Need your HONEST opinion :) Nutro

[Boxermom]

we have three boxers, we have always fed premium food, Solid Gold, Canidae, so on, anyway. When we got our puppy Houston at 5 months of age his little belly did not agree with the Solid Gold. I happened to try Nutro Natural Choice. Now, I know all the facts about premium and not premium, but, Iv'e gotta tell you my three dogs have never looked better!!! I guess my dillema is that I know it's not "premium" but yet they are all looking better than they ever have, no stomach problems, no eye goobers, no loose stools. I guess I don't wanna short change them, I'm torn. I know people won't sometimes be honest about what they feed because of all the critisism (sp) I don't want this to be about that I'd really like everyones experience with it if they use it. I certainly don't mean any disrespect to anyone. Thank you all in advance for your help.

[Crossfire Bulldogs]

Ask ten different people and you'll more than likely get ten different answers. Nutro isn't what I would consider a "A" grade food but it isn't the worst on the market, it ranks right in there with Eagle Pack Super Premium, Natures Recipe and many others.

If your worried that your babies may be getting cheated out of extra nutrients why not supplement?

[elegy]

nutro is not what i'd choose to feed, personally, but you have to look at your dogs first and foremost and what their bodies are telling you. different dogs do better on different foods.

[Fran27]

Nutro is decent, in my opinion. The main issue I have with it is that it's more expensive to feed it than better foods like solid gold, canidae or innova. I fed it to my first dog for 5 months before I switched to innova, and I've never looked back, knowing that I save money, they are not fed artificial additives, and they look as healthy as ever.

[shimmerin star]

Nutro is what I feed. The hi energy version. I have huskies. They do great on it. All have nice shiney coats. Healthy weights and they poop less on it as well. All aroud great food for my gang. But everyone has there own ideas of what is a good food for there dog.

[AstraChapman]

We have Nutro. And we love it. I got a 35lb bag for 20 dollars. So I recomend it.

[kazkirkpatrick]

Rexie had dry skin on Nutro, first I thought it was a season thing, then I realised she hasnt had that problem since being on canidae. Just my input!

[shandoggy1]

I don't understand how people can knock a premium food such as nutro. Nutro is a good food and they don't sell it at a grocery food store so it must be more than descent. I have always fed my cats and dogs Nutro and have had excellent results. Its better than science diet and Iams. But I agree with what crossfire said.

[kazkirkpatrick]

Originally Posted by shandoggy1

I don't understand how people can knock a premium food such as nutro. Nutro is a good food and they don't sell it at a grocery food store so it must be more than descent. I have always fed my cats and dogs Nutro and have had excellent results. Its better than science diet and Iams. But I agree with what crossfire said.

Whether or not its sold in a grocery store has no impact on if its good food or not.
Nutro being better than other foods also does not make it excellent.
Seeing how you have always fed your pets nutro, how do you know how it compares to other foods if you havent tried them. THey may be doing well on Nutro, but could be doing better on some other food (and of course, doing worse on other foods too)
We arent knocking it saying thats its bad, its just not as good as some other foods out there. I would have no problem feeding my dogs nutro, I just choose to feed something that I (and many others) feel is better.

[Boxermom]

I really appreciate everyones input and respect everyones opinions, that's what I asked for , your opinions We have always fed PREMIUM food, Solid Gold we used for a number of years. I have tried ( and I do know how to mix the food and wait awhile to see what happens ) Merrick, Innova, Solid Gold needless to say Houston could not tollerate, wellness, Canidae is what I was trying to wein them on most recently, they don't like it, I don't know whats happening. Maybe when Houston is a little older his insides will handle the richness of some of the premium foods, for now the Nutro works good, they look good, I do know that there are better foods out there and all I want to do is give them the very very best, but I can't have them sick either. I guess we'll rest with this for awhile. There is good and bad to everything, I guess this is my middle ground for now. Thank you all for your help!

[CTDog]

Originally Posted by Fran27

Nutro is decent, in my opinion. The main issue I have with it is that it's more expensive to feed it than better foods like solid gold, canidae or innova. I fed it to my first dog for 5 months before I switched to innova, and I've never looked back, knowing that I save money, they are not fed artificial additives, and they look as healthy as ever.

Solid Gold and Innova are a lot more expensive than Nutro around here. Canidae isn't too bad.

My 4 dogs have been on Nutra Natural Lamb and Rice for 3 years now and I have two 13 year old dogs going strong.

[Shalva]

the best food is the one that works the best for your dog(s)
if you feel that your dogs are doing well on this food..... and their coats are shiny and healthy and poops are solid and you don't have upset stomachs.... then it really doesn't matter what anyone thinks.....

