[Nancy C]

Sounds interesting. Dogs are all unique and we have to find what works for each dog. My Golden Retriever likes the Fromm and is okay with it. I noticed that her poops are particularly large after eating Fromm. She gets soft stools if I give more than 50/50 Acana OR Origen (I am quite sure it’s the Lentils and Legumes ) I’m trying to use up the Champion food I bought earlier which my GSD ate and got very sick from. Your experience with K9Natural sounds inspiring. And Tripe is a home run. Good luck!

[aquariangt]

Fromm is on the editor’s choice list if you check it out, and the reviews are quite favorable as well. I love their 4 star line, and they are a really fantastic company to boot

[Deirdre D]

Wouldn’t Wysong qualify? It has its own plant and was one of the first companies to actually care about ingredients. Its innovations are really quite extraordinary. It has always been most willing to share its procedures and methods, but may not be as forthcoming lately due to Purina (or Iams, can’t remember) taking info from Wysong (regarding the adding of probiotics) patenting it themselves, and then suing Wysong for using its own recipes. So much for being willing to share for the greater good!

[Naturella]

I absolutely second Wysong’s nomination – I think I posted that I wanted to know if it would qualify somewhere but it may have gotten lost. I think they have a great company and very innovative methods of kibble extruding, with little starch binders.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 4 months ago by Naturella.

[Todd R]

Zignature- It is given 4 stars here I understand for a couple of reasons: Use of pea protein (Which I understand could be considered a filler protein, thus overstating the protein content of the food) and Beet Pulp (This is an on the fence ingredient and because of not having definitive proof as a questionable product, personally I think it should not be considered a negative or questionable ingredient) I do also know that they do not own their own manufacturing facility (which is just a chance that this could cause any problems and may never be a problem at all.) The main reason that I feel it should be an editor’s choice is the fact that it is a Grain-Free, Potato Free, Simple ingredient food. These 3 aspects have been invaluable in my choice of a dog food. I was a previous buyer of California Natural because my dog has multiple allergies and has a pretty sensitive stomach. When they had their MULTIPLE recalls. (Even if you have your own manufacturing facility it does not guarantee anything in the way of contaminated food.) While I appreciated their apparent transparency concerning the recalls, I could not bring myself to go back to that food. (My pet supply store stopped selling it as well and I am extremely loyal to my pet supply store and they are unbelievably knowledgeable on the food brands that they sell.) In any case, When the recalls happened, my pet supply store sent me a personal email as one of their customers who purchased California Natural and at that time they suggested that I come in and discuss my options going forward. It was at that time that I learned about Zignature and it seemed like a no brainer for the issues that my dog has. He has now rotated though all the single protein foods and has done better than he did on the California Natural. Stable health in every way and he is 11 years old. I can not recommend it enough. Personally I think, it should be rated at least 4.5 stars if not 5 for the added benefit it gives to people that have dogs with allergy and sensitivity issues. These are intangibles that mean so much to a dog of this type. There you have it. I hope this food might make your list in the near future. Thanks for reading my post.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi Todd – Thanks for the very detailed post, I’ll look into it. 🙂

[Nancy C]

Hi Deborah:
I’m very interested in your experience w K9 Natural. When you started it did you notice any weight loss or gain? I have a 72 pound GSD and am planning to go raw. But when we travel I need a good dehydrated food which means that I will probably feed raw raw in the mornings and dehydrated at night or several times a week at least. Can you share a little more about your transition and anything else? Also have you tried Darwins or Answers? Or has anyone who has just read this? Thank you.

[Linda J]

Orijen grain free dog food is the best that I have ever found for my dog.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi Nancy –

I haven’t tried K9 Natural but I have tried Darwin’s and Answer’s. A lot of posters here use Darwin’s and like it a lot. I think Darwin’s is a good product and I don’t have any issues with recommending it but it doesn’t meet the needs of what I look for when choosing a food for my dogs. I have large, highly active hounds and Darwin’s is just too low fat/low calorie. I love Answer’s, it’s probably my favorite brand of commercial raw. I love that there are no synthetic vitamins and minerals and the fat to protein ratio is perfect for my dogs. I’ve spoken in depth about the product with Jacqueline Hill, the Vice President of Operations and Product Development, and I was very impressed with the ingredient and manufacturing standards. I don’t feed pre-made raw too often because it’s so expensive, but when I do Answer’s is one of my go-to brands.

