New puppy- which food?

[txgirl]

We have a new member of our family!!! This is *Tex* our 8-week old cocker spaniel puppy:

What kind of puppy food do you use? We bought Nutro Natural Choice and it seems to get great reviews, but there are so many choices and we are trying not to go overboard! Thanks in advance for your help

By the way, this is an old photo from the breeders home and I can't get any of my pic's to upload here on DIS. Has anyone else had this problem today?

 

[Oreo Cookie]

I'm sure you will get a lot of responses regarding dog food. We have a Yellow Lab who will be 2 in September and we feed him Solid Gold "Hund-n-Flocken" dog food. The Solid Gold line is all natural and contains no chemicals or additives. Here's the website if yo are interested, http://www.solidgoldhealth.com/.

There are a lot of heathly dog foods out there, so do some research and see what works best for your little one.

Congrats on the new puppy!!! What a cutie-pie!!

 

[Stein]

I don't know if you have a Costco near you, but they have an excellent Costco brand food that is much more affordable than the name brand foods. Our vet actually suggested it. She said that the Costco brand is every bit as good as anything else you will get.

 

[LMC]

All I know is you are suppose to use a high quality food. Not those that come from the discount *mart stores which contain fillers. Those cheap foods make them poop more. Something to do with the rate of digestion. Of course, if they "go" less frequently it should make house training easier too.

 

[maxiesmom]

What a cute puppy! Awwwwwwww!

We use the Natural Choice for large breeds, and our Lab likes it. It was recommended from our dog trainer when we were in basic training. She said if a meat product was not one of the first 3 ingredients, don't buy that food. It will have little nutritional value for your dog. And she also said to avoid any food that lists corn as one of the first 3 ingredients. Some cheaper dog foods use it as a filler, meaning it will fill you dog up, but do nothing for it. Why feed your dog something that will not help it grow and be healthy?

 

[momoftwodisneykids]

We have two furry pug babies, Pugsley 11 months and Mugsey 5 months. We tried the expensive dog foods (ones without corn, wheat, etc), but found they do best on Purina Pro Plan. While Pro Plan does have corn in it, our boys have not shown any allergy to it and they poop about twice a day compared to many, many times a day on the expensive foods. Our vet actually feed his dogs plain old Alpo and they are all healthy (he breeds Cocker Spaniels). The breeder we got Pugsley from recommended either Pro Plan or Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover brand. We found the Pro Plan worked well for them, is less expensive and is easy to find at either PetsMart or Petco. Both of my puggies are trim, healthy and happy. JMHO.

Joanne

 

[RrCoAsTeR]

We used Iams for our old dog (14 years) and for our one year old dog until recently... but he had erm, intestinal issues with any food, so he eats special low residue food from the vet.

Both breeders (golden/cavalier) reccomended Iams, as did the vet.

Cavaliers are a lot like cockers! Good luck with your new puppy!

Ours is brown and white!

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

What a cutie pie! Cockers are the cutest puppies!!!!

I agree with what others have said. Search for a food that has meat as its number one ingredient for starters and I'd steer clear of any allergens.

I feed Eagle Pack Holistic and have great results with it, although right now Chloe is on a green bean diet, with only half the kibble. (Don't tell her it's a diet; she thinks it's great!) So far, I estimate that I've knocked 10lbs off of her!

Eagle Pack isn't perfect, but it's the best for Chloe until I start BARFing her again.

IMO specialty stores are going to be where the best food is at, followed by major pet chains and last, grocery store. Your vet may try to push you on certain foods as well. Check those out just as carefully. IMO, they're some of the worst.

Check this link out for info on what to look for: http://www.purelypets.com/articles/whatsinfood.htm

 

[zuzu310]

When we got our rescue dog, Lulu, she had diarrhea from eating cheap food. So we put her on Science Diet and our dog loves it! We have not had problems with the "runs" since then.

 

[karynnix]

Another vote for Hill's Science Diet...it is small pieces and my puppy had absolutely no trouble with it. Plus, if you board at the vet for vacation or anything, they will more than likely feed them Hill's since that is the preferred brand for vets.

