Dog and Cat Food ~ What Do You Feed?

we use blue buffalo basics as one of my dogs has food allergies. I havent noticed any difference so if they sold and got cheaper i better not be paying 60 bucks for a bag of dog food.

We only feed grain free for many reasons, and prefer Wellness CORE - I order from wag.com, makes life very easy :)

Purina ONE is a pretty low-quality food, as is Iams. There are a lot of better foods out there, but it depends what you want to spend. Both Purina ONE and Iams are better quality foods than Walmart Brand or something like that, but there are some very high-quality foods available for your animals, but you'll pay for it. There are also middle-of-the-road foods that are going to cost you more than Purina but less than Blue Buffalo.

Things you want to look at in both dog and cat foods are:

Where is is made? After several Made in China petfoods poisoned a bunch of dogs several years ago, I began buying Made in America foods only.

Does the food contain corn? This is a particular problem in dog foods. Dogs cannot correctly digest corn, and so foods that contain corn tend to be very high on filler and low on nutrition.

Does the food contain animal byproducts? "Byproduct" is basically industry code for parts of the animal that cannot be called "meat," such as beaks, toenails, hooves, etc. Once again, these things contain very little nutritional value and are mostly filler.

Is the food high in protein? If you're not sure, compare it to several other foods in the pet aisle. Cats in particular require a very high-protein food with as few fillers as possible.

Does the food contain grains? Dogs struggle to digest most grains, with the exception of rice. Rice, however, has almost no nutritional value. So basically, any grains are just more filler.

I used to feed Blue Buffalo, which is a very good food and priced to match. Now, I feed Taste of the Wild, which is a bit cheaper with the same amount of protein. These are both upper-end foods, and come highly recommended from the animal experts I work with.

But I pay a lot for my pets' food. A lot a lot! Frankly, it makes our budget considerably tighter, and not everyone wants to spend their money that way (and that's okay!) A decent medium-quality food is Nutro. Some Science Diet is good, and some is pretty low-quality for dogs, so make sure you check ingredients again (I've heard that their cat food is actually very good). If you buy your pet food from a pet-supply store instead of a grocery store, the staff there should be able to tell you several good middle-of-the-road foods, and they should be able to tell you why certain foods are better than others.

Good luck!

Blue Buffalo for my beagle, Goodlife Recipe for my cat. I used the feed Iams but our vet cautioned us on the high fat content.

In general, I stick with brands that are only found in pet supply stores, rather than at grocery stores. Some favorites amongst our clients and staff where I work include Blue Buffalo, Wellness, Innova, Taste of the Wild, Nature's Recipe, Science Diet, Eukanuba, Royal Canin, and Pro Plan.

Some people look down on ingredients like chicken meal, by-products, corn and soy, but these things are not "bad" per se. "By-products" are not necessarily beaks and feathers and legally, such parts cannot make up a significant portion of the food. By-products are those bits and pieces that humans usually don't want to consume themselves, but still have nutritional value, such as spleens and lungs. In the wild, if the dog had to survive by hunting, it would eat everything, including internal organs. But if makes people feel better to be getting a food that says no by-products or no corn/soy, there's nothing wrong with that. And some dogs, if they happen to have certain food allergies or intolerances, may do better on a diet that is free of these ingredients, or is grain-free and uses other foods as sources of carbs/starch (like potato or sweet potato), or uses unique sources of protein, like salmon or venison. But that is because of the dog, not that the other diets are poor quality.

I typically recommend people feed the best food they can afford - if the best they can do is Purina Dog Chow, that's okay. If your pet is on Iams and not having any digestive issues or other problems, that's okay. I do tell them though to stay away from really crappy food - including Kibbles and Bits, and Walmart and other generic store-brand foods. If their pet does end up developing a problem that needs to be addressed by changing their diet, such as bladder stones or skin allergies, it's usually a prescription veterinary diet that I am going to be recommending.

