[evan v]

Hello there, I just got a maltipoo. He is over a little over a year old. The previous owner was feeding him Iams adult small breed. The dog food industry sure has changed over the years. It’s been a while since I’ve had a dog. With that being said I went online and googled “best dog food” and started learning a lot about dog food in general. Anyways I was wondering what are some good dog foods you would recommend? I have already read all about diamond products and trying to stay away from them. But the funny thing is I know people are still feeding it and when I was checkin out some of the local pet stores in my area I saw 3 out of 5 people walk into a store, go right to the TOTW section, pick up a bag and then proceed to check out. On the other hand the other two people bought BB and Nutro. I got to talk to the lady that bought BB and long story short she said her German Shepard dog is doing so much better on it.

Lastly while I was at a local store one guy said since hes a small dog the high protein diets are not very good for him. He said small dogs can get kidney and liver failure. So I’m looking into something that’s low in protein. Also the guy seemed to already know a little bit about this website. He said the guy that does all the reviews is a dentist. At that time I didn’t know that. LoL. I just love coming on here and looking at the the ingredients from all the different dog foods and like I said before what are some good dog foods you would recommend? Thanks!

[theBCnut]

High protein does not cause kidney or liver issues. That is a fact. Period. There are a lot of myths that people choose to believe, but that does not make them true.

Yes, Dr Mike Sagman is a dentist. Dentists actually have to know something about nutrition. Dentists also have to have a good education and continue it all their professional careers. The reason this is important is because it means ***They are capable of learning things outside their field of specialty***just like you are. IDK about you, but I have children, and I’m not a certified nutritionist, but I am capable of learning what constitutes a good diet and feeding my kids a good diet, same with my dogs. Keep reading, keep learning all your life, and don’t let anyone try to tell you that you have to be a professional in a particular field for you to understand it. That’s crap!!

For a little dog, I recommend Farmina, NutriSource Small and Medium Breed, Amicus, Nature’s Variety Instinct, Brother’s Complete, Canine Caviar, and if you are feeding a rotational diet, Nature’s Logic.

[pugmomsandy]

You might consider joining Editor’s Choice. It’s an annul membership. The companies listed there have met additional guidelines.

/choosing-dog-food/brand-guidelines/

Horizon Amicus, Nutrisource grain free Lamb, Pro Pac Ultimates Overland Red, Nature’s Logic, Wellness Small/Toy breed, Nutrisource Sm/Med Puppy are all very small/tiny kibbles.

Also check out these articles:

/frequently-asked-questions/diet-rotation-for-dogs/

/choosing-dog-food/canned-or-dry-dog-food/

• This reply was modified 10 years ago by pugmomsandy.

[evan v]

Some of these brands I have not seen locally. I do have a few more stores I would like to check out.

I got a sample bag of Nutrisource small/med puppy. He seemed to like it the most. But is that’s just for puppies isn’t it?

As for the rotational diet. One store really close to me sells Fromm. I like all the different choices?

Just about every store carries Wellness. They have a few small breed/smaller kibble which is pretty cool.

The high protein dry foods seem to be higher priced. EVO,Acana & Orijen just to name a few are freakin expensive and have over 40% protein. A few other people I talked to all said the higher protein diets are better suited for active dogs. Which does make sense. I just won’t worry about protein levels. I’d say most good dry dog food has 27%-33% anyway.

I read Dr Mike Sagman’s story. It’s inspiring. I understand how he rates the food in all. Regardless of knowledge this website is GREAT! It’s easy to just look up food and compare one another. =)

[Akari_32]

I routinely use puppy foods for my 11, 12, and 14 year old dogs. All that stuff in puppy food is great for them. It’s lower in carbs and higher in protein, which is what senior dogs need. Don’t worry too much about labeling, and go for any food that says its for puppies, all life stages, and adults.

For such a small dog, you may even look into a pre-mix for raw. I have an 8 lb jack russell mix on See Spot Live Longer and a variety of protein sources, and it only costs about $20 a month to feed him.

If you don’t want to go that route, I’m a big fan of Wellness. Their non-small breed formulas have kibbles that your little guy probably can’t chew, but they do have several Small and Toy Breed foods out, and they are releasing more. They come in grain-inclusive and grain free varieties, and they also always $5 off any size bag coupons on their website. Just click the “Check Your Bag” button, and follow the promts.

http://www.wellnesspetfood.com/index.aspx

I also use Nutro Natural Choice LID Lamb and Rice (in the dark green bag), and their Small Breed line looks fantastic as well, but the prices and lack of coupons drive me away (those are in pink bags). Nutro Ultra looks like a great food.

Be careful when selecting foods while trying to stay away from Diamond. They make Blue Buffalo, Taste of the Wild, Canidae, Chicken Soup for the Dog Lovers Soul, Precise, Premium Edge, and many more. And While I used to love Innova and Evo, I can personally no longer recommend them. They are now owned by Mars– the candy company. Since the buy-out of Natura (P&G, then Mars) the protein levels have dropped and more carbs have been added. Mars also owns others brands of pet foods. If they make your candy bars, should they *really* be making pet food?

http://www.cnbc.com/id/101566238#.

Good luck with your little guy! I think I speak for all of us when I say “PICS!!!!” 😉

[evan v]

Ever since P&G bought Innova & EVO there has been a few recalls right? Yeah I don’t think a candy company should be making dog food. LoL!

The Wellness $5 coupon is a good deal but I’m having trouble finding the coupon. I did what you said and nothing happens. I click check the bag. I pick IAMS and I’m lost.

