The Best of the Quality Dog Foods

Vas_Guy

I feed my dogs Eukanuba Large Breed, someone has rescently told me that Royal Canin is better.

I've searched the web and I've found good and bad comments for both these foods.

I know that both of them are high quality food but can anybody tell me which one is the more superior dog food.

On another note does anyone use Arden Grange

Schlemm

Haven't used either of these foods on my own dogs, but we've switched to Hills over the last few years and it's fantastic, seen a lot of vets reccomend it too.

Amimad

I used Arden Grange for years but have recently changed to raw food.
It was a good food & suited 3 of my dogs fine, but never suited my Kelpie boy now 18months he just couldn't hold any weight from about 11mths.
1 bitch, I re-homed hated dry food until she had Arden Grange, my labx would eat anything & the new keplie pup loves food aswell so it wasn't an issue for her.

I just got fed up having 3 different bags of food in the house so I started feeding raw. I just put the dinners out & take the nexts days feeds out of the freezer. The 3 dogs(7yrs, 18mnts& 8Mnts) are all doing great at the moment. I'm just to lazy to think about 3 differnet diets:p .

Whats imporatant is what suits your dog , find it & stick to it:)

comongethappy

I've never tried Eukanuba, buy I've tried Royal Canin for my cats and my mate had for her dogs. It was pretty good, but we found husse to be much better, and lower feed rates. You can check them out at www.husse.ie (they do free delievery w/ €25 or more). I don't think this really answers your question, but I suppose what works best for your dog is the best!

Ruby Soho

I find Hill's large breed fantastic, my dogs have been on it for around a year now, their coats have come on amazingly. They were in pretty bad shape when we first got them, within weeks of starting this food, they looked fantastic, lots of energy to. It ain't cheap, but a 15kg bag lasts my two dogs (32kg + 26kg) over three weeks, its very energy dense, with quite a low faecal output.

coisaille

I've been feeding my pup Arden Grange, she seems to be thriving on it - I think its pretty good quality stuff, she definitely seemed to like it more than the Redmills she was on when I first got her, she is in no way a fussy eater though! having said that, I'm going to try a change to Burns soon as have to drive an hour to get the AG but discovered Burns for sale in the local vets - be interesting to see if there is much difference between the two...

fenris

Arden Grange is definitely the best food that I have come across for my GSD, there is a noticable change in his colouring, his energy levels and concentration seem to be best when he is being fed arden grange, poo patrol is also much easier. The only problem is that arden grange is a pain to get hold of as very few places stock it!

Next best seems to be royal canin, which is now our regular feed due to its easy availability and not wanting to chop and change diet to much.

Eukanuba was the original feed that I used, caused nasty things to happen to our old black labs rear end and our GSD used to produce steaming mountains of a size that caused me to wonder if there was anything but indigestible filler iin that food.

I would use arden grange if I could get a regular supply but failing that royal canin large bread adult does the trick, east to manage poo, good energy and concentration, I would be really happy with royal canin if I had never seen how healthy he looks on arden grange!

If I get stuck, red mills leader supreme seems to be the best for bridging the gap without causing problems (explosive arse) on the change over.

Alfasudcrazy

I have tried only a few foods with my dogs. Mainly used Hills as they were growing up. They hated it and you could almost hear them mumbling to me how they didn't like it.
I then briefly tried Dr Jons but the ingredients are not so good (animal derivatives / meat extracts etc) well it was cheap so what do you expect.

I have recently changed again to Burns dog food and they love it. No more mumbling and they are looking great.

Beware of changing dog foods though - it has to be done gradually over a week or two. Mine got pretty sick recently when I ran out of their regular dog food and had to buy a small bag of Pedigree to tide them over until monday.
I have decided to stick with Burns from now on - still expensive but a little cheaper than Hills.

corkimp

I use royal canine for my GSD since we got her - changing her from what her breeder fed her - pedigree - to the royal canine junior. Her coat improved, she is healthy and even my vet was happy at her progress on it. but it depends on the dog i guess. i'd recommend you trying your dog on it - gradually introduce over a week and give it a go for say a month and see if your gsd improves. Arden Grange do get good reviews - i knew where one place in cork had it for their dogs they trained. most pet stores and vets have arden grange. try their website for places that stock their stuff.
http://www.ardengrange.ie/ they deliver to anywhere in the south of ireland for definite. their number is on the page. hope that helped

d-redser

I have two pugs, a 5yr old male who loves and thrives on Royal Cannin but I have a 7 month old which I dont think is taking to it like her brother..

