Need dog food advice: My pup's fave has been discontinued.

[Hane]

The Evil Tippy, who is actually a very laid-back and companionable 10.5-year-old Peke, has been eating the same exact dog food (Hill's Science Diet adult chicken-rice-veg formula dry food) for ten--count 'em--years. Just when I ran out (freaking mice got into the spare bag I kept in the garage and ruined it), I learned that this particular variety is no longer manufactured. The guy at Petco sold me what he said is the nearest equivalent, formula-wise.

And the Tipster hates it. She's never been a picky eater, but she actually barked at me in obvious disdain the first time I served it to her. She left it alone and didn't eat it for over a day. Her customary between-meal snacks are baby carrots. I don't give her people food or puppy snacks because she's been known to yak them up, but I mixed some plain pasta and some unseasoned roast turkey breast into her food for a couple of meals so she wouldn't starve. I don't want to get into the habit, though.

Her usual M.O. was to run over to her bowl and vacuum up her old food in no time flat. Now she picks at it, with an "If I must, I must" attitude. The new food hasn't caused her any health problems so far. I know that the ideal is to introduce a new food to a dog gradually, by mixing it into her old food, but it wasn't possible in this case.

She's my first dog. Am I a crazy dog lady for being concerned?

[doggie]

get the best food you can afford it pays off in the end. I wish I could afford an all meant or barf diet but it is too much for us. just started feeding this for a month now and our old dog does great on it and has more energy. it is also 55.00 for a 20# bag but she needs less.

[SpeakNow]

My dog is a phenomenally picky eater. He's gone on over week-long hunger strikes. We've finally discovered that he likes Ziwi Peak (which is insanely expensive) and will tolerate Abody, Wellness, and Orijen. You might try those...

[Hane]

Thanks for the advice, guys. She's begun eating the new food, so, so far, so good!

[PennySycamore]

I'm glad she'd started eating the new food. I need to switch my dogs to a better food (a limited ingredient food for Chloe's allergies), but my cat really like to eat the kibble and the more expensive it is the better he likes it. I suppose I'll just have to stop free-feeding them.

[doggie]

I'm glad she'd started eating the new food. I need to switch my dogs to a better food (a limited ingredient food for Chloe's allergies), but my cat really like to eat the kibble and the more expensive it is the better he likes it. I suppose I'll just have to stop free-feeding them.

Good cat food cost even more then good dog food do you save money.

[Koala]

Glad she is eating better. If she starts having issues again, I will second the person upthread who mentioned Orijen. We use the large breed puppy in that brand and have been very pleased with it. :)

[fullmetalheart]

Good cat food cost even more then good dog food do you save money.

This is true. I want to feed Athena better than what I do (Sheba wet & Iams Healthy Natural) but I can't justify the cost. The price for the good cat foods makes me go :pink-shock:.

[Curious]

This is true. I want to feed Athena better than what I do (Sheba wet & Iams Healthy Natural) but I can't justify the cost. The price for the good cat foods makes me go :pink-shock:.

Purina has a new kind out that is pretty decent. I feed raw/home cooked and usually store brands (the kind you can get at the grocery store like beneful and stuff like that) make me cringe and I want to turn into the dog food nazi and tell people to stop watching the commercials with the big gorgeous chunks of meat because they are all a LIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm really very gentle with my dog food discussion and I don't expect everyone to feed like I do, I just cringe when I know people think they are getting a good dog or cat food based on commercials and really they are feeding the equivalent of saw dust, nutritionally. it hearts my heart for them and their pets :(

Anyway, one of my friends had a change in financial situation recently and really needed to go to a store brand if at all possible. I didn't think it would be possible to find something that would pass muster with me, but this new purina one actually did.

It's called Purina One Beyond.

Here are the ingredients for the Chicken and Oatmeal version:

INGREDIENTS: Chicken, chicken meal, whole brown rice, soybean meal, whole barley, whole oat meal, soy protein isolate, animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols (form of Vitamin E), dried yeast, dried egg product, natural flavor, dried beet pulp, fish oil, phosphoric acid, caramel color, dried carrots, salt, calcium carbonate, dried sweet potatoes, dried apples, potassium chloride, taurine, choline chloride, Vitamin E supplement, zinc sulfate, ferrous sulfate, niacin, manganese sulfate, Vitamin A supplement, calcium pantothenate, thiamine mononitrate, copper sulfate, riboflavin supplement, Vitamin B-12 supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride, folic acid, Vitamin D-3 supplement, calcium iodate, biotin, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), sodium selenite.

