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Location: Montreal -> CT -> MA -> Montreal -> Ottawa
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Hi!
So, my healthy 5-year old furry guy is eating just fine (IAMS ProActive Health Mini Chunks) but I've been hearing so much about better dog food brands.
I know that the primary ingredient is supposed to be protein -- and this is the case with the IAMS, actually -- so I'm not sure why the IAMS stuff is getting such a bum rap. Maybe because of the other ingredients (corn meal, grain, etc...)?
I'd love to feed my dog what's best for him, but without spending a fortune. Currently, I get (don't quote me, I'm doing this from memory) a 40-pound bag for about $35.
Is there anything better than IAMS for that same price?
Iams uses meat/poultry by-products, which can include feathers, beaks, hooves, etc. Not exactly nutritious. And corn is a filler: responsible for a lot of doggie allergies, a LOT of gas and huge stool volumes. And it contributes NOTHING to the dog's nutrition.
If you look in the Whole Dog Journal (worth the $25/year subscription) they publish a list every year of EXCELLENT dog foods that have human grade ingredients, NO by-products and no corn.
But these aren't cheap. Quality costs. But you'll see a difference in your dog, with better coat, smaller stool volume and no more of that smelly gas!
As for what's available that is better, but for the same price, I can't speak to that....I feed my dogs Wellness Core, which is a grain-free food, but it's $50 for a 26 lb bag at Petco.
Iams is getting a bum rap for many reasons but one is indeed because of the high amount of grain and "fillers" in the food.
I'm sure other posters can offer more insight into Iams, but I would not feed that food to my dogs. I'd much prefer that you try Nutro, which isn't as good as Wellness but certainly is better than Iams.
Good luck, and I'm glad you're taking the time to research what you feed your dog!
Indeed, the biggest issue with IAMS and other 'supermarket' brands is that corn meal is often the first ingredient. There are many other brands in your price range that are better - first brand that comes to mind is Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul. It is not grain-free, but, it does use better fillers than some of the others.
Of course, the 'trend' now is to switch to grain-free feeding and feed something like Taste of the Wild, Canidae, etc. These do tend to be a bit more expensive, however, because of the (in some cases, much) higher protein content, dogs do not need to eat as much of these types of foods, so the out-of-pocket costs can actually be lower.
Take a look at the dog food project and dog food analysis websites to get an idea of some of the better rated foods.
Location: Montreal -> CT -> MA -> Montreal -> Ottawa
17,330 posts, read 33,044,161 times
Reputation: 28903
Viralmd -- my guy doesn't crap more than "normal" or have gas, but I hate the idea of him eating hooves and feathers! I'll look into something else, for sure.
leavingCT -- I'll look into the ones that you mentioned. I hope I'm not coming off looking like a cheapeskate, but in this economy, it's hard to justify our dog eating better than we are.
TigerLily24 -- I've looked at those websites and just found it to be be information overload. I'll look into the Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul, though.
If your dog doing well on his current food, why switch? He might not adopt to new food and do well as you think, you are taking a chance. I personally, would only switch if food causing problems, if not, just leave it as is.
I feed my dogs Chicken soup for dogs. I use to feed them 'store' type dog food and 2 became overweight and pooped a lot at one time. Since I have been feeding them CS the 2 overweight dogs have lost weight and are a good weight. I scoop the poop in my yard and I can tell the amt they poop now is much less.
CS is now rated better than it was previously.
My wiemie loves uncooked sweet potatoes and carrots as treats
With all the dogfoods anymore I am leary of all of them, but we must feed the doggies. You may want to use what you are feeding, decrease it abit and add some green chopped vegetables to it, or some of your leftover vegetables, not ones with hi sugar content such as a sweet pot, or pees, corn. a little reg potatoe is not bad.
Its the fat and sugar you have to watch, my dog is a diabetic, so she eats a little dog food with cooked meat and chopped veg i chop in food processor, you don't have to go to these lengths, but adding some good people food will not do harm.
The feed stores or Petco carry some better foods, but some of those got recalled too
Oh always check the expiration dates on the food, you'd be surprised at some of them, i think dry dog food has a shelf life of 2 yrs. So keep that in mind.
Oh always check the expiration dates on the food, you'd be surprised at some of them, i think dry dog food has a shelf life of 2 yrs. So keep that in mind.
I'd like to mention the ones that have a shelf life of two years are chemically preserved as opposed to other premium foods that are naturally preserved. Most often the naturally preserved are good up to one year without extreme temperature changes.
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