# Dog Food Question



## pistolbritches (Apr 6, 2011)

I have a Boykin Spaniel 4 months old,I also have a Boston Terrier and a Jack Russel Terrier. I've been feeding them all 4health puppy food. It's about $30.00 for a 35 lb. bag. Found River Run local , 50 lb. for $20.00. Need input. Is it worth it to stay with 4health or switch.If River Run,What type? Thanks for your help.


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## bkl021475 (Apr 6, 2011)

I'm always leave my pups on puppy food for a full year then switch, I just started using Black Gold.


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## CFGD (Jul 26, 2011)

never heard of 4health but black gold is the best imo. hi tek is good too, and affordable.


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## grouper throat (Jul 26, 2011)

I feed my hound pups the 24/20 river run once they were weaned and they are some of the healthiest I've ever seen. They make a puppy food also but the 24/20 seems to be fine.


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## waterdogs (Jul 26, 2011)

4health is  made by Diamond for Tractor Supply. I use black Gold and Purina Pro Plan. for my labs


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## DukTruk (Jul 26, 2011)

Whatever food you feed, needs to be a meat based food.  Look at the ingredients on the bag, the first ingredient listed is what the majority (45-60%) of the contents are.  You will also feed less food by feeding a premium meat based food.  When the dogs eat fillers, they absorb less of the food, and I bet you can guess where the "un-absorbed" part goes....

Your typical "premium" foods are about $ 1 per pound.  Quality dog food is one of the cheapest things you will ever buy for your dogs.


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## Lil D (Jul 26, 2011)

I feed River Run 24-20 year round, it's like Grouper said, they're some of the healthiest animals i've ever seen.


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## officeprincess (Jul 27, 2011)

hi. ... we have beagles, huskies, a snauzer, a mutt and a great dane ... all of which eat and have been eating such for for years ... river run purple bag. BUT I am of the opinion they consume too much food and we buy food more often than I like  ... diligently trying to persuade my spouse that perhaps something different may be appropriate. Below is the breakdown of river run ... I hope this helps ... YOUR DOG IS BEAUTIFUL!!! Good luck and please post if you change to a different brand. Have a GREAT day!

River Run® Hi-Pro No-Soy Dog Food
River Run® Hi-Pro No-Soy Dog Food is formulated to meet the nutritional levels established by the AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profile for all life stages (i.e., gestation, lactation and normal growth, from weaning to maturity, and maintenance of adult dogs at work or rest). The tasty, bite-size chunks are nutritionally balanced with all the vitamins and minerals necessary to keep pets healthy and handsome and to keep hunting dogs in peak working condition.

Features
Meat and Bone Meal Based
No Soy
Brewerâ€™s Rice to Support Good Digestion and Palatability
Balanced Fiber to Support Good DigestionGuaranteed Analysis
Crude Protein min. 27.0% 
Crude Fat min. 12.0% 
Crude Fiber max. 4.5% 
Moisture max. 12.0%


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## StevePickard (Jul 27, 2011)

I've been using 4Health/Diamond Natural for about a year and I'll be sticking to it. I had been using Blue Buffalo but it just got too expensive.  I've done a lot of research and Diamond does make 4Health for Tractor Supply.  I buy whichever TS is running a special on whether 4Health or Diamond Natural, but lately I've been getting Diamond Natural Chicken-Rice 40# for just under $30.00.  Both are 4 star rated (out of 6 stars) dog foods based on the unbiased rating on this site:

http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com

I could not find  your River Run brand but you can search the site for all the major brands and find out their ratings and what's in them.

I like the fact that there is no corn or wheat in Diamond Natural/4Health.  Black Gold Signature has corn and is 3 star rated, the Regular Black Gold is 1 star rated.

Use the website and you can see and analysis most all of the foods out there.  I go with the highest rated food I can afford and I've had good results with the Diamond Naturals/4Health.


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## mdgmc84 (Jul 29, 2011)

I've used Black gold for a few years now, and i can tell if i feed my dogs anything else of lower quality for more then a day or two. no one in tifton used to carry it, so if i ran out i had to go out of town to get it, so sometimes they got not as high quality for a few days until i had time to go get black gold.


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## CFGD (Jul 30, 2011)

mdgmc84 said:


> I've used Black gold for a few years now, and i can tell if i feed my dogs anything else of lower quality for more then a day or two. no one in tifton used to carry it, so if i ran out i had to go out of town to get it, so sometimes they got not as high quality for a few days until i had time to go get black gold.



i had the same problem, no one in americus carries black gold but im glad to see that you can now order black gold from their website. order online, straight to ur door!


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## lab (Jul 31, 2011)

Black gold gets one out of 5 stars, that's as bad as it gets
http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/black-gold-dog-food/

4Health gets 4 out of 5 stars
http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/4health-dog-food-dry/


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## JackJack77 (Aug 2, 2011)

Showtime is good as well


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## CFGD (Aug 2, 2011)

the only dog food review i follow is mine. ive tried those insanely high "premium" feeds, and my dogs do best on black gold. to each his own tho!


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## Bkeepr (Aug 2, 2011)

Beware of foods that hide the fact that grains are their main ingredient by breaking it down into components, for example:
"corn, corn meal, corn flour, corn gluten...etc"  If they do this they can then get away with listing chicken or meat as the first and biggest ingredient, when actually it is CORN!!!  
I like Black Gold.  They list the digestibility right there on the website, and percent dry ingredients after the water is removed.  Performance dogs need high digestibility, good amount of fat since dogs burn fat for prolonged energy not mainly carbs like us omnivore humans, and quality ANIMAL proteins.


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## Atlfinfan (Aug 7, 2011)

Here is another dog food reviewer site.  

http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/


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