What to feed a pit bull?

[itsangelaaa]

I don't know why this hasn't hit me until now. But you know how the food for chins at pet stores is basically crap? I just realized, there must me much better, quality food for dogs than what is sold in a store at Petsmart or Petco. My pit is three years old and I rescued her from a shelter when she was about one. I've always fed her Purina Beneful from the pet store. Which I'm now assuming isn't the best food out available. What kind of food do you feed an adult pit? She has always been a bit smaller to me than other adult pits, but the vet says she is healthy. Do you think a better feed would help her put on some healthy weight, like how chins can gain on a different feed?

So what do YOU guys feed your pit bulls? Whatever you can tell me about supplementing their diet is also appreciated. I just realized I don't know much about feeding her good food... :no:

 

[Peep_erz]

While I don't have a pit, I have been researching dog food for the past year.

Most dog foods are bad because they contain too many fillers. I used http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/ to start looking and comparing ingredients and then joined a forum like this one but for Labradors to find out what my dogs special needs may be. Make sure to use that website as a tool and not a dog food bible. EVO (a 6 star food) is very very high protein and in many cases is too rich for most dogs.

I was feeding California Natural which I think is a 4 or 5 star food but my dog did better on it than Canidae which is a 5 star. As of right now I switched my lab over to Taste of the Wild (TOTW) because I wanted a food with a little bit higher calories. My dog is a little underweight and my vet wants me to put 5lbs on him. I was already feeding 4 cups a day of CalNat so I searched for a food with a little bit more kcals so he would get more calories with the same amount of food.

 

[Peep_erz]

I forgot, I also use this site too. http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/

 

[Megan]

Why don't you check out http://www.pitbullforum.com I'm sure she is actually a very decent weight/size. Many "pits" are over done and produced to be much larger then they should. Look up the American Bully for instance. Many people think they are what a "pit bull" should be, but they are far from it. It took several years but these "breeders" are finally starting to not call their dogs American Pit Bull Terriers and American Bullies..because they do not fit the APBT standard. However a lot of people think THAT is what a "pit bull" should look like.


That said...I personally feed Taste of the Wild to my APBT mix and my greyhound. I swear by it, and it has really made them both look very nice. They are thin, but not skinny. To maintain my greyhound at 67-70lbs she gets 2 cups of feed twice a day (4 cups). To maintain my APBT at a healthy weight of 55lbs he eats 1 cup of feed twice a day (2 cups total). Gavin(APBT) has severe allergies to gulton/wheat/corn and this is the only feed I've found that doesn't make him vomit and give him projectile runs, and also keeps his belly/paws from getting very yeasty.

Taste of the wild, Innova, Raw diets, EVO, and others are considered good foods. Check out the link the previous poster made, and check out the pitbullforum.com as they have great information on dog feed, and general pit bull knowledge.


Don't be shocked at the price difference. A 33lb of TOTW for me costs $42.99 at the local Tractor supply store. HOWEVER he is only eating 2 cups of food a day. When he wasn't on the "good stuff" and was on purina it was cheaper off the bat- $19.99 for a $30lb bag... BUT he was eating 5+ cups of food a day, and was LOOSING weight. That is almost double the feed! So in the long run the "cheap" stuff was costing me more money. It wasn't as good, didn't have the better ingredients, was filled with cheap "fillers"(corn, etc) and went through his system faster...so he was hungry more, needed more food..and it didn't help him gain weight. So while the good foods are more expensive...you'll use less of it, and in the long run it is cheaper.

 

[sheltiefan]

I feed mine pitty blue bufflo

 

[Jen and the Hooligans]

I don't have a Pitbull, my pup is an American, Olde English cross (65lbs or so at 8 1/2 months) but I switched to Orijen and am really happy with it. When I swtiched to grain free I cut her food back from 4 cups per day to 3 1/3 and she gained 9 lbs that month! I have since cut back further to 3 cups per day. My point is you really do have to feed less on top notch food, so the cost is not as high as you think initially. Also hardly any gas and yard clean up is waaay better if you know what I mean!

 

[chinnychinchinchilla]

we feed out dogs homemade dog food. we throw in vegges, rice, and meat in a big pot with water and let it cook down. then we put it in the fridge and measure it out for their food. they love it and their coats have gotten so beautiful and they are all a nice healthy weight.

 

[Pyronymph]

OMG beneful is one of the WORST foods available for dogs. Please switch to ANYTHING else (except science diet... blech) Taste of the Wild is good (though their cat food is lacking, just an fyi). Orijen is good too, though can be harder to find. Blue Buffalo is a good food too.

Read labels, stay away from corn, wheat, and soy and chicken (common allergens). Always look for REAL meat as the 1st ingredient. And remember not too get too discouraged if he isn't receptive to the new food right off... Beneful is chocked FULL of flavor enhancers so the dogs eat it.

 

[CTChin]

I currently feed innova to my mini schnauzer. However, I just heard recently that Proctor & Gamble purchased the company that makes it and others. I'll be watching the ingredient list VERY closely to make sure nothing changes. I don't really trust this company. They make Iams and Eukanuba also.

 

[itsangelaaa]

Wow. Thanks for all the great info everyone. Peep erz, those sites were very helpful in explaining the breakdown of the feed. I looked up Beneful and surprise surprise, it was rated one star. I'm starting to really hate pet stores...

Right now I am looking into whichever feeds are most readily available near me. But I am considering Canidae, TOTW, Innova, EVO, and Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul. I noticed no one has mentioned the last brand, has anyone tried it and how did you like it? I am considering it because it is a bit more affordable than the others.

Megan, how do you keep track of your dog's weight? Do they have special doggie scales or something?

I am excited to switch her food and am looking forward to less smelly poops! Her poops stink.

