This has been asked a lot here in recent weeks. Since it's not real easy to search for those topics, I'll summarize it for you in a nutshell. A lot of members have switched to the natural brands such as Wellness, Canidae, Solid Gold, Blue Buffalo (recently recalled), Innova and there are others. The raw feeders have probably recruited more people to do that and there have been topics all over the net about which doggie cookbooks are the best.

The bottom line is that a higher pricetag and mention of human grade ingredients doesn't mean it's not produced by a subcontractor with unknown or questionable supply chain. Feeding raw or cooking meals requires an in-depth knowledge of pet nutrition, time and money. Some people do a little of both.

I think the general public, for the most part is continuing to buy the low quality grocery store kibble.

I cook my own but I instead of 'cooking' every day I take some time once every 10 days- two weeks and spend it prepping the food. I buy chuck roast, chickens and veges at Costco, put 2 chickens in the oven and 2 pots roasts in the slow cooker. That evening I put carrots, broccoli, cauliflower in a blender and chop them. Canned green beans are included but I serve them from the can each day. All this is combined along with pasta...........which varies from egg noodles to spaghetti.........and I serve it twice a day, along with a multi vitamin/mineral tablet.
Rice could be used instead of pasta, but I've had dogs that didn't tolerate rice well in the past so I chose not to use it.
This mix is the 'base' and I add/change veges for variety. Fruit is given as a treat.

I keep all the veges, pasta and meat in separate containers and serve it up each day. Everything could easily be mixed ahead of time, frozen in single-serving packets and then thawed/microwaved each day.

I haven't figured out costs vs commercial dog food, but I'm guessing it's much less than what I've paid in vet bills in the past!

You've got two cute, happy dogs!!

I do the same as annz, after my boxer was diagnosed with cancer I started to do alot of research, I bought alot of books and started to educate myself on the nutrition requirments of dogs. What I learned terrified me, I dont want to scare anyone but commercial dog food contains animal parts that are not fit for humans, such as diseased animal parts, and because of the high heat that they use to make the kibbles most of the healthy stuff that is added is destroyed. My dogs do get kibble but it is organic with NO added chemicals or dyes. I feel that this is the best route for me and my dogs. Since I have started this my 10 yr. old acts like a puppy again, her breathing problems have disappeared and her once "Fish Breath" smells sweet again., yeah, I am a convert, but I dont feed raw, I just cant make myself do that.

On the bright side, you're giving them fresh fruit and veggies with their "McDonald's" meals!

I personally go with dry kibble for convenience. I look for human grade ingredients, and whether they are healthy. Some ingredient lists sound like they'd make great stews or casseroles. I ask myself, if we were snowed in or in some other disaster that prevented us from going to the store, would I be OK with eating this kibble?

I also look for the absence of corn, wheat and soy on the recommendation of my breeder. I hear that these are common allergens for dogs. Some dogs or dog breeds may have more problems with these ingredients than others.

You'll probably want to avoid grocery stores for pet food. You'll probably be OK if you read the ingredients and don't find anything that you yourself wouldn't eat. If you're worried about the cost, I've heard that the Kirkland brand at Costco is a stinky but decent lower cost food. I don't remember seeing anything objectionable, though it may be affected by the recalls.

My pups get a lot of compliments on their shiny coats, and they don't have that greasy touch or overly doggy smell. They get fresh fruit and veggies too: apples, carrots, peas, spinach. Tegan was started off on Burns, which is hard to find around here. She used to be on Wellness, but had problems with their new formula. Both pups are currently on Performatrin Ultra, and I've also started cooking a rice/protein/veg mix to add to their kibble. I don't cook much either-- Every week it's one big pot for them and one or two big pots for me. The freezer is my friend :-)

Here's a recent thread from the Cooking forum with recipes.

Natural Balance, Trader Joes dog food, and hamburger.

Capone still gets his Canidae, and we rotate mixing it with ground venison (fed,killed,processed by my FIL on his land), beef, and lamb(both human-grade, from grocery store). For treats, he gets bits of apples, petite carrots, and his 'lamb-in-a-tube' stuff.

