# Dog Food ?



## knutson24 (Feb 16, 2009)

I am currently feeding both my labs Blue Buffalo but have been considering swithcing to Wellness Core dog food. Does anyone have any experience will Core and if so how do they like it? By looking at the ingredients it look like a fairly high quality dog food but also is quite expensive. So any help would be much appreciated.

~Knutson~


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## daveb (Jun 29, 2006)

For what it's worth, whoever conducted this study thinks highly of it...6 stars.

http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/


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## Chaws (Oct 12, 2007)

Everyone has their own desired dog food, however I'm personally not a big fan of the "specialty premium" dog foods. Being in the competitive dog world, there are far too many athletes I see that are fed on a readily available and very cost efficient feed like Purina Pro Plan or Eukanuba to feel a desire to feed something other or such highly priced as the feeds you're using currently or are considering.


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## daveb (Jun 29, 2006)

Can't find eith Euk or Pro Plan, but I haven't made it down to the 1 star foods, yet.


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## knutson24 (Feb 16, 2009)

I just checked the petco website for prices they have Blue buff listed at $46.00 for 30 lbs or $1.53 a lb, Euk at $55.00 for 40lbs or 1.37 a lb, Purina Pro at $45 for 37.5 lbs or $1.06 a lb and Core was $51.00 for 30 lbs or $1.66 lb. So I guess why not pay $0.60 more a pound when its a far superior food?


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## Chaws (Oct 12, 2007)

knutson24 said:


> I just checked the petco website for prices they have Blue buff listed at $46.00 for 30 lbs or $1.53 a lb, Euk at $55.00 for 40lbs or 1.37 a lb, Purina Pro at $45 for 37.5 lbs or $1.06 a lb and Core was $51.00 for 30 lbs or $1.66 lb. So I guess why not pay $0.60 more a pound when its a far superior food?


I guess with the results of what I see first hand by people feeding the lesser cost feeds and the amount of information out that that shows those two main companies, Euk and Purina, putting large amounts of money into research and money back into the dog sports and wildlife, I'll continue to recommend those two feed companies. Some of those smaller boutique feed companies are making feeds to hit a certain market of people feeling that wild mixtures of meat and potatoes are better for their dogs than regular high end feeds that cost less.

Or maybe it's because I buy a lot of feed so that $10 a bag difference adds up to quite a bit over the years....


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## knutson24 (Feb 16, 2009)

Don't get me wrong but I use to feed purina at one time. my two labs would go through a 40lbs (37.5) bag every two weeks with blue buf a 30 lbs bag lasts three and half weeks.


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## Chaws (Oct 12, 2007)

daveb said:


> Can't find eith Euk or Pro Plan, but I haven't made it down to the 1 star foods, yet.


My thoughts on that survey is that it's skewed based on ingredients alone and doesn't bring into affect the way the feed is processed and manufactured. Corn in feed can vary from very good quality to very poor based on what portion of the kernel is used to how it's cooked or not cooked in the processing.

I put it this way, if professional dog trainers from all over the country trust the feeds like Purina Pro Plan and Eukanuba, and the owners of these dogs trust it as well for their dogs with values approaching $500,000 or more, I trust putting it in the bowl for my dog.

Purina Pro Plan is probably the largest used dog food by retriever field trialers today.


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## Chaws (Oct 12, 2007)

knutson24 said:


> Don't get me wrong but I use to feed purina at one time. my two labs would go through a 40lbs (37.5) bag every two weeks with blue buf a 30 lbs bag lasts three and half weeks.


What formula of Purina? There are 3 levels of quality in their feed lines. Chow, One, and Pro Plan.


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## knutson24 (Feb 16, 2009)

i guess i didn't know deboned chicken and turkey was a wild variety of meat i just thought it was a high quality of meat as opposed to chicken meal.


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## knutson24 (Feb 16, 2009)

ChawsWhat formula of Purina? There are 3 levels of quality in their feed lines. Chow said:


> Pro Plan performance.


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## Chaws (Oct 12, 2007)

knutson24 said:


> i guess i didn't know deboned chicken and turkey was a wild variety of meat i just thought it was a high quality of meat as opposed to chicken meal.


The problem with viewing feed based on what is printed is just that. Chicken and Turkey on an ingredient list is actually much less meat in the feed at number one on the list than meal is. Once chicken, as a main meat source, is cooked, its actual weight in accordance to the rating on the list might be more like number 4 or 5 after the water is removed.

Call or contact the customer service and find out if its ingredients are in order of weight before or after cooking.


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## Chaws (Oct 12, 2007)

knutson24 said:


> Don't get me wrong but I use to feed purina at one time. my two labs would go through a 40lbs (37.5) bag every two weeks with blue buf a 30 lbs bag lasts three and half weeks.


