Walnut - perhaps I misunderstood but how do you know the canned food is bland? We have our dog on a no grain, no meat food since she has some allergies.

Out vet recommended Blue Buffalo for our dog and it's available at most pet food stores. We only give our dogs dry dog food but it also comes in cans. You can also order dog food online and many times it is cheaper than the store- look for free shipping.

My 15 year old standard poodle always ate dry dog food. In January I noticed her hind end was swollen and bloody, so took her to the vet and he said she had a mass. I declined a biopsy, because why put a dying dog through that? Long story short she is still kicking albeit wearing a diaper in the house. She stopped eating her dry food, so I got some expensive canned food from the vet which I added to her dry food. She liked it only ok. I found some canned food at Aldi, .55/can. She loves it. I mix it with her dried food, and then she will eat. I use 1 can for 3 feedings, so really economical. I know it's not the highest quality, but she loves it and can tolerate it. She still is a bag of bones, though.

My neighbour feeds her cats a kidney formula for crystals in the urine etc. She found that Petsmart carries the same thing as her vet, but much cheaper.

maire_cate, veterinarian told me that the food she sold to me was bland and I took her at her word.

Let me guess. The food that your vet sold you is Hill's brand. Am I correct?

You are correct, Suzieque. It is Hill's brand. How did you know?

Or Science Diet.

Those are the two brands that vets push on their clients.

By the way, all of her tests results came back showing her in very, very good health.

I had no idea that vets push certain brands on their clients. I feel so dumb for not knowing this.

Our vet also pushed a limited ingredients from Hills/Science Diet (which was costly), but when I checked at our pet store they advised that only the vets are supplied with the limited ingredient food from Hills/Science Diet, and therefore I would only be able to purchase it from my vet :(

Great book on dogs

Pukka's Promise When Ted Kerasote got his new dog Pukka, he found that dog culture had been transformed: dizzying choices of grain-free and raw food, conflicting arguments for and against vaccinations,

If you like the vet brand, you can check at pet stores to see if they carry it at a lower price. But there are so many good brands available, so consider others too.

Dog Food Advisor rates dry and canned foods 1 to 5 stars. You can check out foods there. Of course you want one of the higher rated yet affordable foods.

Usually if you buy the larger cans it's more economical. Just keep it in the refrig. after opening.

My dog eats kibble mixed with fresh homemade, but he also likes Abound in foil packets from Ralphs Grocery. I only use it as a topping when I'm out of fresh. It's 99 cents a packet.

Many people order food from chewy.com. I think you get free shipping if you spend over $49. I'm sure there are other places online to order dog food. Shop around.

dogfoodadvisor.com

I can't help with a dog food except to the extent that it parallels with our search for cat food. I read a really good article about how cats need lots of protein, but because grains and other carbs are much cheaper, how even expensive foods will load them up with carbs. So I started a search for better food that wasn't that expensive and came across a store brand a Pet Valu stores called Health Diet that is not expensive but is higher protein than others...the best part is they love all the flavors we've given them.

I was surprised when I did the calculation at how much carbs there is in the Science Diet cat food as well as other cat foods. No wonder so many cats are becoming diabetic.

As long as your dog is in good health, you shouldn't be limited in what you can feed her. Mine get Blue Buffalo both dry and canned - chicken with rice. They get a small scoop of dry food and they each get 1/8 of the canned food. I buy it from Chewy.com. Good prices, great service.

Eating a diet too heavy in carbs can't be good but don't overlook another cause that surely cats share with humans-- obesity.

It seems like half the dogs I see in public are very obese, their kitty friends at home are often the same. Show your love by keeping your pets slim, it'll extend their lives and improve the quality of their lives too.

Do not feed the junk foods from the vets, they tried it with our two dogs and my dad of course did it as he was told and I refused for the male dog in my place. I said its got the horrible junk stuff in it, read the ingredients, ugh.

What you do is ask what foods or ingredients they need and buy good stuff.

I was told by vet that cats and dogs get crystals from getting given cheap usually grocery store foods.

Both one cat got it so bad and two thousand dollars later operated on it.

My mother being mentally ill fed every animal around outside and bought huge bags of cheap dog food, the male dog discovered that out and would go after it and I couldn't keep him away being on an acreage and he also got bloat too from eating way too much. He ended up with having tons of crystal stones, the vet showed us them unreal.

I was so upset but couldn't tell my mother anything as she didn't listen, she knew better, grrrrrr.

As for dental, you are to feed them both dry and canned foods as they need to chew for their teeth. That is why bones,etc. are good if the right ones and watched the whole time chewing on them for their teeth.

Brushing if you can their teeth too, taking them regularly for cleaning and our cat vet could scrape their teeth without putting them down.