Her poo is always sqishy and she would go around 5 times a day compared to when Kaiser was her age, plus she is always hungry... I have her on the right one for her - Royal Canin Mini Junior.

Any suggestions on what is the next best food for a pug?

The Artist

PEDIGREE CHUM! My dogs love them mixed with dry nuts:D

fits

Well I can only recommend Burns really. My two are in great nick on it and do nice solid poos every day.

I havent really used anything else that is widely available.

Ado86

As a veterinary student and have studied nutrition etc imo hills, royal canin and eukanuba are all of the same calibre- premium premium pet foods.
I dont think they can be beaten- apart from on price, but when bought in bulk they dont work out as expensive as they seem.
I have two cats and one of them is fed Hills and the other is on whiskas- I know, I know- but shes 17yrs old and her stomach wont tolerate anything else (absolutely anything) so I think shes better off on it (for that reason only).
The number of specialist diets they provide to help manage health problems is also another advantage they provide, based on clinical knowledge and research.

d-redser

Ado86 wrote: »

As a veterinary student and have studied nutrition etc imo hills, royal canin and eukanuba are all of the same calibre- premium premium pet foods.
I dont think they can be beaten- apart from on price, but when bought in bulk they dont work out as expensive as they seem.
I have two cats and one of them is fed Hills and the other is on whiskas- I know, I know- but shes 17yrs old and her stomach wont tolerate anything else (absolutely anything) so I think shes better off on it (for that reason only).
The number of specialist diets they provide to help manage health problems is also another advantage they provide, based on clinical knowledge and research.

I totally agree.

I would never feed my dogs on Pedigree Chum though... That is comparable to McDonalds food - crap, no nutritional value at all, just pure waste...

I will check out Hills and see how she gets on with that type of food first..

I suppose the only way I will know if she is tolerating the food well is if she doesnt throw it back up & no diarrohea. Is there anything else I need to watch out for?

peasant

Just a few things to keep in mind:

The further the food has to travel, the less fresh it will be
The more you have to buy (to keep cost down), the older the last bag will be when you open it.
The bigger the bag, the staler (or rotten) the dregs
The more international and global the food, the less chance of fresh / local ingredients
The longer the food has to last and the further the ingredients come, the more additives and antioxidants have to be put in to keep it from going off.

The Artist

peasant wrote: »

Just a few things to keep in mind:

The further the food has to travel, the less fresh it will be
The more you have to buy (to keep cost down), the older the last bag will be when you open it.
The bigger the bag, the staler (or rotten) the dregs
The more international and global the food, the less chance of fresh / local ingredients
The longer the food has to last and the further the ingredients come, the more additives and antioxidants have to be put in to keep it from going off.

a good point peasant.

Run_to_da_hills

Pedagree Chum, Perena and Master Mc Grath.

Ado86

Hills is so well formulated and guaranteed to be liked by your pet that you can get a full refund from your vet (usually only stocked by vets) if your animal wont eat it, just bring it back to them and they shouldnt have any problem refunding you because they just claim it back off hills.

In reference to a bigger bag travelling further- being staler etc etc, Hills is a premium quality food and wont go off if stored properly. All their foods come in bags resealable, and so long as you close the bag, the food will stay fresh for months.

You will notice your cat is healthier and will probably live longer if well fed, bigger food bill might reduce your vet bills and we all know how they can be !!!

peasant

Ado86 wrote: »

Hills is so well formulated and guaranteed to be liked by your pet that you can get a full refund from your vet (usually only stocked by vets) if your animal wont eat it, just bring it back to them and they shouldnt have any problem refunding you because they just claim it back off hills.

In reference to a bigger bag travelling further- being staler etc etc, Hills is a premium quality food and wont go off if stored properly. All their foods come in bags resealable, and so long as you close the bag, the food will stay fresh for months.

You will notice your cat is healthier and will probably live longer if well fed, bigger food bill might reduce your vet bills and we all know how they can be !!!

Which advertising leaflet did you copy that from?

flynnc

i used eukanuba for a few years until i found pro plan my dogs are on it eight years and i swear by it but every dog/cat is different so what works for one might not work for the other

Dyr

our little fella gets purina pro plan, and the big fella gets Hills large breed,

Only problem is that both prefer the others food. :rolleyes: The little fellas becoming a barrel from his frequent raids on the big guys dish.

carwash_2006

peasant wrote: »

Which advertising leaflet did you copy that from?

Particularly funny since they said your cat will be healthier when the OP asked about dog food.