Did you try lowering the amount you were feeding them and see if it actually impacted their size? Many times people will feed based on what the packaging says and the dog just sends the undigested feed right on through.


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## knutson24 (Feb 16, 2009)

I understand what yor saying Chaws i guess the only reason i became argumentive is:
1. My orignal question was what people thought about the quality of "Core" dog food. which you provided nearly zero information.

2. You continue to try and seel me on a product I'm clearly not interested in.

No offense, you did provide good information concerning dog food in general but failed to aswner my orginal question.


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## knutson24 (Feb 16, 2009)

Chaws said:


> knutson24 said:
> 
> 
> > Don't get me wrong but I use to feed purina at one time. my two labs would go through a 40lbs (37.5) bag every two weeks with blue buf a 30 lbs bag lasts three and half weeks.
> ...


I liked Pro Plan when i used it but found the hard way one of my labs was allergic to corn product. Hence why i switched to blue buf.


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## Chaws (Oct 12, 2007)

knutson24 said:


> I understand what yor saying Chaws i guess the only reason i became argumentive is:
> 1. My orignal question was what people thought about the quality of "Core" dog food. which you provided nearly zero information.
> 
> 2. You continue to try and seel me on a product I'm clearly not interested in.
> ...


At $52 for 25lbs, I think you're nuts.

Looking at the ingredient list and the top 4 are meats including meals in slots 3 and 4, I'd say it's a pretty good feed though.

What would be your reasoning for switching?

back on track.


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## knutson24 (Feb 16, 2009)

Chaws said:


> knutson24 said:
> 
> 
> > I understand what yor saying Chaws i guess the only reason i became argumentive is:
> ...


Basically if the nutritional benefits outweighed the cost and availability.


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## Chaws (Oct 12, 2007)

knutson24 said:


> Chaws said:
> 
> 
> > knutson24 said:
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Check this stuff out. It's been dubbed the official feed of qual and pheasants forever and is corn free. Very good reviews from some people I know that have corn allergy dogs. It's also available in 3 or 4 different performance levels with most people saying they use #2 even for high energy or hard working dogs.

http://nativedogfood.com/

They drop ship it for free to Doit Best hardware/lumber stores like Lamperts on 32nd Ave S in Fargo. Also it's only $36.50 a bag. I used it for a while and then went to Pro Plan because it was easier than having to order it online and the pro I sent my pup with last winter fed that so I switched both my dogs at the same time.


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## daveb (Jun 29, 2006)

Chaws said:


> daveb said:
> 
> 
> > Can't find eith Euk or Pro Plan, but I haven't made it down to the 1 star foods, yet.
> ...


No offense, but I couldn't care less what field trialers decide to feed their dogs, nor do I care what food a vet suggests, which seems to be Science Diet more often than not, and I wouldn't feed that stuff to my worst enemie's dog.


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## Chaws (Oct 12, 2007)

daveb said:


> Chaws said:
> 
> 
> > daveb said:
> ...


I find it interesting what your feelings and opinions are regarding field trialers. For the amount of work that those dogs do on a daily basis, a good feed is needed. Without it, the countless number of issues would be seen evident at the way they can work.


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## daveb (Jun 29, 2006)

Chaws said:


> I find it interesting what your feelings and opinions are regarding field trialers. For the amount of work that those dogs do on a daily basis, a good feed is needed. Without it, the countless number of issues would be seen evident at the way they can work.


I don't have any feelings or opinions personally about field trialers, I just don't care what they as a collective decide to feed their dogs. There's a lot of monkey see monkey do in a lot of things not to mention Purina supports the games, so I would imagine many of them are swayed to give something back in return. It's human nature. On the flip side, if the stuff didn't work they wouldn't use it. All I'm saying is PPP ain't the be all end all of dog food just because it's the preferred food of trialers.


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## birdog105 (Aug 23, 2008)

I've been through a few types of foods, and I decided on Country Vet Dog Fuel, http://www.countryvetpetfood.com/dog-fu ... hletes.cfm

I watched my dog's energy level increase when I switched from Purina High Pro to this. They quit selling High Pro around where I live, or maybe they quit making it? Either way, this stuff is a better food and reasonable at 40 lb for 32 bucks...


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## thorpebe (Oct 3, 2003)

My local vet sells some food called Exclusive made by pmi nutrition. http://www.pminutrition.com/exclusive_brand.html

I have been feeding the performance line for about 1 year. Before that I was using the regular adult but my dog was very active and I felt she needed something better. It seems to be ok other than she seems to shed alot and alsways has so maybe its just a lab thing.

Has anybody ever had any experience with this food or any opinions on it?


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