Grain-Free Dog Food, 'Big Lots'

Have heard good things about the EVO, but never tried. I'd like to eventually try a Raw diet of poultry, cow & fish, but that would take some transitioning, and I don't own a grinder to mash all that up. What's in the Chicken/Beef stuff ("Woof") from IAMs website: 

INGREDIENTS / MATERIAL COMPOSITION

Chicken Broth, Chicken, Water, Dried Egg, Beef, Pea Protein, Modified Tapioca Starch, Carrots, Peas, Tricalcium Phosphate, Calcium Sulfate, Titanium Dioxide, Potassium Chloride, Sunflower Oil, Guar Gum, Caramel, Vitamins (Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Niacin Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin A Supplement, Biotin Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement (Source of Vitamin B2), Vitamin D3 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Source of Vitamin B6), Beta-Carotene, Folic Acid), Choline Chloride, Salt, Minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Copper Glycine Complex, Manganese Glycine Complex, Sodium Selenite, Potassium Iodide), Magnesium Oxide, Carrageenan, Thiamine Mononitrate (Source of Vitamin B1), Sodium Nitrite (to Promote Color Retention).

Don't know why the Titanium Dioxide is in there ?? Sounds like paint, sunscreen ingredient.  The tiny print says it's made in Thailand. My guess is that since it's in 'Big Lots' IAMS must have discontinued it.  The Sodium Nitrite is a no-no, but probably less by % than in Bacon or Ham.

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I've gotten a few of the Fromm 'sample bags' now & then which I keep in the dog's travel-bag w/ leashes, training-treats and bowls Good clean ingredients & he likes the stuff.

http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/fromm-gold-coast-dog-food/

A link to 'Dogfoodadvisor' site's review of one Fromm product. They do go through all the ingredients and analyze their purpose.

I'm not ready to suddenly switch over to Raw diet, as the dog has fared quite well on good-quality kibble + a taste of wet food so far.  More likely I'll start adding a few chunks of raw cow, poultry or Hog to the existing diet. I've got a lot to learn before throwing a rack 'o ribs his way and saying "Suppertime!"

His first year, original owner only fed dry kibble, 'Taste Of The Wild' for many months. When I adopted H.I.M. I started mixing canned stuff, mainly as flavor/aroma enhancer. A standard can lasts a few meals, so I get the cans without the mystery-meat byproduct and soy filler, maybe a few cents more per can. 

Another wet-food I picked up a few flats of is "Good Natured" brand, which is a PetSmart house brand. They make various canned & dried stuff and donate some of the proceeds to homeless pets.  No by-products, soy, corn, feather-meal.

Ingredients: 
Lamb Broth, Chicken, Lamb, Ocean Fish, Tuna, Dried Egg Product, Tapioca Starch, Green Peas, Carrots, Pea Protein, Brown Rice, Tricalcium Phosphate, Xanthan Gum, Potassium Chloride, Magnesium Sulfate, Salt, Choline Chloride, Caramel Color, Ascorbic Acid, Zinc Amino Acid Chelate, Vitamin E Supplement, Iron Amino Acid Chelate, Copper Amino Acid Chelate, Niacin Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Manganese Amino Acid Chelate, Riboflavin Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Vitamin A Supplement, Calcium Iodate, Folic Acid, Biotin, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement...

That's the breakdown of one variety of wet; they lack the Nitrite and sun-block which the Iams has. And they throw in some chelated minerals, which is supposed to be better.

Looks like Fromm uses locally-sourced USA ingredients, makes small batch-runs and does their own microbiological testing.  A family-run company for decades. I like their "4-star" line from looking at the ingredients on the Co. website. I believe the small sample-bags I've tried have been Fromm Gold or 'Coast Gold' products.

Reading through 'dogfoodadvisor' site they look at each ingredient and explain what it is, so you can say "Do I want to feed my animal this stuff ?"

BrianK pick of "EVO" gets super high ratings, and he says his Dogs do well with it. I have tried Blue, Taste O.The Wild, Natural Balance, Wellness Core, a couple Nutro versions... forgetting some brands, but I read the ingredients. Always strive for the grain-free stuff.   

Once when car-less, I had to pick up a small bag of lowly generic corn-based kibble on my bike. Dawg LOVED it !!  He'll also chomp up a corn-on-the-cob or two in season. Tomato or Cuke from the garden are ok but he spits out Pea-Pods. Carrots are sometimes interesting; Broccoli is always welcome.

So on the bad side of stuff, there have been terrible cases of pets getting killed or sick from Purina/Alpo stuff. 'Beneful' brand killed my friend's dog. Nestlè bought those brands some time back. Some of those factories are sourcing protein from China, and they have been caught dosing it with Melamine to bring up Nitrogen content.

I forgot a couple brands that have been in the Feed-Bin.  "Authority" grain-free has been in the rotation, some 'Merrick' and some different versions of 'Nature's Recipe'.  The one I just started rotating in the last week or so is not grain-free, but the dog really likes it. Salmon, Brown Rice, Oats & stuff. Company website of course really butters it up 

https://www.naturesrecipe.com/pure-essentials/dry-dog-food/adult-salmon-...

Basically, there's so many really great varieties of pet food out there that aren't much more $ than the schwag by-product/corn/soy stuff.  He's tasted a lot of different Kibble flavors, but there have only been a rare few which he didn't like the flavor/aroma. Those ironically were the super-costly sacks.  There was one sack of Nutro Hi-Protein which was Lamb-based, and that made him a bit aggressive.