[Deborah M]

Hi Nancy,

It really wasn’t a difficult transition. I was given a sample from the pet store and took it home to try it. My dogs went so nuts for it (I had never seen them eat with such gusto) so I thought I would try it. I have had VERY successful communications with the folks at K9 in Australia. I just email them with my questions, and they email me right back with a personal email. I have even struck up a friendly rapport with “Shane”… very helpful “Kiwi” as he calls himself 🙂 He suggested to me that when making the transition, that I might want to try to start with the Lamb Green Tripe, which I did. It has the most HORRIBLE smell in the world, but its ONLY ingredient is Green Tripe and very digestible and VERY good for them. They gobbled it up, despite the disgusting smell. I started adding in the venison, and they gobbled that up too. I don’t get the beef b/c it’s too high in fat. I noticed a difference in their stool immediately. Much smaller, and on the dry side. Sometimes, I add a little straight pumpkin so help keep their stool from being too dry. Now, I feed them only the venison, and add just a little of the tripe to aid in digestion. I’ve read ONLY good things about green tripe. Believe me when I say my dogs were finicky. I coaxed, begged, and added topper after topper – wasted a lot of money on high end kibble, Orijen, Acana, etc.. They didn’t like anything. Now, they eat like regular dogs, and on cue, so that I don’t have to leave food out for them when I leave for work. I purchase through Chewy.com – in bulk – it’s cheaper. Sometimes, Amazon. I’m sure there are other brands of freeze dried raw that are good, but I like the ingredients of the K9 Natural and I’ve had nothing but success. It will be pretty expensive for a large breed, however. That’s the downside of raw. I’ve priced all of the better ones out, and they all seem to be very similar in price. Good luck!

[patricia h]

Dear Editor choice, I looked through Your list and could not find Blue Buffalo why do You not have it on Your list, could You please let me know since this is what I feed my dog

[InkedMarie]

Patricia,
I can’t speak for why it;s not on the list but you may want to read this link:
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/pets/blue_buffalo.html

[Dori]

I don’t know whether I have ever nominated Nature’s Logic. If I have in the past please excuse this post. Way too many pages of nominations to scroll through all. Anyway, if I have not nominated Nature’s Logic I would like to do so now. If it’s been looked at already and passed by I would also like to know why. Thanks Mike, Sandy, HDM and anyone else working at DFA.

Much appreciate all your hard work. Don’t know what my girls and I would do about nutrition and canine health without your site.

[Kritterlady]

Please keep in mind that consumer affairs is a paid advertiser site and not to be confused with consumer reports which is unbiased and take no advertising. Consumer affairs is a complaint forum run by lawyers according to its own page.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 4 months ago by Kritterlady.

[Deborah M]

Nancy – sorry, I neglected to answer your question about the weight gain/loss. No noticeable difference in loss or gain, but what I did notice after a while was that both of my dogs became leaner … not thinner, but leaner / stronger. Shih Tsu’s tend to have a problem with weight gain … i.e., they can just get fat … so I am particularly interested in a food that helps them stay lean.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi Patricia –

We have very stringent standards for companies selected to appear in the Editor’s Choice Report. Therefore, merely earning a 4 or 5 star rating does not guarantee that a food is worthy of the Editor’s Choice designation. The star ratings are based solely on the ingredient panel and general analysis whereas the Editor’s Choice list also takes into consideration things such as customer service, manufacturing, ingredient sourcing, professional staffing, etc. etc. It’s possible that some foods are not included in the Editor’s Choice due to something Dr. Mike or myself know about the company or it’s possible that we simply weren’t aware of the company (which is why we love reading everyone’s suggestions!).

If a company has been suggested and is still not on the list you may wish to read through the comments about that particular company on the review side or check out this article which better explains our criteria for choosing companies “A Guide to Finding Superior Dog Food Brands.”

[Hound Dog Mom]

Dori –

You may wish to skim through the comments thread on the NL reviews.

[InkedMarie]

Kritterlady: that may be true but I doubt all those people are fake & I’ve read from people I know whom had dogs get sick on Blue.

