How to choose a commercial dog food

[Courtney]

Dogaware.com has some great info on how to select foods and a list of recommended foods.

What to look for in a food: http://www.dogaware.com/dogfeeding.html

[Loren]

not only does it have how to choose kibble, canned, but goes on about raw, has info on all kinds of diseases, and is constantly being updated. It's a bookmarker for sure!

[Lisa]

Thank you for the post Courtney!

[oceangirls]

I am adding another helpful site:

http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/

recommended by our member akiss!!! Thanks :)

[Claudine]

Someone posted a chart awhile ago that rated different brands of dog food on a scale of most healty to worst. I'd like to get that & print it for my friend who just adopted a shelter dog. She loves the dog, got her complete vet care but insists on feeding her Pedigree (ugh). I'd like to print that & give her a copy & maybe help change her mind. Anyone have it or know where I can find it?

[oceangirls]

Are you sure it's not the one on this site that I included in the previous post?

http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/

It has dog foods listed by rating categories, from 6 stars (best) down to 1 star (worst).

[teresainsd]

Hi there, just wanting to see if anyone out there can recommend a low calorie dry food. Wanting to try something new Sissy is getting a little picky! turning her nose at the regualr stuff she been eating...

Thanks
Teresa.:rotfl:

[Lisa]

How old is Sissy?

Fromm makes an excellent food. http://www.frommfamily.com/products-g-d-senior.php

You might just want to cut back on her regular food and add some canned 100% pure pumpkin and some fresh veggies.

[LUVMYGUNNER]

I agree with Lisa. Wellness Core weight management is also a good food.
Right now I just put Gunner on Blue Buffaloe-weight management and green beans and he lost over 2 lbs in a month, a girl I know had good look with that. I personally prefer a no grain and as soon as this bag is gone I will go with wellness.. Blue Buffalo does have some grain, so if your looking for a no grain, I would go with Wellness, or the one Lisa recommended.

[Patt]

Someone posted a chart awhile ago that rated different brands of dog food on a scale of most healty to worst. I'd like to get that & print it for my friend who just adopted a shelter dog. She loves the dog, got her complete vet care but insists on feeding her Pedigree (ugh). I'd like to print that & give her a copy & maybe help change her mind. Anyone have it or know where I can find it?
Could it be this one? http://www.doxielovers.com/dlc/showthread.php?t=4715 they have some foods already scored at the bottom of the list.

The other two links posted are really good. Except watch the dates on Dog Food Analysis reviews, some of them are a few years ago.

I also like www.dogfoodproject.com for info.

[Jacqueline]

I have been feeding the girls Merrick (the turduken) kibble most of their lives, at least with me. They also get a shot of Wild Salmon Oil in the morning. Well, Taffy is now five, Daisy is four and a half, Mindy is four, and Molly is probably around two, or close to it. All four lick their paws, which I suspect is one reason I am constantly having to deal with longer nails. And as they have gotten older,....and we seem to be "enjoying" actual winter weather down here in Florida, they have gained some weight. Except Molly, who has lost some of her extra weight from puppy birth.

I wanted to try switching them off to a different variety, with less calories, but PetSupermarket, the only store around here with Merrick, didn't have the senior variety. So after looking over some of the other brands, I picked up a bag of Blue Wilderness, the new no grain, high protein, low carb variety. Which is even more expensive than Merrick, heaven help me. (I don't know how Andrea does it)

Besides wanting them to not gain more weight (Mindy is slimming down already - Taffy plays hours and hours every day, so I think her increase is muscle), I was hoping to see some result, one way or the other, on the paw licking. Please note that not only do they lick thier paws, but the floor (Daisy), pillows and sheets, and us. I must be downright tasty, because they will all lick me until I can't stand it any more.

Who feeds the Wilderness and what do you think of it as far as weight controlling and itching? I would eat less expensive to keep them in the best, lol, so the price is not really going to be a factor.