Here are the ingredients for the Iams Healthy Naturals Chicken:

INGREDIENTS: Chicken, Chicken By-Product Meal, Corn Meal, Brewers Rice, Ground Whole Grain Barley, Chicken Meal, Dried Beet Pulp, Dried Egg Product, Natural Flavor, Sodium Bisulfate, Potassium Chloride, Fish Oil (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Animal Fat (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), DL-Methionine, Dried Apple Pomace, Dried Carrots, Brewers Dried Yeast, Fructooligosaccharides, Dried Peas, Calcium Carbonate, Choline Chloride, Dried Spinach, Dried Tomatoes, Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamins (Niacin, Ascorbic Acid, Vitamin A Acetate, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Thiamine Mononitrate (source of vitamin B1), Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (source of vitamin B6), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement (source of vitamin B2), Inositol, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid), Minerals (Zinc Oxide, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Potassium Iodide, Cobalt Carbonate), Rosemary Extract

If it was me, choosing between these two foods I would choose the Purina One Beyond. It has Chicken and Chicken Meal as the first 2 ingredients and no chicken by products at all. Whereas the Iams has Chicken and Chicken by-products first and second. Chicken is made up of a lot of water, so while it might be the heaviest by weight (and I like to see either the whole protein or the protein meal in the first or second so I'm not quibbling about this), seeing the by-product second, doesn't give me warm fuzzies.

I do "like" that the by-products are labeled as chicken vs just being poultry or meat...an unidentifiable by-product, in other words, but by-products are not as good nutritionally as meat/or whole protein meal. Here is the AAFCO definition of Chicken by-product meal: Chicken By-Product Meal - consists of the ground, rendered, clean parts of the carcass of slaughtered chicken, such as necks, feet, undeveloped eggs and intestines, exclusive of feathers, except in such amounts as might occur unavoidable in good processing practice.

Any pet food that has corn is an automatic no for me. Dogs and cats can't digest corn (neither can people very well really) and it's just a filler and also the cause of many allergies in pets. The iams has corn meal as the 3rd ingredient.

The Purina One Beyond is maybe a little grain heavy and has a little more salt than I would like, but given the choice of just these 2 foods, I would still go with the Beyond. The grains are all whole grains, so that is a bonus.

Here is a pretty nice guide that talks about pet food ingredients and isn't overwhelming for a beginner (I don't know everyone's level of pet nutrition education/knowledge so I just pulled a link that I use a lot. I'm not trying to talk down to anyone). http://www.1800petmeds.com/terms_definitions.jsp

Since you have all seen the beneful commercials with the big chunks of meat and the beautiful fresh vegetables, here is the list of ingredients for the Beneful Healthy Smile dog food.

Ground yellow corn, chicken by-product meal, corn gluten meal, whole wheat flour, animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols (form of Vitamin E), rice flour, chicken, soy flour, water, propylene glycol, powdered cellulose, sugar, tricalcium phosphate, salt, phosphoric acid, animal digest, potassium chloride, sorbic acid (a preservative), dried carrots, non-fat yogurt powder, parsley flakes, calcium phosphate, calcium propionate (a preservative), choline chloride, Vitamin E supplement, zinc sulfate, ferrous sulfate, added color, Red 40, manganese sulfate, Yellow 5, niacin, Yellow 6, Vitamin A supplement, Blue 2, copper sulfate, Vitamin B-12 supplement, calcium pantothenate, L-Lysine monohydrochloride, thiamine mononitrate, garlic oil, pyridoxine hydrochloride, riboflavin supplement, Vitamin D-3 supplement, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), calcium iodate, folic acid, biotin, sodium selenite, Blue 1.

IMO, those commercials are false advertising and should not be allowed. This is one of the worst dog foods on the market today.

[Becoming_Me]

Precise, Wellness and Orijen are the dog foods I mention to friends. I spent a lot of time researching dog foods a few years ago. I really should again to make sure I know what I am talking about!

[louisa05]

Evo. Truly grain free, made by the people who invented grain free pet food, and no bizarre fillers. Iams' new grain free variety is made of meal, meat by-products and beet pulp--no fresh ingredients at all.

And I am not allowed to tell you how I know this. So don't ask. :)