[aquariangt]

Fromm 4star has pretty small kibble size. I agree the different protein choices are great, but the one thing with Fromm (don’t get me wrong, they are a fantastic company) is that especially in the grain inclusive lines, the protein levels are very low. The Grain free is better-getting around 30% and a bit higher, but they do use peas to get some of that. I have one that is allergic to peas, and already its a huge pain to find kibble that she can have that has decent protein and isn’t just chicken. She eats a few of the Fromm 4 star grain inclusives though-just be diligent about adding canned or raw or meat toppers to help that. Overall-I highly recommend them

[Akari_32]

Hm, it appears wellness has temporarily removed the coupon from their site. I know there’s still one available, however. I’ll see if I can find it. You can typically find it through the “Check Your Bag” link, though they do take it down occasionally. It’ll be back soon!

[theBCnut]

“A few other people I talked to all said the higher protein diets are better suited for active dogs. Which does make sense.”

No, it doesn’t make sense. Athletes carb load, not protein load, before they do their thing. Endurance athletes even take in carbs while they are doing their thing, but not protein, or not much. Active dogs need the carbs for quick energy. All dogs need protein to encourage a lean muscular body. Couch potatoes are better off eating protein than carbs. And it might help them to be more than just couch potatoes.

[Akari_32]

here’s that Wellness Coupon 😉

http://www.wellnesspetfood.com/cat/index.aspx?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Display&utm_campaign=FB_Sponsored&utm_content=CatCoupon_1200x628

[Audrey B]

To Evan –
I work at a local Agway store. We carry Taste of the Wild and Nutrisource. I recommend Nutrisource since Taste of the Wild is made by Diamond which has had recalls. Nutrisource is a family owned business that uses fixed ingredients and has never had a recall. They have grain free options and you can feed any of it to puppies, not just the puppy formula. Nutrisource also has an in store club where you buy 12 bags and get the 13th free. The price is comparable to Taste of the Wild. I don’t know much about the Wellness or Fromm brands as we do not carry them.

[Akari_32]

I hope this works, let me know if it doesn’t. But heres a coupon for $7 off Wellness.

http://images.revtrax.com/RevTrax/scpp.jsp?uid=3950605362_ocm_&programId=48630740&imageType=thumbnail&merchantId=12779408&sendToSelf=email&affiliateId=12795061&viewType=viewFull&channel=social

[evan v]

Thanks Akari32. The $5 coupon worked.

Audrey – I got a few different Nutrisource and BB samples. I tried giving him a few pieces of each and as stated before he seems to like the puppy one the most. I tried giving him the Purevita verison of salmon & turkey but he turned them down quickly. He ate of few pieces of the BB but didn’t finish the small amount I tried to give him. But no doubt Nutrisource looks like are great brand. =)

aquariangt – Yes I noticed the Fromm grain free diets are much higher in protein also. Grain free also should mean loaded with peas or potatoes. I can see why it’s hard to find dry foods without them…

theBCnut – I just read the Dogs and Carbohydrates — A Surprising Secret Revealed on this website! Now I see where you get your info from?

[Akari_32]

The thing with Blue Buffalo (Diamond manufactured aside) is that it tends to cause vitamin overdoses in most dogs. Some dogs are fine with it, but a lot have problems. That and crystals, which are painful, especially in males.

As far as potatoes goes, it’s hard to find a grain free food that doesn’t use potatoes. It’s either white or sweet potatoes, peas, or legumes. Legumes are said to be harder for dogs to digest (how true that is, I can’t say). Most dogs are ok with potatoes, and most are ok with peas and legumes. Just likes with everything else, there will be dogs that have issues with certain things. The problem with the amount of carbs in kibble is that kibble needs a binder, and that’s pretty much what carbs are for. Some are better than others (corn vs sweet potatoes, for example) and not all carb sources are appropriate for every dog. And if you think about it, there’s really not very many grain-free carb sources out there. Potatoes are the cheapest, and neither potaoes or peas (or legumes) are bad options unless your dog can’t have them. I actually had to take one of my dogs completely off carbs because the yeast that naturally lives on dogs bodies would get so out of control that the poor guy would turn bright red and be so, so itchy. He’s still bothered by the grass, but he’s considerablely better since switching to all raw.

I would suggest switching through all different brands, and protein and carb sources regularly. Keeps life interesting for the dog, and keeps them from building up intollerances to certain ingredients in dog food, while also giving them a variety of vitamin and mineral levels, which helps prevent overdoses and deficiencies. Also lets you take advantage of sales 😉

[theBCnut]

Actually, I got that from someone I know who used to run sled dogs, but have seen and heard it from several sources since. I also have a dog that can’t handle much in the way of carbs without breaking out into a yeast infection.

[Betty B]

I don’t know where you get your information from but you are wrong. Blue Buffalo is a private company and has had the same owner since day 1. They do not make any other dog food brands!! You need to research everything better before you start spreading rumors. Beware of all the other companies out there. For example, Hills Science Diet just sold out to Colgate-Palmolive and Purina is owned by Nestle. Do you think they care what goed in their dog food? Mars owns Nutro, Caesar and Pedigree just to name a few. Dog food is not their top priority. Blue Buffalo cares about the health and wellness of dogs and that is their top priority. It is a family owned company and has been since the beginning.

[Betty B]

To Akari_32

Blue Buffalo DOES NOT make Diamond food. Where are you getting your information from?

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