The Great Dog Food Debate

This is a debate that has been raging in the dog community for ages. What is the best dog food for your dog? The real answer is whatever works best for your dog's health and taste-buds. While I was not "cursed" (I would say blessed, but hey that's just me) with a picky dog, some people do have to spend a fair amount of time finding a dog food that their dog will eat. 

For the first year or so that I had Cody I was feeding him Purina One Lamb and Rice. I assumed that because it is the biggest brand of dog food out there that it was good for him and he was getting all of the right nutrition. Au contraire my friends. Purina One is actually a really crappy food, full of corn fillers and fat and overall really hard on the digestive system. Well if that doesn't make you feel like a bad mother right? So off we were on the hunt for good dog food. We've tried a lot of things and finally settled on Nature's Variety. It is an off-shoot of the raw diet. It's all natural meat and veggies with no fillers. It's got double the nutrition and as an added bonus has cut down on Codyman's gas, which if you've even been privy to you know that's a BIG bonus. 

Nature's Variety doesn't work for everyone, so below is a list of dog foods that I like: 

Solid Gold

Nature's Variety

IAMS

Canidae

Dr. Harvey's

Nutro

There are two downsides to feeding your dog highly nutritious dog food. 

1. It costs more...sometimes up to $15 more a month

2. You can't shop at the big box stores (PetSmart, PetCo) because they don't carry these high grade foods. 

If you're in MN, try these stores:

Chuck and Don's Pet Food Outlet (they are REALLY good about supporting rescue groups)

Urbanimal (really funky and cool)

Bottom line: Getting new dog food can be a pain, but good nutrition is the best investment you can make in your dog. Believe me, I've seen what even a few weeks without good nutrition can do to a dog, especially if they are still growing.