[Kritterlady]

InkedMarie, I understand,and I’m not an advocate for any particular brand. It’s just that gripe sites masquerading as legit consumer advocate sites tick me off. I’m a huge fan of consumer reports and this other site is nothing like it but a lot of people are fooled into thinking otherwise. I have a ton of friends using Blue and love it and I used it without incident going back to 2006. I’m now using a rotational diet as well as raw, and my friends are so happy with Blue that they think I’m crazy. Though its not for everyone just like any other good brand, I just want both sides presented. Most of what’s on forums is negative and I love all the work you all do on this site to keep it balanced.

[Nancy C]

This is to thank Deborah M for your post about K9. IT is on Susan Thaxton’s most recent list of her recommended foods, btw. I have emailed Customer Service to ask about the amounts I would have to use for my 72 pound dog and holding my breath for the response. Trying to figure out the cost. It will be expensive. They have a calculator on there but it was unclear to me exactly how to calculate. Thank you again very much.

[Dori]

Hi HDM. I had looked through the review and I saw way more pros than cons. I’ve recently tried the Nature’s Dry Sardine formula for Katie who can barely eat anything. I’ve been feeding raw for over two years and still have issues with her. She weighs 6 lbs. I feed her the NL Sardine formula in the am and then a raw different protein in the evenings and she seems to be doing really really well on it. I’m really shocked too because I swore I’d never have any of my dogs on kibble again. This was sheer desperation on my part and advice from my local boutique pet food store that I trust implicitly.

[Deborah M]

Nancy,
You are most welcome. Good luck on getting a response. Don’t forget they are in Australia, so it may take a day or two with the time difference. If you want the email of the guy who I have corresponded with on several occasions, his name is Shane Bartlett -email is: [email protected] – he has been very helpful and nice. You can just let him know the crazy lady in the US with the two Shih Tzu’s who love Green Tripe, referred you. LOL. 72 lbs.! That’s a big one – he/she would eat mine up as a snack 🙂

[Nancy C]

Deborah – I heard back from him late last night. I was mostly interested in the prices per day bec I have a GSD AND a Golden Retriever– two big dogs. He said that the AMOUNT to mix with water is on the back of the bag/ box. I did the figuring and it’s at about $8 a day IF the amount is accurate for my dog. An 8 lb bag makes 32 pounds of food and will last about 2 to 3 weeks he said. That fits my calculations.
It could easily take more than they recommend. One never knows for sure. And I have a second dog… So I am looking at other producers, checking prices. Darwins, (Not dehydrated) for ex is Organic which also means GMO Free and it is $6 a day for Turkey, $6.75 for beef and $5.25 for chicken. I do not know if k9Naturals is GMO Free or Organic, but there is no mention on the website of it.
Today I am pouring over DFA Raw to see what else is recommended by some of the old timers. I also do not want anything HPP. (I don’t know if k9 is HPP and need to find out). As one of the old timers said, the pickings get mighty slim.
This is a time consuming process. I learned so much from the posters this morning at the Nature’s Variety discussions. Wow. So much to learn about Raw. Thank you again too. I am so grateful to the kind helpful people there, just like you! I talked to Jaqualine, one of the owners of ANSWERS raw food, yesterday. Wow she was so helpful and knowledgable. She also has a GSD and was able to give me first hand advice.
Have a good day! Many thanks to you!

[Deirdre D]

Nancy C – Where are you located?

[Deborah M]

Nancy,
K9Natural does not use HPP – which means it stays a true 100% raw. A few folks have suggested adding just a little bit of vegetable to this diet because of the tendency for the stool to be a little dry. I think I mentioned – I add a little pumpkin and that seems to do the trick. The feeding guidelines for mine are as follows: for an 11 lb. dog, they recommend about 1 1/2 scoops of food for the day – I adjust the water how I prefer. I have found that I needed to increase the food a little more and they have maintained a steady weight. So, I give them one scoop in the morning and another at night. That said, I am increasing the amount of food they recommend by about 1/4, so I need to factor that in to what I use for the month. I also give them a nice meaty bone about once a week. So, yes – even for my little ones, it’s expensive. But… since my daughters are taking their sweet time giving me grandchildren, these two get spoiled :):)

[Nancy C]

Hi Deirdre: I am in Winston Salem, NC.