I personally find Nutro, Burns or Royal Canin the best ones available here. But, I haven't really looked closely at Arden Grange and I have heard some good things about it.

I feed my dogs Nutro and they are extremely healthy and they really love it, from experience very few dogs turn their noses up at Nutro or Royal Canin and both also offer money back garauntee if your pet doesn't like it. I'm pretty sure all the premium foods offer this and if you bring it back and the shop don't give you a refund get in touch with the food company themselves and check their policy.

bitemybanger

Feed my lil fella Bento Cronin, he likes the lamb and rice one.
Came highly reccomended to me by very serious show dog(Staffie) owners, SSHHHH, you didnt hear that from me:D;)

~Thalia~

Amimad wrote: »

I used Arden Grange for years but have recently changed to raw food.
It was a good food & suited 3 of my dogs fine, but never suited my Kelpie boy now 18months he just couldn't hold any weight from about 11mths.
1 bitch, I re-homed hated dry food until she had Arden Grange, my labx would eat anything & the new keplie pup loves food aswell so it wasn't an issue for her.

I just got fed up having 3 different bags of food in the house so I started feeding raw. I just put the dinners out & take the nexts days feeds out of the freezer. The 3 dogs(7yrs, 18mnts& 8Mnts) are all doing great at the moment. I'm just to lazy to think about 3 differnet diets:p .

Whats imporatant is what suits your dog , find it & stick to it:)

Hi Amimad,
I'm interested in feeding raw food as I have the same problem with my own GSD bitch. She's just over a year and she is 11 lbs under weight and I have tried every food imaginable to beef her up a bit. Vet says she is fine and healthy and not adversly effected but I would still love her to put (and keep!) a bit of extra weight on.

So, what do you feed and did you notice an immediate improvement when you switched and how do you make sure they are getting everything they need to stay healthy.

Thanks a million!

~Thalia~

Amimad wrote: »

I used Arden Grange for years but have recently changed to raw food.
It was a good food & suited 3 of my dogs fine, but never suited my Kelpie boy now 18months he just couldn't hold any weight from about 11mths.
1 bitch, I re-homed hated dry food until she had Arden Grange, my labx would eat anything & the new keplie pup loves food aswell so it wasn't an issue for her.

I just got fed up having 3 different bags of food in the house so I started feeding raw. I just put the dinners out & take the nexts days feeds out of the freezer. The 3 dogs(7yrs, 18mnts& 8Mnts) are all doing great at the moment. I'm just to lazy to think about 3 differnet diets:p .

Whats imporatant is what suits your dog , find it & stick to it:)

Hi Amimad,
I'm interested in feeding raw food as I have the same problem with my own GSD bitch. She's just over a year and she is 11 lbs under weight and I have tried every food imaginable to beef her up a bit. Vet says she is fine and healthy and not adversly effected but I would still love her to put (and keep!) a bit of extra weight on.

So, what do you feed and did you notice an immediate improvement when you switched and how do you make sure they are getting everything they need to stay healthy?

Thanks a million!

fenris

Some GSD lines are very lean and very happy that way!
My GSD will only eat when hungry and will quite happily not touch his food for a day or two!
I was very worried at first by my vet finally managed to get the message across to me that my dog is very healthy, his weight is correct for him and the weight tables are guidelines, so was it worth trying to make my dog fat to suit my idea of what he should look like.

So I just make sure that I feed him a good high quality low volume food (arden grange) combined with raw chicken pieces.

~Thalia~

fenris wrote: »

Some GSD lines are very lean and very happy that way!
My GSD will only eat when hungry and will quite happily not touch his food for a day or two!
I was very worried at first by my vet finally managed to get the message across to me that my dog is very healthy, his weight is correct for him and the weight tables are guidelines, so was it worth trying to make my dog fat to suit my idea of what he should look like.

So I just make sure that I feed him a good high quality low volume food (arden grange) combined with raw chicken pieces.

Thanks Fenris. I know you are right and to an extent I have given up on worrying about it because I know she is very healthy. Vet has suggested the puppy version of the adult food she is on (Burns'). It's not even that I want her to look a certain way I just want to make sure that she is as healthy as can be. She is not a show line shepherd she is working line so she should be even that bit heavier.

I live in Limerick and I've never seen Arden Grange for sale here. Does anyone know if anywhere Limerick or nearby stock it?

michelleans

~Thalia~ wrote: »

I live in Limerick and I've never seen Arden Grange for sale here. Does anyone know if anywhere Limerick or nearby stock it?