NO, read ingredients and the vets make the money so of course they will demand their foods and yes, they are way too expensive to buy.

I would see while sitting in waiting room at vets tons stopping by to buy their expensive foods and unreal what they were buying and thinking they are doing their pets good by doing that.

I checked every ingredient that was in pet foods for the dogs and it was expensive yes to buy good stuff they both loved, the female dog had to have everything chicken flavoured and so ended up paying for it but it was worth it I felt in having good ingredients to eat.

Don't believe everything they all say, check up on it yourself, ask around and find out what others think and what they do.

Its like medications that we get prescribed find out what they will do, what side effects can hit and as much as you can about it, again ask others about it.

I am so sensitive to medications and have irked the doctor something else by saying I took myself off it or I will not go on it and that is it.

Only we can stand up for our pets and ourselves and if you are parents for your kids.

kathy

If you look at the ingredients of the vet foods, ie royal canine and science diet, you will see why I for one am not a fan. The vet put our dog on Royal Canine for gastritus and not only did she develop issues with incontinence but she just kept getting sicker and sicker; throwing up all the time. It got so bad I started doing my own research of her symptoms. When I learned about the history of how Vets came to selling it and how low the quality of the food actually is I took her off of it. Within a day of doing so, she stopped throwing up and peeing everywhere. Come to find out, there were others feeding their dog the same food who had similar issues even with incontinence.

After trying several different no grain and limited ingredient brands, we ended up having the best luck with Canidae. The issue I ran into with a lot of the no grain hybrid foods is they have a heavy amount of bean product in them to compensate for some of the protein, but it too can cause gas. Canidae is sourced and made in the USA and uses only a limited amount of bean product. We buy both the hard (weight control) and soft (lamb) and mix a couple small spoons of the soft with each meal. Some dog breeds just have a lot of gas naturally, our Lab is one of them and she really has a tough time of it. The vet told me the other day an alternative would be to start giving her gas-x to help relieve it and so far that has worked though I'm not confident it's a long term solution.

I also use Chewy.com, it's a great site.. And if you're interested in learning more about dog food ingredients and how to tell a good food from maybe a not so good food, there is www.dogadvisor.com

My little dog is extremely picky, I cook her boneless skinless breast but supplement it with a food she will actually eat. It's Lovesum brand, I get it at Kroger, it's in a little container with a lid so very convenient. She prefers the chicken and the lamb. It has rice and peas and vegetables in it. I would recommend it. It looks similar to the ones by Rachel Ray. Mia will not eat the Rachael Ray brand.

Sorry for the delay, I am just getting back to this now. But I see that others have been answered about how I knew it was Hills. Hills (who makes Science Diet) rewards veterinarians heartily for selling their food. It is a racket. I would never feed that brand, ever, because of that and because the vets push it based upon being compensated by the company, but also because it's cr*p.

My dog eats one of the Science Diet dry varieties and we get it at Petsmart.

My general vet has been the subject of newspaper articles because of her hobby of training cats to do tricks. She brags that she can train any cat. How? By withholding food. As she tells the story, once a cat has lost about 5% of its body weight (which she believes is safe), it stops acting independent and will do anything for food. And they also lose any fussy eating patterns. I suspect that may also be true for dogs. If only one kind of food is offered, the dog will only refuse to eat it until it becomes so hungry that any food is accepted. I believe dog owners need to train their dogs to do what they desire and not the other way around.

Dogs should not be given rawhide or animal bones, it can kill them any one of several ways. Dogs do like to chew and nylabones are safe.

I sometimes wonder why people take their animals to vets when they refuse to listen to what the vet recommends and get so paranoid that the vets are being paid off to shill certain products and the other stuff. I have to wonder why do these people patronize these apparent "crooks"? Another one of life's great mysteries I guess.

Not all of the Hill's Science Diet products are sold at the vets and most of the products sold at the vets are not available at your local pet food stores. Since your pet has a special need, be careful of where you buy the stuff. Pet stores are going to primarily cater to the normal, "healthy" animals. If you have a pet with special needs you might have to go to special sources to get the foods.

Raw meaty bones are great for dogs. Our pet store that we frequent sell Bison bones....an assortment of knuckles, ribs and shanks. 100% raised Canadian raised Bison. And many other healthy alternatives, real food as opposed to the dried rawhide

Elmer, contrary to popular believe nylabones are no safer for dogs than the raw hides are and for the same reasons, they can and do cause blockage, the more of a chewer the dog is, the higher the risk.

I love to train our animals. I've trained birds to talk and do tricks as well as cats and dogs to be well mannered housemates. Most cats and dogs are already food driven and do not require to be starved in order to be trained. Even those animals who are not food driven will have a trigger that they will work for one is just excited praise and attention.

