

will i ran out of food so i got another bag of purina puppy chow for now couldn't find most of the foods mentioned above in town, and can't make up my mind

[zigzag]

Like you I feed my dog puppy chow, purina one lamb and rice from the day I brought him home. If I had read more about it I would have just put him on canidea ALS from the start. I switched around 9 months with no problems been feeding ALS for 3 months now. If price was not a concern I would have chose taste of the wild.

[Ron R]

I always feed puppys the same high performance food that I feed the adult dogs. I always felt that puppy food was a gimic...probably because that's what my grandpa said.

[birddog1968]

I always feed puppys the same high performance food that I feed the adult dogs. I always felt that puppy food was a gimic...probably because that's what my grandpa said.

+1 Grandpa's were smart !

[birddogger]

I always feed puppys the same high performance food that I feed the adult dogs. I always felt that puppy food was a gimic...probably because that's what my grandpa said.

+1 Grandpa's were smart !

We still are!

Charlie

[birddog1968]

Point taken.......

My day has not come yet

[Georgia Boy]

You should be able to easily get Nutri-Source where you are at. I have fed it to my last two pups and they did great on it. I think it is one of the better foods available.

[Ron R]

I always feed puppys the same high performance food that I feed the adult dogs. I always felt that puppy food was a gimic...probably because that's what my grandpa said.

+1 Grandpa's were smart !

We still are!

Charlie

Well...not all grandpa's are smart. Sorry .

[SCT]

Here's a food quality chart if anyone cares to ponder. http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/brand/

I've used Loyall pro for a few months but am trying out Inukshuk from Canada soon. I expect to see a difference, but if not I'll probably go back to Loyall as it has been good for my pointers. At least their turds are solid. I was told by a friend that when he switched to Loyall from Exceed from Sam's Club, his dogs would run 1 mph faster and for a longer period. The Astro can give you some statistics for ground cover.

[LMNewbie]

I feed raw to my four dogs. $60 for 120lbs of chicken backs, vitamin and omega 3.

[ibbowhunting]

Here's a food quality chart if anyone cares to ponder. http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/brand/

I've used Loyall pro for a few months but am trying out Inukshuk from Canada soon. I expect to see a difference, but if not I'll probably go back to Loyall as it has been good for my pointers. At least their turds are solid. I was told by a friend that when he switched to Loyall from Exceed from Sam's Club, his dogs would run 1 mph faster and for a longer period. The Astro can give you some statistics for ground cover.

i could understand the dog running longer but faster too? really?