Dog & Cat Owners... What Brand Pet Food Do You Use?

Canned or dry? What makes you stick with that brand? Price? Flavor? Nutrition? Reputation?

We feed our ShihTzu the adult small-breed (small kibble) maintenance formula from Eukanuba. It's about one dollar a pound (on sale) and she seems to like it just fine.

Not to be intentionally gross... but I've noticed that when I switched her from canned to dry, her bowel movements were smaller, darker and firmer, and MUCH less odor. --- I'm not sure if this difference is actually related to any difference between dry and moist food. But it seems to be related.

-- Allen

formulated to "concentrate" stool as you describe--a big "selling" point for dog breeders/kennels.

Eukanuba dry is a good choice for a "toy" breed dog--since they tend to rot out their teeth when on canned-food only diet, as they age.

Even though IAMS is now sold in grocery stores (which makes some question whether it is still the quality it once was), I think it is still probably the best readily available dry food for bigger dogs, unless you want to spend lots of $$.

... and asked me if I've been brushing her teeth. I suppose I could have lied and said "Oh YES, I DO... EVERY DAY" so that I could bask in more veterenarian praise. But, I told the truth, and the vet said "If you're not brushing, then you're feeding her a good quality dry food".

That made me feel good.

I've seen small dogs with few (or no) teeth... it's pretty sad. I don't ever want that to happen to our sweetie.

-- Allen

:)

For treats they get Pounce Tartar Control - their favorite seems to be the ocean whitefish flavor.

I want to make sure they are getting enough water in their diet.

I buy: Royal Canin

We have a fountain for them. They love it.

Petey loves it so much he drowns his toys in it.

Cute cat!

I feed my kitties Innova dry and California Natural. My neighbor who has a beautiful black lab does also. It has no preservatives and is made from organic meats and vegetables.

And yes, you're right. The better brands do seem to produce less 'by-products' so to speak. THat's because the cheap pet foods have more fillers in them and let's face it - fillers are not a nutriet needed by our pets so they just poop them out WHEEEEE!!!!

BTW, with Nutro, they have a great frequent buyer plan which is so worth filling out for just for the $20 worth of coupons (I got a book and my mother got one too for me)

http://www.nutroproducts.com/fbpnutroReg.asp


Edit note: I think my cats also are healthier looking. Abbott's fur is probably it's top shiniest condition since switching to Nutro.

He gets the Nutro MaxCat kitten dry food and he gets half a pouch of the Natural Choice kitten moist food every morning and evening as well.

He loves the stuff :).

He's gotten in the habit of pushing his food dish out in the middle of the floor for me to trip over if I feed him late :)

The coupons are good through 7/2005 and include their entire product line.

Seriously! I even had my mother sign up for a book so I had extras when the first one runs out.

BTW, you said you use MaxCat? I use strictly NaturalChoice for my dry food. Maybe we can swap coupons: my dry MaxCat for your dry NaturalChoice

I'll let you know once the book arrives!

That's what the pet food brands actually call it. In fact, you can buy specialty stuff at the vets to produce even LESS "residue". My dad's a vet, and so we use it. :)

When my dog was a puppy, I tried Science Diet and Eukanuba. She wouldn't eat either, but she loves Pedigree, so that's what she gets. She gets some table food, too, mostly pieces of cheese or meat off of whatever I'm eating.

I also tried some expensive kitten food when Miranda was a kitten and she wanted Kitten Chow. Now she prefers Friskies Special Diet (the kind that helps prevent urinary tract problems). I also let her lick ice cream or cream cheese from my fingers once in a while.

whenever I'm eating something that they love and that can be easily shared (without making a big ol' mess).

Mitzi never gets a WHOLE BOWLFUL of table scraps, but a bit of cheese here, or a fingerful of sour cream there... half-a-peanut, half-a-grape, a cube of tomato, a bit of melon... she even likes carrots (raw or cooked).

Her tableside begging is her only behavior "problem"... but in reality, that's the fault of the OWNERS and not the fault of the dog.

-- Allen

are a no no I'm told...don't know why. But the carrot thing is great!

