Has anyone used Doc's Choice dog food?

Question

This food is local to the midwest region ( I think nebraska, iowa, the dakotas and possibly minnesota) It is pelleted much like rabbit and guinea pig food instead of large pieces like most food. I gave some to my lab and he loved it but I want to make sure it is as good as it sounds. Anyone have any personal experience with this? I've looked at their website and it seems okay... http://www.docschoicepetfood.com/testimonials.shtml

Answer 1

The main ingredients in kibble are usually the ones before the first source of fat. In the Doc's Choice food it is:

Chicken and chicken byproduct meal, roasted whole corn.

Two of the main ingredients are iffy

1. Chicken byproduct meal : You generally don't want any by-products in kibble.

2. roasted whole corn: Many dogs are allergic to corn.

A good, not too expensive kibble is Canidea All Stages:

It has good protein and is grain free. Note the main ingredients are Chicken meal, turkey meal, lamb, potatoes, peas. No by-products, no corn, and no wheat.

Other good kibble brands that are high protein and grain-free include Orijen, Innova EVO, Nature's Variety Instinct, and Wellness CORE.

Answer 2

No good, it has by-products (by-product /meal/, ew) and corn.

Not all pet food is made equally. A lot of it is full of corn, by-products, dyes, unhealthy preservatives, filler grains and all sorts of nasty stuff. A lot of pet food companies are perfectly happy to dump cheap leftovers in. Will it kill your dog? No, it has to be nutritionally complete and safe to even be marketed. Is it healthy? Not by a long shot.

Corn is a low quality ingredient you never want to see in your pet food. Corn and low quality grains are two of the biggest culprits when it comes to food allergies in our pets.

Thankfully, there are some excellent dog foods being made these days that include organic, human grade ingredients rather than trash not fit for human consumption.

Examples of low quality foods to avoid: Anything you can find in a grocery store will be low end, Purina, Iams, Eukanuba, Science Diet, Royal Canin, Pedigree, Kibbles n' Bits, Beneful, Ol'Roy.

Examples of high quality foods to look for: Innova, Wellness, Solid Gold, Canidae All Life Stages, Fromm Four Star, Merrick, GO Natural, Nature's Variety Prairie, Nature's Logic, Artemis Fresh Mix.

Although the high quality foods are more expensive, you're getting what you're paying for. Less filler material means more concentrated nutrients... this means you typically need to feed far less of the high quality food than you would of the low quality one. Which also means less p**p!

A great option is to go with an entirely grainless diet. Many of the high quality foods now put out grainless formulas. Some good grainless diets include: Innova EVO, Wellness CORE, Blue Wilderness, Nature's Variety Instinct, Orijen, Horizon Legacy, Merrick Before Grain, Canidae Grain Free All Life Stages, Fromm Surf & Turf, Now! and Sold Gold Barking At The Moon, Taste of the Wild.

Some pretty decent foods can even be found in common pet stores. Petsmart carries Blue Buffalo products (such as the excellent grain free diet Blue Wilderness). Petco carries Wellness, Solid Gold, Natural Balance, Eagle Pack Holistic, Blue Buffalo, Castor & Pollux Organix, Pinnacle, and Halo. If you can't find a food, most of the high quality food brands have websites with store locators on them.

Remember that foods should be switched gradually, especially when switching to a higher quality one, so as not to upset tummies.

Another option for feeding dogs is to feed raw. This is something that should be thoroughly researched before being attempted:

http://www.barfworld.com/

http://www.rawfed.com/

http://www.rawlearning.com/

http://www.wysong.net/controversies/rawm...

More on dog food:

http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?...  (Learn how to determine the quality of your dog's food.)

http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_... (Dog food reviews. Four stars is a decent food, five stars is a great food, and six stars is an excellent food.)

Answer 3

two vets told me any food on the market EXCEP Walmart's

Answer 4

I went to the site and perused it....

I had never heard of it but I am up in Canada.

So....chicken and chicken by-product and 1st ingredient....not too bad BUT then they list corn, wheat, etc which many dogs are allergic to...so...depends upon your dog. What are you currently feeding? Labs (i know, i have 1) will eat ANYTHING!!!!!

I would try to stay away from anything that has corn or wheat as the 2nd and 3rd ingredients....it's filler....

Good luck

Answer 5

Its excellent!! I give my doggy that and my vet says its great!

Answer 6

Here's the ingredients:

Doc's Choice Premium:

Chicken and chicken byproduct meal, roasted whole corn, chicken fat, processed wheat, alfalfa meal, dried whole egg, flaxseed, brewer's dried yeast, salt, Vitamin A supplement, Vitamin E supplement, Vitamin D supplement, menadione sodium bisulfate complex (Vitamin K supplement), thiamine hydrochloride, riboflavin supplement, niacin, calcium pantothenate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, folic acid, Vitamin B12 supplement, biotin, ascorbic acid (Vitamin C), choline chloride, cobalt carbonate, zinc oxide, iron carbonate, copper sulfate, ethlenediamine dihydroiodide, manganous oxide, sodium selenite.

Doc's Choice Standard

Oven roasted whole corn, chicken and chicken by product meal, heat processed wheat, chicken fat, alfalfa meal, flaxseed, dried whole egg, brewer's dried yeast, salt, monosodium phosphate, Vitamin A supplement, Vitamin E supplement, Vitamin D supplement, menadione sodium bisulfate complex (Vitamin K supplement), thiamine hydrochloride, riboflavin supplement, niacin, calcium pantothenate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, folic acid, Vitamin B12 supplement, biotin, ascorbic acid (Vitamin C), choline chloride, cobalt carbonate, zinc oxide, iron carbonate, copper sulfate, ethlenediamine dihydroiodide, manganous oxide, sodium selenite.

I wouldn't feed it to my dog. It's full of corn, wheat, and byproducts; not enough meat. It's a low-quality food.

===

Always read the ingredients before you buy.

Here's my list of "rules" that I follow:

1) When I chose a dog food, I chose one high meat content. I want to see preferably at least 2-3 out of the top 5 ingredients be meat or meat meal (first ingredient must be!). Meal is simply the meat with the moisture removed.

2) I want to see higher quality grains, such as barley, brown rice, and oatmeal, instead of seeing wheat and corn. Or an alternative starch/carbohydrate such as potatoes or sweet potatoes.

3) I don't want to see any byproducts.

4) I don't want to see a lot of fillers (beet pulp, brewers rice, etc).

5) I don't want to see preservatives that are believed to be carcinogens (BHA, BHT, ethoxyquin).

6) I don't want to see artificial colorings such as the Red, Blue, and Yellow dyes.

7) I don't want to see added sugars (sugar, corn syrup).

8) I don't want to see mystery meats (meats identified only as "meat" or "poultry".)

.

Answer 7

Kassi1187, I've got a Oklahoma pet supply store that has great deals on dog food. Try visiting a pet supply store in Iowa and talk to the staff. http://www.petsupplieshelp.com/Iowa-Pet-... Nearly all pet supply store employees are happy to answer any questions.