[Zoey]

My wife and I just recently purchased out first Basset Hound on 3-5-2011. We bought a bag of the same dog food that the pet store was feed her but we're curious what other owners of Basset Hounds are recommending. We live in Idaho and have a good sized fenced yard so she'll have plenty of room to play and run. we also have access to many of the major chains to purchase food. ie. walmart, Petco, Costco, ect. Any help would be great.

 

[LottesMama]

There are so many designer type dog foods that can really get expensive and then there are the people who will tell you that you should be cooking your own dog food or feeding raw... I personally don't have the budget or time to do either of those options so when discussing this with our vet she recommended a few brands but advised us to just read the ingredients list. Our first priority is to have real meat as the #1 ingredient.

 

[Mikey T]

hear is an article on dog food and diet that IMHO is the best on the web.

Dog Foods - Help in making the choice easier

Remember, what works for my dogs or anyone else's dog might not work for yours. Buy the smallest bag you can find of what you want to start trying and if the dog doesn't eat it or you don't like the results, then you aren't out much and you can donate the rest to a shelter. I swear this last year I have to have donated more food that didn't work out with my dogs to shelters than anyone else in my county. (laughs) I'm also not going to tell you what I feed my dogs. I haven gotten email from people mad at me for not saying what I feed my dogs, though this information is located elsewhere on my site. I don't want people buying a food just because I feed it. What you feed has to be your own choice. I'm just here to help you understand the choices so you can make a relatively informed decision.

If the brand of food you are considering has a large breed formula with reduced caloires,calcium , and phosporus than their regual food I would recommend starting their. The danger contray to some belief is from over nutrition (ie over weight ) and to much calcium rather than not enough, never sumplement with calcium or vitamin D which means avoiding fortified milk as well.,

 

[bubbad]

My dogs get Wellness bought from Petsmart,yes expensive,but they do well on it .For some dogs this is too high quality and they do better on a midrange priced dog food,Science Diet,Eukanuba,Pro Plan,then there are those that can get away with cheaper brands like Pedigree,ProPlan One,even Dad's. I would stay away from the really cheap stuff. Fit and Trim,The grocery store bought ones. There are times I change the foods I use but I always stay with the higher quality ingredients.I see nothing wrong in changing foods unless you do it because the dog won't eat it then you just into a habit of changing food when the dog becomes picky. I do it to keep a varied diet and my dogs don't develop allergies. If they really like a food like they do with Wellness I will keep them on it longer,they can't wait to be fed.

 

[bklantz]

I feed Nutro from petsmart which I would say is one of the mid range foods, price and quality wise. I switched food around several times because Ella always had really loose stools and this has been the only food that both of mine will eat and have good stools on.

 

[mhvonalmen8908]

We feed both of ours Iams because it's got chicken as the first ingredient and it's very reasonably priced. It's also found at Wal Mart so we don't have to make a special trip to Petco or Petsmart. Doppler gets the 'Healthy Naturals' adult formula and Virga gets the puppy food but not the formula for a large breed puppy because she's going to be no where near the large breed weight range. But they do really well on it! They're coats are shiny, they've got tons of energy, and it's doing a really good job of keeping their teeth clean.

 

[Arry]

Dog Food Comparison, Ratings, Reviews - In-Depth Guide to the Best Dog Food

This is a site our trainer recommended to the class. We were happy to see that what we are feeding our Puppy (Chicken Soup for the Puppy Lover's Soul - which is what the breeder was feeding them) is a good 4 star with no red flags. I was disappointed to see that what we are feeding our adults is garbage. So we are fixing that. Pretty interesting reading.

 

[Mikey T]

I do not feed a single brand. IMHO it is one of the biggest dog food myths that any one dog food can be complete and balanced. Never would such a statement be made about a human food in which variety is king because of the limited knowledge we have on nutrtion. That knowledge is even less when it comes to dogs. So have a basic parameter slection guide. High protein 30%> and high fat 20% or greater. based on weight, The type of diet in proven to increase performance in working dogs. But in so doing a chose between a number of manufactures with a varried ingredience list hoping in so doing the potential of missing someth that was once thought unimportant does not happen. Current foods in the rotation include but not limited to Nutro hi-energy, royal canine energy 4700, eukanuba premium performance, solid gold barking at the moon


Not to say it is a bad food but to illustrate the point I tried to make early, relying on the success or failure of other in choosing a dog food is a fools errand. Buddad and many others swear by Wellness on 3 different occasion with 5 different dogs and a varried formula never one not a single dog do well on that food. Soft stool feed twice the recommend rate to maintain weight etc. There are so many dog foods because there is not a single food that is right for every dog. you have to experiment to see what works for yours.

 

[hopesmom]

I have to add my two cents here. Having been involved with rescues and champion bred dogs, the best results that I have gotten is with raw chicken. Fed once in the morning and then Blue Diamond kibble at night.

The raw chicken seems to have a night and day affect on all the dogs that have been in my home. They have seeminly brought 20 pound emaciated bassets back to life (after the easy intestinal food of course science diet) and have seen the coats of Champion bred dogs shine even more brightly.

But like someone said earlier, it all depends on your dog.

 

[Mikey T]

I was disappointed to see that what we are feeding our adults is garbage. So we are fixing that. Pretty interesting reading.

the problem is the ratings are based a bunch of dubious myth. ie human grade, no by products etc. which then makes the whole rate suspected to begin with, it is all about marketing and nothing actual to do with nutrition.

