do you buy the expensive brand of food for your pets?

[Imdanny]

Well, I don't buy expensive brands pe se, but I buy brands that happen to be expensive because I don't want fillers and things like that. I basically want her to have "organic" (don't quote me on that- I don't mean "organic" like for people- it's just the best word I can find right now

) food and I'm willing to spend the money on it. I actually did just buy her "Nutro" which is kind of a big brand yesterday because it's what I could find- she's upset with me for changing her food!

She's be 2 in July. I'm still researching what I want to feed her to be honest. She doesn't like her new food but, you know, it's what I could find and, as I told her (she just looked at me) we are in the middle of a recession.

She'll get used to her new food soon enough. I'm not going to throw it away. Pet Promise is the brand I've been using- the one she's upset about not getting. It's a little more expensive- she might not get it again until the recession is over.

 

[soocool]

Date: 5/6/2009 11:34:02 AM
Author: gemgirl

Date: 5/5/2009 1:17:14 PM
Author: EBree

Date: 5/5/2009 1:10:43 PM
Author: NovemberBride
Hmm. This is very interesting. We give our pug mix Wellness, which is highly recommended and he loves it, but he also has terrible gas. I never attributed it to the food for some reason. Maybe I will have to look into one of the other brands.....

Pugs are pretty gassy little things anyway, but the gas on Wellness was so bad, we knew it had to be a food issue. Could your little guy be sensitive to certain ingredients? A limited ingredient formula might be worth a try.

As for ordering pet supplies online, we order flea/heartworm meds from Drs. Foster and Smith (great pricing) as well as other small things, like dog beds or tags occasionally. I needed to put in an order today, so thanks for reminding me DF!

Our two dogs have eaten only Wellness and Mother Hubbard cookies and treats their whole lives. (they''re made by the same company) They''ve never had any problems with gas. I buy all their food at a local Mom & Pop shop. The only things I order on line are their collars and leases embroidered with their names and our phone number.

A little acidophilus added to his food might calm his intestinal tract.

After we got our dog I tried to switch to the Wellness food, but he had problems with gas and large poops as well. I think it was just too rich for him. That''s when I tried Canidae and he has had absolutely no problems. I still use the Wellness salmon treats when we train.

Sometimes you have to try several brands until you find the right one for your pet!

 

[soocool]

Date: 5/7/2009 12:20:13 AM
Author: Imdanny
Well, I don''t buy expensive brands pe se, but I buy brands that happen to be expensive because I don''t want fillers and things like that. I basically want her to have ''organic'' (don''t quote me on that- I don''t mean ''organic'' like for people- it''s just the best word I can find right now

) food and I''m willing to spend the money on it. I actually did just buy her ''Nutro'' which is kind of a big brand yesterday because it''s what I could find- she''s upset with me for changing her food!

She''s be 2 in July. I''m still researching what I want to feed her to be honest. She doesn''t like her new food but, you know, it''s what I could find and, as I told her (she just looked at me) we are in the middle of a recession.

She''ll get used to her new food soon enough. I''m not going to throw it away. Pet Promise is the brand I''ve been using- the one she''s upset about not getting. It''s a little more expensive- she might not get it again until the recession is over.

When we got our puppy he was on the Purina ProPlan and I kept him on it for a while until we switched to Wellness and finally Canidae. The one thing I found was that he ate more of the Proplan (1 1/4 cups/ day) than the Canidae (3/4 cups/day). When I made the comparison it actually cost less to feed the higher quality food than the lesser quality (not that ProPlan is bad..it is good. Canidae is just somewhat better...less fillers) .

 

[gemgirl]

Date: 5/7/2009 9:47:54 AM
Author: soocool

Date: 5/6/2009 11:34:02 AM
Author: gemgirl

Date: 5/5/2009 1:17:14 PM
Author: EBree

Date: 5/5/2009 1:10:43 PM
Author: NovemberBride
Hmm. This is very interesting. We give our pug mix Wellness, which is highly recommended and he loves it, but he also has terrible gas. I never attributed it to the food for some reason. Maybe I will have to look into one of the other brands.....

Pugs are pretty gassy little things anyway, but the gas on Wellness was so bad, we knew it had to be a food issue. Could your little guy be sensitive to certain ingredients? A limited ingredient formula might be worth a try.

As for ordering pet supplies online, we order flea/heartworm meds from Drs. Foster and Smith (great pricing) as well as other small things, like dog beds or tags occasionally. I needed to put in an order today, so thanks for reminding me DF!

Our two dogs have eaten only Wellness and Mother Hubbard cookies and treats their whole lives. (they''re made by the same company) They''ve never had any problems with gas. I buy all their food at a local Mom & Pop shop. The only things I order on line are their collars and leases embroidered with their names and our phone number.

A little acidophilus added to his food might calm his intestinal tract.

After we got our dog I tried to switch to the Wellness food, but he had problems with gas and large poops as well. I think it was just too rich for him. That''s when I tried Canidae and he has had absolutely no problems. I still use the Wellness salmon treats when we train.

Sometimes you have to try several brands until you find the right one for your pet!

Oh absolutely! Every dog is different just like every person is different. Our pet food store sells Wellness, Innova and Merrick''s the most. That''s what''s popular out here. What I believe matters most is that they get optimum nutrition without fillers, without artificial flavorizers and dyes, no bottom of the barrel protein sources. Most of these companies use human grade whole foods- proteins, grains, fruits, sweet potatoes. At the advice of our Vet, actually the last few Vets, we also give them peeled apple chunks, they love bananas, Cheerios as training treats, a little pure apple cider in their water for a treat every once in a while. They love when our tomatoes start coming in (they steal them from the vines) and they LOVE green veggies that crunch like escarole and romaine. Go figure..... and you can''t get most kids to eat their veggies.