Check out http://dogfoodanalysis.com or http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/ they are great sites that help you find great dog foods for your needs/budget. If you can't afford the best, go next best. Iams and purina are no good :( iams is just a fancy form of the same thing Purina is. Honestly, my family fed Purina one to our first dog.. Not knowing any better. My current Dog is on taste of the wild-and I've tried nutro, blue buffalo and others on the good dog food list. You would not believe the difference it makes in overall health, happiness, well-being and coat/smelliness, shedding and even the consistency of poop and the reduction of scooting! Good luck! Thanks so much for posting and being open to change!

oh yes MUCH better than those. Iams and Purina one are just dressed up versions of the cheeper foods. look at the ingredants.
We feed Simply Nourish from petsmart to the dogs and pet fresh vitals refrigerated food to the cat. Pet fresh is 90% meat which is what cats need they are carnivores. I had to go to wet food because my cat got a UTI from eating only dry food. Cat's don't have a natural thirst so they need the wet food to make up for that.

Our dogs get Hills Science Diet light, small bites (dry). It is about $45 a bag at Petco. I buy 2 bags at a time and I have a bin with a tight lid and keep it in the pantry.

I also spoil my babies... I always add a touch of beef or chicken broth, or rice to their dinner.

When they are sick for any reason, they get boiled hamburger with rice. My vet told me about that and they love it.

My schnoodle (doggie) eats Blue Buffalo lamb formula and loves it. That being said I recently read something negative about Blue Buffalo (did they sell and go down in quality??).

We used to feed her a commercial raw (Nature's Variety) but she seemed to burn out on it. She also doesn't tolerate fatty cuts of meat (beef).

I avoid any foods with wheat grain.

We feed Blue Buffalo. One of our dogs has a very sensitive tummy. It's one of the only foods that doesn't make her sick.

We feed our two cats Blue Buffalo indoor formula.

I used to think that just feeding dry food was okay until I did a lot of my own research. There is no way the dog is getting enough nutrients from dry food (well, real nutrients; yes, they can get "nutrients" if the company adds a lot of additional vitamins and minerals to the food. But then that's add in and isn't "real food"). And if you're only feeding dry, the dog isn't getting enough moisture/water content either.

The best diet is homemade raw--but that takes a lot of knowledge, skill, know-how as well as time commitment.

Also, just like humans, dogs and cats can become allergic to the food(s) they eat if they get fed the same food (either chicken, or the same brand, like Friskies) over and over and over again. Like us, they like variety. I am constantly giving my dog different canned meat to eat (buffalo, salmon, lamb, beef, chicken, fish, pork, pheasant, rabbit). Even with her dry food, I'll feed her the same brand/company but pick out a different flavor. She's currently eating a fish variety; next time it might be beef or chicken (and it's usually a mixture of 3-5 different meats together).

I do the exact same thing for my cat.

That way, both the cat and the dog keep interested in food/what they're eating because they keep getting to experience different flavors as well as they're getting different nutrients with each of the different meat(s) they're eating.

For my dog (and cat), she gets wet food (canned) with dry food mixed in. About 1/3 c of wet food with 1/4 c (or less) of dry food, 2x/day. All food, whether wet or dry, is grain free and the highest quality meat the pet food companies make (meaning no meal, no filler, no byproducts, just solid, real meat). I buy her food at a high-end pet store. I also supplement with supplements specifically for my dog (and cat) from vitalityscience.com: vitamins & minerals, a Flex-joint supplement for her trick knee, dental Probiotics, krill oil, Bentonite clay (to detoxify), and an anti-inflammatory (helps her with allergies/foot licking).

The dry food I currently feed my dog (a miniature Schnoodle) is called Pulsar. It is grain free (they use peas and lentils instead) and is made in Canada. I went with this one to help control my dog's weight as she's getting older and slowing down.

For wet (canned) food I use all grain free products from companies like Evanger's, dave's grain free dog food, EVO the ancestral diet, Wellness, Nature's Variety, Canidae, and California Natural.

If we have any leftover meat we haven't eaten, that sometimes gets sprinkled on top of her food as a treat.

