Let's Talk About Alternatives Here... - Page 4

I have spent days researching online, interviewing other breeders and trainers, monitoring various boards and e-mail lists. My head was spinning faster than usual for awhile, I must admit. Also, I am amazed at how much truly wacked out BS is "out there," apparently dreamed up by and for other wackos... but I digress. I was searching for a high quality dogfood with no wheat or corn gluten, human-grade meat/poultry/fish meal as the primary protein sources, probiotics, enough OMega 3 & 6 fatty acids and other coat conditioning agents for top bloom (shiny, healthy coat) ideal calcium to phosphorous ratio, not too expensive and not too difficult to find. And the winners (in my book) ARE: Canidae All Life Stage for everything over 2 yrs. old Canidae Platinum for 6.5 yr. old stud dog (easy keeper) Canidae ALS with some Innova EVO for pregnant/lactating females, puppies and young adults in hard training. Gabi already got the runs from changing over to EVO (from Euk Premium Peformance) too quickly, poor dear. Carol got me up once or twice to go outside the first 2 nights after introducing Canidae Platinum (from Euk Reduced Calorie formula) but seems ok now. The puppies seem to have cast iron digestive tracts... now up to 50% EVO, moving from Eukanuba Premium Performance. Will start replacing the Euk with Canidae ALS (for eventual 50-50 Canidae & EVO) when I pick up the Canidae tomorrow. Young adults all still on Royal Canin GS. Also moving to Canidae this week. I'll let you all know my take on the results in a month or two. SS

Be careful Shelley, I swear I read somewhere that Innova EVO is not suitable for pregnant/lactating females or for puppies.. don't know why but that's always the first thing I look for...

"Is EVO Dog Food appropriate to feed to my large breed puppy? No. We would not recommend feeding EVO premium dog food to a large/giant breed puppy. There are specific Natura products which are intentionally designed for the proper nutritional support of growing puppies with projected mature weights in excess of 60 lbs. EVO was not designed for this purpose. For the large breed puppy, the growth rate must be optimized, not maximized, and the mineral balance must be tightly controlled to support skeletal growth. The most effective way in which to control these factors is through the judicious use of high-quality carbohydrates. As a grain-free, protein-rich pet food, EVO does not provide the sufficient amount of carbohydrates a growing puppy requires. While EVO is an ideal food for large breed dogs over the age of two, we suggest offering your puppy our Innova Large Breed Puppy formula at this time." Found this on puppy feeding on the website, but can't find anything on the website regarding pregnant girls... maybe you already checked with them.. I would still call them cuz I swear I saw it somewhere...

Shelley, Do be careful with the EVO. Not for puppies NEVER. Website will back that up too. I fed EVO Red Meat to two of my girls at the time 2 yrs and 3 1/2 yrs. Both blew their coats so hard that they had skin showing through their coats. NOT GOOD! Maybe just the Canadae and the ALL STAGES is fine for puppies that's why the name All Stages. Birdy...

For those of you that like to feed raw diet. Here is a great website... http://rawdogranch.com/ Also van den Heuvel german shepherds has a great recipe for raw food.... http://www.vandenheuvelk9.com/ReferencesHarold.html

Trailrider, do you get bulk alfalfa and kelp? I want to get some, but it seems so pricey for 8 dogs, and won't last long enough to make it worthwhile purchasing unless I can find it realtively cheap in bulk. Veronica

Eaglepack - proven for years, works, reliable, innovative, always on top of thing, they work with breeders to keep it that way. Recent Statement from their site: All Eagle Pack dry products are made in our own plants. We do not use wheat gluten in any of our formulas, nor is it present in our plant facility/property. All ingredients at our plants originate in the U.S.A. with the exception of Duck Meal from Germany, Lamb Meal from New Zealand/Australia, and Fish Meal that originates from clean ocean waters of Argentina. Our canned foods are NOT involved in the Menu Foods recall. All of our products are safe and we will continue to take every measure to ensure their safety. Eagle Pack products are 100% guaranteed. They have 2 lines to choose from. Both work fine, but in the end depends on the individual dog. For growing pups older than 3 months I always recommend to start with the Original Adult, if too rich switch to the Large Breed Puppy. To see what goes into their foods go here for the Holistic line: http://www.eaglepack.com/Pages/HS_Ingredients.html and here for the premium line: http://www.eaglepack.com/Pages/SP_Ingredients.html Plus individual pages list ingredients for all foods. Lots of other info on that site too.

www.dogfoodanalysis.com Great website, with explained opinions on food quality. No dog food adverts on the website. Discusses why grain free is best. Kyle

That is great website, Kyle, I was about to post it here myself. There are a number of grain-free commercial foods on the market - Oriijen (never heard of the brand myself), Go Natural, Nature's Variety Raw Prairie Instincts, Solid Gold Barking at the Moon, Timberwolf Organics Ocean Blue, Bravo, etc.. Foods like the Eagle Pack DH mentioned also get a good rating of 4 stars out of a possible 6. No wheat in that one, but it is not grain free, they use rice I think. Probably why 4 starts instead of 6. Anyway, I wish these grain-free foods were more readily available for us ridge runners who do not live in an urban area. Having them shipped is not a big deal, even for one dog, but when you're traveling with your dog/s and you have to hunt all over every new area for a store that sells these brands, it's not fun. It makes it so much more convenient to stop at a Petco or PetSmart. Maybe now the chain stores will start to offer some grain-free commercial foods in their selections. I'd much rather not feed grain of any type to my dog.

A correction to the above, some of the Eagle Pack products received a 3 star rating. If you're interested log on to the site Kyle listed and search for the brand you want to see reviewed.