Why I Feed Taste of the Wild Dog Food

Most "grocery store brands" of dog food include "filler," usually corn. Not only does this cut down on the protein that your dog consumes, but corn isn't easily digested by many animals and is, in fact, a serious allergen. Corn can cause problems with a dog's coat, and if your dog is experiencing skin allergies, this could very well be the cause of them.

Generally speaking, premium dog food brands do not include corn or other grains as "fillers." Instead, they focus on the nutrients that your dog needs in his diet. They are more nutritionally complete and generally promote reasonable growth in your puppy as well as supporting a long, healthy life for your dog.

Switching to a premium food should allow you to see changes almost immediately in the quality of your dog's coat, teeth and musculature. You may even notice a change in personality as your dog regains his youthful vigor!

However, the best benefit that I have observed is that feeding premium foods, such as Taste of the Wild, generally costs the same or less than feeding grocery store food brands.

Because I didn't know any better, historically I have fed my dogs store brand foods. Early on a vet instructed my husband and me that the store brand foods were no different than other (grocery store brand) foods. In reality, they aren't any different than any other food that you can obtain at Kroger, or Walmart, or any other grocery store. The only difference between a store brand food and a grocery store brand food (such as Pedigree or Iams) is the cost. So why pay more, if you are going to get the same quality food?

I thought that I was saving money. In fact, I was shocked to read that feeding raw food to a dog might cost less than buying dog food. I did more research, compared the cost, and then took the plunge.

Here is what I discovered: My pets eat significantly less of the premium brand than they do of the grocery store brand. In some cases, the grocery store brands (such as Purina) have a comparable cost to the premium brands. However, my dog must consume much more of the store brand in order to become "full."

I am paying roughly $10 more a month on both dog and cat food for my pets than I was on the store brand foods, and yet they are significantly healthier. Isn't that $10 a month worth the added cost, particularly with it adds up to lower vet bills?

(I am going to need to get to the store to write down actually prices and weights since the store brand foods do not give me cost online. I will edit this later with that information).

• The Price: Generally speaking, Taste of the Wild is the least expensive premium brand of dog food (depending on where you get it).


• Number of Flavors: There are four different flavors of Taste of the Wild!


• Dry and Canned: Taste of the Wild comes in both dry and canned varieties so that dogs who have difficulty with dry dog food can have the canned variety instead. Canned is not generally recommended, however (see below).


• All-Life-Stages Formulas: Taste of the Wild dog food is an all life stages food, which means that there is no fuss over switching your dog from a puppy blend to an adult blend. This food is suitable for all stages, including pregnant and nursing females.

There has been a lot of talk lately about Glutamate in Taste of the Wild pet foods. Where you see "natural flavor" in the ingredients list, this is referring to glutamate, which may be bad for your dog. There is also a question of the amount of salt that is now being added to Taste of the Wild.

Now i don't know much about glutamate, and to my knowledge Taste of the Wild has not addressed this issue with any of the Dog Forums members who have e-mailed their concerns to the company. However, the salt addition has been made because of the increased sodium requirements in pregnant and nursing females. Sodium is a natural mineral that is a required nutrient.

if glutamate is a concern for you, don't feed Taste of the Wild. The ingredients lists on Amazon aren't showing "natural flavors." Check your bag when it is delivered.