Dog food - it's hard to keep up

August 29, 2018, 08:16 PM

Jeff Yarchin

quote:
Originally posted by bigdeal:
quote:
Originally posted by LBTRS:
...recently tried Chewy's American Journey which is a very good food for the price.
Jeff, what do you know about this Chewy house brand? I could not determine specifically who makes it for them (an issue for me), but they did confirm via a phone call to customer service that Diamond is not involved in it. The different formulations get lots of positive reviews on their site, and the price is very good, but I'm not willing to commit to it based on those two attributes alone.

I'm not familiar at all. Sorry about that. Did you check Dogfoodadvisor.com?

https://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/?s=+American+Journey

Can't beat a 5 star rating, looks good!

August 29, 2018, 08:41 PM

bigdeal

quote:
Originally posted by Jeff Yarchin:
quote:
Originally posted by bigdeal:
quote:
Originally posted by LBTRS:
...recently tried Chewy's American Journey which is a very good food for the price.
Jeff, what do you know about this Chewy house brand? I could not determine specifically who makes it for them (an issue for me), but they did confirm via a phone call to customer service that Diamond is not involved in it. The different formulations get lots of positive reviews on their site, and the price is very good, but I'm not willing to commit to it based on those two attributes alone.

I'm not familiar at all. Sorry about that. Did you check Dogfoodadvisor.com?

https://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/?s=+American+Journey

Can't beat a 5 star rating, looks good!

Just bothers me that I can't determine who makes the darn stuff for them. And Chewy's customer service is tight lipped about it when asked which I also don't get.

By the way, you didn't comment on the Wellness Simple food I'm feeding now. How do you think it rates?

August 29, 2018, 08:45 PM

x0225095

Acana/Orijen is what I’ve fed for years.

No recalls I ever remember.

Quality ingredients.

Good product.

August 29, 2018, 08:47 PM

Jeff Yarchin

quote:
Originally posted by bigdeal:
quote:
Originally posted by Jeff Yarchin:
quote:
Originally posted by bigdeal:
quote:
Originally posted by LBTRS:
...recently tried Chewy's American Journey which is a very good food for the price.
Jeff, what do you know about this Chewy house brand? I could not determine specifically who makes it for them (an issue for me), but they did confirm via a phone call to customer service that Diamond is not involved in it. The different formulations get lots of positive reviews on their site, and the price is very good, but I'm not willing to commit to it based on those two attributes alone.

I'm not familiar at all. Sorry about that. Did you check Dogfoodadvisor.com?

https://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/?s=+American+Journey

Can't beat a 5 star rating, looks good!
Just bothers me that I can't determine who makes the darn stuff for them. And Chewy's customer service is tight lipped about it when asked which I also don't get.

By the way, you didn't comment on the Wellness Simple food I'm feeding now. How do you think it rates?

It's a good food but we think it is a bit high priced for what it is. No worries feeding it though.

Edited to add: Like you, I'd insist on knowing who makes the food.

August 29, 2018, 08:57 PM

46and2

I'm still firmly in the Fromm camp. Good company, good product.

Not inexpensive, though.

August 29, 2018, 09:00 PM

Revolution37

We feed our mutts Taste of the Wild, the yellow bag (High prairie canine formula, Bison/Venison) and they do well on it. Our younger dog is an absolute beast of a dog, she's about 20lbs. bigger than any of her littermates, I'm told, and she's all lean muscle.

We have debated a switch to Costco or Amazon brand grain free, as they both rate well on Dog Food Advisor and they're $15-$20 cheaper per bag.

August 29, 2018, 09:06 PM

Jeff Yarchin

quote:
Originally posted by Revolution37:
We feed our mutts Taste of the Wild, the yellow bag (High prairie canine formula, Bison/Venison) and they do well on it. Our younger dog is an absolute beast of a dog, she's about 20lbs. bigger than any of her littermates, I'm told, and she's all lean muscle.

We have debated a switch to Costco or Amazon brand grain free, as they both rate well on Dog Food Advisor and they're $15-$20 cheaper per bag.

Check out TOW's Prey line. Price is similar but they offer a frequent buyer program with this line, buy 8 bags get one free, available through most sticks and bricks stores.

August 29, 2018, 09:21 PM

Sunset_Va

quote:
Originally posted by vandrv:
quote:
Originally posted by Jeff Yarchin

We deal with this all the time. Many of our customers are in this same spot. Check out Victor grain free formulas. It's not as easy to find as TOW but it an excellent food and is priced right. It sound like this would be an excellent option for you. Victor is a family owned company. They have been in business since 1950 and have never had a recall. We sell thousands of pounds of Victor every month.

It should be a bit lower than TOW but... it is much higher quality food. Smaller company, smaller batches, more care taken than a multi billion dollar food maker can give.

Honestly, if I had to pay retail for dog food I'd probably feed Victor.

https://victorpetfood.com

https://victorpetfood.com/stores

I work part time at a small feed store and we sell Victor, both the grain free and non grain free. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a great USA made dog food. It isn't cheap, but if if you feed the recommended amount, you will be feeding less than some of the cheaper brands, so on the whole it isn't that much more expensive. The only downside is that it isn't available everywhere. We get customers who travel quite a ways to buy it.

luckily, a store within 20 miles sells Victor, I just bought 2-50 lb bags of my usual dog food today..but best thing for me to do is buy one bag of Victor, and introduce my dogs gradually.

