what do you feed? - Page 2

I feed blue buffalo wilderness. I was feeding my beagle castro & pollux but also discontinued. Not bad results but I have put both my beagle and shepherd on blue wilderness and no complaints. I switched from raw due to price and I wasnt on top of my game with preparing meals and such. But I loved feeding my dogs raw but my beagle seemed to loose weight on raw.
Reggie

 I am feeding Wellness. Core (grain free) for the adults. Large Puppy for the pups, and for my allergic male its the Salmon and rice.

All dogs do very well on it, and after trying several other kibbles before, this to me is the best of all. Is it expensive....oh yeah! I am just done trying TOTW pacific stream to maybe save some money. Got to feed 6 dogs after all! But after 4 weeks of cleaning up mushy poops, and the dogs now starting to refuse to eat it, I am done. Will return the last bag today.

My allergic male is on the Salmon and rice from Wellness. He has done exceptional well on it. No itching, flare ups, hot spots, raw skin around the muzzle and loss of hair. Finding a food was a nightmare until I hit this one. Not even the limited ingredients from Natural Balance worked for him, even though its the same when you compare. Someone told me that NB is spraying its kibble with chicken fat and its not written on the label. This would explain that he didnt do well on it as chicken is on top of his allergy list. One 30lbs bag last me an entire month as you have to feed so much less. And no vet visits for antibiotics ect! Its worth the money to me. Food bill for 6 dogs on Wellness is about $280 a month.

I rarely give calcium supplements  but I do give meat with alot of bone in it so ´they get enough of the calcium and the other things they need to keep bones in good shape

I feed my dogs 3 times a week very rarely 4 times

"I just saw Nature's Domain at Costco's the other day, was interested in it because it's grain free but it's new so I don't quite trust it, and the meat content is pretty much zero if you look at it."

The first ingredient is salmon meal:  http://www.naturesdomainpetfood.com/about-natures-domain

Here's a review of Nature's Domain:
http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/natures-domain-dog-food/

ggturner, in dog food the first ingredient is over 70% water, so the second ingredient is actually first.

For the dog with allergies, if you can afford it I'd try Wellness CORE Ocean, like the other poster suggested and supplement with at the very least salmon oil, probiotics and enzymes....I had a dog with severe allergies, took her to vets for years, spent over $2000, after I got her on these supplements she never had another breakout and it didn't even matter what kind of kibble I used and kelp has virtually every vitamin and mineral in it, same with alfalfa but I use alfalfa in moderation because of bloat...you don't need a calcium supplement unless there is a deficiency but if you are going to use it, get Ester C.

Studying animal nutrition for 6 years.

California Natural is also good with allergies and has grain free formulas.

LOL...Harasymtzuk!   I tried the Wellness Core Ocean (fish) as well and its a really great food. But....dear Lord.... it stinks to heaven and the dogs breath is gonna put you in a coma! ;)

The one thing I do not like about the California Natural is that the fat content is very low... my dogs lost weight on this food.

Another food that I do switch to alot with my female, Xena, is the AvoDerm chicken and rice formula. I will get a couple bags when it is on sale. The ingredience are very similar to the Kirkland. The Kirkland brand does seem to have a little more fat content though... and also a little more oil to it. I do like that.. my female does have a BEAUTIFUL coat on her now..

I looked at the Natures Domain and honestly was not that impressed with it. I have seen a couple dogs that are fed the Natures Domain and their coats for the most part seem ok..

My goodness itt does smell HORRIBLE, but that's proof it has a llot of fish in it!! 

My girl did great on it but I have a lot of mouths to feed, I liked Canidae until they changed it, used Chicken Soup for a while but stopped liking it.  Professional dog food is one kibble I haven't had a problem with and I have 2 Siberian Huskies too.  

I like Wellness CORE because the ash content is lower then Evo and it's not so high in protein....not  comfortable with giving puppies such high protein/fat since you want them to grow slowly and not have lots of pressure on their joints plus some grain free kibble is very high in calcium, the last thing you want to give your growing Shepherd is a lot of calcium it can lead to more then just bone/joint problems and diseases, their joints are fragile enough as it is until they are 1 year of age.  I give all of the supplements I listed to my dogs including puppies.....I just can't afford raw around here.

Jyl, if you want fat and protein....look into Professional Active formula, it too is similiar to Kirklands but for some reason my dogs didn't do well with it.  30% protein, 20% fat with some glucosamine/chondroitin.

If you want fish oil, get Wholistic Salmon Oil, great quality, and your dog will only need a half a teaspoon to a teaspoon per day, great price, a half a gallon lasts 5 dogs plus some puppies several months.