Here's the list of stockists for Arden Grange in Ireland http://www.ardengrange.ie/stockists.asp

Limerick

Abbeyfeale Boarding Kennels, Abbeyfeale, Co Limerick – 068 30627

Doggystylz, Vair 9, Watchhouse Cross, Patern Road, Co Limerick – 086 8939013

Adrian Hanley Vets, 31 Oakvale Drive, Dooradoyle, Co Limerick – 061 301433

Whereabouts are you in Limerick? I'm also in Limerick and have a GSD

~Thalia~ wrote: »

She is not a show line shepherd she is working line so she should be even that bit heavier.

My boy is German working lines and even though he eats enough, he is still thin looking to me.. Though the vet says he's in top shape and perfect condition. I feel Royal Canin Breed German Shepherd. His energy levels are great, coat is shiny and he loves it!

~Thalia~

michelleans wrote: »

Here's the list of stockists for Arden Grange in Ireland http://www.ardengrange.ie/stockists.asp



Whereabouts are you in Limerick? I'm also in Limerick and have a GSD



My boy is German working lines and even though he eats enough, he is still thin looking to me.. Though the vet says he's in top shape and perfect condition. I feel Royal Canin Breed German Shepherd. His energy levels are great, coat is shiny and he loves it!

Thanks Michelle! I live in Crecora just about 10 minutes from the city, how about you?

I would be very near Adrian Hanley's surgery and in fact I have been there but I think he had hills Science plan for sale and not arden grange. Might give him a bell anyway and see if he still stocks it!

Have seen your boy in pics on here, He is FAB!!!

Here's my girl just out of the bath, she looks kind of silver but that's just shine, she's mostly black apart from her legs and paws.

Grawns

Ado86 wrote: »

As a veterinary student and have studied nutrition etc imo hills, royal canin and eukanuba are all of the same calibre- premium premium pet foods.
I dont think they can be beaten- apart from on price, but when bought in bulk they dont work out as expensive as they seem.
I have two cats and one of them is fed Hills and the other is on whiskas- I know, I know- but shes 17yrs old and her stomach wont tolerate anything else (absolutely anything) so I think shes better off on it (for that reason only).
The number of specialist diets they provide to help manage health problems is also another advantage they provide, based on clinical knowledge and research.

I'm getting confused. Have my dalmation on chicken and rice pro plan and his stomach and poo are much better. ( Very delicate stomach and extremely greedy dog). However he doesn't seem to like it that much and if I'm paying so much for his food I'd like him to enjoy it and get the best possible nutrition.

He gets bonios for breakfast and these don't upset him either. ( though today he buried them for later)

Am happy to try the ones that are recommended above ( they're pretty much the same price) Anyone else got a dalmation or a hungry, vomitty, diarhoea prone pooch?

Amimad

food will stay fresh for months

.
A quick question how can something that keeps so long ever be fresh?

I'm interested in feeding raw food as I have the same problem with my own GSD bitch. She's just over a year and she is 11 lbs under weight and I have tried every food imaginable to beef her up a bit. Vet says she is fine and healthy and not adversly effected but I would still love her to put (and keep!) a bit of extra weight on.

So, what do you feed and did you notice an immediate improvement when you switched and how do you make sure they are getting everything they need to stay healthy.

Thalia,
I'd only really worry if you could see a few of her ribs or that you can really feel her spine when you pet her. If not & what your feeding her suits her stick to it.
I'm not one to try & convert anyone to raw but it suits me & my dogs.

I started with chicken wings( which are still a big part of their diet).
I gave 2/3 in the morning & gave dry food in evening as I made the transition. I noticed after about 2 weeks that he look better & said to mself F it I'll just do all raw.
He's at about his right weight now 21/22kg & looks great, shiney coat,clean teeth & very solid small poo.
I suppose there is no gauranteed way of ensuring that they get every nutrient they require, but i try to vary the diet & what I feed includeds chickenwings/carcuss , lamb laps(bone & meat & fat), heart(beef/lamb) Liver( beef/lamb) mince, eggs, fish really what ever I can get my hands on.Very ocasssionally vegatable(pulsed)
The dogs do vary & you quickly learn what they like & how much they need.
Last Fri I rescued a little jack russel type & put her on raw straigh taway.
It was funny, she didn't know what raw food was & refused to eat it the first 2 days but now shes tucking in & loving it.

So now I have four dogs all on raw & I find it just as easy as feeding dry food, but find my dogs much happier & healthier.

Hope this might help
Ami