Puppy food!

[jodysh]

I did a search on the forums and found a couple of threads for puppy food recommendations. They were older though so I thought I'd throw it out there again and see if there are any new opinions.

Malcolm's breeder feeds Nutro Max Puppy, but I was switching to Orijen (breeder gave me a baggie of the Nutro). Since I began the switch he's had the loose poops. Yogurt helped a bit, but...then I did more research on Orijen and noticed some people complained of the same issue for their puppy.

So I was thinking of just sticking with the Nutro. I noticed several folks liked Natural Balance though as well.

I'm really very paranoid about what food to give because when our lab, Jesse, was diagnosed with chronic renal failure 2 years ago (he also passed in the fall of 2009) I did a lot of research on CRF and there were indications that CRF is becoming more and more common even in puppies and a lot of blame pointed to the dog foods.

We started feeding Jesse a raw diet which I was also considering doing with Malcolm anyway, but in the mean time I want to make sure he gets the right food and that the food is of good quality.

Thanks for any and all opinions!

[Nikkiey]

Nothing beats RAW! It's natural. We don't feed Juneau raw, though it has been something I've seriously starting considering. I've started doing a lot of research about it and hear nothing but great reviews.

We got Juneau from someone who had an oops litter and fed the pups pedigree and rollover mixed together - I know!!
We started switching him over to new food once we brought him home. We also tried Orijen and it just didn't agree with his system so we tried Acana next (same company) and so far so good in the poo area. We started him out on Grassland but moved to Ranchland when they released it, we thought he would enjoy the new "flavor" but now that's he's been on it for a little over a month now we're noticing he's biting at his paws now and they are really red inbetween his toes and he's got sores on his jowls. We are now in the process of changing him over to Pacifica (still Acana grain free though) as our vet said dogs with food allergies should stick with one single protein - so fish it is!! Hopefully this one will go better!

[Jasper'sMomma]

we really like the Nutro Ultra..the holistic line...our dogs like it and their poops are tight and minimal...Nutro has more absorbed so they get the most out of the food...

[jodysh]

Well we went to PetSmart today. I decided to go ahead and get the Nutro Natural Choice Chicken Meal, Rice and Oatmeal formula. I looked at the Nutro Max Puppy but the picture of the kibble on the bag did not look like what the breeder sent home with us, so.

[Brenna's Mom]

Breeder was feeding the litter the Blue so I got it. Brenna was leaving the black nutritional bits in the bowl. The breeder said she fed all the pups together so didn't know Brenna wasn't eating them.
I also bought the Nutro, my older dog has been on it since she was a puppy.
Brenna has gained 5 lbs since I got her on June 23rd. No loose stools, and eats until full, not until the bowl is empty.
She was at the vet yesterday and he was pleased with her appearance and weight.

[maquignon]

Orijen is probably the best dog food on the market. Nutro is one of the worst. It is junk food for dogs. Nutro uses corn gluten, wheat and soy in most of their foods. These are the three most common allergens. Corn gluten is the protein part of the corn used by the lowest quality foods to boost the protein percentage with cheap, hard to digest plant protein rather that meat which is much more expensive. Nutro also uses menadione in almost all of their foods. Menadione is a synthetic form of Vitamin K that has been banned by the FDA from human supplements because of its toxicity. The only thing "premium" about Nutro is the price. There are much better foods for half the price. Orijen, while not cheap is about the best there is and if you can afford it and it is easy to find (it isn't in some areas), by all means go with the Orijen. There is no comparison between the two brands; Orijein is at the top and Nutro is at the bottom. If Orijen is too expensive, other good foods are Blue Buffalo, Wellness, Castor & Pollux, Merrick, Taste of the Wild, Canidae and Solid Gold. Almost anything (except Ol Roy, Alpo or Beneful) is better than Nutro.

[jodysh]

Hmmm. Well yeah I thought Orijen was supposed to be really good as well. Price was never an issue it's the loose poops. I'm still mixing with the Nutro. The Natural Choice, BTW does not have corn gluten or any kind of corn listed on the ingredients.

[Jasper'sMomma]

The Nutro bag that I have does not have any byproducts or gluten listed in the ingredients...

I have never had any problems with the Nutro and I have a 112 lb. 10 yr old lab who is healthy and active and has a great coat and great teeth...

Nutro is not at the bottom of the list...

[becka]

Here is a very comprehensive breakdown of what is in Nutro. Although it is not the highest rated food on the site, it doesn't seem like junk food to me. I don't think anyone who's been feeding it to their dogs has reason to worry.

The same website has similar analyses of Orijen and nearly any other premium brand you can think of. It's a useful site for making an informed decision.

[lindamarie]

Switched Bogart to Orijen about 2 months ago and couldn't be happier!!

[jodysh]

becka - that's the site I went to to look at foods It's a great site.

I think I was switching him too quickly. I stopped giving him the Orijen and things are pretty well normal. I think maybe I'll wait another month before starting the switch again and see how it goes.

[deepnite10]

many of us have gone thru a period of finding the right kibble for our
best buds..not all that easy..

though the better foods are more expensive..they make it up in their higher nutrinal levels..and require much less..ie, a cheaper kibble will recommend 4-5 cups a day..by feeding Origen or Evo you would only need to feed 2-3 cups per day..in the long run the cost could be much closer than imagined..

higher concentration s of protein and fat can cause some digestive problems..i ve gotten evo and canidae treats to cut the the richness of the origen and evo..

[jodysh]

I was originally going to put him on EVO but wasn't sure as they don't have a food specific for puppies. Which is why I chose Orijen I couldn't find Orijen treats...will have to get some EVO treats perhaps. Now I use Nutro Natural Choice treats for training.

I agree the higher cost of the higher quality foods is well worth it.

[deepnite10]

i made up some Origen treats for the dogs..made up some unsweeten d cookie dough and added some peanut butter..then put some Origen into the blender and added that to the cookie mix..

though Toby did nt take to the cookies..all the other guys gobbled them all up in no time..