AmberGretchen...

[Miscka]

You are such a huge help to the pet community here...I STILL use the link you gave me for behavioral advice when I got my puppy. A million thanks

Now, I was wondering if I could pick your brain a bit re:dog food. I looked through that link and it was helpful but I am still curious. Are there a lot of general "rules" for dog food like the ones you said for cat food? Is meal a bad thing? I was super careful with what cat food I got, and did some research, but I know less about dog food. I started out feeding my dog Blue Buffalo, and then switched to Merrick. Merrick made my DHs greyhound sick though, so now we are trying out Fromm. I felt SO LOST at the pet store trying to analyze the ingredients. I looked at that link to dog food analysis but it wouldn''t work

which was a bummer because it seemed like just what I was looking for. Do you know of a similar resource for dog food info? I googled but there are some seriously varying opinions out there...

Thanks in advance!

 

[AmberGretchen]

Miscka - I''m so glad that I''ve been helpful to you in your pet ownership - that really makes me feel amazing

And I think its so wonderful that you are putting so much thought and time into educating yourself about all of this

OK, so here are some links about dog (and cat) food, to start with - hopefully some of them will work for you:

Pet Food Ratings

Dog Food Analysis

The Dog Food Project

Dog Aware

Info on Raw Food and Grain Free

I can totally understand why you are confused - there''s a ton of info out there on both cat and dog food, and it can be super confusing. FWIW, I think there is a little bit of trial and error involved as well. For example, Merrick is a pretty good food, but as you say, it didn''t agree with your greyhound, and sometimes there is no way to know something like that without trying the food. Can you describe in what way he got sick, and what specific Merrick food you tried? That might help point in the right direction - if its a tummy upset that''s very different than an allergic reaction.

I think the evidence for feeding dogs a raw diet is at least as compelling as that for cats, if not more so. So it might be worth looking into that.

Definitely you want to avoid all foods that include corn or corn by-products. Meal is fine, as it is with cats.

My favorite brands for both dogs and cats are Innova (like the EVO especially) and Nature''s Variety (their Instinct line is great - both the wet food and the dry kibble). If I were you I''d try to get some small bags of the NV Instinct stuff and start with that and see how the doggies do.

Fromm and Blue Buffalo are also really good foods too though. Fromm can be especially good if you have a dog with sensitivity/allergies to some of the more conventional protein and/or carb sources, as they make some options that have good alternate protein and carb choices (i.e. Duck, Fish, sweet potato, etc...).

Finally try not to stress too much - it sounds like you are already miles ahead of the Purina/Iams/Science Diet folks, and I''m sure that, combined with your careful behavioral training, is already putting your pups in a really good spot

 

[Miscka]

Thanks!!! Weird Dog Food Analysis is working now, great! Fromm has 5 stars, good to know.

The Blue Buffalo was good, I just got tired of going to Petsmart! I would rather go to one of the local places and they didn''t carry it. Plus Rhett didn''t like the Life Source Bits in there, haha. We were using the Turducken Merrick food. The greyhound just got AWFUL gas and diarrhea, and the lady at the store said it could be because it is such a rich food. I am hopeful about the Fromm with her, but only time will tell, I want to wait until she has had a chance to really adjust before I decide. They both LOVE it though! We plan to switch up which one we are using, the one we got is Pork and Applesauce.

I don''t think a raw diet is for us. We are both vegetarian, and I am just not sure we could deal with it.

Thanks again for the links! I will pass them along to DH and we will do some research

and look in to what is available locally.

 

[AmberGretchen]

Miscka - I''m glad you got the links working

I feel you on the raw diet issues with being a veggie - I''m one too, and it kind of grosses me out. I''d definitely have to buy pre-made frozen rather than making it myself (eww

). But for me the bigger worry is that DH and I both have really unpredictable schedules, and you have to thaw the raw food ahead of time - I worry about it going bad too quickly...

I hope the Fromm works well for you guys!