There is a fair amount of debate on dog foods. After spending a lot of time researching foods on the internet, my advice is to look at the ingredients on the bag. If there is a by-product listed at the beginning of the list, that is not good. Look on the internet. According to some expert I read recently the top four kibble based diets are (in no particular order): Wysong, Innova, Solid Gold and California Natural. California Natural is made by the same folks that make Innova. Yes, they cost more, but your dog is going to be with you for a number of years. I am not meaning to preach on this subject.

Also, a good diet does not necessarily mean there will be no health problems. My dog Bo was diagnosed with food allergies a month ago and I was feeding Wysong. As I said, do some research and read the ingredients.

What about Beniful? My mom feeds her dog beniful and Kyle got ahold of some and loves it! Is that good food? Anyone know?

Personally I like Natural balance.. and I just switched to Merrick ... And i love both But I am actually debating switching... AGAIN,cause I have been laid off my job, and cant afford them anymore..Soo If anyone has suggestions on ok food, for a Smaller price.. Msgme or somthing, and let me know!

[reeskujo]

I also feed Chicken Soup large breed.It's great food.I myself do not care for Pedigree as it has to many fillers,lots of corn and not enough meat.

I have a mastiff he is 9 months old, my little Noah he is currently on hills p/d large breed puppy and am looking to switch to an adult food. Is there any recomendations on other premium food for large breed.Cost is no matter at 83 bucks a bag it wont be a far cry to shell out more if i have to.

I use Purina Dog Chow Healthy Morsals. Don't know if it's the best, but my dog is healthy, has healthy coat and teeth, and really likes it.

Originally Posted by Messer72

I have a mastiff he is 9 months old, my little Noah he is currently on hills p/d large breed puppy and am looking to switch to an adult food. Is there any recomendations on other premium food for large breed.Cost is no matter at 83 bucks a bag it wont be a far cry to shell out more if i have to.

I was told by my vet to feed my dog puppy chow until he reached two years. I believe that's when they become adult dogs. Anybody else been told that?

Originally Posted by goldiesmom

We are currently raising our Dane pup on Chicken Soup Large breed.

I've done extensive research on the great dane breed (as i've rescued several) and everything from my studies and the lips of great GD breeders, puppies to the age of 2 years of age should not be fed food with more than 24% protein due to the Wobblers disease. I've seen dogs suffer from this conidition and it is nothing short of horrific and intolerably sad. I'm sure 27% protein wont do much harm but it happens.. prevention is the key.

I don't understand why Eagle Pack was tested and made specifically for GD when it has a guaranteed analysis of a minimum of 34% crude protein..

" As the majority of breeders and vets who are knowledgeable about the breed are now leaning toward always feeding low protein, I will discuss that first. This group believes that Danes should not be fed above 25% total protein. The reasoning is that higher protein results in more rapid growth, and thus more developmental problems, such as canine hip displaysia (CHD), panosteitis (pano), osteochondrosis dessicans, and wobblers syndrome. Some believe that even 25% is too high, feeding 23% or 20% protein. Note that these numbers are for dry kibble, not for canned food. The percent protein for canned food must be adjusted to compensate for a high moisture level, as will be discussed in section D.

Practical experience has shown fewer developmental problems, and the dogs on these low protein diets still achieve their full expected growth potential.

In addition, some believe that a diet that is too high in protein causes gas, which in Danes may cause bloat and torsion of the stomach."

I personally use Royal Canin and Eukanuba (both boxer specific) and my dogs LOVE it. My vet says its a go-go, not a no-go. Royal canin is a good formula from all my understandings. It gives my dogs a healthy coat, healthy teeth, and every vet visit my doc says, "What you get is what you put in, and your dogs radiate 100%" So it works for me. I guess in all honestly, i think it depends on the dogs.. same with humans. A Salad might be good for some people, not for others. You also have to worry about allergies with dogs; as a boxer owner, and a rescuer who gets many animals a year i've seen dogs with severe allergies to some foods. My pug has an epi pen in case he's ever at a friends house with me and sneaks some of their dog food.

But take into consideration not ALL dogs are made a like (Despite breed/age/gender). Dogs need specific things to make then function. Good luck with all your dog-food searching!

What you want to avoid when purchasing a dog food is formulas that have by-products, corn, wheat, and soy (all cheapo fillers that pretty much do nothing for your dog).

Thus, Eukanuba, Iams, most definitely Pedigree, Beneful, Pro-plan, purina one (pretty much any purina product) and Royal Canin are foods you'll want to think twice about. Funnily enough, Eukanuba and Iams cost as much as foods that contain waaaay more meats, probiotics, etc. You're just paying for their advertising. Whether you like the food or not, you have to consider - why pay the same amount of money for something stuffed with corn when you can buy a dog food made primarily of MEAT? Your dog needs a meat-based diet, not a corn-based diet! Who told anybody that these foods were the best? Probably no one - they're just the most heavily advertised!

I don't believe you necessarily have to go to a raw diet or even an innova one, but at LEAST have your dog on Diamond Naturals, which does not have by-products or other crap in it. My dogs are eating Premium Edge, which I like for its awesome ingredient list.

Just take a second and compare your dog's food ingredient list to, say, Wellness Lamb and Rice's ingredient list. Are you seeing some things missing??

And as far as your dogs liking the not-so-good food - of course, I like candy bars! Doesn't mean that's what I should be eating all the time, now, does it?

Vets receive VERY little training in dog nutrition. Essentially all they know is what the food reps go around to each clinic and tell them. Obviously they're going to tell them they have the best food. Vets get a nice kickback including free food for their own pets from these companies, so of course they're going to tell you that's the best food. The smaller companies, who have the great ingredients, don't have the resources to go around selling their food to vets - they put their money into their food, so you're not paying for the advertising. It's a rare veterinarian indeed who actually knows the what's-what of the dog food world.

There are a LOT of resources on dog nutrition on the internet. Take a few minutes and read up.