Puppy Food

[Bibbidi]

We recently got a puppy and had him happily on Purina Pro Plan dog food (which the vet approved). My husband decided he'd like to get him "something better" and tried Blue Buffalo Wilderness, which did nothing more than give him the runs. Now he's looking to switch to Innova, but I've heard bad things about that brand since it got bought out by P&G last year. Is there any natural puppy food out there that doesn't contain by-products, doesn't cost a complete fortune, that might work instead? Iams, Science Diet and the like are already out of the picture for us. I'd like to just keep him on "what works", but my husband wants to give it one more try on something else before relinquishing this quest to Purina. Thanks!

 

[MomtoGKC]

Did you switch the food cold turkey or did you do it slowly by mixing the Blue in with the Purina for a while? I'm lucky, my dog has a belly of steel and can go cold turkey to new foods with no problems, but I know most dogs get poop problems that way.

We used Blue when she was a puppy, whatever the puppy formula was - I think it was in a light blue bag. As she got older it seemed like she might be allergic to something - possible turkey/chicken and/or grains. We switched to Natural Balance Limited Ingredient Diet which had buffalo as the main ingredient. (or maybe venison, just not regular beef) Her fur didn't seem as shiny on it so we switched again.

Right now we use Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream formula. It is grain free and has no chicken or turkey. She is doing fine on it, but it is pretty expensive. I just saw Blue is making one called Blue Basics that has no grains or chicken. I may try that one soon.

 

[ceecee]

Look into Wellness, that what I use for my dogs after much research. A lot of vets don't get into food facts and will recommend what they get from the reps. Also when you change foods it needs to be done slowly (mix the old with the new) or they will get the runs. Iams was also bought by P&G and the corn fillers are now one of the first ing. Check to make sure meat and not grains are the first four ing. Our lab got terrible ear infections with corn, so we switched them to a corn free food. Candidae is also good from what I'm told. There is a great web site that compares the food, I can't remember, anyone???

 

[adventure_woman]

dogfoodanalysis.com

I think we're going to go with Taste of the Wild when we get our puppy.

 

[SandrA9810]

I took my pup from Purina to Merricks. It didn't cost me a fortune more, and I was able to feed less of it to her (less filler stuff). Between that and a $5 coupon, it was the same price.

 

[fakereadhed]

Costco puppy.

 

[lakelandgal70]

I only feed my dogs Fromms. They have tons of different options. They have been around since the 20s and never had a recall.

 

[LJSquishy]

As someone else already posted, check out www.dogfoodanalysis.com

Not all foods will work for all dogs, even with high quality foods. You may need to experiment over time to see what works for your little one.

Unfortunately, most vets have very little training in nutrition so I would take any veterinarian's opinion on food with a grain of salt. Purina ProPlan, Science Diet, Iams, Eukanuba, etc are all very low quality foods.

Your puppy probably had loose stool from transitioning to the new food too quickly. I have Maltese and transition foods over a 2-3 week period. Another possibility is that the new food is too high in protein for your puppy. You may need to start with something with a moderate protein level.

My favorite moderate protein level food is Acana grain-free. You definitely want to purchase a grain-free food, whichever brand you end up with. If you think your puppy has a sensitive digestive system, one food that is good is Natural Balance LID. It is not "the best" food for a perfectly healthy dog because the ingredients are so limited, but it is a great choice for a dog with special needs. Someone else mentioned Wellness...that is also a good option, as is Taste of the Wild, Now! Grain-Free, and Orijen (though higher in protein).

Make sure whichever brand you select states that it is an "All Life Stages" food, or is a puppy formula that is grain-free. All life stages means it is nutritionally sound for both puppies and adults.

I also use the Whole Dog Journal approved food brand list which costs money to subscribe to, but the 2011 list is floating around there somewhere so if you do a google search you can probably find the approved list. It is useful in finding brands that are high quality.

 

[carrie1626]

NUTRO brand


We tried all kinds when ours was a puppy.