Pure chocolate and onions are harmful, but I've never heard anything specific about grapes. I'll ask my vet next time I'm there.

She won't bite hard enough to break the skin of a grape on her own. If I give her a whole unbroken grape, she'll just hold it in her mouth for a little while, then put it down and forget about it. --- But, if I give her half a grape, she just LOVES it.

they're toxic apparently

http://dogtraining.co.uk/toxic.html

for our standard poodle. It's the "meaty chunks" variety. We add fresh veggies like carrots, broccoli, or green beans. He gets a large milk bone in the morning and a few small milk bone treats during the day. And a homemade "frosty paw" for dessert. We check his weight at the vet's about every 2 weeks and cut back if he starts to gain.

Yeah, it's expensive, but, holy crap, has our dog been healthy since we moved her from Purina to Hill's at age two. No more skin and allergy problems, her coat is incredibly beautiful, and on and on. I believe that we've saved money and lots of time in trips to the vet over the years by going with a high quality dog food.

As for your comment regarding feces, that most likely has to do with the quality of the food, not whether it's dry or canned.

Fancy Feast for Eleanor, since she can only eat mosit food.

-- a Rhodesian ridgeback mix (Sparky,) a white lab mix (Buddy,) a black lab mix (Paco,) and a dachshund (Brutus.) We really go through the food!

I buy Iams precisely because I CAN get it at the grocery store as opposed to a separate trip to the pet store. I only give them dry food but I add water because I read that dogs, like humans, don't get enough water. We feed them twice a day and measure it to keep their weight down. Mealtime is fun as they all gather around, waiting for us to put their bowls in their designated places (I have rubber placemats to keep the bowls from sliding all over the utility room) and then they gobble it down.

Brutus has a thyroid problem so he gets medicine at each meal and we put him on the senior/diet Iams to get his weight down. He went from 23 pounds to 18 pounds and looks great! Paco tore her ACL chasing a deer and had to have surgery, so we also put her on diet Iams to get her weight down. We also give them each a rawhide chew once a day.

All of these dogs were either abandoned or given away. Sparky belonged to my daughter's friend first and already had his name when he chewed on a live plug (it was hanging out of the wall while we were remodeling) and was almost electrocuted when he was a puppy. He's three years old now and hasn't stopped growing so I sometimes wonder if that shock somehow affected his growth! :D

The six indoor cats have three dry self-feeders: one with Iams, one with MaxCat Lite, and one with the same el-cheapo (by comparison) that we feed to the ferals. They also split one 6-oz can of Friskies every evening (two cans when it's fish night).

The feral cats get el-cheapo dry -- Meow Mix, Chef's Blend, Friskies, etc. They go through a 20-lb bag about every two weeks.

for the dogs.

currently eating Trader Joe's brand of dry dog food and I split a can of moist for them each day. The canned food I use is Natural Balance and Eukanuba brands.

I shop at Trader Joe's weekly, so I am buying their dry food for convenience, but the quality of ingredients seems good too. I have to purchase the canned food at Petco.

My last dog (Lab/Shepherd mix) lived to be 16 years old and he ate Pedigree, or Purina One mostly and Alpo and Pedigree moist food. I'm spoiling these two with the higher grade (and more expensive) food, I think.

They'll eat one kind of food for a while, then turn up their noses at it. They refuse to eat ANYTHING that isn't beef flavored.

I used to feed them Pro-Plan, until they refised it. Then Beneful, until they refused it. Then Ol' Roy Kibbles, Bites and Chews (Wal-Mart's equivalent to Kibbles & Bits) moistened with Ol'Roy Beef & Liver Chunks. Now they seem to like Ol'Roy Krunchy Bites & Bones moistened with Ol'Roy Beef & Liver Chunks.

I know it's Wal-Mart. But at least they're eating......

I leave out Iams no hairball formula crunchies for my 5 cats. Everyday I split a small can of whiskas between 3 of, sometimes 4 of the cats. It is a treat and a bonding ritual that I've had with my original 3 cats long before my Cassy and Polly moved in with their mommy, my husband. Polly and Cassy turn their nose up to anything but crunchies, but sometime they just join to be part of the family.

