Dog Food Review

Hi all. This is the first post on this blog about dog foods. As some may know, a new member was added to the family in June. His name is Owen and he is a beagle/wire-haired terrier mix. He is doing great on his current food and I thought I'd make a post about some of the foods he gets and has gotten in the past.
First off, when I got him, he was being fed Purina Puppy Chow (NOT what I wanted to feed him, needless to say). The ingredients for that food are as follows:

Purina Puppy Chow Complete
Ingredients: Whole grain corn, corn gluten meal, chicken by-product meal, animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols, soybean meal, egg and chicken flavor, brewers rice, barley, animal digest, mono and dicalcium phosphate, fish oil, calcium carbonate, dried yeast, salt, potassium chloride, L-Lysine monohydrochloride, choline chloride, zinc sulfate, Vitamin E supplement, Yellow 6, ferrous sulfate, Yellow 5, Red 40, manganese sulfate, DL-Methionine, niacin, Vitamin A supplement, Blue 2, copper sulfate, calcium pantothenate, garlic oil, pyridoxine hydrochloride, Vitamin B-12 supplement, thiamine mononitrate, Vitamin D-3 supplement, riboflavin supplement, calcium iodate, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), folic acid, biotin, sodium selenite.
What's Good: fish oil, barley.
What's Bad: Corn, corn gluten, by-products, nondescript animal fat, soy, brewers rice, animal digest, added colors, menadione sodium bisulfite complex, garlic oil (garlic can be toxic but likely not this small amount). 
Rating: 1/5 stars

So, I started switching him to Taste of the Wild High Prairie Puppy Formula. He has been on this formula ever since and has done fantastic on it. His waste is much less and his coat looks fantastic. He eats about 1.5 cups a day (he is close to 25lbs). The ingredients are as follows:

Taste of the Wild High Prairie Puppy Formula with Bison and Roasted Venison:
Ingredients: Buffalo, lamb meal, sweet potatoes, egg product, pea protein, peas, potatoes, canola oil, tomato pomace, roasted bison, roasted venison, beef, flaxseed, potato fiber, natural flavor, ocean fish meal, salmon oil (a source of DHA), salt, choline chloride, dried chicory root, yucca schidigera extract, tomatoes, blueberries, raspberries, dried Lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, dried Bifidobacterium animalis fermentation product, dried Lactobacillus reuteri fermentation product, vitamin E supplement, iron proteinate, zinc proteinate, copper proteinate, ferrous sulfate, zinc sulfate, copper sulfate, potassium iodide, thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B1), manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, ascorbic acid, vitamin A supplement, biotin, niacin, calcium pantothenate, manganese sulfate, sodium selenite, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin B12 supplement, riboflavin (vitamin B2), vitamin D supplement, folic acid.
What's Good: buffalo, lamb meal, sweet potatoes, egg product, peas, potatoes, canola oil, roasted bison, roasted venison, beef, flaxseed, ocean fish meal, salmon oil, prebiotics, tomatoes, blueberries, raspberries, probiotics, chelated minerals.
What's Bad: nothing 
Rating: 5/5 stars

But I got a few free samples of the Southwest Canyon and Pine Forest formulas of Taste of the Wild (ingredients are listed at the bottom of this post if you are interested), so I offered them and he liked the Southwest Canyon better than his puppy formula of this food. However, after about a week of Southwest Canyon, it was obvious that he could NOT stay on it because it gave him bad gas. I think it was the peas and garbanzo beans (higher in this formula where in the other, there are sweet potatoes as the main carb). It's unfortunate, because he really liked it. I figure the Pine Forest would be the same because it also has peas and other legumes (lentils, etc.) as the carb source. Once he gets to be a year old, I will try him on some of their other formulas.

When it comes to canned food, he gets Blue Buffalo. Usually he gets the Small Breed (Homestyle) Chicken or Lamb foods (they have brown rice, but I'm OK with it and he does well on them) but he also gets Wilderness Trail Toppers Wild Cuts and has also gotten the Turkey Day Feast variety. Overall, Owen has done well on his foods and I am very happy with the results.

Taste of the Wild Southwest Canyon Canine Formula with Wild Boar:
Ingredients: Beef, peas, garbanzo beans, lamb meal, canola oil, egg product, wild boar, ocean fish meal, brewers yeast, tomato pomace, flaxseed, natural flavor, salt, choline chloride, dried chicory root, tomatoes, blueberries, raspberries, yucca schidigera extract, dried Lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, dried Bifidobacterium animalis fermentation product, dried Lactobacillus reuteri fermentation product, vitamin E supplement, iron proteinate, zinc proteinate, copper proteinate, ferrous sulfate, zinc sulfate, copper sulfate, potassium iodide, thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B1), manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, ascorbic acid, vitamin A supplement, biotin, niacin, calcium pantothenate, manganese sulfate, sodium selenite, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin B12 supplement, riboflavin (vitamin B2), vitamin D supplement, folic acid.
What's Good: beef, peas, garbanzo beans, lamb meal, canola oil, egg product, wild boar, ocean fish meal, prebiotics, flaxseed, probiotics, tomatoes, blueberries, raspberries, chelated minerals.
What's Bad: not much but the meat content may be SLIGHTLY lower in this formula (and if you have a dog that can't tolerate larger amounts of peas/garbanzo beans then don't feed)
Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Taste of the Wild Pine Forest Canine Formula with Venison and Legumes:
Ingredients: Venison, lamb meal, garbanzo beans, peas, lentils, pea protein, pea flour, egg product, canola oil, tapioca, tomato pomace, natural flavor, ocean fish meal, salt, choline chloride, dried chicory root, tomatoes, blueberries, raspberries, yucca schidigera extract, dried Lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation product, dried Bifidobacterium animalis fermentation product, dried Lactobacillus reuteri fermentation product, vitamin E supplement, iron proteinate, zinc proteinate, copper proteinate, ferrous sulfate, zinc sulfate, copper sulfate, potassium iodide, thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B1), manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, ascorbic acid, vitamin A supplement, biotin, niacin, calcium pantothenate, manganese sulfate, sodium selenite, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin B12 supplement, riboflavin (vitamin B2), vitamin D supplement, folic acid.
What's Good: venison, lamb meal, garbanzo beans, peas, lentils, egg product, canola oil, tapioca, ocean fish meal, tomatoes, blueberries, raspberries, prebiotics, probiotics.
What's Bad: nothing (unless your dog cannot tolerate higher amounts of peas/garbanzo beans/lentils)
Rating: 5/5 stars