Approved Dry Foods for Col. Potter Cairns

Contributed by a Col. Potter Volunteer

Col. Potter has come out with the following list of approved foods for the Cairns in its care. There are likely several varieties of each brand of food and some of the varieties may be better than others due to ingredients. Read labels and get to know quality ingredients, get to know ingredients that are not recommended. One difference between lower price/lower quality foods and higher price/higher quality foods is that you can feed less of the better food as it contains the nutrition that the dog needs and less fillers which cause larger poops.

CANNED FOODS and TREATS would be generally the same as kibbles. If it’s on the acceptable list for kibble then it will likely be acceptable. If it’s on the unacceptable list for kibble then it will likely be unacceptable. READ the ingredients and if you aren’t sure it’s best to avoid it until you can research the questionable ingredients.

Food without corn or wheat is recommended as some Cairn Terriers (and West Highland White Terriers) have allergies to these ingredients. Corn is a less expensive ingredient and is used to fatten up pigs, cows, chickens. This latest list has been modified to clearly point out the differences between Eagle Plack Holistic Select dry foods which generally do NOT contain corn and Eagle Pack dry foods which generally DO contain corn.

DRY FOODS listed may be available online at: petfooddirect.com among other places if you can’t find a good food locally.
The #* symbol means not available at petfooddirect.com

***For the most reliable information on feeding and foods click here.

WE DO NOT RECOMMEND FEEDING SENIOR OR LITE/LIGHT FOODS. If you have a question about this recommendation you can find the answers by clicking here.

The Whole Dog Journal publishes a list on the best dry foods every February.

Foster homes need to check with their Mentor before choosing an expensive food. Reimbursement for higher priced foods is limited to dogs with allergies or other health issues.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Due to problems at various times with various brands of food we HIGHLY recommend that if you open a new bag of food and your dog (a real chow hound) acts disinterested or leaves some of the food…. DO NOT add broth, cottage, cheese, or other goodies to make the food more interesting. If your dog vomits, has diarrhea, acts lethargic, or acts disinterested IMMEDIATELY STOP FEEDING THIS FOOD AND BUY A BAG OF SOMETHING ELSE.

ACCEPTABLE KIBBLES:

# AGARx – Immune Support Veterinarian Formula with Agaricus Mushroom to fight disease naturally

# Artemis Fresh Mix Adult Dog – good ingredients, good reputation, looks good, but pricey

## Blue Buffalo ~ Human grade, hormone and antibiotic free ingredients Available at Petsmart stores

## by Nature BrightLife – Reasonable ingredients

## by Nature Naturals – Reasonable ingredients

## by Nature Organics – Reasonable ingredients

## California Natural – Often recommended for dogs with allergies, has a low number of ingredients.

# Canine Caviar – Reasonable ingredients

### Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover’s Soul ~ One of a few lower-priced foods with reasonable ingredients.

#* Doctors Foster & Smith ~ Good-quality ingredients

## Eagle Pack Holistic Select ~ Human grade, hormone and antibiotic free ingredients. “Eagle Pack Super Premium formulas are nutritionally balanced so pet owners can mix up to 25% raw food with the Eagle Pack formulas.” Offers higher-protein (preferred) senior diet. (READ INGREDIENT LIST AS SOME VARIETIES HAVE CORN IN THEM) If the food is Eagle Pack rather than Eagle Pack Holistic Selects it seems that it WILL have corn so is on the do not use list below.

# Evangers ~ All life stages, reasonable ingredients, excellent reputation They have a line of all-meat canned foods

#* Flint River Ranch (multiple distributors) ~ ONLY TWO OF THEIR FORMULAS MEET CP RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FOODS WITH NO CORN OR WHEAT. Those two are: “Fish and Chips” and the “Lamb, Millet and Rice for Dogs of All Ages”

# Fromm ~ very good ingredients except in the Classic Line which is not recommended

Halo ~ no bad ingredients but not high quality, more grains/carbs than meat protein

# Health Food – Nothing awful in this food but it’s quite expensive

# HealthWise – BY NATURA…Good food…Limited ingredients

## Innova (grainless Evo is one of their foods) GREAT foods, pricey

iVet brand Gourmet Canine Adult – okay…this is the ONLY iVet food that is acceptable

# Karma Organics – Organic…MEGA pricey

#* Kirkland, available at Costco – reasonable but high in grains

# Lick Your Chops ~ grocery store gourmet food, reasonable ingredients

## Merrick Pet Foods ~ Human grade ingredients and excellent reputation

## Natural Balance – sweet potato & fish formula
**Natural Balance Dog Food Roll, reasonable ingredients and makes great training treats

# Natural Life – specialty formulas, not top quality

## Nature’s Variety Prairie – has a freeze-dried line which is great but pricey, excellent reputation. Instinct is a grain-free kibble. We recommend that any of their rabbit kibbles be avoided as that meat comes from China.

## Newman’s Own Organics ~ organic grains but lots of carbs and only one protein

xxx((Nutro Natural Choice)) – (see Nutro MAX below)
THREE types of rice…lots of grains, nothing bad in it but lower quality due to grains. One of few lower priced foods with reasonable ingredients (MANY REPORTS OF DOGS GETTING SICK AFTER EATING NUTRO ON THE INTERNET RIGHT NOW IN May, 2008) UPDATE: 11/16/08 I looked up Nutro Natural today and found they now have rice listed in **5** different forms. They have: Whole Brown Rice, Rice Bran, Rice Flour, and rice protein concentrate and they also have beet pulp and potato protein. This is not good. It has nothing really bad in it but there’s very little that is good in it so it’s not really a recommended food.

