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Dog Food ?
We had originally been feeding our german shepherd Beneful as we just assumed it was good based on commercials and what not. In my defense, my grandfather fed his dogs Ol Roy for years so at least I was a step up from that. When we got our dobie mix her owners were feeding her Diamond. Noticing that it was well priced and the first inredient was meat we decided to start buying that and switched our german shepherd over. So, someone tell me about Diamond because I am noticing that people don't talk about it much. I need something well priced but healthy because I'm feeding 3 dogs ATM. As part of the compensation to my in-laws for letting me stay in the apartment attached to their house while DH is deployed I'm feeding their german shepherd as well. So, I guess what I'm asking is does my food actually suck and what is a healthy and well priced food for large breed dogs? FIL is pretty flexible with what his dog eats.
Re: Dog Food ?
If I remember correctly, Diamond has had a *LOT* of recalls in the last few years. I feed Taste of the Wild, which is one of the most reasonably priced of the better dog foods. I'd go on dogfoodanalysis.com and try to find a food that is 4 stars or better.
Also, keep in mind that while the bag of food may cost more, the guidelines for feeding have you feed less since it's more calorie-dense, so many times it can be even less expensive than grocery store food on a monthly basis.
GL!
big step up from beneful, but there are a lot of diamond brands, and some are better than others. i believe...diamond natural's is decent? i look for no corn, no wheat, no soy, and no menedione (this'll be near the end of the list). meat should be named (beef, chicken, lamb), not mystery meat. "meal" is fine if it's named (chicken meal is fine, "animal meal" is not).
but as another poster said, there have been lots of diamond recalls. pretty much any time there's been an aflotoxin recall, the diamond foods with corn in it have been involved. the higher end diamond foods have not, but it makes you worry about quality control in general with the company.
good foods that are easier on budget minded pockets are chicken soup for the dog lover's soul, canidae, healthwise, or kirkland signature (from costco).
Have you seen my monkey?
I think this site is a good starting point because it gives stars for quality and $ for price, so you can get a good idea what's a good value.
http://www.petfoodratings.net/dogs.html
5 cats. 1 baby.
I used to feed my lab and large mix dog diamond and they did really well on it. I started my current dog on it and she was allergic to something in it, which I believe was the chicken. I switched her to Taste of the Wild, but the Lamb formula. Her tummy troubles went away and she gained some needed lbs. TOTW is owned by Diamond, is what I was told at the pet store, so I wouldn't think quality control would be any different... but I can't say I've researched it on my own.
Recently I switched her to Purina dog chow though because the TOTW, like a lot of the Diamond and other big name foods, gets expensive. My dad suggested Purina because he has known of many breeders feeding it and endorsing it, and has also decided to switch to Purina from Diamond with good results. He has been a long time dog enthusiast and is very knowledgeable in general so I tend to just trust his advice on these things. But I think there are more affordable options out there that I would give a try first.
I'm sure you know, but just in case... be sure to mix foods for a while. Never just swap on them overnight.
More affordable and better quality. I wouldn't classify anything "good quality" that has corn as the first ingredient.
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/
showproduct.php/product/1843
::gag:: Purina Dog Chow's FIRST ingredient is ground corn, then chicken by-product meal (basically, the leftover CRAP after processing human-grade chicken meat, that then goes through further chemical processing to make it "safe" for animal use), then MORE corn, then WHEAT!
Corn is not terribly digestible by animals and is a useless and low-quality filler. Wheat is a major allergen in many dogs. The food is cheap for a reason.
You'll see far better skin and fur health, clearer eyes, and fewer health problems (most likely) if you feed a kibble with a NAMED meat/meat meal (the meat minus the water content, so a meal is denser and there's more of it than a straight meat) as the first one or two ingredients. Rice or barley are better grains to be included than corn or wheat, or you can look for something grain free (like PPs have mentioned with TOTW).
B/w 1/8: betas 17,345, progesterone 25.6
I have a skinny friend who eats crappy junk and drinks like a fish. I sort of equate the above situation to that... would you call her healthy b/c she looks fine? I think in the end the crap she puts in her body will likely catch up with her, and I think the same can be true for animals as well.