[pacer1978]

Hello,
Hoping a few people out there can give me suggestions. I’ve been reading forums now for what seems like 2 weeks and still undecided. I have three dogs: 2 Weimaraners (12 yrs and 4 yrs old) and one mix (guessing on her age since she is a “rescue”) of maybe 10. All are female. With a few occurrences of allergies (I feel it is more airborne..grasses, pollen, dust/dander more than food related), they are pretty healthy. However, I believe in feeding good quality dog food since they are your kids. I was feeding them Nature’s Variety, both Prairie and Instinct formulas. Since Petco has a lack of protein (mainly beef and chicken, which I try not to give them since they say that is the most common protein used), I considered switching brands. I found Nature’s Domain (Kirkland’s brand), but realized Dog Food Advisor downgraded the brand to 3 stars. Can anyone suggest a reasonably affordable food (since I’m feeding three!), that doesn’t lack on quality (looking for at least 4-5 stars), AND processed by a manufacturer that has limited food recalls? I am currently trying out Sold Gold, but realized they are processed by Diamond and I don’t quite trust them since the many recalls I’ve read. Sorry for the long post…and thanks in advance!

[theBCnut]

Earthborn, NutriSource, Back to Basics, Merrick, and Fromm. Try rotating between a few different brands. It’s healthier for the good microorganisms in the gut and they make up a huge percentage of the immune system.

[InkedMarie]

Foods that haven’t had recalls, as far as I know are Fromm, Annamaet, Dr Tim’s, Earthborn. If you will order online, you can get great deals!

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi Pacer1978 –

Not all of Solid Gold’s formulas are made by Diamond. Hundchen Flocken, WolfCub, WolfKing, Hund-n-Flocken and Just a Wee Bit are made by Diamond, the rest are made by Crosswind. Their two best formulas (imo) Barking and the Moon and Sun Dancer are not made by Diamond. Some good quality yet affordable foods: Earthborn and NutriSource (mentioned by Patty) and Dr. Tim’s (mentioned by Marie) and also Victor, Native, Whole Earth Farms, Eagle Pack, Healthwise and Hi-Tek Naturals – all of these foods are rated at least 4 stars and not made by Diamond.

[pacer1978]

Thank you all for your suggestions. The problem that I have is finding these foods are not always easy. I also did think of purchasing online, but the shipping charges are crazy! I haven’t had any luck finding Fromm or some of the others you suggested or it seems the bags are so small for the cost. I also looked into Holistic Health. I read a lot about them and was pretty set on trying them out. But, again..can’t find it anywhere but online and including the shipping charges, it pushed the price of a bag to almost $100.

[theBCnut]

Chewy, petflow and some other online stores have free shipping on orders over $50.

[InkedMarie]

Pacer, look at pet flow, pet food direct, wag, chewy, all at dot com. While checking out the prices, sign up for their emails. You’ll then know about sales.

[pacer1978]

How often do you all rotate a dog food brand? I had them on Solid Gold MMillenium for two bags and they seem to do fine. But, was told from the above thread that is Diamond. I wanted to stay away from them…the whole reason I switched from Kirkland’s to begin with. I just did an auto delivery for Earthborn, so I will start them on that once MMillenium is done. Is it every 6 months/seasonal or more at your discretion. If the dogs seem to be doing great with a particular brand, is it still advised to switch?

[theBCnut]

Yes, it is still advised to switch brands. I would not go longer than 3 months on one brand. Within a brand, all the different formulas usually use the same vitamin/ mineral premix, which means that they are all high in the same things and low in the same things and missing many of the same micronutrients. So switching to a different brand helps to even out those types of problems with kibble. And don’t forget that different nutrients support different probiotics and the more diverse the probiotic population is, the better the immune system is.

Switching after every bag is probably best.

[InkedMarie]

I switch between brands of food and types (kibble, canned, dehydrated & pre made raw) of food. With kibble, I change brands after a bag is finished. Canned is new every can (I use as a topper). Dehydrated stays the same.

[pacer1978]

OK…so switch the actual brand..not just the protein source? I was going to do Earthborn Great Plains with the Bison, then switch through their different proteins, but that is not good enough. You are saying you should switch complete brands at least every 3 months? Am I understanding that correctly, PV?

Thank you for your suggestion, Inked…I never thought to switch that often for kibble.

[theBCnut]

Over the winter, I had 3 or 4 different bags open at any given time and I switched kibbles every day, as well as raw. Right now I’m switching between 2 bags, one week on, one week off. I use Brothers, Earthborn holistic Grain Free, Nature’s Variety Instinct, and I hope soon to also use Nature’s Logic. My dog does best on the Brothers so that is like my fall back food. Right now I’m feeding Brothers Turkey and Earthborn Great Plains Feast, a few weeks ago it was NVI Rabbit and Brothers Beef. As I run out of one thing, I rotate in some thing different. You can rotate however works for you, but I think you should change brands at least every 3 months. That way if one is high or low in something, your dog will only get that extreme for 3 months before you change. I do rotate through a brands different formulas, if they are within the parameters that I need for dog food, but not necessarily one after the other. And I keep looking for new brands to try.

[InkedMarie]

Pacer: I’ve learned so much since coming here. I’ve always tried new kibbles but I’d try a new one, stick with it for many months…now I know better. I just got in two new favors of Natures Logic kibble in today, along with three cases of canned and new freeze dried!

[pacer1978]

OK….sounds good

PV:
If I switched as often as you..wouldn’t that upset their digestive track and cause diarrhea, even if you rotate it in before the other runs out? I looked into Brothers and I fear it is a bit beyond my price range when the shipping is added. Although, reading about the food made me want to buy it. I think it would be best for Lucy, who tends to have watery eyes all the time. Also, why do you do that only in the winter? I understand it is obviously colder then so is that the main reason? Immune systems are lower and by doing that, it boosts their immune system? I’m thinking of switching out between NV, Earthborn, and may try Nature’s Logic. I noticed all of those can be purchased through the websites you told me about in a previous post. Brothers I believe needs to be purchased directly through them and their shipping is too much. Thanks again everyone!

[theBCnut]

For Brothers, shipping is free if you order is over $40. If you transition regularly, their gut gets healthier and they no longer get upset stomachs from new foods. A lot of upset stomach issues are because the dog doesn’t have a diverse population of probiotics and probiotics are supposed to help with digestion. They can’t help if they are not there. At first, I had to do a very slow transition between foods but I kept at it and before too long I was able to do a normal transition, now mine need no transition and it doesn’t even matter to mine if I feed low fat one day and high fat the next. I have not had any upset stomachs from my dogs in well over a year now.

I do it differently in Summer because where I live is not conducive to keeping kibble fresh, high heat, high humidity.

[InkedMarie]

Pacer: Brothers is a great food, mine do great on it but yes, it is more costly. That’s what’s great about rotating: you can buy the more expensive one every once in awhile. I try to buy dr Tim’s, honest kitchen, some other canned & kibbles when I see them on sale online.

[meky6ra]

I’d like to hijack this thread and ask if anyone knows who manufactures Nature’s Variety.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 5 months ago by meky6ra.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Meky6ra –

Kibble – CJ Foods
Canned – Simmons
Raw – Self Manufactured

[meky6ra]

Thank you, Hound Dog Mom!

[Author]

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