This could really get the fingers flying....

Okay, I've been doing my research into different food types. Because my experience with Chessies is limited, I really don't know if my dog could have more energy (I doubt it) or have a better coat (I would guess so).

I have been warned against large breed puppy foods, as they might contribute to joint problems.

I was reading about Eagle Pack foods, as they are made in my area, are readily available, and are recommended by the Whole Dog Journal (who I know nothing about, but they talk a good game.)

Anyway, there are a number of choices available. Holistic, which contains whole organic Chicken, although the primary ingredient is chicken meal. It also contains pork meal, fish meal, and dried egg. It comes in at Protein 24, fat 15.

There is also High Power, with a 30/20 protein to fat. Again, chicken meal, fish meal, dried egg, tocopherols etc.

Either of these would seem to fit my dogs needs, based on the following assumption: If I feed 100 units of the 24/15, the dog will get 24 units of protein and 15 units of fat. If I were to feed
80 units of the 30/20, the dog would be getting 24 units of protein and 16 units of fat. Is this correct? Is there an advantage one way or another?

Todd

"Are you gonna eat that?? 'Cause if you're not, I'll eat that!" Oz

Oh no you didn't!

Looks like you've given this some thought. What I want to know is what do you think?

No matter what, I think you guys will be okay.



This is Oz's Grandpa "JJ". Ten Mile's JJ's Blizzard Fox MH**. I took this picture about a year ago. JJ is a big clown. He thinks he is a puppy. He's another one of my favorite geriatric Peakes.

PB

Naw, you won't get fingers flying by bringing food up in THIS board. That's because the "foodies" don't hang out here.

This crowd will tell you if you are getting what you need from what you feed, why switch? If you think you might do better, try something different, take it for a test drive and see what shakes out.

It's all good!

Lisa-doesn't have a clue how much protein, fat or even "ingredients" there are in her dogs' food

You see a picture of our dog food. Well part of it at least. They eat anything I happen to throw their way and I expect them to thrive on it.
Come spring, a lot of Chessie owners seem worried about coat, etc. & change dog foods. The dog looks better in a month or so. Aha, this dog food must be the best one. Of course, the dog would have looked just as good without a change in food.
Let's face it, some Chesapeakes just look ratty in the spring. They are just missing the nice green grass to graze & all the good dead things melting out from under the snow.

Adrienne

Here's the chicken!

Rat always had the same coat whether she was getting frozen chicken in Quebec or Pro Plan in NY. genetics has a lot to do with it. Glad Bit didn't inherit her dam's hair!

Todd, Oz is at an age where Chessies typically look their worst. when they are around a year old, they will often lose their hair and look pretty scraggly, long-legged, thin, the whole works.

My pup, Gopher, looked OK at 10 months and went to He!! by a year old. All of a sudden, she was thin as a rail, all her hair fell out, she was a mess! The trainer says she is filling out now, starting to look better, with a really good coat. It's just the age.

Lisa

I'm not really worried about Oz's coat. It's just oily dog hair in the end. I'm more concerned about his long-term health and current performance. If I can make food choices that will impact the quality of life of my dog, then I need to make those choices in an informed manner.

As far as long-legged skinny go, Oz is every bit of that. But man is he strong!

Todd
"I'm here to PUMP you UP!" Weightlifter Oz

What I look for in a food is feeding trials. If the company that makes the food performed feeding trials, then they have fed hundreds of dogs this food over several years and documented the results. The bag will tell you if they did feeding trials, and under what conditions, or you could call or e-mail the company.

Beyond that, I look for consistent performance across the board in whatever venue I am dabbling in at the moment. I currently feed Pro Plan, not by design, but because I am lazy and my next-door neighbor (vet) sells it. It's good food, and all I have to do is walk next door and get me some. I also hear of a number of pros and highly successful amateurs who have fed their dogs on this and run in trials. Good enough for them, good enough for me.

Eagle is good food, from what I have seen/heard. Which bag of Eagle you decide to feed largely depends on Oz and how he takes to it. One thing to factor in before switching is availability. What you don't want is to have to change your fuel source mid-stream through your dog's campaign because you suddenly can't find the stuff. This happens a lot, especially with the smaller feed-mill outfits. If you plan to be on the road a lot (FT folks usually are), or send him with a pro, be sure whatever brand/styke of food you decide on is not so boutique you end up in a food jam. Worst thing in the world is being on the road with a dog that gets diarrhea because it's food had to be switched. Never heard of a dog with diarrhea winning a trial, either. So you may not want to go with the super-premium Eagle, but with the "regular premium" that you can pick up at any feed store in a pinch, if necessary.

Adrienne can't get the same Pro-Plan formulation in Canada that I feed, so she feeds what she feeds, and I feed what I feed. When we switch dogs, we just make sure it is at LEAST a month before any event, to give the dogs a chance to get used to the feed change.

Lisa

I am feeding the regular Pro-Plan myself. My dogs all do well on it.

I was training three weeks ago when there was so much snow up north that alot of Virginia pros and Amateurs were down here training with us. There were 9 trucks of dogs training and all but one were feeding purina products.

7 Pro-Plan
1 Purina One
1 Eukanuba

You don't have to spend a fortune to get a good dog food.

Todd,

I have tried many of the different types of foods. I have found that Eagle Power tends to deliver best for our situation. However, I would tend to think that most of the top brands are going to deliver what you need.


Bob

Thank you all for the help.

Todd

Hey Todd.

I stumbled across the Whole Dog Journal and at first ignored it since it looked like one of those holistic mumbo jumbo things. I later came across it again and happened upon their review of various canned food and found their reviews of dog food to be very helpful. I subscribed and read their reviews with interest (although ignore some articles of the more wholistic nature). Overall they seem very common sense based and certainly care about animals. Their reviews appear to be very good and they don't hesitate to say bad things (or good things) about various companies, toys, whatever.

I'd suggest buying the food review back issues and consider for yourself if they make sense.

In the end, we feed our dogs Innova and Wellness. 1 1/2 cups dry + 1/2 can, twice a day.

-john