Benefits of feeding a dog higher quality dog food? And large breed question.?
What are the benefits to feeding a dog higher quality dog food. I have read they have fewer health complications, is this actually true, anyone have experience with this?
Would feeding my puppy higher quality food allow him to grow bigger than he would on Alpo?
I have a german shepherd, should i feed him large breed dog food, or does that really matter?
The lower quality dog foods have a lot of cheap fillers in them that dogs don’t need and can’t digest. Things like corn and corn gluten, beet pulp, sorghum, wheat which is one of the leading causes of allergies.
Feeding your dog a top quality brand of dry dog food means he’s going to get the nutrition he needs, and while the cost of the food is more, the dog eats less.
Some of the best brands out there include Innova, Solid Gold, Wellness, Orijen – pick one you like after reading the label and if your dog does well on it, stick with it. The first ingredient on every good dog food is always meat and none of them include corn or any other cheap filler.
And yes, with a breed like a german shepherd, feeding a large breed dog food is a good idea because it’s formulated for a large breed and you don’t want him growing too fast and putting too much stress on those joints.
Simply, you are what you eat. i dont care who tells you otherwise. benefits of eating a good food is you limit the chances health risks, healthy coats/eyes/ and everything. try innova EVO, its rich with protein and grainfree. hoilistic food is great., large breed dog food is fine for your shepard. And feeding your puppy better food will help your puppy be healhtyier and stronger yes. just becarful in a few cases to much protein in a puppy can damage liver, but its rare. and for your adult dog its perfectly fine. if your shepard is the baby, then start with innova small bites. holistic food is a little pricier but its your best friend. and you want him to be healthy right?? cheaper food is full of fillers, so your dogs not benefiting off of it at all. and its hard to if not impossiable to digest certain fillers. first five ingredients will tell you alot about the dog food. stay away from grocery store brands for the most part. find a local pet supply store specializingy in animal feeds. and also when swithcing over, gradually do it, for many cases diareeah may occur cuzx stomach is not used to it yet.
P.S i switched my puppy over from eagle pack holistic to innova EVO, without any stomach problems. but if loose stool does happen, mixi t with the other food, slowly eliminating the old
The higher quality food tastes better, the poop doesn’t stink near as much, and the dogs get more nutrients.
As for growing, the dog is only going to get as big as genetics allow. Look at his parents. That’s about the size he or she will get.
Yes, dogs fed higher quality food have fewer health problems. Puppies fed high quality food from an early age grow bigger and stronger. I work at a pet boarding kennel and we sell Innova, California Natural, Evo and Fromm. Customers we get to switch to these higher quality food call us and are amazed at how much more energy their dogs have and how much better they look.
All I have ever fed my dogs was Science Diet. It is nutritious and doesn’t bother them. Plus it isnt that expensive.
High quality is better nutrition and better health. Healthier coats, more energy, less allergies to fillers, etc. Its better inside and out and for long term health.
Your dog will not grow bigger based on what you feed him but he may develope deformities if he has too much protein as a large breed needs to grow slowly. Large breed dosn’t matter usually, but some quality brands have a large breed food that is ok, just look at the ingredients.
I think that if you feed your dog the best kind out there, means less trips to the vet. Which actually costs less than getting him that little bit more expensive food. So by buying him quality food, you’re providing him a longer, healthier life with little complications. I used to feed my dog Science Diet, and he would be more lethargic and get sick more often, but when I switched to Solid Gold, he instantly had more energy, his coat got a lot shinier and softer, and he was just overall happier because he felt good.
As for feeding your large breed food, I highly suggest that you do so, because if you feed him small breed dog food, he won’t get the proper amount of nutrition he really needs.
<Benefits of good dog food?
When I fed my dog Pedigree, he was lazy, his coat was dull, and he was just really boring. Never wanted to do anything. Never had any energy. When I switched to Wellness, he was hyper, shiny, full of evergy, and just a brand new dog.
<Would feeding my pup higher quality food than Alpo make him bigger?
It will give him more muscle mass, and he will be a lot healthier, and yes, he may be bigger.
<Large breed dog food?
I think the only differences are that the kibbles are bigger, and the food has more glucosamine. I think. So really, it doesn’t matter.