 

[Luvchefmic]

You're gonna get a ton of responses which may cause you some
for the record I have 8 kids (rescue dogs) aged 7yrs 5yrs 5yrs 4yrs 3yrs 3yrs 3yrs ..down to 9 mos and this has been an IAMS household since EUKANUBA & IAMS merged....the new pup was added last month.on IAms PUPPY..our oldest (a doxie lived a very healthy Eukanuba life) until he passed last Nov..his last yr he ate Mighty Dog awful stuff but at that point he could have anything his little heart desired

Best of luck with your new kid !

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

his last yr he ate Mighty Dog awful stuff but at that point he could have anything his little heart desired

That's my way of thinking! Whatever makes 'em happy at that point.

 

[Secondgradememories]

We have a new member of our family!!! This is *Tex* our 8-week old cocker spaniel puppy:

What kind of puppy food do you use? We bought Nutro Natural Choice and it seems to get great reviews, but there are so many choices and we are trying not to go overboard! Thanks in advance for your help

By the way, this is an old photo from the breeders home and I can't get any of my pic's to upload here on DIS. Has anyone else had this problem today?

We just got a 7 week old collie! We are feeding him Science Diet Regular Puppy style because that is what the breeder gave him. Our vet told us to stick with the breeder's choice - it's what he's used to and he loves it! Congrats on the new puppy! We made it through the first night last night - whew! Now on to the housetraining! Yikers! Best of luck to all of us!

 

[RockyMtnMaria]

The Nutro you are using is GREAT! But if you decide to change, be sure to introduce it slowly, and mix it in with the Nutro.

Flint River Ranch also has a GREAT reputation. They eat less, stink less, poop less, etc when you have them on a good food.

 

[dpratt68]

I second the Pro-Plan. My 18month old lab has done great on this food. Poops twice daily. One trip to the kennel it was very obvious he didn't get his food got the cheap stuff as he had diarrhea for a few days. Good luck the dog is adorable!

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

This question would best be answered by your vet.

 

[badblackpug]

I have a 9 year old pug. Pugs tend to have sensitive skin and are prone to skin allergies. Anything from Purina gives him hives. (by the way, my mother had a sheltie which ended up with pancreatitis and peritonitis because purina switched the formula in their dog foods without warning consumers...he nearly died) anyway...I have used Eukanuba lamb and rice exclusively since he came home from the breeder. It has the lowest incidence of allergic reactions of any dog food on the market.

 

[Sammie]

We have a new member of our family!!! This is *Tex* our 8-week old cocker spaniel puppy:

What kind of puppy food do you use? We bought Nutro Natural Choice and it seems to get great reviews, but there are so many choices and we are trying not to go overboard! Thanks in advance for your help

By the way, this is an old photo from the breeders home and I can't get any of my pic's to upload here on DIS. Has anyone else had this problem today?

You need to feed it whatever it was eating prior to your getting it, then slowly change it if you wish. We like Chicken Soup of the Dog Lover's Soul or Wellness.

 

[txgirl]

Thanks for all your replies! We are mixing the Eukanuba that he came with along with the Nutro Puppy and he is doing so much better. Truth be told, I don't think the breeder was feeding him Eukanuba based on what was in his travel crate when we got him (it didn't match the Eukanuba) and also because his stools were very loose until he got a couple of feedings of the Eukanuba. Now combined with the Nutro we are down to about 3 poops a day and they are firming up!

He's doing well otherwise (biting the kids and we are working on that ) and he slept with us last night and did wonderfully. Do you guys let your pups sleep with you? I never thought we would do that but when he is near us, he is happy. Will putting him the crate *only* when we leave make it harder for him? We went to church this morning and when we got back he cried (whined) in my arms for like 10 minutes carrying on and on and let me know how bad it was for him.

Potty training has gone really well so far, but this whole family has been through boot camp on how to handle that and we are all on the same page. Any ideas for how to get the 3-year old to not be afraid of him? The puppy thinks the running and screaming is a fun game and joins in readily nipping at his heals.

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

Do you guys let your pups sleep with you? I never thought we would do that but when he is near us, he is happy.

Oh yeah. All 10? lbs of her. We're not sure what she weighs now, but let's put it this way:

I lay on one side of the bed. Chloe lays next to me with her back to me, with her head on my pillow. I spoon her. DH sleeps on the other side of her, facing her, with his arms around her.

Eventually she gets up and moves to the foot of the bed, or onto the floor. Of course there are times where there are no dogs allowed.