Puppy Food / Dog Food questions.........

[redgtxdi]

So, the wife and (after 5 years w/o a dog) decided our daughters are old enough now to accept responsibility of another dog. (First dog was wife's & married into the deal)

Enter this little guy....

http://i455.photobucket.com/al...xdi/Puppy/IMG_1795.jpg

http://i455.photobucket.com/al...xdi/Puppy/IMG_1791.jpg


The breeder we bought from (friend of a friend) suggested that this is the 2nd litter for her dogs and they've always liked Beneful.(Beneful Puppy) Google Beneful results and I think they use rat poison in it. (Or anthrax, I'm not sure)

Joking aside, she gave us a big ziploc bag full, but before I commit to feeding the pup this stuff solely, anybody else have suggestions???

TIA

 

[rudeguy]

I like Purina. We have 3 very healthy dogs that also agree.

If you do switch his food, make sure to mix in some of the Beneful. As young as he is, he won't care much but it will mess with his tummy.

 

[Capt Caveman]

Beneful is crap. It's a one star dog food. Anything you find in the supermarket is garbage.

http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/

 

[GagHalfrunt]

My god, puppy food debates are likely to turn into something resembling an English soccer riot. Everyone has a favorite brand and defends it unto the death. My sister is feeding her lab puppy with Iams and the thing is growing faster than Kudzu.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

As long as the bag says "100% nutritionally complete" you're good to go. Remember though that dogs don't like to change rapidly from one kind of food to another. I'd stick to what the breeder has been feeding your guinea pig for a while.

 

[Capt Caveman]

Originally posted by: GagHalfrunt
My god, puppy food debates are likely to turn into something resembling an English soccer riot. Everyone has a favorite brand and defends it unto the death. My sister is feeding her lab puppy with Iams and the thing is growing faster than Kudzu.

Originally posted by: MagnusTheBrewer
As long as the bag says "100% nutritionally complete" you're good to go. Remember though that dogs don't like to change rapidly from one kind of food to another. I'd stick to what the breeder has been feeding your guinea pig for a while.

It's about doing the research to find out what is actually in the food. Pick-up any bag of Beneful and you'll find that corn is the number one ingredient and then you'll find some meat by product further down the ingredient list.

More premium brands of dog food will use human grade ingredients, use real chicken/beef/lamb/etc and not have the fillers you find in the cheaper stuff. You'll find that you actually can feed a lot less of it b/c it's more calorie dense. One benefit of this is less pooping.

 

[Codewiz]

For the absolute best dog food especially for the price look at Kirkland dog food(Costco brand)

An easy way to figure out if the food is worth a crap follow these guidelines. http://members.petfinder.com/~...les/DogFoodRatings.pdf

 

[Journer]

purina pro plan always worked well for me. my dogs always had beautiful coats and their shits were very small. indicator of less filler and more goodness inside

 

[redgtxdi]

Originally posted by: Codewiz
For the absolute best dog food especially for the price look at Kirkland dog food(Costco brand)

An easy way to figure out if the food is worth a crap follow these guidelines. http://members.petfinder.com/~...les/DogFoodRatings.pdf

Ooooh, good one. Totally forgot about Costco!!

Wonder if there's a "too early" to start feeding the pup the Kirkland stuff???

 

[Capt Caveman]

Originally posted by: redgtxdi

Originally posted by: Codewiz
For the absolute best dog food especially for the price look at Kirkland dog food(Costco brand)

An easy way to figure out if the food is worth a crap follow these guidelines. http://members.petfinder.com/~...les/DogFoodRatings.pdf

Ooooh, good one. Totally forgot about Costco!!

Wonder if there's a "too early" to start feeding the pup the Kirkland stuff???

You're dog is so small, it's not going to be very expensive to feed. And you don't wan to buy a 40lb bag of dog food that will spoil before your dog even goes through it. If you're not interested in going to a specialty dog food store. I suggest going to Petco and starting out with Wellness Puppy.

 

[Lorax]

we've used Evo for awhile now and everyone we've talked to (vet, trainer) has said it's the brand they recommend.