## Origen from Champion Pet Foods (also see ACANA above) ~ Premium Canadian pet food, uses human-grade, antibiotic- and hormone-free ingredients. Fish meal is ethoxyquin-free. Offers higher-protein senior diet. ORIJEN foods are grain-free.
Their foods are pricey but have an excellent reputation.

# Pinnacle – Breeder’s Choice – Ingredients look reasonable

# Premium Edge – chicken, rice, and vegetable – Ingredients look reasonable

# Sensible Choice (Natural Blend – Royal Canin) no really egregious ingredients but several really low cost/quality ingredients

## Solid Gold ~ good quality foods for many years. Offering a high-protein, low-carb, grain-free variety called Barking at the Moon for adult dogs

Taste of the Wild – all formulas look acceptable

## TimberWolf Organics ~ EXCELLENT reputation, pricey

# VeRUS – Menhaden & potato – quite decent ingredients

## Wellness from Old Mother Hubbard ~ Human grade ingredients. CORE foods are grain-free. Their fish varieties of CORE and Wellness have been used successfully with many, many Cairns with various skin and other health issues.

# Wysong Synorgon Canine Diet ~ good ingredients list, good reputation

FOODS FOR ALLERGIC DOGS:

## California Natural Often recommended for dogs with allergies, has the fewest ingredients.

## Innovative Veterinary Diets ~ Special diets for specific conditions, including allergies, IBD, kidney disease, etc. as well as a standard line of pet foods. Available through vet offices may contain poor ingredients, generally low in meat protein and meat protein is what dogs need to thrive

## Wellness from Old Mother Hubbard ~ Human grade ingredients,limited ingredients make it a good for for dogs with allergies Wellness CORE foods and Simple Food Solutions

HEALTHY TREATS (this is NOT a complete list):

Complete Natural Nutrition – freeze-dried real meat.
Whole Food Toppers Pure Meat

Natural Balance -
**Natural Balance Dog Food Roll, reasonable ingredients and
makes great training treats

Red Barn – Chicken & Liver Roll – Not bad for soft training treats

Wellness Pure Rewards All-Natural Delicious Jerky Bits for Dogs

AVOID: any treats made in China including dried chicken as they may be contaminated with melamine, salmonella, etc.

DON’T FEED FOODS LISTED BELOW

Alpo Dog Food
Annamaet Dog Food – CORN
Beneful – Purina -
Bil-Jac -
Come’N Get It – BY ALPO.
Country Value – CORN
Diamond -
Eagle Pack – if it does NOT say Holistic Select it probably contains corn so should be avoided
Eukanuba
Evolve
Exclusive ~ low quality with CORN GLUTEN MEAL
Gravy Train
Hi-Tor ~ 3 SPECIALITY DIETS…BUT CORN, BHA, BHT
Hill’s Science Diet
Iams – CORN MEAL IS SECOND INGREDIENT, ALSO HAS BY-PRODUCTS
Kasco – FIRST INGREDIENT IS POULTRY BY-PRODUCT MEAL
Kibbles ‘n Bits – CORN AND SOYBEAN MEAL
Mixables – MEAT BY-PRODUCTS
Nature’s Best – Hill’s Science Diet
Nature’s Recipe – ANIMAL DIGEST IN ONE FORMULATION
NutriSource
Nutro max
Nutro Natural Choice – formerly an acceptable food, now huge overload of grains to the amount of meat
Organix – ORGANIC BUT SOYBEAN IN IT
Pedigree
Pet Promise – brewers rice, corn gluten meal ARE LOWER PRICE INGREDIENTS
PetGuard
FORMULA…DOGS ARE CARNIVORES SO THIS IS DANGEROUS
Precise – CORN
Prism – CORN IN FIRST/SECOND PLACE
Pro Plan Dog Food – BY-PRODUCTS, LOTS OF CORN, ANIMAL DIGEST
Professional – BY-PRODUCTS, SEVERAL CORNS, MADE BY DIAMOND
Purina Dog Chow -
Purina HiPro
Purina Moist & Meaty’s – SECOND INGREDIENT IS HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN
SYRUP
Purina ONE – BY-PRODUCTS AND BEEF TALLOW
Royal Canin Mini/Medium/Maxi
Science Diet: none of their foods are acceptable due to poor ingredients
Sensible Choice Puppy Chicken Meal & Rice – MORE RICE HULLS,
BREWERS YEAST AND BREWERS RICE WHICH ARE LOW PRICED INGREDIENTS
SPORTMiX
Star Pro – Ground yellow corn, wheat middlings
Synergy Labs
Tuffy’s Gold Formula – BY-PRODUCTS, CORN, DIGEST.
Vita Gravy – ANOTHER GRAVY THING…CONTAINS SOY

Revision: 9.5.10

Note from CP Blogger: This is the information that is provided to Col. Potter foster homes regarding recommendations for feeding the foster dogs in its care. Our volunteers review and analyze ingredients and consider breed specific information when making their selections.