I started out with a home cooked diet, then switched to raw about 9 years ago. Feeding home cooked or raw does take some research, but once you get a good grasp, it's not hard at all. Just like learning what is good and bad to feed yourself and your family....learn the critical needs, (very important), but don't sweat the rest, as long as the diet is balanced overall. Meaning, every single meal does not have to have the perfect balance of every nutrient.

I have been feeding my two Pembroke Corgis the Kirkland Premium Chicken Rice & Vegetable Formula dry food for some time. If you have a Costco, you should examine the detailed ingredients list on this food. In addition, a 40# bag is less than $18. I discussed this with my high priced vet and although he was not familiar with the brand he was impressed with the nutritional info and the ingredients list. Bottom line, you can feed your dogs a decent food without breaking the bank.

To my knowledge, nearly all of the recalled pet food has been the canned wet varieties. It appears that most of the tainted materials came from China and their has been evidence that bad products were supplied on purpose. I go out of my way to avoid products made in China but that's another issue.

The photos still are not loading and this is a day later.
I missed it if mentioned but how long has the house been on the mkt? Maybe it was listed at a higher price then recently reduced?

Oh dang it.
Thought I was posting in the RE forum. whoops.
disregard my last.

I feed my great dane, Lacey, California Natural Herring and Sweet Potato kibble.

What beautiful dogs!

Since Sawyer is very ill and frequently doesn't have an appetite, he pretty much gets whatever he will eat. Lady, on the other hand, gets Nutro Natural/Holistic kibble and I've just ordered a case of Newman's Own wet food (not available in my area). Don't know how she'll like it, but I was impressed by what I read. If the wet food goes over well, I'll order the kibble next time. I'll let you know how it goes.

Here is a forum devoted specifically to discussions regarding what foods are safe.

Here is a link that might be useful: The pet food list forums

I like Eagle Pack holistic formulas. They are a family owned company and at one time were one of the few companies that owned their own rendering plant so they could control the quality of the fats that are used in their products. I don't know if anyone else does that or not.They make a good canned product as well. I also like Merrick canned foods.

Lisa

When I had my sheltie I fed him Canidae, and he thrived on it!!
I know have a "mutt" and stil feed fer Canidae and she is extremely healthy!!

Here is a link that might be useful: Canidae

I feed Eagle pac holistic select and I feed home cooked. If anyone is interested in home cooking B-naturals has some complete recipes.

Here is a link that might be useful: Home cooking from B-naturals

I found the pet food list forums to be largly made up of a lot of knee-jerk folks. About 99% of the tainted food is canned wet food. That does not mean there is anything wrong with the same brand dry food. I know that Costco removed their Kirkland brand wet food as a precaution.

Just as Hills removed their wet food from the market there have been no problems with their Science Diet dry food. The main reason I like the Kirkland dry food is because it contains no corn or wheat gluten. It does contain whole grain brown rice and cracked pearled barley. The product bag also states that it is made in the USA. Most folks don't have the time or interest to especially prepare home cooked food for their pets and have to rely on a quality packaged food. Learn to read labels.

We've been feeding Solid Gold for about 10 years and have been very happy with it. Even our older dogs have good coats, no tumors, no problems. I also give bits of vegetables and fruits as treats while preparing dinner. (They do NOT like celery or zucchini.)

Yesterday in Petco I saw on the shelf canned dog food called Natural Balance Chinese Take-Out with Sauce. Sorry, but I had to laugh. Chinese? Oh nooo!

Even if the bag says "Made in the USA," the food could contain components made elsewhere - as long as the final product was made here, they can say that.

I just started feeding my dogs the Go! Natural. So far they LOVE it. It is a Canadian brand so I don't know if its available in the USA. I am still playing around with the amounts to feed each dog but when I get that measure cup out Abby is right there because she knows it means food is on the way. I would say that their stools are about 1/3 of what they were using with the nutro and they don't stink as bad. *hope no one is eating dinner while reading this*.

I switched my cats to Wellness and they are starting to accept it. They are kind of picky.
Lorie