Newbie here: Does anyone feed "Chicken Soup" dog food? (lab, poodles)

[DCguy03]

I'm not in the pet board as often but guess what -- my SO is interested in getting a dachshund! So I've got a little Friday afternoon question to help me learn a bit more:

Do you have any experience with the "Chicken Soup" dog food? Thoughts?

This is the type that I'm talking about:

[Honeycrisp]

Have gotten the senior version for mine and they like it, am happy with it.
And, btw, congrats on you/your fiance's new doggie!

[rnc76]

I feed my two boys, a lab mix and a golden/gsd mix, Chicken Soup for the Puppy Lover's Soul. Except for the absolutely silly name, I think it is great. The ingredients list is recognizable as FOOD, not chemicals and byproducts. The first several ingredients are meats and the grains are generally higher quality. And it is very affordable IMO. I pay $38 for a 35lb bag at the local feed store. Based on my research, it is one of the best buys in the dog food market. Are there better foods out there? Probably, but you also probably pay a lot more. Plus, my boys love it, although I wouldn't refer to them as very picky eaters. I think they'd eat shoe leather covered with gravy.

[sray017]

Originally Posted by DCguy03

I'm not in the pet board as often but guess what -- my SO is interested in getting a dachshund! So I've got a little Friday afternoon question to help me learn a bit more:

Do you have any experience with the "Chicken Soup" dog food? Thoughts?

This is the type that I'm talking about:

We feed our dogs a mix of Chicken Soup and Evo. They seem to like it and we haven't had any problems.

Chicken Soup has not got as much protein in it as the Evo has and some dogs' stomachs don't agree with Evo because of the amount of protein.

[pers]

I used CS for puppies and liked it. His coat was great, eyes shiney and bright, he ate it well and maintained a good weight plus it's got great bang for the buck! My only complaint (very mild and would NOT keep me from using this food again if I wanted to feed a good food on a budget) was that my dog had some rather volumous poops on it. They didn't smell worse, he didn't have gas, they weren't runny, there was just more than he's had on other foods. Again, not a deal breaker and if I had a larger dog where money was an issue when it came to food I would be more than happy feeding CS! We switched because we wanted grain free and when I realized just how little my dog ate (6.6 lb bag every 3 months or so) cost became much less of an issue.

[ShelbyGirl1]

http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_f...cat/all/page/1


It appears to be rated a 4 out of 6....but not recommended.

[pers]

It wasn't recommended at one time because the fish component contained Ethoxyquin which is believed to be carcinogenic in humans so very possible in pets as well. That changed about three years ago and it is now rated 4 stars (before it was 3) and recommended.

That said, while I do love dogfoodanalysis.com as a quick and easy way for someone to see if a food is "good" it is simply one tool to use when selecting a food. They place a heavy emphasis on grain free (which CS is not) and that makes a significant impact on their rating system. I would also suggest dogfoodproject.com which provides education regarding ingredients and reading labels for our pet food just as we do for our own.

[zugor]

The Whole Dog Journal also lists it on their recommended list so I would not be worried about feeding this brand.

The current thinking in the world of dog nutrition is to do a rotation diet. Pick several good brands. Feed one brand for 3 to 4 months, do a week long transition to the second brand, feed that for several months, then a 3rd brand, again for several months. Since every brand is going to have slightly different amounts of what might be called micronutrients the rotation will help insure that over the long run they get an adequate amount of each.

[DCguy03]

Originally Posted by rnc76

The ingredients list is recognizable as FOOD, not chemicals and byproducts. The first several ingredients are meats and the grains are generally higher quality. And it is very affordable IMO.

Thats a good sign - their meats don't have hormones or antibiotics, which in my case is one of the first priorities. And of course price is important--well, not just price but overall value.
Thanks all for sharing so many different reviews/write-ups. It's good to have perspective from several sources.

While we're at it, if anyone else with a small breed feeds Chicken Soup, I'd be especially interested to know which version you use.

(btw I'm over in the DC and Northern VA boards most frequently, so if any of you are making a trip to the DC area, feel free to PM me w/ any questions )

[virangos]

I feed the Chicken soup for puppys (canned) to my litters when weaning. I breed toy poodles. They absolutely love it. I switch them over to the dry and they still love it. My older dogs love it. I guess what I am saying is I'm very pleased with it.
If you open a can and smell it, it smells good enough for humans to eat, unlike some of the other canned food.
I also have Yorki Shi tzue mixes, all small dogs and use the puppy formula, I also mix in the wellness core for the adult dogs.
I have good results with Nutro Max also.