What are your requirements in a food?

[Paviche]

In general, for your specific dog (allergies, preferences, etc), or both! Are there specific ingredients that you avoid (or look for?) Protein %? Brands, manufacturers? Price? Do you look at reviews? I want to hear all of your considerations when you choose a food, including raw or home cooked

 

[Shai]

My requirements basically are

(1) My dogs do well on it.
(2) I can be as certain as is reasonable that it is safe for my dogs, in both the short- and long-term.
(3) Doesn't break the bank.

 

[*blackrose]

Well....at this point....anything that they do well on and I can afford.

I try to avoid corn, wheat, and soy, mainly because I don't know how Abrams would do on them. For that matter, I also try to stay away from a lot of rice, purely out of habit as my past dog didn't do well on foods with rice. And, of course, other things like artificial coloring, sugar, etc., etc. are just bad. I'm also programmed to look for novel protein (ie., not chicken or lamb) because my past dogs did better on duck/turkey/novel proteins as opposed to chicken/lamb.

I prefer a food with at least 25% protein, although I don't really have a reason for it.

If foods are similar, I pick one with a higher kcal/cup content than the other.

I'm also overly concerned with Ca ratio due to Abrams being a large breed and growing.

And, of course, I look at the AAFCO statement to make sure it's suitable for what I need (maintenance vs growth, or ALS).

 

[Southpaw]

I like somewhere in the 30ish% protein range, no real reason other than... yay protein.

I want a balanced mix of meat and grains/grain replacement. What I hate more than anything is to see a food start off with chicken meal, and then there's this string of "potatoes, sweet potatoes, potato starch, potato this and that...." MOAR MEAT. Or good God, just anything else other than more potatoes.

I avoid the usual - corn, soy, wheat, by-products, added colors, sugar, unnamed meats.

Less than $60 for 30lbs.

And of course, I don't want a company that has been riddled with recalls.

If I'm thinking of trying a new food I'll usually check out what other people think of it, ultimately I don't put much weight in those reviews though.

 

[SpringerLover]

In general in a kibble:
**at least 28% protein (because protein is necessary for muscle maintenance, and my dogs always look better on "higher" protein foods)
**sweet potatoes or chick peas as the primary carb (because they don't tend to cause glucose spikes that regular potatoes and peas can)
**balanced Ca ratio

I get a lot of food for free or get it discounted, so retail price doesn't matter a whole lot.

I don't feed Diamond products.

I have come to love the benefits of raw green cow tripe, so both dogs get it regularly. It is so nutrient dense and protein rich in such a digestible form... it just smells disgusting.

I keep wanting to try Orijen 6 fish, but I keep forgetting! Lately the only kibble I feed is Canine Caviar Herring or Duck.

 

[GingerKid]

We're just going through the new-food search now.
- no "bad" stuff - sugar, added sodium, artificial colours,
- no oatmeal (gives Snowball the runs - other grains seem to be fine though)
- named meat meal and/or meat as the first one or two ingredients
- not too calorically dense. Snowball isn't the most active dog in the world, and I use his kibble for training - the more volume of kibble he gets, the more training we get to do.
- budget-friendly

He's been on 24% protein, but we just bought a bag of Legacy Horizon which is 34% protein (80% min animal protein)... we'll see how it goes. He'll probably be fine... its not like raw is any less protein, and he's done fine on that, lol.

 

[SpringerLover]

He's been on 24% protein, but we just bought a bag of Legacy Horizon which is 34% protein (80% min animal protein)... we'll see how it goes. He'll probably be fine... its not like raw is any less protein, and he's done fine on that, lol.

You can't do a direct comparison of raw to kibble, because raw (in its raw form) is usually around 10-15% protein. Raw has more moisture than kibble so you'd have to do math to figure out the actual dry matter calculation.

 

[MicksMom]

My requirements basically are

(1) My dogs do well on it.
(2) I can be as certain as is reasonable that it is safe for my dogs, in both the short- and long-term.
(3) Doesn't break the bank.

That, plus no BHA/BHT, or ethoxyquin (yes, I still see treats & food with these preservative), artificail coloring, and, because of Caleb's food issues- no beef, dairy, grains (other than oatmeal or flax). Root vegetables are OK if they're 5th or further down on the ingredient list.

 

[Shai]

That, plus no BHA/BHT, or ethoxyquin (yes, I still see treats & food with these preservative), artificail coloring, and, because of Caleb's food issues- no beef, dairy, grains (other than oatmeal or flax). Root vegetables are OK if they're 5th or further down on the ingredient list.

Yep, that falls under Item 2 -- longterm safety

 

[GingerKid]

You can't do a direct comparison of raw to kibble, because raw (in its raw form) is usually around 10-15% protein. Raw has more moisture than kibble so you'd have to do math to figure out the actual dry matter calculation.

Can you tell I'm still new to this whole thing? Hopefully the new food (34% protein) goes okay. We'll be starting the switch in the next week or two.

Another thing I look for is made in Canada. It's not a requirement, but in two foods that are equivalent otherwise, it's the deciding factor. Support local, and all that.

 

[Laurelin]

No hard and fast rules here. Generally stick to 30%-34% protein, around 360-450 kcals. Don't care if grain inclusive or grain free or what protein source it is. Doesn't seem to matter.

 

[~Jessie~]

My dogs have been on a raw diet for years, so my requirement is that their food isn't cooked

For kibble, my rules were:

- Grainfree

- More meat than anything else in the ingredients list (example, I wouldn't choose a food where chicken was the first ingredient and potatoes were the second... once that water is removed from the chicken, the amount of meat goes further down the list)

- Brands I trusted from doing research

- Brands that are made in either Canada or the USA

- Brands with variety... I liked switching around proteins and brands like Acana and Nature's Variety made that easy for me

 

[halblingefrau]

I look at quality of ingredients first. I don't want to see less than 3 named meat sources (no by-product meals) in the top 5 ingredients. Grain free preferable, but absolutely no corn. Price is important... I have to be able to afford it. And I want a brand that isn't known for being shady.

Then, after using those criteria to pick the food, my dogs have to do well on it for me to continue feeding it.

 

[maxfox426]

My requirements basically are

(1) My dogs do well on it.
(2) I can be as certain as is reasonable that it is safe for my dogs, in both the short- and long-term.
(3) Doesn't break the bank.

^^ This is pretty much it for me.

I do have a preference for grain-free, though a grain-inclusive food isn't necessarily a deal-breaker assuming it sits will with my dog.

I also am particular with WHAT the protein/meat sources are. Morgan is fine with poultry/fowl and fish, is a little iffy with red meat (lamb/venison is generally okay if mixed in with a fowl or fish flavor), but bison and boar just sits terribly with him.

 

[teacuptiger]

20-30% protein
Made in the USA or Canada.
Grain free
Not Diamond
No or few recalls. It matters to me how the company handles recalls, if there have been any.
Generally trusted company, although I also feed Annamaet, which isn't commonly heard of... Still a great co. from my experience.
Has to be on Chewy.com, cuz that's where I buy my food.

 

[Claybuster]

Ingredients I would avoid: Soybeans, Beet Pulp, Tomato Pomace, Alfalfa, Peas, Beans, Oats, Potatoes, Garlic, and Yucca.