What type of dog food do you use?

I used to feed my boy purina one, but switched to Blue buffalo about a month ago. I was a bit skeptical but I was recently noticing that he really does seem to feel better in terms of having more energy and his coat is softer/ more shiny too. I figure, I eat good so i'll let him eat good too. I use them for my cat too.

What type of dog food do you use? Have you had any bad experiences with any dog food?

I use to feed her Alpo but my vet told me she might not be getting enough nutrition as she was having issues with her fur. My Vet switched her to Eukanuba. It's more expensive but her coat seems to look better. I am however trying out home made dog food. I had read an article about some manufacturers using spoiled vegetables and meat when making the dog food and it has made me a bit concerned about what's in the products I buy for my dog.

Purina and Alpo generally are not good brands. Blue Buffalo is better, but it isn't one of the very best either. I look at it like this, first and foremost avoid corn and grain; dogs don't need it. The more recognizable the ingredients are, the better. For deeper research, I recommend checking out this site: http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com. It tells you all about the ingredients in different dog foods, if they're bad or controversial, gives an overall rating, and more. I just switched mine to Acana Regionals, they are rated very highly and don't have a single ingredient that's even controversial. However, the better food tends to get a bit more pricey, but I think my little pup is worth it. Hope that helps!

Homemade food is something to look into if you're sure to add everything the dog needs and as often as he/she needs it. I remember looking into it a few years ago, but fact of the matter is that I'm just too busy most of the time and when I'm not I really just want to..chill. I want something that's right there and I already know it's made right, because I'm not very confident in my skills anyways.

Thanks for the link clive, I remember reading a site like that a while back but it wasn't that one and I can't seem to find it any more. I do know to avoid corn and grain, but it's good information to pass around for the people who don't. How does your dog like the Acana Regionals? That's one thing with blue is that my dog just doesn't seem to like the taste too much. If it's better for him and he likes the taste, it's very worth the money!

She seems to absolutely love it! It's disappearing a bit faster than the last brand I had. I think I was giving her Nature's Variety Instinct before, which is also a good brand, but it has 2 controversial ingredients. Which I know that isn't necessarily a bad thing, but I didn't like the sound of "tomato pomace" because its a by-product of making ketchup, which strikes me as a cheap ingredient to put into a dog food.

I give my dogs Royal Canin. It's not the best food out there when it comes to a lot of meat protein and as little corn and grain as possible, but it's the best one we can afford. Definitely A LOT better than the brands you can buy in normal food stores. And the dogs are healthy on it and really like it.

I don't know what brand other countries have, but here in Sweden some very highly rated ones are James Wellbeloved and Hills. When I can afford it I will probably be switching to James.

@Dellygoat Yeah, Royal Canin isn't the worst. My dog was actually started out on that one when I got her, not by my choice of course. I think there are better foods that are the same price as Royal Canin though, I don't remember it being particularly cheap. Check out this page I posted above. Better yet, save it on your phone and take it to the store with you, and you can compare prices and nutrition at the same time. That's what I did.

I currently feed my dogs Natural Choice.

I used to feed my dogs a cheap crappy brand from Walmart, but soon realized that one of my dogs was allergic to corn. I switched to a few corn-free foods before settling on Natural Choice. With each new healthy food, I noticed a huge improvement in the energy of all three of my dogs, which I hadn't even been expecting! Since they all eat together, the other two dogs were just along for the ride when I changed the food for the allergic dog's benefit. I never realized there was anything wrong with their energy levels to begin with, as they always had enough energy to play and take long walks - but since switching to Natural Choice, I've had three dogs with way too much energy!

I also feed my dog Purina one, sometimes though, we will switch the brands now and then just to give her more variety. She honestly seems to prefer regular ham over dog meat though. Would it be classed as spoiling the dog to feed her regular human food? (always meat). It's just sometimes, she refuses to eat any dog meat but it's a little strange because this is only on occasions, and for the most part she is fine with it.

