Top 5 Foods

[barbponys]

How about Premium Edge. Heatagold feeds the skin and coat formula and it seems pretty good. I was thinking of mixing this food with canidae. What do you think? Heartagolds dogs seem to GLEAM!

I'm not a fan of the food. I'm even less of a fan of the idea of mixing brands of food together. It's too complicated and hard on the dogs system. Multiple meat sources is hard for them to deal with in one brand let alone adding another manufacturers product. I would strongly recommend against that idea.

Adding fresh foods would be far more beneficial and cheaper.

[Sean W.]

It doesn't read bad. The proof would be in the pudding. My feeling is, anyone that sells to PetSmart, and has that kinda of enormous production requirment, is cutting corners. You can't produce 100's of tons per production day and not.............. That's my cynical point of view though.

Well, I can agree to a point. Blue's stats look pretty much the same as any of the other quality foods mentioned. If ingredients don't lie, then Blue Buff's food is of high quality. Cutting corners can actually be said of any of the manufacturers product since we can't be a part of the entire process. I guess my point is that since everyone wants to feed the best they can get, some of the higher quality foods aren't readily available everywhere. Most places have a large pet store like Petsmart. Blue is readily available to them. Everyone can get it. Also, I'd have a hard time believing Mr. Timberwolf wouldn't put his food in a Petsmart if he could.

[barbponys]

LOL. You are wrong. He could if he wanted to. He's had major distributors, one covers most of the western states and many mid-western states, court his product and he's realized that he can't meet demand without compromising the quality of his product. He's chosen to continue with his independant disturbution system.

[nags]

So now I have no clue what kind of food to get

[barbponys]

If you have a PetSmart near you, Blue Buffalo is the best of what they carry.

You can order on line, or from distributors closer to you, of any of the foods that are listed in the top 5.

The bottom line is getting the best food for your dog that you can. You have been given the information you need to make an intelligent decision.

[Sean W.]

LOL. You are wrong. He could if he wanted to. He's had major distributors, one covers most of the western states and many mid-western states, court his product and he's realized that he can't meet demand without compromising the quality of his product. He's chosen to continue with his independant disturbution system.

If this is the case then I would be very impressed. Not many people around that would place quality above all else in the face of money. Indeed I may stand corrected.

Nags, you should get the best you can. If you have a Petsmart near you then I think me and Barbponys agree that Blue Buff is of quality and readily available. Otherwise, I would get the Timberwolf and order it direct from the website. It's widely regarded as the best of the best kibble on the market. It is what I am now using. Price-wise TW and Blue are actually about the same. Add some Seameal or Salmon oil and you're probably gonna be in the 98 percentile of nutrition for your dogs; barring BARF of course.

[jesseandalecia]

Can we see an average price per bag on these? I think $50 a bag is a lot for some us. How bout average pit bull diets? Like 30lb. bag of so-and-so is $xx on average and lasts however long, etc.

[barbponys]

Can we see an average price per bag on these? I think $50 a bag is a lot for some us. How bout average pit bull diets? Like 30lb. bag of so-and-so is $xx on average and lasts however long, etc.

For an average sized pit, 50#, you will feed 1.5 cups a day on the Timberwolf, it will last you 2 months. It feeds at a cup per 30#. $25 a month doesn't seem expensive to me? I go through about a bag a month feeding half dry and half raw to 5 dogs.

Nature's Variety feeds at a little faster rate. Depending on the formula it will range range from $40-$50 a bag. It's a 30# bag, it'll last your average dog about a month and a half. Wellness is about the same feeding rate. The price is a little higher.

Canidae is a 40# bag and costs about $36-$40. It feeds at about a cup per 20-25#, it will last your average dog 1.5-2 months.

I don't know about the other foods, it's been too long since I've had any experience with them.

[jesseandalecia]

Thanks Barb, that helped. Now are there any preferences on the varieties of each of these foods? There appears to be so many!

[barbponys]

Thanks Barb, that helped. Now are there any preferences on the varieties of each of these foods? There appears to be so many!

Preference in formula depends on the dog, whether or not there are food issues, and you. I have a dog with major issues so I stick to the only food he can eat. He's so bad that if I feed other formulas to the other dogs he will always get some, he's a horrible scrounger.

I'm partial to the formulas that don't use the usual grain sources. So, the Twolf elk, bison and ocean blue, and the Nature's Variety beef and barley, venison and pumpkin seed. I don't like the use of potato in dog or cat food since it's bad for them, so I don't recommend the fish, duck or any meat and potato formulas.................

If your dog doesn't have grain issues, any of the fomulas the companies make should work fine. As a matter of fact, you should rotate through the formulas so the dog gets a variety of protein sources. IF you stay within a brand the adjustment is non-existant so going from one formula to another every other bag doesn't cause any problems.

[czechgirl]

Hello Barb, you are so informative and I really enjoy reading all of your posts. I have a great pet store, Western Pet Supply if any one is in Oregon, that is right down the street from me. They carry all kinds of great natural and healthy foods for dogs and cats. I just started my boy on Innova Evo, but read earlier in the post that Timberwolf is by far the most recommended. I will have to try that as well. So, my question was if you've ever heard of it do you have any thoughts on Wysong? This was also highly recommended by the staff there. Thanks for any input!

[barbponys]

Hello Barb, you are so informative and I really enjoy reading all of your posts. I have a great pet store, Western Pet Supply if any one is in Oregon, that is right down the street from me. They carry all kinds of great natural and healthy foods for dogs and cats. I just started my boy on Innova Evo, but read earlier in the post that Timberwolf is by far the most recommended. I will have to try that as well. So, my question was if you've ever heard of it do you have any thoughts on Wysong? This was also highly recommended by the staff there. Thanks for any input!

My 9 yr old was on the Wysong Synorgon for 6 1/2 years. That's the only formula he makes that I like. I love his philosohy, and his willingness to create better choices to make up for what's lacking in the foods he originally started with. I understand that changing formulas completely is heinously expensive so he starts from scratch with new foods. His Archetype is the result of that.

I knew something else would come along that was better and it took a lot of years for the Timberwolf to finally hit the market. Aside from raw, you can't do better, for now.

[Sean22681]

If you have a Petsmart near you then I think me and Barbponys agree that Blue Buff is of quality and readily available.:

I was wondering if I would be able to mix the two kinds of Blue Buffalo together, or even switch off every once in a while....I just don't want to make my puppy sick, from switching food all the time. I figured that they are both from the same company, so it would not be that hard.....If anyone has any advice, please advise.

[barbponys]

Yes, switch the food. Alternate bags, it shouldn't make the pup sick.

[jesseandalecia]

Barb, have you heard of Doctors Foster & Smith - http://www.drsfostersmith.com/ ? I just got a catalog in the mail from them, and their food is supposedly "healthy", but no too expensive. Thoughts?