[david k]

Look at Life’s Abundance, Zero recalls since birth in 1998. Delivered fresh 6 weeks or less in age, stored in climate controlled warehouse even if it is only a few weeks. No preservatives, No Artificial flavors or colors, No fillers corn wheat or soy. No meal bi-products. You can find a link of my website http://www.purrfectcatio.com

[InkedMarie]

I understand what you’re saying, Kritterlady. For me, there are too many foods without complaints that I can choose from. This is jmo but I think a lot of dog owners see commercials for Blue & lots of other foods on tv & think it’s great.

[Nancy C]

Inked that is WHY DFA is so great. IT’s a GodSend and we all know it.
Thanks again to Dr Mike and his crew!!

[Kritterlady]

That’s true InkedMarie there are so many good ones. When I started my education back in 2005 I was feeding pedigree to my dogs and science diet to my cats. It’s a wonder they survived. I worked at a big Petsmart managing the equine dept. I knew nothing about dog or cat food quality and after I rescued an allergy dog and kept buying more an more expensive food i was at a loss. My vet recommended Blue and it saved my dogs life and my sanity. My point is that there’s a place for these foods in the process. For so many people they just don’t know where to look. My friend manages that store and they use foods like Blue to start the education process with people who come in and say they’ve heard about Blue from commercials or friends and think they need a better food. It’s a great launch point like it was for me. As my GSD got healthier I wanted to know why and began to do reaserch which lead me to rotational and raw. So many of the really great foods aren’t readily available or advertised to the young family getting their first dog or the granny with her itchy Pom. After all beneful has great commercials so if blue is there as a counter point it may get that person wondering which is best. When I worked in the store every day people asked whats the best food and all we can do was tell them what we feed. Thank god for DFA and the other sites that continue to educate those willing to look!

[Naturella]

Amen, Kritterlady! This is basically what happened to us when we got Bruno. He was dropped off with no food, so we loaded him in the car and rushed to PetSmart where we looked around a bit (our roommate was feeding Science Diet at the time, thank goodness he finally switched to Nulo Medal Series), and we were pondering upon also feeding SD, but we spoke to a store associate and she recommended Nutro Natural Choice Small Breed Puppy (4.5 stars on DFA, but I didn’t know this at the time) – she talked about the unique shape of the kibbles and how they are meant to strengthen puppy jaws but are small enough for our little guy. We got a small bag of that, Bruno loved it, it was all good. But then I kept seeing Blue Wilderness commercials, so in a month we got him a small bag of that. He also loved it and I noticed increased shine on his coat. We bought a bigger bag and for the next 3-4 months he was on Blue, but when researching it I found DFA, and began learning tons and tons about dog nutrition. I am so happy I steered clear of SD and now Bruno is on a rotational dry diet (4-5 stars only) with canned or THK as a topper, and additives like yoghurt/kefir, coconut oil, canned sardines, flax seed meal and pumpkin every once in a while, and RMBs and raw egg once a week each. He looks fantastic, coat feels great, and I really believe that had it not been for Blue Buffalo Wilderness and me researching it, I may not have found this amazing website and learned so much. I plan to use it again in the future as Bruno seemed to have no problems on it, but it will be a while – so many other foods to try before that! 🙂

[InkedMarie]

I’ve never heard that a certain kibble shape strengthened jaws!

[Naturella]

Marie, I hadn’t either! Don’t know how much truth there is to that claim but the kibble did look different from any I have ever seen.

[Kritterlady]

I’ve heard it from reps. It’s a marketing gimmick like breed specific formulas

[Naturella]

Kritterlady, you’re right – back then I knew little about the food though. And if I recall correctly, it was a store associate who told me this. Oh well, wasn’t a terrible food overall (4.5 stars), but I no longer buy the “kibble is good for teeth” or “small breeds need their own breed specific food”. Only large breeds (especially the puppies) need LBP food and I know where to go to learn about that (the thread about it on DFA). But as long as the kibble size is not huge and Bruno can fit it in his mouth comfortably, then I wouldn’t get him a “small breed” food just because it is for his size – if I do, it would have to be because that recipe is outstanding or something, lol! 🙂

[Kritterlady]

Indeed! According the
the research i’ve done the only dogs who truly need a small breed formula are you’re very tiny micro dogs. Those under the 6 pound range at full growth generally have blood sugar stability problems and can benefit from the higher protein in small breed foods.