I feed my yorkie Royal Canin - Yorkshire Terrior 28, yes it's spelled without an e. We have fed her this food for 4 years and the vet told us she is in great physical shape. I know she is by just feeling her muscles, she's turning five soon and she hasn't aged a day since we picked her up from the store. I know you're not supposed to do this but over the years I have fed her a lot of human food, healthy stuff of course, almost a piece of every meal I eat. I'm a healthy person and my dog is too... well not a person but you get the point

I'm not exactly sure what kind of dog food we have for our dogs, I know it is the cheap kind from Dollar General though because that is all we really can afford. I'm not sure I really want to know whats in it though, the dogs seem to be ok with it and don't get sick or anything. Only time they get sick is if they don't have that cheap food and we have to buy them something else, I hate changing their food on them but sometimes we can't help it. They seem to like the kibble and bits one we have for them now.

We use Hill's prescription diet for our dog. We have to feed him special food because he is diabetic. He is eleven years old and when they have diabetes it can be hard on their heart. So the dog food he eats is specifically for heart health. I haven't noticed any differences in his energy or coat. Of course being on the right dose of insulin makes a big difference in how he acts/feels!

The one thing that can be frustrating is the cost of special food. But they do become members of the family and wouldn't we all do whatever it took to keep them healthy? he really seems like he would eat any kind of food. But I know some foods are definetly better than others.

I just hope this food will keep him healthy and that he can live as long as he would have before he got diabetes. I've talked to some owners whose dogs only lived months after their diagnosis! So far so good.

I wont use Purina or Iams as I have heard bad things about them, I either feed my dogs on white rice and chicken or I buy from our local RAW store and feed them bones or slabs of minced chicken or beef. If we are away and I leave someone to look after themthen I will use dry food as it isn't fair on the Pet sitter to have to cook for them.

My chihuahua was on Nutro Max, which he really seemed to love, but the store stopped carrying it. We moved on to Blue Buffalo for only one bag because he didn't like it at all. He then spent some time on Nutro Natural Choice, which he again loved; which, of course, meant the store stopped carrying it too

He ate Kahoots (store) brand dog food for a very short while, but the funny thing about Kahoots is that all the animals who have been on it refuse to eat it after about a week or two; this has happened to acquaintances as well. No idea why—they start out enthusiastic enough, but then just stop.

He's now on Taste of the Wild; I think it's the best food he's been on. Unfortunately, he doesn't really like it either! The main problem I have with it is that they don't make a small bites formula, and the kibble size is just big enough to give him difficulty. I mix his food with water now, and he lets it seep for a few minutes before eating it.

Since he's always eaten "premium" dog foods, I've never noticed any difference in his looks or behaviour. He gets regular vet checkups and seems to be in excellent health, though he does struggle with weight problems (entirely my fault—it's hard to say no when he begs for table scraps) occasionally.

His weight is mostly under control now, and while I'm happy with the quality of his food, I do wish I could entice him to enjoy it more. I can tell either because of the kibble size or the taste, he's not too fond of Taste of the Wild.

I just started feeding my Yorkies Pure Balance No Grain Salmon and Pea recipe. I was surprised that Wal-Mart actually carried a No Grain food. My Yorkies LOVE it. Especially my little boy Peanut. He is SO picky when it comes to food. My little girl Prissy will eat anything in sight. I was happy to find this food at Wal-Mart because it is a little more convenient in that I don't have to drive about 30 miles to an actual "Pet" store that carries No Grain. It is hard to know what food is the best. Even some of the expensive name brand foods that come from the pet store that you think are good for them just because they are expensive and come from a pet store are not. I think I am going to stick with this one for awhile. They seem to like it and it is also several dollars cheaper than the one I was purchasing from the pet store.

@Clive- Thanks for posting that website! Great information on there. I like the rating system they use and how they go into detail explaining all the ingredients.
We've fed our dogs Pedigree since they were puppies, not really knowing until recently how bad it was for them. They both are extremely healthy and energetic, no health problems (yet).
However, we just recently switched them to Canidae since it has better ingredients than Pedigree, and it's the best we can afford right now. We've been gradually mixing in the new food, slowly changing the ratio of old food to new. Both dogs have had some really bad gas, and I'm thinking their systems are detoxing?
Will have to give it some more time to see if there are any changes in their health or behavior.