I give them Iams because I needed an alternative to Science Diet, which was the first crunchies I used. When Science Diet was bought up by a big corporation. (Maybe colgate...it has been quite a long time since I switched so I'm not positive about this.) I worried that the quality would diminish. Also their mother company does lots of unnecessary animal testing.

As for whiskas, it also has the formula that helps cats avoid urinary tract problems. They really don't eat a whole lot of of canned food.


:hippie:

I've tried other brands. Even Sheba brand. Only Fancy Feast. :-)

it's holistic, with premium organic ingredients, and at $10 for a six pound bag, it's much cheaper than Fancy Feast per feeding. My cats used to LOVE Fancy feast, but now all three chose Artemis paws down. It's like some kind of kitty cocaine!

My late kitty peewee was a Fancy Feast fanatic too. After researching feline nutrition, I really believe that his diet played a major role in the swift progression of his Cardimyopathy, hyperthyroid and kidney diseases. I really wish I had known then what I do now about the substandard ingredients in so many popular pet foods! Fortunately for my new kittens, there are many great new options at health food stores today.

we feed her Cat Cafe for dry food

and tap the side of it with a fork to let her know that dinner's ready?

*Ting-ting-ting* Fah-ncy Feast Dah-ling?

The ingredient listed FIRST is the predominant, and in the affordable range of products, Hi Pro is the only one with beef (or whatever protein) listed first. The others have "yellow corn" or somesuch listed first.

That said, this is supposed to be for active dogs. My two, father and son, are now ancient and the peak of their activities are rolling on the floor for two minutes for the daddy and LEAPING (yeah-right) onto the chair for that 3 hour nap for the kid.

The Hi Pro yields definitely high residue poop, and moist and yellowish. Everybody had breakfast yet?

We have only had our cat a couple months now. He won't eat canned food. We tried Science Diet this week but he doesn't seem to care for it.:shrug:

Two-year old Nick gets "Lamb & Rice." Eleven-year old Sirius gets "Senior." But Nick was eating Sirius's "Senior" and Sirius was eating Nick's "Lamb & Rice," so I mix them 50-50 for both dogs now.

Our boxer has allergies to unknown antigens, so we switched to a formula that emperically gives the least allergic reactions to pets. Seems to have worked.

We also give him half a can of the wet stuff (again, Euk lamb and rice) so that we can get him to take an allergy pill each day.

The older one eats dry Alpo and any kind of moist food that is put in front of her.

The younger one (a rescue cat) was pretty small when we got her Ñ but she took one look at the food bowl and has not stopped eating since. We feed her Eukanuba "Controle du Poids" Ñ but I can't say that it has done much to control her weight. She tops out at 15 pounds. She also will not eat moist food if there is so much as a scrap of leftovers in her dish. Miss Fussbudget wants a clean dish.

ferrets.

I buy my dog/cat food at the local pet store, feed store, or Trader Joe's. I feed my dog/s senior kibble. I have a senior citizen and a yearling; I switched her off of puppy kibble near her birthday. It's convenient to feed the same kibble, and after reading the ingredients, the difference is in fat content. Since my girl doesn't get enough exercise, reduced fat content works well for her. (Aussies don't ever seem to get enough exercise.)

The senior gets a little wet food to make the joint powder more palatable; he's large and arthritic.

I don't buy the same brand all the time; there are a few I go back and forth between. Price is an issue, feeding medium and large dogs; I aim for quality at a moderate price.

Same for my cat. Kibble only. I'm always trying to get her to eat the hairball formulas; she has long hair and trouble with hair balls. She doesn't like hairball formula; with some, she'll just refuse to eat.

I haven't noticed a big difference between brands.

dry dogfood. They like it. It's 7.99 for 18 lbs.

And in the evening I give her some fresh meat with veggies and grain.
The odd piece of cheese....apple, carrot, and naturally cured rawhide bones for chewing....
I try to find a balance between convenience/something she loves/best nutrition. I give the fresh food for "freshness" of nutrients.
Hopefully she'll live forever on this diet....:D:D:D

DemEx

For those interested:
Eukanuba/Iams was negatively in the news here in recent months for animal cruelty - of all things - in testing their food.

