DOG FOOD... what to feed?? (post 2 of 2)

Ok, someone asked me what I recommend as a good dog food. I thought it was an important question so I figured why not make a post about it so other can chime in.

I am not a dog nutritionist or a vet but I know what my dogs do good on. I know some people think the most expensive dog food in the world or all natural or this or that is the best but to each their own.

I feed my dogs Dad's dog food. It is #1. locally produced in the US. #2. family owned business #3. uses US produced ingredients. It is not by any means the top of the line. However, I have had dogs for 31 years and my parents have had dogs for nearly 70 years and this is what we have always fed them. The dogs have shinny coats, healthy teeth and bright eyes. I have never had a dog with a food allergy including any of my rescue dog get sick on Dad's AND because I do have so many rescue dogs coming and going Dad's seems to be very easy on their stomach. You never know what crap / garbage or lack of food a dog has had prior to coming into my rescue and I have never had a dog with stomach issues at my house.

I even have heard of a few breeders recommending Dad's.

Now Dad's has several varieties of dog food. The one I feed is Bite Size Meal. So, I am only speaking for that one.....

When choosing a dog food you always want the first 2 out of 3 ingredients to be some type of meat. Or if you can get a dog food with 3 out of 3 that is even better. More then likely you are only feed 1, 2 or 3 dogs. You have to remember I feed 4 everyday BUT usually have 6 - 10 extra at my house. Hence Dad's is affordable :-)

Anyway so you really want to see meat as the first few ingredients when feeding your dog. Now sometimes people get Lamb and Rice formula or Chicken and Rice or Chicken and Oatmeal.. if that is the case then those two things should be the first 2 ingredients!

You really want to stay away from soybean meal, ground wheat flour, corn syrup, wheat middlings, sugar..... those type of things
all those things are nothing but fillers. Corn is filler as well but I don't' really think corn is all that bad.. I have never heard of a dog being allergic to corn but I have heard them being allergic to flour and wheat and sugar.

You will notice that the better dog food you feed your dog the less he/she has to use the bathroom.

Someone said to me that there dog poops 5 times a day. They aren't sure how one dog can poop so much. I asked "what are you feeding" Alpo, she said. I told her she is better off feeding shredded news paper. Alpo is nothing more then a bunch of fillers so of course your dog is going to poop more... nothing in the food is of nutritional value. So, think of it this way... you sit down for dinner and eat a BIG bag of Doritos's or you sit down and eat a salad, a steak, corn and some mashed potatoes. Ok, now tell me which one makes you feel like CRAP? Now you know how your dog feels.

It is funny if you google dog food almost every brand you can get the nutritional label except for Alpo. They do not have the nutritional label listed...

Honestly if I had the money the dog food I would feed my dogs would be Natural Choice by Nutru. I really do think that it has best ingredients. But with feeding 20 dogs at any given time that really isn't in my budget!

And a few more helpful things (at least I think they are helpful) to think about:

#1. Do not go with what the label on the bag says to feed your dog. It is probably TOO MUCH FOOD. Remember they want to sell dog food! My rule of thumb is if your dog is too skinny add a little, too fat take a little away until you can find a happy medium. It is important that you can't see a dogs ribs or back bone but they still need to have a waist, if that makes sense.

#2. NEVER EVER EVER FEED people food or soft dog food. VERY BAD! Dogs can not brush their teeth and when you feed soft food to them it gets stuck in their teeth and decays. It then causes a cavity which then gets all infected and they get a gum disease which then gives them a blood disease and which shuts down their liver and kidneys are your dog dies a horrible painful slow death. So, really is feeding your dog a potato chip really worth it?

#3. Milk bones are very good for their teeth. Raw hides are not so great. They are dipped in formaldehyde... yes what the preserve dead bodies with. Do you really want your dog eatting that?

#4. If your dog is over weight cut his/her food in half but to make it so the dog doesn't feel hungry make the other half of his / her normal food green beans. Yes, canned green beans are perfectly fine for a dog and a great diet method :-)

#5. Carrots are a healthy snack for a dog too. Not too many but a piece of a large raw carrot or some small bite sized ones are good for them. And most dogs love carrots.

#6. Remember in the winter your dog is less active so slim down on the food a bit and then increase in the summer when their and your activity level increases!


Well I hope this helped and please feel free to add a comment on what type of food you think is best and why! It is always good to get different points of view.