 

[Ns1]

we do eukanuba puppy lamb's formula and mix in some eukanuba canned stuff as well

 

[redgtxdi]

Gonna try a small bag of Wellness Puppy (looks like an excellent quality/price food)

Will mix for a few days & see how he likes it.

Thanks for great links & suggestions!

 

[Codewiz]

Costco has a puppy version of their food.

 

[Xstatic1]

awwwwwwwwwwwwww. he's sooooo cute!

 

[theblackbox]

meat is not as important in a dogs diet, they aren't cats. most dog food will have rice, corn, or another type of grain as a main ingrediant. dogs need a more rounded and balanced feed.
Cats on the other hand need high protein, and you'll find cat food is a lot higher in meat content.
science diet, euk., iams. there are a good number of brands.
instead of coming here and asking, you should ask your vet what they would recommend to a growing puppy.

 

[trmiv]

Originally posted by: Capt Caveman
Beneful is crap. It's a one start dog food. Anything you find in the supermarket is garbage.

http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/

I second this site, I use it a lot to research food. Anything in the 4 star and above range is your best bet.

Beneful is horrible food. For a dog that size, it won't cost you a ton to feed a good quality food. Also, when you feed some of the better foods, you feed less of it.

Go to the link above, read the reviews, and then select the best food for the best price that works for you. We used to feed Canidae, but they recently did a formula change that didn't agree with our dogs. We currently feed our GSD puppy Innova Large Breed Puppy, and our maltese Fromm salmon. For a good food you can pick up easily at Petsmart, look at the Blue Buffalo foods (although I think they are overpriced compared to some better foods). You can also pick up Wellness foods at Petco, and they carry some other good brands like Natural Balance and Solid Gold.

 

[Capt Caveman]

Originally posted by: theblackbox
meat is not as important in a dogs diet, they aren't cats. most dog food will have rice, corn, or another type of grain as a main ingrediant. dogs need a more rounded and balanced feed.
Cats on the other hand need high protein, and you'll find cat food is a lot higher in meat content.
science diet, euk., iams. there are a good number of brands.
instead of coming here and asking, you should ask your vet what they would recommend to a growing puppy.

Vets aren't very educated in regards to nutrition. I should know, I'm friends with many of them. Vets carry Science Diet/Eukanuba b/c they receive kick backs for carry it.

Many dogs are allergic to ground corn, wheat floor, corn gluten, etc. Meat should always be the main ingredient and not corn or some other grain since protein is the most important ingredient for a dog.

 

[theblackbox]

Originally posted by: Capt Caveman

Originally posted by: theblackbox
meat is not as important in a dogs diet, they aren't cats. most dog food will have rice, corn, or another type of grain as a main ingrediant. dogs need a more rounded and balanced feed.
Cats on the other hand need high protein, and you'll find cat food is a lot higher in meat content.
science diet, euk., iams. there are a good number of brands.
instead of coming here and asking, you should ask your vet what they would recommend to a growing puppy.

Vets aren't very educated in regards to nutrition. I should know, I'm friends with many of them. Vets carry Science Diet/Eukanuba b/c they receive kick backs for carry it.

Many dogs are allergic to ground corn, wheat floor, corn gluten, etc. Meat should always be the main ingredient and not corn or some other grain since protein is the most important ingredient for a dog.

well, i beg to differ. Being a former owner of a vet clinic, and married to one, we received NO kickbacks for carrying it. If the food wasn't a fit, we didn't recommend it. in most cases we gave it away IF the food helped the pet or if the pet was having problems eating other things.

I'm glad you are friends with many, me too.


A good vet will know nutrition. if your friends don't, well i would be worried about the quality of medicine they practice.

while meat is important, it is not important as to the same grade it would be to a cats diet.
while dogs are carnivores, they are very adaptable. they don't need as much meat in their diet.

i don't know about many dogs having allergies, i guess thats just the same as any animal, i would have to let my wife discuss that.

 

[Descartes]

We use Nutro Ultra for out golden retriever because we heard it was one of the better options from our trainer, breeder and vet.