August 29, 2018, 09:31 PM

Jeff Yarchin

^^^^^ Great plan. When switching it's always good to do it slowly. It avoids digestion problems and loose stools if you do it gradually.

Every pup is different but we suggest 10 - 14 days if that is possible. Slowly increase new and decrease old over this period.

The exception would be Orijen, Acana and Fromm's Four Star. Those are formulated to switch without issue.

August 30, 2018, 12:29 AM

at-home-daddy

Our vet recommended Avoderm ten years ago or so when our dog started displaying some allergic reactions, and it cleared up that issue...so we’ve stuck with it over the years. Now we get the Joint Health / Senior recipe to help her post-walk stiffness.

Hopefully it’s still a quality product...Jeff?

August 30, 2018, 05:46 AM

Jeff Yarchin

^^^ Not familiar with that brand.

https://www.dogfoodadvisor.com...atural-dog-food-dry/

August 30, 2018, 07:05 AM

ChicagoSigMan

My golden retrievers get a blend of Acana's Appalachian Ranch and Wild Atlantic formulas - both rated 5 stars at Dog Food Advisor with an enthusiastic recommendation. The mix gives them a great blend of non-chicken proteins. They love it and do very well on it.

August 30, 2018, 08:24 AM

dgrdvm

Any one know what the actual definition of a by product is ? Or what is included in the AAFCO definition of say, “chicken”? Or that dog food advisor is run by a human dentist with no nutritional expertise and that site is commercially associated with Chewy ? Just “food” for thought

August 30, 2018, 09:52 AM

sig operator

Another satisfied Fromm customer here. Our 2 yr. old active chocolate lab does well on it.

The kennel where we got her only uses Fromm for their puppies and bird dogs they train.

August 30, 2018, 10:04 AM

Jeff Yarchin

quote:
Originally posted by dgrdvm:
Any one know what the actual definition of a by product is ? Or what is included in the AAFCO definition of say, “chicken”? Or that dog food advisor is run by a human dentist with no nutritional expertise and that site is commercially associated with Chewy ? Just “food” for thought

Thanks for posting. The problem with a by-product is that by definition it could be anything. It could be good or it could be sweepings from the slaughter house floor. "Meat by-products' could be roadkill.

Regarding Dogfoodadvisor.com, it's currently the best available resource that a dog owner has to research food. If you can recommend a better venue that would be awesome.

August 30, 2018, 11:50 AM

at-home-daddy

quote:
Originally posted by Jeff Yarchin:
^^^ Not familiar with that brand.

https://www.dogfoodadvisor.com...atural-dog-food-dry/

Appreciate the link. It looks like AvoDerm @ 4 stars is considered “above average” and “highly recommended” at that site, so that gives me some comfort that AvoDerm is considered to still be a quality dog food.

August 30, 2018, 12:27 PM

PR64

What do you think about Wellness brand for small breeds?

I've been feeding it to my Pug for years.

August 30, 2018, 12:29 PM

steelcityfishanddive

quote:
Originally posted by Jeff Yarchin:
quote:
Originally posted by Revolution37:
We feed our mutts Taste of the Wild, the yellow bag (High prairie canine formula, Bison/Venison) and they do well on it. Our younger dog is an absolute beast of a dog, she's about 20lbs. bigger than any of her littermates, I'm told, and she's all lean muscle.

We have debated a switch to Costco or Amazon brand grain free, as they both rate well on Dog Food Advisor and they're $15-$20 cheaper per bag.

Check out TOW's Prey line. Price is similar but they offer a frequent buyer program with this line, buy 8 bags get one free, available through most sticks and bricks stores.

Thanks Jeff, I'll look into that. We've been feeding our lab TOTW Pacific Stream (salmon) for years since he's allergic to chicken. We just feed that to our Catahoula as well to keep it simple. We had to search a bit to find a food that didn't have chicken meal, poultry fat, or egg in it. It looks like the Prey beef or trout could work. What's the difference between the original line and this new Prey line?

August 30, 2018, 12:40 PM

LBTRS

quote:
Originally posted by Jeff Yarchin:
quote:
Originally posted by bigdeal:
quote:
Originally posted by Jeff Yarchin:
quote:
Originally posted by bigdeal:
quote:
Originally posted by LBTRS:
...recently tried Chewy's American Journey which is a very good food for the price.
Jeff, what do you know about this Chewy house brand? I could not determine specifically who makes it for them (an issue for me), but they did confirm via a phone call to customer service that Diamond is not involved in it. The different formulations get lots of positive reviews on their site, and the price is very good, but I'm not willing to commit to it based on those two attributes alone.

I'm not familiar at all. Sorry about that. Did you check Dogfoodadvisor.com?

https://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/?s=+American+Journey

Can't beat a 5 star rating, looks good!
Just bothers me that I can't determine who makes the darn stuff for them. And Chewy's customer service is tight lipped about it when asked which I also don't get.

By the way, you didn't comment on the Wellness Simple food I'm feeding now. How do you think it rates?

It's a good food but we think it is a bit high priced for what it is. No worries feeding it though.

Edited to add: Like you, I'd insist on knowing who makes the food.

Jeff,

Are you talking about the same thing? American Journey is $1.66/pound and can be had cheaper than that if you use autoship.

In comparison Fromm Four Star Grain Free is $3.02/pound.

American Journey is a super premium grain free food at an outstanding price. Why do you feel it is high priced for what it is?

Interested to hear your thoughts.