When it comes to Vets, what I don't think a lot of people realize is that they're really not trained in animal nutrition. A vast majority don't even seem to connect (or care) that diet can be the contributing factor to many ills. They usually just follow the symptoms and prescribe long term, profit earning remedies without even exploring diet.

Ideally, pet owners need to be infomed advocates. It's okay to question a diagnosis and/or treatment plan, especially when the prescribed care isn't working. Because there are so many options and choices, we really do need to take the time to find reliable resources, learn more about the products we're interested in and ask questions. What's in them? Where are they sourced from? Where are they manufactured? Any recent recalls? All of these questions are valid concerns and we just can't always rely on Vets to have all the magic answers.

I also buy from chewy.com.....for my cat.

I've had bad experiences with vets. I'm on my second one, I see a third in my future, just for routine annual shots and they outright lie. I was told a 3 year rabies shot could cripple him, they'd seen cats lose the use of their rear legs. WHAT! Lie! The next vet said she couldn't give him a 3 year rabies shot because I'd let the shot lapse(over a year)....I said, "The last one was April 22, today is March 10".......! They want me to come back more often is all I can figure. If I can't trust them for the simple stuff....then....

Elmer Fudd....That vet is horrible!

We bought the same canned food that the vet sold...but from Chewey. Our Westie ate a can a day @ $2 a can, delivered. (You can save by allowing automatic renewal of your order, and by getting a couple cases at a time.) This rescue dog was the most expensive dog we ever had, and we had him for 15 years. He had skin problems. He had too much stomach acid. His teeth were bad. He was a puppy mill rescue and he just wasn't 'made right'.

The problem with real bones, jasdip, is that they too often break into sharp pieces that can and do puncture the stomach or digestive passages. That can cause death. Nylabones break into small, dull pieces that (in theory) can pass through uneventfully. Consuming too much of anything, food included, can cause a blockage. If you find your dog going after a nylabone for too long, take it away and give it only when you're around to supervise.

There are many crappy vets. A lot of terrific ones too. Just as with any profession or occupation, they range from awful to great and on average, they're average (bell curve). If you're dissatisfied with the one you're using, find another one until you're happy. Reserve your understandable anger and feelings for the individual rather than cast a shadow on the entire profession.

I have a family member who's a boarded vet specialist who unfortunately needs to spend too much trying to save animals whose conditions were caused by the actions of GPs who performed procedures or misdiagnosed conditions beyond the line of what they were competent to do. Why does that happen? Usually because of ego (I can do anything and my sh*t doesn't stink), money reasons, or both. I hear complaints all the time about vets from a vet. If your pet has a medical condition or need beyond the normal periodic stuff, go to a specialist.

Thanks to all of you for your thoughts and ideas for consideration and for the great links. From reading the information at www.dogadvisor.com, it seems that what I have been feeding Gracie is good for her (Kirkland's dry). So I am going to get some of Kirkland's wet, which also is rated very well. Perhaps the Kirkland's is why her lab work indicated that she is very, very healthy. Again, thanks so very much to all of you.

This is just for information.

http://www.poisonedpets.com/blue-buffalo-admits-to-bullshitting-consumers/

Walnut--that sounds great!! I hope your pup likes it. I was thinking that if you have dry left you could soften it with water and mix with canned.

I do have dry left, because I had just purchased a new bag. Will try the water and mixing and see what happens.

Imhappy, that article is from 2 years ago. Do you know if it's been updated or any information that maybe things have changed at Blue Buffalo? It is a disturbing article. Thanks.

My husband just bought a 48 can double case of organic soft cat food from Costco for under 30.00 - That's 2x as much as a single case from Chewy. It's made in the US, but I couldn't very 100% that it's sourced in the US either. The only thing about it that makes me leary is that it's produced for Kirkland's by Diamond and Diamond was the manufacturer that had that huge recall of foods a couple of years back.

ELMER - please read my previous post about Nylabones, buyer beware.

Murraysmom, if you go to petfoodadvisor.com there is information about each food, recalls and most other historical information. I know Blue Buffalo is a popular food but they have also experienced a rather large number of recalls of their food, most recent was just this past May (2016). Nylabones have also experienced recalls.

http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-recalls/

That was one of the determining factors for the food we chose, Canidae has never experienced a recall.

Thanks, Lukkiirish. I will look into it.

My vet has a particular interest in animal nutrition and he was not a fan of Blue at all! I feed Sparky Biljac.

Blue Buffalo settled lawsuit for $32m.

Dogfoodadvisor.com gives both the Blue Buffalo dry and canned foods I feed 4 stars. I can live with that.