 

[zinfamous]

Nice little floor duster you got there

 

[redgtxdi]

Thanks!

Now we just gotta convince him that 11pm isn't play time!! LOL!!


Sucker is mellow all day and then about the time we're ready for bed, he starts revvin' up & runnin' around & playin' with his toys.

He's a cute little ah heck that's for sure!

 

[Capt Caveman]

Originally posted by: theblackbox

Originally posted by: Capt Caveman

Originally posted by: theblackbox
meat is not as important in a dogs diet, they aren't cats. most dog food will have rice, corn, or another type of grain as a main ingrediant. dogs need a more rounded and balanced feed.
Cats on the other hand need high protein, and you'll find cat food is a lot higher in meat content.
science diet, euk., iams. there are a good number of brands.
instead of coming here and asking, you should ask your vet what they would recommend to a growing puppy.

Vets aren't very educated in regards to nutrition. I should know, I'm friends with many of them. Vets carry Science Diet/Eukanuba b/c they receive kick backs for carry it.

Many dogs are allergic to ground corn, wheat floor, corn gluten, etc. Meat should always be the main ingredient and not corn or some other grain since protein is the most important ingredient for a dog.

well, i beg to differ. Being a former owner of a vet clinic, and married to one, we received NO kickbacks for carrying it. If the food wasn't a fit, we didn't recommend it. in most cases we gave it away IF the food helped the pet or if the pet was having problems eating other things.

I'm glad you are friends with many, me too.


A good vet will know nutrition. if your friends don't, well i would be worried about the quality of medicine they practice.

while meat is important, it is not important as to the same grade it would be to a cats diet.
while dogs are carnivores, they are very adaptable. they don't need as much meat in their diet.

i don't know about many dogs having allergies, i guess thats just the same as any animal, i would have to let my wife discuss that.

Wow. Sorry but my board certified veterinary friends are specialist in Neurology, Surgery and Internal medicine don't know nutrition. But they do recite pretty much what you've said which lumps you with them.

You ran a vet clinic and your wife is a vet and you don't know about food allergies with dogs? Do you have a dog even? Don't know that corn and wheat are the two biggest causes of food allergies? And that higher quality foods won't contain either ingredient? Even the kind of meat can be a source of allergies. One of my dogs had serious shedding/skin issues and I discovered that the problem was the chicken in her food, switching her to a lamb based food solved the problem. Guess what the vet's(which I got rid of afterwards) suggestion was? Give her Dermcaps. Shedding, bad skin, energy, ear infections, bad stools, etc are all side-effects of allergies from food. Note - all Science Diet foods are considered one star.

Why did you carry Science Diet? Did you research other brands?

Hill's Science Diet Nature's Best Puppy Formula with real Beef

Ingredients:
Brewers rice, ground wheat, turkey meal, animal fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), corn gluten meal, soybean meal, dried beet pulp, beef, peas, carrots, chicken liver flavor, vegetable oil, dried egg product, l-lysine, iron oxide, l-tryptophan, preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid, minerals [dicalcium phosphate, salt, potassium chloride, ferrous sulfate, zinc oxide, copper sulfate, manganous oxide, calcium iodate, sodium selenite], rosemary extract, beta carotene, vitamins [choline chloride, vitamin A supplement, vitamin D3 supplement, vitamin E supplement, l-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (a source of vitamin C), niacin, thiamine mononitrate, calcium pantothenate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, riboflavin, folic acid, biotin, vitamin B12 supplement].

Guaranteed Analysis:
Crude protein (min) 25.5%
crude fat (min) 16.5%
moisture (max) 10%
crude fiber (max) 3%
calcium (min) 1%
phosphorus (min) 0.7%
selenium (min) 0.35%

WTF - Turkey meal is 2nd and Beef is the 8th ingredient. And what kind of quality is the beef?

Review:

Pros: Third ingredient is a named meat product.
Cons: Inadequate meat content, use of low quality grains, fat of unidentifiable origin, soy, other controversial filler.