Pet Food Cruelty Exposed
SUNDAY EXPRESS
by Lucy Johnson

A major sponsor of Crufts dog show has carried out horrific experiments on animals, it can be revealed today. Thousands of weekend holiday visitors to the famous show at the NEC in Birmingham will be shocked to learn the truth about IAMS, a pet food made by Procter and Gamble.

The Sunday Express has uncovered damning evidence of gruesome tests performed on dogs and cats during the development of the product, which is being heavily promoted at the event. IAMS has also been backed by the RSPCA - but after being told of our findings the animal welfare charity said it would sever all ties.

Last night Crufts organisers launched their own investigation and were considering removing a stand sponsored by Procter and Gamble. In supermarkets and pet shops across Britain, IAMS is being marketed as a breakthrough in animal health care and nutrition.

But our investigation as revealed that hundreds of animals suffered incredible agony in experiments designed to perfect IAMS. A huge dossier of research papers exposes how scientists deliberately induced kidney failure and other conditions in dogs and cats. Some experiments involved performing operations on healthy animals which were later killed.

Last night animal activists and MPs condemned the research.

Campaigner and comedy writer Carla Lane said:

"It is horrifying to think people are buying pet food that involves so much experimentation. You don't have to harm animals to find out what's good for them to eat."

And Liberal Democrat MP Norman Baker said:

"It's ironic to say the least that a company which purports to care for animal is conducting abhorrent animal experiments behind closed doors. Perhaps they should list their experiments on their labels and then see how much they sell."
--------snip-----------------
http://www.uncaged.co.uk/iamsexpress.htm


How you can help to stop the suffering
BOYCOTT IAMS
Boycott IAMS/Eukanuba and other Procter & Gamble products. Global Boycott P&G Day VIII is on Saturday 22nd May 2004.
http://www.uncaged.co.uk/iamsaction.htm

Now I find from you post that Iams is owned by Procter and Gamble. I have to decide whether to have half my house rebuilt or to tear it down and have the whole thing built over. I didn't need an other decision to make at the time. Anyone have a good suggestion about a good Iams alternative?

:hippie:

Acts like it's something freshly killed and slinks away.

:shrug:

She was the main can lover, and Fancy Feast was her can of choice.

I give them dry California Natural chicken - it's basically chicken & rice. One of my cats has a chronic illness, so I stopped feeding them a lot of additives and went to this brand. They really like it and it seems to agree with them. They make dog food too. :hi:

eats Fancy Feast Trout flavor canned food, Friskies chicken dinner and gravy (MUST be the sliced kind, not tender cuts or any other form) and Whiskas original recipe dry cat food. Over the years (he's 9 years old now) I would try other brands/flavors thinking he surely was getting tired of the same thing all the time, but he refuses to eat anything other than the above.

my cats aren't as wild about the taste as the others I listed below, but the ingredients are just as good! :thumbsup:

Steve's raw food diet is another great option.

and a 3-way mix of Totally Ferret, and the FerretStore's Original and Natural blends for the ferts!

Innova...anything that doesn't contain meat by-products,corn, artificial color, lots of rice, peanut hulls, etc. Most of the ingredients in the foods I buy are organic, too. When my kitty Peewee died last year and I got two new kittens, I made it my mission to find out more about animal nutrition (poor nutrition causes a host of illnesses and diseases). I discovered that Science diet, Nutro, Eukanuba, Iams, etc. had many ingredients that could actually be harmful in the long run (and I thought I had been doing the best by my cats by giving them those foods)! Online research guided me to better choices. I've seen a HUGE change in my 15 year old kitty's health since I've made the change, too; Miro has lost weight, and now runs around the house and plays with the kittens! His coat is glossier and he doesn't throw up any more. I wish I had known about homopathic /organic and natural feline nutrition when I had my sweet Peewee-he may still be with me if I did!