 

[Jen and the Hooligans]

I have tried Chicken soup,.. I have heard it's good,.. it just didn't work for me, probably because it has grains.

You should be able to pop into the Vet office and hop on the scale anytime.

 

[Megan]

I know their weights from the vets office. They go for yearly checks and gavin my apbt needed mast cell cancer tunics removed so we spent quite a but of time there. If you have a tractor supply try there for totw it's the cheapest there or so I've found.

 

[Melissa]

If you have the time and money I would suggest the BARF diet. Bones and Raw food. There are places that sell "BARF" but its really just patties. What you can do is search the pitbull forum Meg posted and there is a bunch of info on it. People have given their dogs whole raw chicken or whole eggs etc... the poop is different, it doesnt smell and is the food that makes the most sense. Dogs eating animals, just like they would if they were wolves in the wild.

And MEG! I saw the most BEAUTIFUL pit. He was pure bred. The owners carried a copy of the papers in his wallet and did DNA testing on him. 8 months old and 110 lbs. He paid $5000 for him. He was so well behaved and such a loverboy. Over all one impressive beast. My babies on the other hand are probably the size of that pits poops!

 

[Megan]

Mel--- If he was that big..and let me guess--blue he is an "American bully" which typically cost 2000+...and there is speculation among the long-time breeders that there is mastiff mixed in there... hense the jowl set, how large they are.... You breed something long enough, with the "mix" far enough back in the pedigree..it looks pure on paper .

Trust me.. 8 months old and 110lbs? A well bred, true to form pit bull is typically around 50-70lbs.... 70lbs is pushing it, and some are well below 50 lbs . Check out Colby's dogs. They've been breeding the same line for 100+ years, and THAT is what a pit should look like =).

"American Bully" AKA $2000+ "Pure bred" "Pit bull"...this dog won't be doing much "work" which is what a bulldog should do.

Colby's Jerry born in 1900

Colby's Molly born 1998--still has very similar type.. Not wide and over done...an overall dog that if you want it to do a job/work--it can.

 

[3CsMommy]

Chicken Soup is my go to compromise food when I can't feed Blue Buffalo, EVO etc. I trust it more than the Nutro brands since Nestle bought their parent company some years ago. If your dog shows signs of allergies, though, it's best to avoid Chicken Soup. They do use corn and soy, which can cause hot spots/itchy paws/intestinal upset.

 

[Jenn]

I asked my vet about the BARF diet and he personally didn't recommend it. I've heard about it before and thought about it for my dogs, although I was personally concerned about bone splinters perforating the intestines. My vet was more concerned about food poisononing issues, like salmonella. I've heard good things about the diet from people who have their dogs on it, and it does make sense, but I have concerns about it as well. I have a dobie with a sensitive stomach and feed him a small portion of blue buffalo, and mix it with a homemade meal of burger, brown rice, veggies, and yogurt. It really gives him a healthy stool and cuts down on his gas.

 

[CTChin]

Megan, that first dog looks like he is on steroids LOL YUK!

 

[Dolyphinm]

And MEG! I saw the most BEAUTIFUL pit. He was pure bred. The owners carried a copy of the papers in his wallet and did DNA testing on him. 8 months old and 110 lbs. He paid $5000 for him. He was so well behaved and such a loverboy. Over all one impressive beast. My babies on the other hand are probably the size of that pits poops!

I see too many well behaved pits put to sleep because of lack of homes and lack of space. That guy could have gotten a sweat heart of pit that had the American Bully look to him or her for far less. He paid a crappy breeder too much money. Sorry stories like that irritate the poop out of me. I will get off the soap box now.

I have been feeding Wellness to both of my dogs. My cattledog mix is on the grain free fish formula. He was having back dandruff with the regular stuff and if the grass gets to long he decides it looks tastey. Never bothers it when it short so apparently he's also part goat lol. My pit is on the regular chicken formula and she's gotten much better with her stool. I was nervous to put her straight onto a grain free when she was on crappy science diet for so long at the shelter. I was afraid it was going to be too much of a system shock and cause a major blow out. The grain free I give about 2 1/2 cups per day total split into 2 feedings. The regular Wellness I give 3 cups to my pit which cause her to loose the extra she gained after the shelter staff got her to fatten up (she was an emaciated momma dog when she was brought in).

My pit had issues with eating at the shelter but at home she hardly ever has an issue finishing. Better food and a schedule does amazing things. I think she learned after the first 2 times she didn't finish she doesn't get to pick at it through out the day.

 

[TidewaterSTO]

Wow. Thanks for all the great info everyone. Peep erz, those sites were very helpful in explaining the breakdown of the feed. I looked up Beneful and surprise surprise, it was rated one star. I'm starting to really hate pet stores...

You've got to remember that the only reason pet stores carry lesser quality foods is because there is a market for it.. Ultimately it is the owners' responsibility to research and discern which food is best for their dog.

With that being said, PetSmart and PETCO also carry high quality dog foods. Both carry Blue Buffalo (and Wilderness if you are looking for something grain-free), Castor&Pollux Organix and UltraMix, By Nature, Wellness, and so forth.. All are great, premium diets. I should note that PetSmart is a whole lot cheaper than PETCO though.

 

[itsangelaaa]

Yes, TidewaterSTO, you're right I can't blame Petsmart or Petco. I've always fed Beneful because that was what my mom bought. And I'm assuming she picked it because it's always displayed in the front with a picture of a cute dog on it. I never realized that they also sell quality foods like Wellness, but that's cause I never looked.

and if the grass gets to long he decides it looks tastey

My pit is a "grazer" too! She also likes to much on bamboo leaves. Does this mean anything about her health? Or is she just strange..

One more thing, what does "science diet" mean?