The first two ingredients in this food are low quality grains. Brewers rice is a by-product of the alcohol industry for which the AAFCO definition is ?the dried extracted residue of rice resulting from the manufacture of wort (liquid portion of malted grain) or beer and may contain pulverized dried spent hops in an amount not to exceed 3 percent.?


The use of wheat is a significant negative: wheat is believed to be the number one cause of allergy problems in dog food. This is another ingredient we prefer not to see used at all in dog food.


The third ingredient is a named meat product in meal form. This meat product is too far down the ingredient list to constitute an adequate amount of meat. There is a further meat product, beef, 8th on the ingredient list but since this is chicken inclusive of its water content (about 80%) and this ingredient will weigh only about 20% of its wet weight once water is removed (as it must be to make kibble) it is likely that this ingredient would be more accurately placed much further down the ingredient list and does not make up any appreciable portion of the food.


Animal fat is a further low quality ingredient and is impossible to determine the source. Unidentified ingredients are usually very low quality. AAFCO define this as "obtained from the tissues of mammals and/or poultry in the commercial processes of rendering or extracting. It consists predominantly of glyceride esters of fatty acids and contains no additions of free fatty acids. If an antioxidant is used, the common name or names must be indicated, followed by the words "used as a preservative".


Corn gluten meal is another low quality ingredient. Corn is a problematic grain that is difficult for dogs to digest and thought to be the cause of a great many allergy and yeast infection problems. We prefer not to see this used in dog food. The AAFCO definition of corn gluten meal is "the dried residue from corn after the removal of the larger part of the starch and germ, and the separation of the bran by the process employed in the wet milling manufacture of corn starch or syrup, or by enzymatic treatment of the endosperm". In plain English, that which remains after all the nutritious bits have been removed.


Soy is a poor quality source of protein in dog food, and a common cause of allergy problems. Some believe that it is the number 1 cause of food allergies in dogs (outstripping even wheat).


Beet pulp is filler and a controversial ingredient ? it is a by-product, being dried residue from sugar beets which has been cleaned and extracted in the process of manufacturing sugar. It is a controversial ingredient in dog food, claimed by some manufacturers to be a good source of fibre, and derided by others as an ingredient added to slow down the transition of rancid animal fats and causing stress to kidney and liver in the process. We note that beet pulp is an ingredient that commonly causes problems for dogs, including allergies and ear infections, and prefer not to see it used in dog food. There are less controversial products around if additional fibre is required.

 

[OnePingOnly]

Originally posted by: Capt Caveman

Originally posted by: theblackbox
meat is not as important in a dogs diet, they aren't cats. most dog food will have rice, corn, or another type of grain as a main ingrediant. dogs need a more rounded and balanced feed.
Cats on the other hand need high protein, and you'll find cat food is a lot higher in meat content.
science diet, euk., iams. there are a good number of brands.
instead of coming here and asking, you should ask your vet what they would recommend to a growing puppy.

Vets aren't very educated in regards to nutrition. I should know, I'm friends with many of them. Vets carry Science Diet/Eukanuba b/c they receive kick backs for carry it.

Many dogs are allergic to ground corn, wheat floor, corn gluten, etc. Meat should always be the main ingredient and not corn or some other grain since protein is the most important ingredient for a dog.

Agreed. Have you ever had your physician tell you how you should be eating and how much exercise you need and they themselves are disgusting fat slobs? The same is the case with veterinarians. They always mention the shit brands like Eukanuba and Purina One. That would be like us eating McDonalds-quality food for the rest of our lives. Sure, there's protein, carbs, and fats in the food but the real concern one should have is where are these ingredients derived from?

I highly recommend Orijen brand foods. I switched my German Shepherd (5 mos.) from Royal Canin to Orijen Large Breed Puppy and he's itching less and his stools are firm. His coat also became much shinier and thick.

 

[OnePingOnly]

Here is the manufacturer's website for the Orijen brands:

http://www.championpetfoods.com/orijen/orijen/

Here is the ingredients listing for Large Breed Puppy:

http://www.championpetfoods.co...yLargeIngredients.aspx