BTW- I call Artemis Fresh Mix holistic feline formula(a dry food) kitty cocaine; they love it over their junkie pounce treats! All three cats prefer Artemis kibble over ANY canned food as well. Good thing Artemis is coming out with a canned food soon. They also make canine formulas in wet and dry.

it's a great brand...have to buy at stockman's supply as live in remote area.

supplement with lots of carrots and cottage cheese.
12 yr old golden retriever amazes vet. Puppy (cavalier king charles) is doing fab. Carrots are like treats for them.

Cat just gets the same brand for cats.

Science Diet, dry... occasionally, I'll give them a half-can of wet (same brand) mixed in with a lot of water, at least equal parts water and food. Keeps my kitties hydrated and happy.

so they get Science Diet W/D (for weight loss...it doesn't work for that but they are healthy!)for their wet food. I have to get it at the vet's office.

For dry food they get Nature's Recipe Adult formula. Get it at PetCo.

Millenium Beef... but my distributor went out of business. I switched over to Iams, after I found that they had changed their rendering company.

He shows much more energy, a nicer coat and we're seeing the same as you are re:bowel movements.

have friends who are totally into this... http://www.goodpet.com/library/recipes.html

too time consuming for me... but we try. Have been shocked at reading ingredients of dog food in grocery stores however...chicken..is usually chicken beaks and feet.

Acquaintance has rendering plant and sells to Purina...my husband has seen him picking up road kill routinely...no wonder license plate reads "grease" ugh.

There are a lot of sites out there that sell guaranteed quality food...used Science Diet until reading horror stories about them as well..very disappointing.

for my pups. They're worth it :-)
http://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/products/UltDog.html

Originally picked Nutro because one of my dogs was allergic to a lot of things and Nutro was one of few that we could give him. Based on the label it seems to be quality stuff.

We usta feed Solid Gold but the dogs lost interest. We fed Wellness after that, that is a fantastic food (it actually smelled good to me) but again, the picky dogs lost interest. Canidae seems to be working fine. The older and heavier ones are eating Canidae Platinum (for older or overweight dogs).

Read the ingredient panels. Compare. Figure out if you'd rather feed your pets the equivalent of Fast Food, or something better.

I used to work in the pet industry, and we had salespeople visit all the time telling us why their food was better than everything else. Oh, and it's always interesting to learn what the terms on the label actually mean. Know the difference between viscera and by-products? Poultry and Chicken? Know what "Meat" is? Anyway, enough incoherent rambling.

Otherwise he goes around eating his own "poopsicles" The vet said it had to do with the lack of good nutritional value of the cheaper brands, and he appears to be right.

My cat always has a constant supply of dry food and water, PLUS one small can of wet ever morning. (What she doesn't eat the dog does).

My bird... seeds, water and Doritios

And Guniea Pig .... Pellets, water and many various veggies.

:hi: Allen!

stuff ever. Keeps my boys from being fat and flatulent. Five dachsies being flatulent at the same time is lethal.

:hi: Mary

like I said earlier...have "acquaintance" who sells to dog food producers....rendering plant he has..what do you think vets do with euthanized dogs? Your dog will eat carcasses of cancer ridden or sick animals. Get over Science Diet..

http://www.api4animals.org/79.htm

We have two chihuahuas who won't eat anything but.

These are the only two brands available near me.

I have my two cats on Whiskas kitten formula (because they don't carry the Friskies kitten formula) but I'm wondering if I should switch in a few months when they move to adult cat food.

My impression is that these are both pretty bad brands, but does anyone know if one is more nutritious than the other?

Thanks.

Cat food is expensive... and I refuse to spend more on her dinner than on mine! She prefers the wet food over the dry, of course (she starts howling every time I get out the can opener, even if the contents of the can I'm opening are obviously not for her). But she does like this "Special Kitty" brand - it's chewier and more moist than your average dry cat food. I usually get it at Wal-Mart (yeah, I know, but I can't afford to boycott the place at this stage in my life) for about 2.25 for a 2.5(?)lb. bag.

Purina One "urinary health" mixed with Purina One "hairball control" but Purina "dental care".

On the rare occasions that I give the cats wet food, I buy Sheba.