 

[House Cat]

I feed my dogs Wellness. I used to feed them Solid Gold, but then realized the grain content was too high and made the switch. I also like the fact that Wellness has a chicken formula for my Papillon as this tends to be the best meat source for his breed.

 

[loriken214]

We''ve fed our two mini dachshund brother and sister, Bonnie and Clyde, Science Diet their whole lives and have progressed as they''ve aged....they are now seniors....10 years old.

Our shelter cat, Coco, was adopted from the Houston SPCA on February 26, 2008. She turned out to be a special needs kitty and has to be on prescription canned food, lactulose stimulant to help her go potty and science diet hairball formula cat food.

We don''t buy online. We get the dog food and dry cat food from PetsMart. Our Vet has the canned and prescriptions for Coco.

Lori

 

[Imdanny]

Date: 5/7/2009 9:53:36 AM
Author: soocool

Date: 5/7/2009 12:20:13 AM

Author: Imdanny

Well, I don't buy expensive brands pe se, but I buy brands that happen to be expensive because I don't want fillers and things like that. I basically want her to have 'organic' (don't quote me on that- I don't mean 'organic' like for people- it's just the best word I can find right now

) food and I'm willing to spend the money on it. I actually did just buy her 'Nutro' which is kind of a big brand yesterday because it's what I could find- she's upset with me for changing her food!

She's be 2 in July. I'm still researching what I want to feed her to be honest. She doesn't like her new food but, you know, it's what I could find and, as I told her (she just looked at me) we are in the middle of a recession.


She'll get used to her new food soon enough. I'm not going to throw it away. Pet Promise is the brand I've been using- the one she's upset about not getting. It's a little more expensive- she might not get it again until the recession is over.

When we got our puppy he was on the Purina ProPlan and I kept him on it for a while until we switched to Wellness and finally Canidae. The one thing I found was that he ate more of the Proplan (1 1/4 cups/ day) than the Canidae (3/4 cups/day). When I made the comparison it actually cost less to feed the higher quality food than the lesser quality (not that ProPlan is bad..it is good. Canidae is just somewhat better...less fillers) .

Interesting. Thanks. I find "people" food is like that. I get more nutrition by eating organic food, and non-processed meet, because at a certain price point, there isn't any nutrition, anyway, and no food, at least where I live, is inexpensive.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Like NEL, we feed our dogs Origen, the all fish variety. One of our dogs has allergies, she has to take a steroid daily, and the all fish kibble seems to help. But like Musey, our dogs are small and only eat 1cup of food per day between the two of them. I figure we spend about $20 per month on food.

 

[luv2sparkle]

We have a teenie weenie ( mini dacshund) and we feed him Royal Canine for Weenies.

 

[trillionaire]

I have fed Innova for Large breed dogs, and Chicken Soup for the dog lover''s soul (puppy, adult, and adult large breed). All of them have gone well and she has a beautiful coat. I stopped Innova because I couldn''t afford it on a student budget. When I make good money, I will probably move to Innova Evo, or a BARF diet. I was devestated by the death of my last Ridgeback and vowed to only feed high quality foods to any other pets I owned. My last dog was on Pro Plan, which was recommended by my breeder. I don''t know of any research that suggests that a corn based food is good for a dog AT ALL. The pet store I go to currently only sells high quality pet foods. They won''t even sell some of the brands mentioned on this thread, including Pro Plan that we fed out dog for 11.5 yrs before he passed

 

[Lynnie]

I had a hard time finding a food that my cat wouldn''t throw up. A few years ago, the vet recommended Hill''s Prescription Diet brand dry food. $30 for a 10lb bag... I still buy it at the vet''s office, not much of a discount online, but no more throw up (unless he gets into a plant). He just went for his 10-year check-up, and the vet gave him a clean bill of health... he said he would''ve guessed the cat to be 6 or 7, not 10!

 

[Little Monster]

Our dog is on Canidae (what she was being fed at her foster home when we adopted her). She has always been healthy, a good weight, and the vet has always said just to stick with it... It''s not cheap, but we cut coupons & buy it on sale... which is why we own enough dog food until 2012 right now

One cat is on Iams Natural Food, the other is on a Prescription Hill''s Science Diet food because he''s overweight... He has lost a few pounds over the years while on it, and while he still has a few to lose, this keeps him at least somewhat satisfied, so we''ve kept buying it... despite the $48 price tag for a 17lbs bag.

 

[CharmyPoo]

I only feed my FurKids premium food and would never buy from a grocery store. I have tried almost all premium brands and Orijen is the one I am sticking with. It is high quality and all my picky eaters love it. Had no problems so far and no plans on switching. Both my dogs and cats love it. Furkids visiting also love Orijen and eats it like treats.

I also liked Canidae, Merrick, and Natural Balance. My furkids always stops eating Wellness after a while and it makes their poop soft.

 

[mochi]

I get chicken soup for dogs.

Someone told me once, not sure how true its, that dogs will eat until they get the nutrition that is need for their body. If they are eating dog food that doesn''t meet their nutrition, they will just eat more of it until it''s fulfilled. Like I said, not sure if it''s true or note....I think it''s hockey puck, myself...