Here are some good dog foods:
Wellness- http://www.wellnesspetfood.com/
Orijen- http://www.championpetfoods.com/orijen/about/
Chicken Soup- http://www.chickensoupforthepetloverssoul.com/
Natura (Innova)- http://www.naturapet.com/brands/innova.asp
Natura (Evo)- http://www.naturapet.com/brands/evo.asp
Natura (California Natural)- http://www.naturapet.com/brands/california-natural.asp
Natura (Healthwise)- http://www.naturapet.com/brands/healthwise.asp
Natura (Karma)- http://www.naturapet.com/brands/karma-organic.asp
Solid Gold- http://www.solidgoldhealth.com/
I would add more, but that’s all I have time for. Maybe I will come back and add some more tomorrow. The library is about to close and shut down the computers, so I have to get off. Dammit, I wish I had internet at my house. Hope I helped! Bye!
You should feed your dog a large breed food. Especially if its a puppy, large breed foods have the nutrients and vitamins that a German SHepherd needs to grow strong bones and not get fat in the process, a bunch of filler, like in a dog food such as Alpo, could make your dog fat while not helping her bones grow strong. This increases the chances of hip dysplacia and knee problems.
1 – Yes, without a doubt, higher quality food will result in a healthier dog…which means fewer trips to the vet. One of the great examples is dogs with chronic ear infections or chronic skin problems that can be completely eliminated simply by switching to a better food, but there are many, many more.
2 – Feeding a dog good food will not make him bigger, but it will make him grow at a more even rate, and it will also help him grow in a healthier way. It will help a dog grow into a healthier composition, often b/c a dog will grow a healthier lean muscle mass when eating a better quality food as opposed to fatty from excess carbohydrates.
3 – Yes, you should feed a large breed formula, or an all stages formula for the same reason a healthier food is better – it will help your dog grow at the proper rate with the appropriate muscle mass. A large breed dog that gets too much carbs and too many calories will grow too fast for his skeleton to support and that can result in major bone damage and joint problems down the road.
It’s very simple, if you ate nothing but junk food all your life you would not be as healthy or live as long as someone who ate lots of fresh vegetables, real meat and whole grains!
Your dog will not thrive on "junk" food. That’s all there is to it. Simple common sense should tell anyone that!
Bangs head against wall!
Your large breed puppy should get a HIGH quality food with the first three ingredients being meat sources, no corn, fillers or chemical preservatives.
"Puppy" foods are usually too loaded with carbs, protien and calcium for a large breed puppy.
These can cause a dis-ease called Pano, where the pup’s bones grow too fast for the tendons and ligaments and can make them lame.
All my Afghan Hound pups are raised on raw and Canidae All Life Stage.
Well you have to look at it this way. If you live on McDonald’s and Taco Bell chips candy and soda you will be unhealthy.
The same thing goes for your dog. Foods like Alpo are garbage. Sadly some of the cheep dog food company’s use rode kill deceased dogs and cats in there food this has been know to cause cancer in pets. These dog food companies will get some of there products in china look what happened the large dog food recall. So the benefits is your dog living a long healthy life.
After I lost 2 dogs and a cat to cancer I did allot of research on those cheep dog food companies what i found made me sick. They use rod kill our pets that have been euthanized are shipped off to be used in food these company’s don’t remove collars the bags that are pets are put in. The high dose of barbiturates use to put an animal to sleep dose not break down so over time when to feed your dog those cheep food you are killing your dog. So look at it this way you are feeding your dog euthanized dogs, cats, road kill, plastic, dog collars, flea collars. Your dog will benefit from a healthy coat skin longer life he will poop less. I would get your dog on the raw diet Natures Variety has the complete line of raw. Don’t feed your dog cheep food watching a dog die from cancer is horable and sad. My pets were not old when they died dogs were 6 and 9 my cat was 11
Yes feeding your dog a high quality dog food will improve his/her overall health. I adopted a Cockapoo from a rescue 5 months ago. I didn’t think she was especially cute at the time, but her temperament was great (so very sweet with people and dogs). I don’t know what she was feed the first year of her life but her foster family was feeding her Ol’ Roy for the 2 weeks they had her. Let me say that a couple of months on Wellness Core Ocean (its grain free and fish based) and she was simply beautiful (her hair was shinier and her eyes brighter), I get compliments on how cute she is all the time. I can’t over emphasize the importance of a good dog food. Now, Wellness is a good food, but there are other high quality foods out there. Please read the labels.
To help you decide on a good food I suggest you visit the Dog Food Project web site at http://www.dogfoodproject.com. The lady that updates the site provides really valuable information on dog food ingredients and she also does a comparison of different dog foods.
Sorry, I don’t have any experience regarding large breed food vs adult food. Good luck with this.
(Note: For Amberlin: I don’t want to say anything negative about Science Diet but you may want to check the ingredients. I have recently and these foods have a lot of filler in them. Good luck with that).