remember this is only opinions, so let's try to keep this friendly.
thanks

Pro Plan. Dogs do great on it, it is readily available anywhere, it is popular, so it does not sit on the shelf in the store a long time, good breeder program, easy to find for puppy people, and made by Purina, who has done more research on feeding animals than any other company in the world.

I (still) feed ProPlan even after their tremendous boondoggle with the shredded nonsense. I only feed Performance or Salmon now, and will also use the "old" version of chicken when it finally comes back. The #1 reason is the results - my coats look great, they are healthy, if someone does get sick he or she recovers amazingly fast, they are happy and active, their poops look normal... Even if the food was 99% sawdust I would feed it if I got these kinds of results. I went through the exercise of studying all the foods out there last year because I was so mad at them for the shredded thing. I found that even highly recommended foods were short on protein, high on corn (I don't mind corn as long as it's not the top ingredient), and backed with very little actual testing if any. I don't like using my own dogs as test animals, so I prefer to feed a food that has undergone actual scientific AAFCO testing with live dogs. That narrowed down the list of foods A LOT. Another thing I considered is the company's support of the dog fancy. Purina knows the purebred dog fancy and supports it without reservation. What other companies have a whole venue available? The Pedigree ads for Westminster make me nauseous. They don't get it. So, that's why I still feed Purina. I'm still mad about the shredded and I am very worried that they will lose their touch.

Thanks, Nancy. I have read most of the threads on foods for years and found that you come to your reasoning in a very practical manner. I have used Pro Plan over the years, but not exclusively. I have been using Back to Basics for the past 6 years and sort of feel the same way you do about the situation. I have wonderful coats, no problem with maintaining weight, and I don't feed any dog (male or female) more than 4 cups a day. They are healthy and happy and seem to really like the food. I will be up against a transition to a new formula they are producing in the very near future. I hope that it turns out to be just as good.

its a hard subject because every dog does different on different foods.
That said, i feed my crew Chicken Soup for the Pet Lovers Soul. My dogs get 1 1/2 cups twice a day. They do well, coats are good, they are alert and active, poops are good.
If i had to fault Diamond it would be that is is often hard for puppy people to find. Often i buy the first bag myself for them, so that pups don't change food for a while.
Years ago i tried purina and had bad luck, but that was years ago and a different line of dogs. I have a friend who feeds their dog Beneful, salmon flavor. I wouldn't feed it, but this dog does wonderful on it. I'm amazed everytime i see the dog.

I Use to work at a Boarding Kennel and Dogs that were on Benefull would have a Multiple color poop. It was Kind of fun to Pick it up.Something different to the regular colors... hahaahah
Not sure how good is it.

Hey, now glow in the dark poops would allow me to find it easier when I get home from work and it's already dark at 5 pm in the winter.

I still feed Kirkland, love what it has and what it doesn't have. Can afford it's price, especially if I compare it to foods of similar ingredients and ratios, which I do once in a while, just to remain aware of how it measures with other foods and what's available should I ever decide to switch.

Our poops are normal, I'm not trying for the award for the smallest driest poops anyway. But ours are completely normal, I have a pooper scooper service come in, I asked him how our poops compare with other kennels and pet back yards that he does, he said ours certainly are better than most, so I'm happy with that.

We used to feed Euk large breed adult. We were happy with it, but most of the dogs that we admired were on Purina....nice coats, nice bloom on the puppies. We switched to Purina and so far we are happy. We are in Canada so we can get the Turkey and Barley and it is not a 'select' so we feed that. We may use performance for one of our boys as he is fussy and hard to keep weight on.

The support from both Euk and Purina is great and I agree with the poster with regards to the support of the dog world and all of its activities. I also think Purina deserves some kudos for listening to breeders and the outcry over the shredded, specifically labrador breeders.

We have two pups same litter on Purina and one other pup from that litter, that we see often, and is on Taste of the Wild............I see no difference to support the cost of that food??

Cheers, Colleen

Beneful makes a salmon?

I have had lines in the past who were sensitive to corn gluten or wheat. Many of the "premium" foods are lower in calories or way too expensive. I have been using PetGuard for years and it seems to be a nice balance of calories, price, looks good on paper, dogs look good. I have tried other things out of curiosity and always end up going back.

But having said that, my dealer was one of the original customers of the company and gets a deal. I have been a long time customer of my dealer and I get a further deal. I don't think anyone could walk of the street and get PetGuard for almost the same price as ProPlan as I do.

Do you think that Hills Science Diet is a company that has been around for quite some time and does a lot of research?
I had fed their products for 14 yrs to my labs-never had a health issue-all lived till 13 yrs.
When I purchased my new foundation girl the breeder insisted on Pro plan so I switched but I see no diff. in coat, stool, etc.
Working for a vet I also have witnessed that many of their vet formulas do make a big difference for sick animals-some can be used long term, others short term as instructed by the company.
Compared to other "high end" brands neither SD nor PP have the best ingred. list if we are being honest.

To the person who asked about Beneful making a Salmon flavor, yes they do. Its the only flavor and brand my friends were able to get this dog to eat and not vomit. The dog does amazing on it.

We use Fromm here. Love the results.

Kirkland going on 10yrs now...Dogs do great on it and firm stools :-)

Thanks Kathy, I was going to put one on PP SSS but maybe I'll look at the Beneful now!!

Remember that Salmon flavor is just that - flavor. - does not mean that the food contains any salmon. I also recommend foods that actually test their food - many say "formulated to perform like those tested," or something similar. Not actually tested.

It is, read the ingredients
http://www.beneful.com/Dog-Food/Healthy-Radiance/Default.aspx

Beneful has disgusting ingredients:

Here's their "Healthy Radience" with salmon:

Ground yellow corn, chicken by-product meal, corn gluten meal, whole wheat flour, animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols (form of Vitamin E), salmon, brewers rice, soybean meal, sugar, sorbitol, tricalcium phosphate, soybean oil, animal digest, water, salt, phosphoric acid, potassium chloride, dicalcium phosphate, sorbic acid (a preservative), L-Lysine monohydrochloride, calcium carbonate, dried carrots, green beans, calcium propionate (a preservative), choline chloride, Vitamin E supplement, added color (Yellow 5, Red 40, Yellow 6, Blue 2), DL-Methionine, zinc sulfate, ferrous sulfate, Vitamin A supplement, manganese sulfate, niacin, Vitamin B-12 supplement, calcium pantothenate, riboflavin supplement, copper sulfate, biotin, garlic oil, thiamine hydrochloride, pyridoxine hydrochloride, thiamine mononitrate, folic acid, Vitamin D-3 supplement, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), calcium iodate, sodium selenite.

I'm surprised anything would do good on it!

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Replying to:

Thanks Kathy, I was going to put one on PP SSS but maybe I'll look at the Beneful now!!

The Natura foods, Innova, California Natural, Healthwise, and EVO. I "thought" my dogs were doing great on Proplan, but found out they could be doing even better. There is no comparison to the ingredients and the price is the same. Also as far as protein, what is more important than the percentage of protein is how well it can be utilized. Shoe leather is 100% protein, but the body cannot utilize very much of it. So a food may show less protein in the guaranteed analysis, but if it is a better source of protein, such as chicken or lamb meal rather than corn gluten or brewers rice, the dog will be able to use more of it.

Like i said i don't feed it to my dogs and in fact i don't reccomend anything that can be bought in the grocery store. How ever i have to say this dog is very healthy and i know the vet involved loves this dog.

OMG.....Beneful Sucks!!!!!!!!!