dog food???????????advice for her?

okay. so my cousins choices of dog food is:nutro natural choices rice and oatmealor I suggested to her (since she can only get from petco and they dont have what I feed my girls)eagle pack holistic super premium duck and oatmeal/or eagle pack holistic chickenwhich should she buy? she already bought the nutro but I wanted to compare for herso please help me with this??

I would pick the Eagle Pack Holistic. It was on the top 10 dog food brands list, and Nutro wasnt. So EPH is the way to go!Get your bag of food. Look for the Ingredient Statement on the label. 2. Read the first five ingredients. They play a significant role in the nutritional make-up of a food. Quality Protein? Protein is essential for all bodily functions including those of the brain, heart, skin, skeleton and many others. Life’s Abundance contains at least 26% of high-quality protein including chicken meal. We prefer chicken meal because it is a more concentrated source of protein, as most of the water has been removed.Look for identifiable animal proteins such as "chicken meal" rather generic terms like "poultry meal," which can consist of any fowl (turkey, chicken, geese, etc.). You should be aware that some manufacturers use grains such as wheat gluten or corn gluten as less expensive sources of protein.What about grains? Whole grains are an excellent source of protein, fiber, B vitamins, iron, zinc and other essential minerals. They also provide the kind of carbohydrates that deliver sustained energy to your dog. We include the natural goodness of Ground Brown Rice and Oat Groats in Life’s Abundance Dog Food. Grains like soy, corn, corn gluten, wheat and wheat gluten are generally used as inexpensive sources of protein. Also, these grains are prone to molds, which can be toxic. We will never use these ingredients in Life’s Abundance foods.Are there by-products? Some manufacturers consider by-products inferior sources of protein and, depending on the source, they can be difficult to digest.Read the ingredients carefully because current regulations allow some manufacturers to use ingredients that you would never knowingly give to your dog.What are the fat sources? We believe the primary fat source in dog food should be animal-based because these fats contain a profile of fatty acids that are easily metabolized and generally more available to the body. Life’s Abundance contains chicken fat.Animal fats can vary in quality, so look for a species-specific fat like “chicken fat” versus “animal fat” to be certain of the kind of fat your dog is eating. 3. Does your food contain other health-promoting ingredients, such as: a proprietary blend of vitamins and minerals, antioxidant system including vitamins A, C and E, vegetables, fruit, omega fatty acids and direct fed microbials (ingredients similar to those found in supermarket yogurts) to help support healthy immune and digestive systems.

Wellness, PETCO carries it now.

Both Eagle Pack foods are good choices....why not get one and then gradually switch over to the other for the next bag? Variety is good for dogs, as long as it's not a sudden change.I am not a fan of Nutro at all...I would definately go for one of the others. Foods that PetCo sells that I would consider feeding my dog:Natural BalanceSolid Gold (esp Barking at the Moon)Eagle PackBlue BuffaloHaloWellness

I don't recommend any Nutro products. They aren't of a quality I would feed.Eagle Pack Holistic is better than Nutro.You can show her a comparison of reviews on the different foods:Nutro - http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/showproduct.php?product=17&cat=allEPHS - http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/showproduct.php?product=1308&cat=allBelow the double line is my general dog-food choosing advice:=== ===Read the ingredients before you buy.Here is my "short list" of rules when I am looking at dog food ingredients:1) When I chose a dog food, I chose one high meat content. I want to see preferably at least 2-3 out of the top 5 ingredients be meat or meat meal (first ingredient must be!). Meal is simply the meat with the moisture removed.2) I want to see higher quality grains, such as barley, brown rice, and oatmeal, instead of seeing wheat and corn. Or an alternative starch/carbohydrate such as potatoes or sweet potatoes.3) I don't want to see any byproducts.4) I don't want to see a lot of fillers.5) I don't want to see preservatives that are believed to be carcinogens (BHA, BHT, ethoxyquin).6) I don't want to see artificial colorings such as the Red, Blue, and Yellow dyes.7) I don't want to see added sugars (sugar, corn syrup).8) I don't want to see mystery meats (meats identified only as "meat" or "poultry".)Here is an article about byproducts:http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=ingrdAnd an article on what ingredients to avoid:http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=badingredients---Here are some examples of GOOD dog foods:* Artemis Fresh Mix* Blue Buffalo* California Natural* Canidae* Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul* Eagle Pack Holistic Selects* EVO* Fromm Four Star* Innova* Merrick* Nature's Variety* Orijen* Solid Gold* Taste of the Wild* Timberwolf Organics* Wellness* ZiwiPeakOr check this website; the 4, 5, or 6 star rated foods are all good foods. http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/(For a puppy, it's better to stick in the 4 & 5 star range. The 6 star foods are very high in protein and are not well suited for puppies.)---Higher quality food may seem more expensive at first, but it evens out. The higher quality the food, the less fillers eaten (and therefore the less poop comes out the other end). Your dog eats more of a low-quality food to try to get the nutrition it needs, and most of the food just passes right on through. Also, higher-quality food will make your animals healthier, so you save money on vet bills in the long run.---What *NOT* to buy:Stay away from grocery stores brands. They are low-quality foods chalk full of fillers, preservatives, dyes, etc.. (Grocery store foods are those like Beneful, Old Roy, Alpo, Pedigree, Purina, etc.)Beware "premium" foods. "Premium" does not always mean good nutritionally, and is not a nutritionally high quality food. Most of these foods have the same types of ingredients as grocery store foods, just a bit better quality of those not-so-good ingredients. (Premium foods are those like Iams, Eukanuba, Science Diet, Bil-Jac, Royal Canin, etc..)Another thing to be wary of: A lot of vets will recommend what they sell in their office. They get profit from the brands they keep on their shelves, that's why they push it. Truth is, vet schools don't focus a lot on nutrition. It's not saying that a vet is a bad vet because he recommends those foods, a lot of vets just are told "this is good food", so they pass the message along without proper nutrition knowledge. Also, some dog food brands (like Hills) support vet schools, so vets have heard of it from the time they start college, which makes them think it's good as well.Hills company, the makers of Science Diet, are heavily involved in vet schools. "Hill's scientists author more than 50 research papers and textbook chapters each year and teach at leading schools of veterinary medicine" (Source of quoted section: http://www.hillsvet.com/zSkin_2/company_info/company_info_general.jsp?JSESSIONID=HMz2B3Jn3hv0rnSoxCobfbBhOec35ODG7yh5t3P0vcvhOtzRlQ9M!598359213!167846923!7005!8005&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302026072&bmUID=1196192566575 )---"Big box" petstores like Petco and Petsmart rarely have quality foods. (There are some higher quality foods at those locations, but most of the foods aren't.)* Blue Buffalo* Castor & Pollux* Eagle Pack Holistic Selects* Natural Balance* Solid Gold* WellnessAlso, grocery stores and Walmart aren't good places to buy food either.Your best bets for getting quality dog food are:- small, locally owned petstores- dog boutiques- farm supply stores---When switching foods, do it gradually. I do this over about a two week timespan:1/4 food A, 3/4 food B1/2 food A, 1/2 food B3/4 food A, 1/4 food Ball food A.