My dog turns 8 years old on March 20; I changed how I was feeding her five years ago, when she was 3 years old, to a grain free, all meat diet (no byproducts). She rarely goes to the vet. Considering how much a simple vet bill is these days, I would rather spend the money on good quality food and supplements than let her get sick and have to spend money on vet bills.

Really, it comes down to how much you can (and are willing) to spend on your pet's food. I already spend a lot on the organic, allergen-free food we eat; since we consider the dog and cat part of our family, it only makes sense to feed them the best we can afford as well.

Our cat has an auto immune disease (Feline Gingivitis Stomatitis Complex)--he gets grain free, good food and probiotics and supplements as well. The only way I've found to keep his auto immune dis-ease in check (and not having to run to the vet when he gets sick and/or put him on pharma drugs) is to make sure he has a very good diet. He turned 7 years old today and has only had 2 outbreaks of the Gingivitis/Stomatitis--and both of those were before I put him on the protocol I have him on.

So feeding and supplementing well does make a difference.

Royal Canin.

We fed Purina One at one point, and the cats would shed and shed. Then switched to Iams, which they didn't like. Then to Eukanuba. Didn't like it either. Then to Blue Buffalo....they liked it, but it has too much magnesium in it for older cats and causes struvite crystals.

Finally switched to Royal Canin. The cats LOVE it, and we feed the lower magnesium type.

Dog also gets Royal Canin for medium breeds.

Cats get the cheap stuff...but my dog has allergies and I LOVE LOVE him so he gets some uber expensive stuff, can't think of the name but I can see the bag in my minds eye! Ha!

Only dry food here too!

We fed my lab Science Diet for about 9 years and then switched to Iams on recommendation of a vet tech. Now both dogs eat Iams.

The cat usuallly has Iams.

I get my Cats Iams for seniors 11+ and I get my dog Iams Large Breed.

My cats get Purina Cat Chow. My dog gets Purina Fit n Trim - he's a little overweight and I' trying to get him back down to where he needs to be.

We only feed our dog Hill Science Diet. Our previous dog was 15 1/2 yrs old when she passed away and I truly believe she lived so long because we only gave her Science Diet. Our current dog gets the same thing. She's almost 3 and is in perfect health...beautiful shiny coat).
I get $5 coupons for Petsmart (get them on eBay cheap), buy only when it's on sale and it only costs us $35 for 6 months (she's a 8 lb Yorkie/poodle mix).

My cats eat either Friskies or Whiskas canned food and dry food, whichever is on sale or I have a better coupon for.

We feed our cat a Urinary Tract health formula. Both dry and wet food.

We stick with Purina One. I know there are better ones out there, but our dog is a large breed (so we have to buy in quantity, not the little 8 lb bags, lol) and she has a finicky stomach. She isn't all that picky about her chow---she isn't as food driven as many dogs--she will do anything for attention though--but is particular about her treats. Raw meat, only a few cheeses, and then dried liver (freeze dried actual liver). She is not a fan of peanut butter even.

We tried to switch her over to a high end natural food once years ago (and I only added a little to a regular dish--not a total switch all at once, I'm not stupid)... and ended up taking her to the vet for a $30 dose of herbs (oral) to calm her stomach. She had diarrhea so bad I couldn't leave the house... I had to take her out every 2 hours, around the clock. It was awful. My husband made me swear to never change her food again.

And frankly, we can't afford $50/bag food for her. We already spend around $50/month on her medications (pheno for seizures/and soloxine for thyroid).

We feed a combination of Science Diet and Fancy Feast wet food. Our cats are different ages, so one gets an indoor young adult variety and the other gets indoor/senior/hairball (I mix 2 kinds). We shop at PetValu so that we can earn points and get a coupon every couple of trips. And I avoid places that sell animals anyway.

I feed my cats Natural Balance. They were on Purina ProPlan when we got them but their skin seemed to be dry and fur was dull. They looooove the Natural Balance and they look much healthier, with nice coats.