The Pet Food Ingredient Game

Then there are claims about "USDA approved" ingredients, "human grade" ingredients and ingredients purchased right out of the meat counter at the grocery store. Again, at first glance - and superficiality is what marketers like to deal with - it may seem that such foods would have merit over others. But such labels only create a perception of quality. People would not consider the food pets are designed for in the wild - whole, raw prey and carrion - "human grade" or "USDA approved." Because something is not "human grade" does not mean it is not healthy or nutritious. For example, chicken viscera is not "human grade" but carries more nutritional value than a clean white chicken breast. Americans think that chicken feet would not be fit for human consumption but many far eastern countries relish them. On the other hand, "human grade" beef steaks fed to pets could cause serious nutritional imbalances and disease if fed exclusively. Pet foods that create the superficial perception of quality (USDA, human grade, etc.) with the intent of getting pet owners to feed a particular food exclusively is not what health is about.
There are also the larger concerns of the Earth's dwindling food resources and swelling population. Should "human grade" food products be taken out of the mouths of people and fed to pets with all of the excellent nutritional non-"human grade" ingredients put in the garbage?

Are By-Products Bad?

From a nutritional as well as ethical standpoint, the benefits of incorporating by-products into pet foods cannot be denied.

The Whole Dog Journal advises pet owners to reject any by-products and instead seek “whole meats.” This demonstrates their lack of understanding of the nutritional merits of the various parts of food animals. Whole Dog and others in the pet food marketplace pushing the "no by-products" claim seem unaware of the fact that “by-product” is a mere word invention. It creates a negative connotation, but has nothing to do with health or nutrition. Pet health and nutrition are not about superficial impressions created by word labels. Feeding just muscle meats to pets is a serious error since no carnivore in the wild eats such a diet. If they did, they would become diseased from doing so

while it relates to a different list this site perpetuates many of the same myths
Critique Of Internet 'Rate Your Dog Food' List

 

[Tuesday]

I compared so many different brands and think Wellness is the best. Every dog is different and respond better to different foods. Buy a small bag first and try it out.

 

[Kirska]

Most of what you read on the bags and in commercials is all marketing techniques. If you want to know what's really best and what really helps your dog's health, you have to go to 3rd party sites like the one linked before. I recommend this site too: Dog Food Reviews - Main Index - Powered by ReviewPost

We feed our dogs Life's Abundance food. It's not a premium food but it's better than the big brand names. They do well on it.

Speaking from personal experience, you will see a noticeable difference in your dogs when you switch off a food like Iams, Purina, Bil Jac, etc and onto a higher quality food. For example our mutt's thyroid medication had to literally be cut in half once he got a better food in him.

 

[LY909]

My Porter eats Eagle Pack Holistic Select Anchovy, Sardine & Salmon Meal. It smells like cat food. I was told the high Omega-3 level in this food can help with the joints and I wouldn't need any additional supplements. I don't know if it is actually true or not though but the dog seems to like it a lot.

 

[Annie714]

I had always heard that you should feed your dog whatever it does best on.

Annie was a Nutro girl. She did well, never any problems. Then I lost my job and 65% of my income so I had to switch her food to a different food, Beneful met the affordability cut. She did ok for a few months on it then her skin got funky and she started having more tummy issues. It broke my heart. I have now switched her to the Purina One Sensitive Systems food and supplemented with my own homemade "puppy stew". Her skin has gotten better, she is shedding like crazy but I think it's seasonal, she doesn't itch much at all and no more burping or barfing. The best thing I've noticed is that there is no more "houndy" smell. Not sure to attribute this awesome change to the fish based food or to my puppy stew mix LOL. I have read, and people will say, that the Purina foods aren't exactly the best...but she is doing well on it and it meets what I can afford right now.

 

[Kirska]

I do not feed a single brand. IMHO it is one of the biggest dog food myths that any one dog food can be complete and balanced.

My mom had the opportunity to meet with the head vet that formulates the food we feed, Life's Abundance. Dr. Jane Bicks, DVM

From what I understand she knows it's impossible to make the food complete because of what cooking and processing does to the ingredients. So many of the better food companies offer supplements to fill in those gaps.

 

[klm42005]

Wellness is what I feed my dogs as well...after much research and good advise from the basset owners here..it seemed to be the most obvious choice...but most important the dogs seem to like it and to be thriving just fine on it....

 

[Scully]

We have been feeding our two the Kirkland Lamb, Veggie, and Rice from Costco. That is what Larsen had been eating prior to coming home with us, and we have stuck with it because he does very well on it. Ninja eats the same food too, and up until now, has done fine with it. We may have to do a switch for Ninja though, because it doesn't seem to be sitting too well with her lately. Not sure what we're going to go with yet.

Scully ate Iams and Eukanuba for most of her life and did great with them both. Probably a coincidence, but it was when I decided to "upgrade" her food to something of a higher quality that she started having all sorts of digestive issues. Various types of Wellness were the worst for her; even their Simple Solutions for sensitive tummies came out with a vengeance. (Their fish & potato treats were ok though.) Eventually, the only thing she could tolerate was California Natural Herring and Sweet Potato.

So, for my hounds, I think I'll stick with feeding them what they do the best on.

 

[Arry]

Good reading! Thanks Mikey! This is what I meant to link. http://www.dogfoodscoop.com/dog-food-comparison.html Incidentally they DID rate Wysong 5 stars.

 

[LuLu's mommy]

I feed LuLu Orijen Adult Dog All Breed. It's the only thing she will eat and we've even had problems with that one. She tried so many different foods I can't even keep track now. The only thing that matters is that they eat it. You could have the best food made but if they don't eat it, its not going to help them at all.

 

[Soundtrack]

I feed LuLu Orijen Adult Dog All Breed. It's the only thing she will eat and we've even had problems with that one. She tried so many different foods I can't even keep track now. The only thing that matters is that they eat it. You could have the best food made but if they don't eat it, its not going to help them at all.

LOL, if you don't offer anything else, they will eat it.