Putting this in the Nutrition and Feeding Forum. Just wanted to chronicle our food journey since so many here also look into better foods for their huskies!

We've been really happy with Nature's Variety Prairie Salmon since we got Chili. He came to us on Solid Gold Hund-n-Flocken Lamb and his poop just wouldn't firm up. He's got a sensitive tummy, poor guy! We moved him to the Salmon and Sweet Potato and he did well, as did Frosti. Eventually, we mixed in Nature's Domain Salmon from Costco (grain free) and they loved it.

After the ND recall, we stopped and went back to only Nature's Variety. Then Nature's Variety had a recall for the Beef, which led me to research the ingredients further. I still feel it's a great food, but learning that many US dog food manufacturers mix in ingredients imported from China made me wary and I started researching foods made with all North American ingredients. Many of the supplemental vitamins are from China.

I already knew about the issues with chinese treats, so we took them off any Made in China treats over a year ago. It's very disconcerting to find out that US manufacturers use ingredients from China. Having lived here and understanding the economy, I just don't feel they have the safeguards in place to protect my pets.

We tried Acana and was pleasantly surprised to see it was made in Canada! As is Orijen, from the same company. When I went to the local small pet store to get another bag of Acana ($51.99 for the Wild Prairie), they also recommended 2 other foods I researched and we went with 1 of the : Zero/G Sardine, Whitefish and Mysis Shrimp (Canadian company, made in the US - all ingredients sources in the US).

They also recommended Zignature Dog Food (US made). I hadn't heard of either of them, even with all my dog food research and three zillion samples provided by the other local pet store! It's nice to have options! I know that there are just a few dog food plants and most are privately labeled - I haven't been able to find out which plant makes this food but I do feel reassured that I know where the ingredients are sourced.

I guess now we just need to keep an eye on the Zero/G to make sure the formulation doesn't change - since the ingredients can change with each batch for any manufacturer!

The Zero/G looks awesome. i just checked out ingredients and if I still fed kibble I would feed it!

I also like that on the website, you enter the upc from your bag and can send a bag of food to a shelter in need!

BTW, here is manufacturing info:

http://darford.com/culture/story/2421/

The Zero/G - what's the price range?

mheath0429 wrote:

I also like that on the website, you enter the upc from your bag and can send a bag of food to a shelter in need!

BTW, here is manufacturing info:

http://darford.com/culture/story/2421/

I know! So excited!

Heather! wrote:

The Zero/G - what's the price range?

I actually realized I didn't get a receipt when I left and I purchased three things...it was either $55 or $59. I see it's $66 some places online, but this place has great prices! Emailing Wag.com now to request carrying it, they just added a bunch of different foods!

For the fish or chicken? Online I'm seeing outrageous prices for the fish.

Heather! wrote:

For the fish or chicken? Online I'm seeing outrageous prices for the fish.

Fish.

I see it cheapest here - but looks like it's on sale:
http://www.naturalk9supplies.com/Dog-Food/darford-zero-g-sardine-whitefish-and-shrimp-dry-dog-food.aspx?pvid=4237
Free shipping, no tax - $59.99!

Do you prefer Zero/G over Orijen?

Claudia, personally I would choose Zero/G over Orijen- I prefer the ingredient list better, especially the lack of both russet and sweet potatoes. I also really like that they get all their ingredients from North America. I think one thing that was really appealing about THK was they told you where their ingredients were sourced from since a lot of people have a preference from where certain food products come from.

Heather! wrote:

Claudia, personally I would choose Zero/G over Orijen- I prefer the ingredient list better, especially the lack of both russet and sweet potatoes. I also really like that they get all their ingredients from North America. I think one thing that was really appealing about THK was they told you where their ingredients were sourced from since a lot of people have a preference from where certain food products come from.

Right - Koda doesn't do well with potatoes...

Well, it appears that the Zero?G even won awards for its low glycemic content - which is probably great for Koda and due to its lack of potatoes.

I ordered a bag for traveling, because it seems to be really high quality. I compared it to the ingredients in Pureformance, even though its not freeze dried - but it does have similar ingredients, including the chick peas!

Claudia, It's way cheaper than Orijen locally - so that was a concern since I have to feed two dogs. It gets the same amount of stars on dog food advisor. Seems like a great trade off for a reasonable price. I hope the prices don't go up too much once they become popular!

I emailed them asking to get our local husky rescue on the partner list that gets free food! They already supply Husky House in NJ.

Honestly, an ingredient break down doesn't make it seem inferior - and Orijen was too rich for my two, with the protein content I'm assuming and we tried multiple proteins

hollywoodhuskies wrote:

Claudia, It's way cheaper than Orijen locally - so that was a concern since I have to feed two dogs. It gets the same amount of stars on dog food advisor. Seems like a great trade off for a reasonable price. I hope the prices don't go up too much once they become popular!

I emailed them asking to get our local husky rescue on the partner list that gets free food! They already supply Husky House in NJ.

That's weird how prices vary - in my area, there's not a big difference in price between the two! But yes, if it was a big difference in price for me, I'd consider it to stretch out Orijen, as I do prefer the ingredients and protein content in Orijen over Zero/G.

Nice find, Sam!

I went through a trial bag of the fish formula a few months ago. My two did just fine, and seemed to like it. The company also has a large line of grain free treats!