[Theresa G]

Life’s Abundance and Flint River Ranch have served us well in our kennel since 2007. Life’s Abundance has everything and it’s all great! Flint River Ranch no grain Cat Food, Lamb Millet & Rice, Duck & Oatmeal, Trout & Potato and their Mature Dog feed with glucosemene are wonderful. Some of their basic foods have corn, but these that I’ve named are excellent…Life’s Abundance has a weightless formula that is wonderful too!

[Elaina S]

I would also like to nominate Darwin’s. My very picky eater can’t get enough of it so I am thankful to have a product that is both healthy and appetizing.

[William S]

I have been very please with dry, grain free, Natures Logic. One reason I like it is that the company does not use any chemically synthesize Minerals or vitamins. What do you think?

[Nancy C]

I speak with no authority however, have reviewed in detail and have come to the same conclusion. Have talked to Scott the owner and he is very informed and I think they are committed to making a superior food. I like the “no synthetic vitamins.” He does not commit to GMO and I asked him WHY. Answ was that there is no established definition of exactly what that is and how one can claim to be GMO (I am paraphrasing) and until there are set definitions of it he is not claiming it. However, they strive toward the best. I was going to use it in my rotation until I decided to try Raw. Should that not work NL will def be in my rotation.

[Pamela M]

Zignature Limited Ingredient Formula

[Leonid N]

Hi all,
i wanted to know what would you recommend as the best
food for my american akita.

thank,

[WestCoastGSD]

Mike, Well it’s disappointing you are unable to put Common Sense Dog Food on your list due to the missing AAFCO labeling, but I do understand you have your rules. It is truly a great food and if you speak to the developer of the food she can probably tell you why she hasn’t done the AAFCO labeling. I know she does not really market the food at all beyond her website and her own personal clients. As the Southern California distributor now for this food I truly hope it gets to be more well known for how great it is for all life stages as it is a complete and balanced diet and has been proven over many years of feeding trials with multiple generations of dogs and over 350 litters of puppies, x-raying for joint development issues etc in the dogs that were raised on it, which is more than can be said for most “complete” raw diets out there, commercial pet foods, and for those that haphazardly try to come up with their own raw food formulation for their dogs. For years I steered my clients away from a raw diet for their growing puppies because I did not know of a good complete and correctly balanced raw diet until I found Common Sense. I didn’t want them running into developmental issues with their puppies because they were lacking in something essential, or overdoing it as both can cause harm. All this being said I understand your site has it’s rules, but if the day ever comes I would love to see Common Sense Raw Dog Food added to your list of Editor’s Choice foods. Thanks for your time. ~ Barbara DiBernardo

[Joanne C]

Have you ever considered/reviewed Costco’s brand, Nature’s Domain? We’ve had good results with the Salmon and Sweet Potato variety – it stabilized our GSD rescue’s quirky digestion.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Joanne –

/dog-food-reviews/natures-domain-dog-food/

[heidj n]

Merrick puppy / all breeds.

Classic real chicken brown rice and green pea

[aquariangt]

Nature’s domain has been reviewed on the review side.

While it looks like a fine food, it very likely won’t ever make it to editor’s choice due to the manufacturing (done by diamond) which is the same reason I wouldn’t feed it

[Hound Dog Mom]

Heidi –

Merrick is already featured in the Editor’s Choice Report.

[Dori]

Hi Maureen. There is only one Editors Choice List for Foods. There is not a specific list for raw foods. The two raw foods that I am remembering that appear on the August list are Primal and Stella and Chewy’s.

I may have missed or overlooked an earlier post of yours about The Honest Kitchen. The Honest Kitchen is not a raw dog food. Is that what you were wondering or did you just want to know if there was a separate raw dog food EC list?

• This reply was modified 10 years, 4 months ago by Dori.

[Jan T]

I would like to nominate Nature’s Logic Dry Chicken Meal Mix…it’s rated 5 stars, is grain and gluten free and our 3 Pups LOVE it and are thriving! It can be purchased at a local dog food shop within 10 miles of home, which is great too.

[Author]

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