(01-15-2015, 05:28 PM)peidi Wrote: which brand of dog food is the most useful for keeping their hair smooth and thick? Of course, it must be healthy !
I used to work for the company and, although it has been several years since I've worked for them, I still stand by Blue Buffalo. Oh, there are several other good brands, as far as commercial foods go, some of which may be every bit as good, I'll stick with Blue, since it has proven to be a good choice.
I don't have dogs, but I do have two twenty-four year-old cats who are both still relatively healthy, and have had two other cats living into their twenties, and I attribute their longevity to healthy foods.
Whether Blue or another brand, I'd stay away from such things as corn, soy wheat, gluten, and unnamed by-products, and look for foods that are primarily meat, fowl or fish, and I'm not so sure about the fish anymore.
Get in the habit of reading ingredients and be aware that ninety percent of what's in the food are in the first few listed ingredients. There's nothing wrong with chicken meal, but chicken is better.
We have a 9 year old pit bull (adopted at age 4) and we have only ever fed her no-grain food. For years we used Blue Wilderness ($60 for the biggest bag), but recently moved to the country and at our local feed & seed store we found a no-grain brand called Triumph that she loves just as much, and it's half the price!! Currently she's eating Chicken, Sweet Potato and Pea flavor, and they have lots of interesting varieties and very similar ingredients. I'd definitely recommend checking if you have a feed & seed in your area.
Otherwise I've heard great reviews about raw meat diets, but they are too time consuming for us to prepare.
I do make treats for her out of spent grain (we are homebrewers), whole wheat flour, peanut butter, coconut oil and eggs, and she never gets tired of them. Coconut oil can be great for a dog's skin and hair.
Finally, I find that if I brush her regularly it really helps her coat get smooth and shiny, because it removes old hairs and dead skin cells and allows her beautiful hair to shine!
I always look at the ingredients of the dog foods, and do not get any that show corn products as one of the main ingredients. When it says "byproducts" as in chicken byproducts, that can include things like feet and feathers of the chicken, not to mention internal organs.
One thing that i particulary look for to help with skin and coat, is flax meal. Flax is very good for conditioning the coat, and so is beet pulp. I used to get beet pulp by the bag at the feed store and feed it to my horses. It will give them a shiny coat, and help a thin horse to gain weight without making them hyper like grain does.
I have used Diamond Naturals, which is a mid-priced dog food. It is not as expensive as some of the brands like Blue Buffalo are; but it is certainly a much better food choice than a cheap food like Old Roy.
I'm feeding my dalmatians the Royal Canin Dalmatian food on my vet's recommendation. I tried Acana, James Wellbeloved and Taste of the Wild and while I believe these are great brands they just don't mix well with my dalmatian's sensitive skin and digestion issues. I was very skeptical of Royal Canin but it's changed my dogs skin completely. His rashes are much better and he's no longer losing hair. Oh the fun of having an allergy prone breed! Lol
02-13-2015, 01:53 PM, (This post was last modified: 02-13-2015, 04:02 PM by peidi.)
(01-16-2015, 02:44 AM)kfander Wrote: I used to work for the company and, although it has been several years since I've worked for them, I still stand by Blue Buffalo. Oh, there are several other good brands, as far as commercial foods go, some of which may be every bit as good, I'll stick with Blue, since it has proven to be a good choice.
I don't have dogs, but I do have two twenty-four year-old cats who are both still relatively healthy, and have had two other cats living into their twenties, and I attribute their longevity to healthy foods.
Whether Blue or another brand, I'd stay away from such things as corn, soy wheat, gluten, and unnamed by-products, and look for foods that are primarily meat, fowl or fish, and I'm not so sure about the fish anymore.
Get in the habit of reading ingredients and be aware that ninety percent of what's in the food are in the first few listed ingredients. There's nothing wrong with chicken meal, but chicken is better.
Thank you a lot! I will try this brand, maybe I have seen it before.
Thank you for all of the above ! These are very important reference views！
Since my dog has a sensitive stomach, I buy an organic chicken, roast or crock pot it, and mix it with grain free hard food. He sometimes has sweet potato and peas mixed in too.
It not only stopped his horrible gas problem, but his vomiting also.
One of the things I discovered was that, since he is a poodle mix, his eyes have a tendency to streak brown down alongside his nose.
Got that stopped by only feeding him high quality filtered water. Not RO water, because that doesn't have calcium in it, but a good quality filtered water. Has anyone else noticed it too?
My dogs ate more table scraps than dog food and loved fresh vegetables too! One memory that I will never forget, is watching my male and female Blue Heelers/Australian Cattle Dogs laying in my kitchen floor eating carrot peelings that hit the floor. I just handed them a bag of baby carrots--the male opened it with his teeth and gave the female one at a time as she finished eating one. Course he ate too, but it was so ADORABLE!
Otherwise, I just bought the Diamond Naturals. Usually bags would cost no more than $40 for a 50lb bag, only available at farmers stores, co-ops, and most pet stores. It had good nutrition and I am sure other brands could have been a better choice, but like I said, my Australian Shepheards and Heelers ate more table scraps than dog food.
My dog eats Drools dog food. Drools is the brand that offers superior quality pet food. Anybody can easily buy it from any online pet food store like http://www.petsworld.in/ or http://www.drools.in This is the only food that really works for my boxer because it contains chickens & egg as a source of protein. There are a lot of flavors and he seems to like most of them.
Our family recently switch from the Taste of Wild brand dog food to the Rachel Ray brand. I am convinced that saving the money on the Rachel Ray was a mistake. When you compare the ingredients the Taste of Wild is just a better brand of food. It is a little more expensive than the brand I could get at my local Wal-Mart store, but not a better quality. The dog didn't seem to notice a difference. He scarfed it down like it was the same. But I just dont feel good about feeding him anything that still has some sort of bi product in it.
Thank you a lot! I will try this brand, maybe I have seen it before.