Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi,

I have a question for you guys, I just adopted an 8 year old Siberian a few weeks ago. I took him in to the vet for his yearly checkup and the vet asked what I was feeding him , and I told her the previous owner told me he fed him Ol Roy dog food because he liked it. She said I may want to feed him a better quality food like Iams. I did some research on line and what I found out was that the ingredients in Iams were a lower quality than Ol Roy . Can someone please suggest a good quality dog food for an 8 year old , still energenic pooch.

Thanks for your help.

My dad feeds his Rottie mix Ole Roy and it just breaks my heart.

I feed my 5 month old pup Innova. She loves it. Its not cheap stuff but she does well on it. If you go to the Innova website www.naturapet.com, they have a comparison tool where you can compare up to 4 different foods at once.

My best advice to you is to pick out a dog food that does not have Corn as one of the first few ingredients. Look for the first ingredient to be a meat of some kind.

Good luck.

Period.
The stuff is nothing but a cheap filler ingredient and most are allergic to it. In fact when you switch a dog to a food without corn from corn they detoxify for a few weeks.
I found with my husky(Duke) to get him immediately on to a holistic brand, then add raw diet (cant beat it, awesome results with raw).
The breeder I got Duke from used a brand sold through farmer markets in 2 states only that I new of. It had corn in it, I switched him to chicken-soup-for-the-puppy-lovers-soul dryfood and a noticeable improvement, his stool solidified alot right away compared to what is was at first.
After weeks of loose stools but not really diareha, and the vets meds did not do the trick either.
I started to add 6 ounces of raw diet to his chicken soup dry every day because a few hours after his first 6 ounces of raw diet the loose stool was gone, since then he eats half and half.
The results are amazing, his coat is so soft, so shiny, and his colors and pattern are amazing now.
The raw diet detoxified his system, no adverse affects, not having to slowly mix it with anything. Just the same amount as usual every day.
I do also use this canned meat from Innova called Innova Evo rabbit or venison. It does great in his system, he inhales it with dryfood fast. The stuff is expensive but 95% rabbit or venison, or duck, etc meat, whichever type you buy.
9 months old, 56 lbs already, tall, thin and fast.

These 2 are inseperable, the trouble brothers. They are great together, Scooby is a BIG tough cat by the way. One of a few dogs that have ever met him and dont run scared from him.

I know dogs (sadly) that are fed Ole Roy. They absolutely love it. Who knows what they put in it....we probably dont want to know. When switched to a better quality food the transition can be slow.

I would however suggest that you switch slowy, like over the course of a week or even two. Slowly mix and increase the ratio of new higher quality food. Watch for upset tummy with dog.

Out of ignorance an in a pinch I had to feed my puppy ole roy for 3 feedings. (a day and half). I dont know what it is about it, but he loved it. The down side was the HUGE amount of poo that he produced in comparison to his normal meal. Not a torn up tummy, but large volume...Leading me to believe that there must be absolutely no useable nutients in that food. He is normally on Science Diet Large Breed for Puppies.

Vet trip was this week. 14 weeks old and 22.1 lbs.
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Matt

You want to look for a food that has meat as the first 2 ingredients, at least. You should avoid fillers like corn (a lot of dogs are allergic to corn anyways). Also, avoid ‘animal meal’ (think mystery meat!!) Premium foods might seem expensive, but cheap food contains a lot of filler, so you end up feeding more. I fostered a 130lbs Great Pyrenees who had been eating 12 cups of Dog Chow a day. When we switched him to Natural Balance, he was down to eating 6 cups!
Some quality foods are Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover’s Soul, Natural Balance, Wellness, Innova, Canidae… It's worth it to feed premium in my opinion. Poor food can cause skin problems, dull coats, and 'doggy odor'.
Here’s a grading system for food that was posted in another forum I frequent:

Giving Dry Dog Food a Grade:
Start with a grade of 100:
For every listing of "by-product", subtract 10 points
For every non-specific animal source ("meat" or "poultry", meat, meal or fat) reference, subtract 10 points
If the food contains BHA, BHT, or ethoxyquin, subtract 10 points
For every grain "mill run" or non-specific grain source, subtract 5 points
If the same grain ingredient is used 2 or more times in the first five ingredients (i.e. "ground brown rice", "brewer’s rice", "rice flour" are all the same grain), subtract 5 points
If the protein sources are not meat meal and there are less than 2 meats in the top 3 ingredients, subtract 3 points
If it contains any artificial colorants, subtract 3 points
If it contains ground corn or whole grain corn, subtract 3 points
If corn is listed in the top 5 ingredients, subtract 2 more points
If the food contains any animal fat other than fish oil, subtract 2 points
If lamb is the only animal protein source (unless your dog is allergic to other protein sources), subtract 2 points
If it contains soy or soybeans, subtract 2 points
If it contains wheat (unless you know that your dog isn’t allergic to wheat), subtract 2 points
If it contains beef (unless you know that your dog isn’t allergic to beef), subtract 1 point
If it contains salt, subtract 1 point
Extra Credit:
If any of the meat sources are organic, add 5 points
If the food is endorsed by any major breed group or nutritionist, add 5 points
If the food is baked not extruded, add 5 points
If the food contains probiotics, add 3 points
If the food contains fruit, add 3 points
If the food contains vegetables (NOT corn or other grains), add 3 points
If the animal sources are hormone-free and antibiotic-free, add 2 points
If the food contains barley, add 2 points
If the food contains flax seed oil (not just the seeds), add 2 points
If the food contains oats or oatmeal, add 1 point
If the food contains sunflower oil, add 1 point
For every different specific animal protein source (other than the first one; count "chicken" and "chicken meal" as only one protein source, but "chicken" and "turkey" as 2 different sources), add 1 point
If it contains glucosamine and chondroitin, add 1 point
If the vegetables have been tested for pesticides and are pesticide-free, add 1 point

94-100+ = A 86-93 = B 78-85 = C 70-77 = D

Check out this website it's Amazing!! It should help alot.
http://www.mordanna.com/dogfood/

Great site! Thanks for the link! I bookmarked it!