walmart dog food

[Lucky6]

So I am adopting my new lab tonight. The owner has him on walmart brand dog food....I know I know, I already fainted once! LOL She said she had him on a higher grade food but he got the runs and this was the only one that he does good on. Not only that but she free feeds him. Now before we throw her over the boat, she is actually a great dog owner. As a single mother of 5 and having two dogs I guess you have to do what you have to do. Anywho...I wrote earlier on how I am planning on switching Koko over to something less expensive then EVO. Although I hate to switch companies...I love love love Natura but they are a bit pricey. I'm curious what food to start the new dog on. If he has a sensitive tummy I wonder how he would do on a grain free food like TOTW. I don't really care for the NB LID line because he seems the primary source is potatoes. I considered the California Natural Herring and sweet potato. I'm just so confused. I hate being ocd over the darn dog food. I really want to stick to grain free...HELP!!!

[BigBrownDog]

He may not be sensitive - she may have just switched him cold turkey.

[kiddsmom]

Or fed him too much. The more premium foods are richer, better ingredients, not so much junk.

[Bob Pr.]

The possibilities raised by BBD and KM could each be factors. If you switch over, it's safer to feed one part new to 3 parts old for 3-4 days, then 2:2, then 1:3 for similar times.

A good food with no corn or wheat that's widely available is "Diamond Naturals" (NOT "Diamond" plain; that does have a lot of grain in it).

Costco's "Kirkland" C&R is similar to the "DN". "TOTW" and "Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's" are all made by the same company.

[bbbbmom]

3 of my dogs are on Calif. Naturals Herring and Sweet Potato, I have #4 on Evo Large Bites for itchies but I think his are environmental so he'll go back to CN eventually.

My neighbor's Husky is on CN Herring also and she's really sensitive to food changes. Anything too rich gives her the runs. She is doing great on CN except her owners complain about her fish breath, LOL. My dogs don't have fish breath though.

[Dani]

I feed my boys Sensible Choice or Diamond Naturals Chicken and Rice. That was what I went with after I switched off of EVO. They are doing great and it's not killing me financially. I'd recommend going with Diamond for both dogs...Walmart food is not great.

[Lucky6]

Bob...give me some credit...I know how to switch foods silly! I am not a huge fan of diamond but thats just me...probably why I'm a little hesitant to switch to TOTW. I'll have to compare prices of CN and TOTW and go from there.

[Bob Pr.]

Bob...give me some credit...I know how to switch foods silly!

Sorry! My apologies....

[Lucky6]

No problemo!! I know you were just trying to be helpful!

[blaisberg]

I totally love Evo for the quality... but Charlie just doesn't do well on it. I've tried to cut him over in the past - could never get beyond 50/50... anyway, recently he was on Canidae Grain Free salmon formula and did great. I love grain free. So when Evo came out with a fish based version, I cut him over. As soon as I got to 100% Evo, he got the runs... withheld food, started hamburger/rice, started to reintroduce Evo... runs! Well, I moved back to raw! The reason I like Evo is because it's close to raw. He does great on raw, and now that Bravo has the new Bravo Balance which includes all the vitamins/minerals he needs, it was pretty easy. The nice thing about raw is that you don't have to help them build up to it... they are built to digest it. So he's back on raw, loving it. If I lose my job and can't afford it, I'd go back to Canidae. I also have recommended Chicken Soup for the Dog Lovers Soul to many people and those that have, are very happy with it (and so are their dogs).
And Walmart Dog food is an oxymoron! It's sawdust and chicken beaks.