I know lots of folks whose dogs are doing GREAT on foods that I would never consider feeding my dog and I know dogs that do terrible on the same food. I know lots of folks feed canidae and innova and I have historically found that my dogs do horribly on them.... but their dogs look great and are healthy and growing well and in good weight so who am I to argue with success.

so once again, in my opinion.... regardless of what anyone says, the best food is the one that works for your dogs.
s

[Hugo]

i consider nutro in the middle. while yes, there are much better by all means there are far worse. one of the worst foods in my opinion (based on internet research, ingredient comparison, and personal experience) is science diet (this does not include the prescription diets as i have no experience with those). if you will start comparing the ingredients and preservatives, supplements, etc of science diet i feel it rates right down there with ol' roy (walmart brand).

also i honestly believe that holistic and organic ingredients is the way to go with dogfood. if you would have asked me a few years ago i would have said "all dogfood is the same". after reading books and articles on the big dog food companies and the horrible testing they do and all the substandard ingredients that goes into the majority of the kibble, which i wont get into as it is very disturbing, human grade ingredients is the only way to go. i found a chart comparing nearly all the dog foods out there from kibbles and bits to innova and everything in between and honestly one of the best looked like chicken soup for the pet lovers soul. but that is just comparing ingredients. i look for meat as the first several ingredients as opposed to corn or wheat. anything i cant pronounce, then i consider it not a good ingredient. also anything with peanut hulls or beet pulp is just a cheap filler and offers no nutrition at all. any "by products" is a big no-no.

there are many different formulas of the nutro. have you seen the nutro ultra?? it is nutro's "healthy" line of food. seems to be a step up. nutro dental formula i have given as a training treat. at the kennel where i work we do suggest nutro if you insist on feeding kibble. believe me it is a step up from pedigree and some of the other "store" brands. nutro, at least gives people a place to start when switching brands of foods. gets them into a little bit better grade of food without putting a pinch on their pocketbook. once they start investigating the differences most of the time they will just go ahead and upgrade to an even better quality food. it is hard to make someone realize that better dogfood does make a difference in the life of their dogs. when one starts seeing results such as less poop, clearer skin, less "doggy odor" ones realizes there is something to this premium dog food thing.

to me, having just had a dog diagnosed with diabetes and seeing the cost involved with the insulin and glucose testing, had i known about the different qualities of pet food almost 12 years ago, we might not have had to deal with this if i would have paid a little more for the quality food. what i am saying is that the health benefits to the quality dog food is little price to pay to keep a pet healthy. they are worth the extra few dollars. now that doesnt mean just because the food is pricey it has to be good (again science diet for example). but the better ingredients are not cheap. and by no means am i rolling in the dough. i just hope to be able to prevent health problems when my dogs become senior by buying the quality food.

actually i have pretty much eliminated kibble in my house and only feed food i have prepared. this way i know what goes into my dogs. maybe me and my hubby need to eat this healthy
shellie~

[dollface]

I have fed all kinds of food to my dogs and so far the best I have found is the Nutro Natural Choice, I feed the lamb n'rice.... It does not contain BHT, BHA or ethoxyquin or by-products and it also starts with a meat meal so for me that works..... I found when I tried the chicken it does not agree with my dogs I think its way to rich but I had this problem before with chicken. They got the poo's when they were on Iams/Eukanuba from the chicken as well....... I wish we got Natures Diet here I would love to feed my dogs that.

If your dog looks good, healthy weight and you are happy with the food then thats what counts. Foods work differently for other dogs. I heard chicken soup I know someone who was feeding their dogs that and it worked for one but was way to rich for the other.... You just have to find what is right for your dog.

[shandoggy1]

Originally Posted by kazkirkpatrick

Whether or not its sold in a grocery store has no impact on if its good food or not.
Nutro being better than other foods also does not make it excellent.
Seeing how you have always fed your pets nutro, how do you know how it compares to other foods if you havent tried them. THey may be doing well on Nutro, but could be doing better on some other food (and of course, doing worse on other foods too)
We arent knocking it saying thats its bad, its just not as good as some other foods out there. I would have no problem feeding my dogs nutro, I just choose to feed something that I (and many others) feel is better.

Believe me I have tried other foods and before I was educated our dogs ate Alpo,dog chow,and cycle years ago. I used to feed iams( long time ago to) and then I found Nutro and my oldest dog (11) and my two cats eat it. However, since my new pup came along the breeder fed biljac and I fed it for awhile and tried solid gold (to gassy he stunk) then I tried Innova his stool was not firm and now he is eating Natural Balance which is holistic and all natural and he is having great results! First ingredient is chicken not chicken meal and it also has "no" corn,eggs,dairy,sunflower oil,and I think wheat as they have found that this is the cause of most dog allergies.