BUT - my darn dog ( 13 months old) still craps 5, YES 5 times a day.

Anyone with experience and a solution?????

 

[jrw118]

We used the kirkland puppy food from Costco. MUCH less expensive than most Of the brands being mentioned 40lbs for about $20. We switched our dog to the Kirkland premium dog food and have never had any issues. I researched when we got her. The Kirkland got great reviews for high protein and no fillers.

 

[alex9179]

As the other posters noted, switching too quickly can cause stomach upset. My dogs simply wouldn't eat kibble after a while, so we switched to RAW several years ago. It's a great solution but more work for you, coming up with a balanced diet and preparing it, and not easily used if you board your pets. We have large breed dogs and they are in fantastic health, going strong at 9-10 yrs old. This is kinda icky, but their poo is tiny, too!

The vet's office gives me a lecture every time we go in for exams about the "dangers", so you have to be confident in what you're doing.
They're all praise about how great the dogs are doing until they ask about the diet silly vets.

 

[Bibbidi]

Thank you for all the suggestions. We did the switch gradually and never got more than a 50/50 ratio when problems got bad enough to switch him back completely to Purina. He has been fine on that since switching back, but the Innova has a lot of negative reviews. I might look into the wellness and Kirkland brands. Kirkland would give me an excuse to finally get a costco membership. Thanks Diser's

 

[marie1203]

Acana or Orijen. Go to their website best ingredients in dog food.

 

[moonpie85]

We have been loyal Blue Buffalo users for years. Maybe try a different kind of Blue?

 

[CathrynRose]

I only feed my dogs Fromms. They have tons of different options. They have been around since the 20s and never had a recall.

**Hi-Five**

Me, too.

 

[beachbunny]

I started with Science Diet Nature's Best because my vet sold it. No go - squishy poo. I then switched to Orijen Red which my dog was allergic to. I've finally got him on Acana Grasslands which is perfect for him. You just need to find something that works with his tummy. I chose Orijen and Acana because they consistently got the highest ratings, did not have grains and did not contain any products from China. Good luck!

 

[smi727]

You may want to give Blue Buffalo another try. We've had all of our dogs on it & one of the puppies did get loose stools. We talked to the vet & he said sometimes puppy foods are too rich. He let us go directly to adult Blue Buffalo. No problems since then.

 

[teCh0010]

Did you switch the food cold turkey or did you do it slowly by mixing the Blue in with the Purina for a while? I'm lucky, my dog has a belly of steel and can go cold turkey to new foods with no problems, but I know most dogs get poop problems that way.

We used Blue when she was a puppy, whatever the puppy formula was - I think it was in a light blue bag. As she got older it seemed like she might be allergic to something - possible turkey/chicken and/or grains. We switched to Natural Balance Limited Ingredient Diet which had buffalo as the main ingredient. (or maybe venison, just not regular beef) Her fur didn't seem as shiny on it so we switched again.

Right now we use Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream formula. It is grain free and has no chicken or turkey. She is doing fine on it, but it is pretty expensive. I just saw Blue is making one called Blue Basics that has no grains or chicken. I may try that one soon.

If you are a costco member many of the stores are now carrying a grain free food. It isn't part of the kirkland brand, but is Natures Domain made by Diamond. Seems equivalent to ToTW and much cheaper.

 

[teCh0010]

Costco puppy.

The Kirkland Signature food is good food and a great deal. Unless you want or need to go grain free for diet issues I think the Kirkland is a great corn free food. We feed it to our pup as well.

 

[Parkers_girl]

We used Innova, and then EVO for the first two years we had our dog but once they got bought out by P&G we hightailed it to another brand. We used Taste of the Wild for several months and I didn't like the way they looked on it (lots of eye gunk, coat not as shiny). So after a lot of research we decided on Acana. They have several different varieties which keeps it interesting for our pups, and sometimes we get orijen (same company, but much higher protein count). We have been very, very happy with Acana, our dogs are happy,healthy and they look gorgeous! The expense is worth it!