What food is best?

[markyyyyyy]

Hi all,

we have a near on 8 month old King Charles, he is currently on royal canin food.

does anyone have any other recommendations as to a good quality, healthy food that your dog goes nuts for? Our dog does not get excited at food time unless we put a spoonful of tuna in his bowl.

thanks

mark

[cavdaddy008]

Jenny is 11 mo. old and she is also on Royal Canine, but it's gastro-intestinal as a vet recommendation since she is on anti-biotics. She loves the stuff and I've been mixing it with her dry food, Natural Recipe. However, she tries to lick all the wet food off the dry kibble. Later, she returns and eats the dry food as well as really lick her dish. We are worried that she will not want to go back to her dry food after she's done with the meds. I guess we will try to wean her off of the wet food, but it may not work. I think Natural Balance has some food with fish dry food. You could ask about it at Petco or other store. However, if you get the tuna at a discount store, it might be cheaper than royal canine. Maybe your dog would like tuna mixed with a good quality dry food?

[Sydneys Mom]

I'd be interested in this answer too. I'm thinking of switching to Wellness or Merrick. Would love to hear the opinions.

[denali]

Have a look at http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/

I am currently feeding kokoda Innova Evo Small bites, but i have also fed him taste of the wild. He seems to like both better than the royal canin.
I also feed him Ziwipeak (Which he LOVES) as it isn't really a kiblle, it is more like a dried jerky type thing, but it is used as kibble.
Maybe check them out.
http://www.ziwipeak.com/

[Karlin]

we have a near on 8 month old King Charles

Just checking but assume you mean you have a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel (eg a cavalier)? A 'King Charles Spaniel' is actually a completely different breed. Not that it matters if you have a King Charles -- they are very sweet too! -- but just wanted to clarify as we don't currently have anyone I think with an actual King Charles rather than a cavalier.

On food -- a spoon of tuna now and then is fine (and healthy!) but don't know if i'd give it every single day, as tuna retains mercury. Sardines can be a better and healthier option, or some boiled shredded chicken; a little cooked mince or liver etc.

Puppies tend to get finicky so I'd not worry a whole lot if a dog isn't getting overly excited at mealtime -- this can be the start of them getting a bit manipulative over food.

As far as it goes, Royal Canin is a decent kibble (far better than what you'd get at the supermarket for example). There are many other options too; no one food is 'the best' and some suit one dog better than another.

We have lots and lots of threads discussing food options so you might find it useful to do a search and see what comes up! Also there are many threads in the 'Library' section on feeding that might be of interest.

Personally I don't like feeding only a dry, processed food and there are many other options to this that can be researched -- even simply adding some healthful 'real' ingredients to meals is better than a dry bowl of kibble (no wonder dogs don't get really excited at the prospect!). I don't really think it matters a whole lot what kibble (dry food) is fed as long as it's better than supermarket quality. All foods have to meet minimal nutritional levels and at the end of the day, a dry food is such a shadow of the ingredients that went into it at the start. I Just don't think kibble is a great solo option for feeding; convenient perhaps but it's similar to giving a child weetabix for every meal his whole life and offers only a very narrow range of foodstuffs and nutrition. Kibbles ALL have to have vitamins and minerals added because they are stripped out of the actual food ingredients for the most part, during processing -- no matter how expensive the kibble and how attractive the packaging or trendy the name!

I use kibble sometimes as part of a meal during the week -- choosing one with the simplest ingredients I can get with no artificial additives or food colourings, at medium price. I like James Wellbeloved for that.

OK that's my dry processed food gripe over for the day!

PS my caveat on the dog food analysis website is that they do not declare their own biases or reveal who they are -- which means I cannot judge how qualified they are to pass judgement on dog foods. Some of their opinions reflect some popular food biases that have not been shown to have much basis in any research -- so I would take their gradings with that grain of salt. The site is really useful for getting a good breakdown of ingredients and explaining the different categories of ingredients and what they really mean. But at the end of the day, a dry food is still a processed food.

[MomObvious]

I'd be interested in this answer too. I'm thinking of switching to Wellness or Merrick. Would love to hear the opinions.

Fletcher has been on Wellness Core since switched him from Wellness Puppy when I got him (he came on the Wellness puppy and I'm not one who believes "puppy" food is needed- a good diet is a good diet) He has gone thur periods his first year where he was less interested in eating...but I chalked that up to his growth rate. He eats great now does the whole circle happy dance at meal times I like the Wellness Core, its rated pretty high as far a kibble goes too. I still have considered switching him to a freeze dried raw food, or home prepared raw diet however I'm still researching that---I think home feeling raw does take education and I'm just not comfortable with it yet. I do give fresh fruits and veggies as treats and sometime with his kibble. I feel good about leaving Fletcher in the Wellness Core for now.

[Lukesmom]

Luke has been on Nature's Variety Instinct for a while. I usually get him the dry, but I sometimes get him the frozen raw patties, or a can. I think he's had Innova Evo, and he has definitely had Nature's Recipe Grain Free before. I like the Nature's Recipe because I can switch between all the types anytime I want. I gave him half a frozen raw patty for breakfast, and he had kibble for dinner. There is no one best food for every dog, but being able to switch is critical to me. If he needs medicine, or after he had his dental, I gave him canned for a few days. For the next 6 months, Luke will be traveling (usually with me, but one time he is going with a friend and not with me) once or twice a month, for flyball, and he is going with me to clicker expo, it's much easier to travel with kibble. It's especially easier to send him with other people with kibble, since I can measure out each meal and pack it in snack baggies for him.

[Sydneys Mom]

I'm feeding BellaMia Royal Canin now as that is what her breeder was feeding. I use to feed Sydney Wellness Healthy Weight. It seems to me that Merrick has fewer preservatives than Royal Canin, so I may switch to that.

[Lynne]

I used to feed Megan on Burns Chicken and Rice, and we moved on to Chicken and Maize for a while. She was overweight when we first got her, and burns had a good low fat version, which really helped her weight and her coat, and we never moved away from them, just changed the 'flavour'. Teddy is currently on Petsathome Advanced for Puppies (which is what his breeders were feeding him), but I am slowly going to start introducing him to Burns Puppy Minis, so hopefully in a couple of weeks, he will be fully on the Burns. That, and freeze dried liver treats which are an absolutely bonus for house training.

[cpell009]

I feed Orijen, rotating between the chicken and the 6fish but I've been rotating more raw bones and fruits and veg in lately. Orijen is made in Canada with human grade meats.

You could try mixing a little spoonful of plain yogurt or tripe. Tripett is easy to purchase in most pet stores, it's canned and you just mix a tsp in with each meal. It's stinky, healthy and they love it. You could also get fresh tripe if you have any local raw pet stores or you could try a butcher.