What Food?

[adellelauren]

Originally Posted by BarbV

Wellness is ok food....its what I would call a higher "commercial brand".

Which Wellness are you considering - the Wellness Core (grain-free) or the regular? The grain-free is a step up. (and yes, I'm partial to grain-free so my bias is showing).

There are so many other considerations that would make your eyes spinning....what is the source of the key proteins, antioxidants, nutricicals, Omega 3 and Omega 6, vegetable sources, probiotics, etc. etc. etc.

But seriously, you can make yourself crazy trying to figure it out. Get your puppy, start on a food and see how pup does. If pup thrives (coat is healthy and sleek, coat not dry, stools are solid and not too large or runny), then ok for now. But continue to do your research. Food needs also change as they grow.

Other websites I like, like dogfoodanalysis.com (too scientific) are:

http://www.dogfoodproject.com/

http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/

These two are a little more user-friendly.

Best of luck with you on your search!

It is Wellness Complete Health Super5Mix Puppy Food. We will try her with this. She will be on Science Diet from the breeder. After a week we will start the change over.

[Megansmom]

Originally Posted by adellelauren

That makes me nervous. LOL

Ahh, no need to be nervous! Btw, what are they eating now?

[adellelauren]

Originally Posted by Megansmom

Ahh, no need to be nervous! Btw, what are they eating now?

She will only be 4 weeks old on Monday. We bring her home May 14th. She will be on Science Diet Puppy Small Bites and we get a little with her when she comes home. So I will be getting a small bag of that so she will have it for a week and then we will do the change. I just have to find out what the ratio is.

[Danny's mommy]

Orijen dry puppy food received the highest rating on the dog food advisor website.

[Megansmom]

Originally Posted by adellelauren

She will only be 4 weeks old on Monday. We bring her home May 14th. She will be on Science Diet Puppy Small Bites and we get a little with her when she comes home. So I will be getting a small bag of that so she will have it for a week and then we will do the change. I just have to find out what the ratio is.

You know quite frankly, SD is a very good food! I know MANY here on the forum will diabolically disagree and want to point out ALL the evils of that food, ignore it .

When I tried to feed my dog Megan the "higher" quality foods, (according to a dog food analysis website), it made her sick. Some of those foods are very rich and not all tummy's can handle them!

After weeks of trying a few of the "high" quality bags, we switched to Royal Canin until Megan was a year and she THRIVED on it..

Just my two cents worth

[take4roll10]

Originally Posted by Megansmom

You know quite frankly, SD is a very good food! I know MANY here on the forum will diabolically disagree and want to point out ALL the evils of that food, ignore it .

When I tried to feed my dog Megan the "higher" quality foods, (according to a dog food analysis website), it made her sick. Some of those foods are very rich and not all tummy's can handle them!

After weeks of trying a few of the "high" quality bags, we switched to Royal Canin until Megan was a year and she THRIVED on it..

Just my two cents worth

I respectively disagree. Yes, some dogs do not do well on higher quality kibble. My dog did not do well on some of the higher brands either, but I did find one that met most of my standards for quality food and it worked out great for her.

Also, just like there are some dogs that do not well on premium dog food, there are just as many dogs that do not do well on lower quality food and do great on the premium food.

Every dog is different. Some have digestive issues, allergies or health issues, so not everyone can feed the same food. Plus, everyone has different views on what they consider high quality or premium dog food.

Regardless, everyone has the right to express their opinion and point out the pros and cons of food. That is what this forum is for and that is what the OP asked for.

I think the most important thing is to find food that you're comfortable feeding your dog and one that digestively agrees with him/her.

Personally, I do not think SD puppy kibble is good food.

This are the first few ingredients:
Whole Grain Corn, Chicken By-Product Meal, Corn Gluten Meal, Animal Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), Dried Beet Pulp.

Corn is not easily digested by canines and is the main ingredient of this food. Remember even though dogs can digest some fruits and veggies, they are still carnivores and thrive on meat.

Chicken by-product meal is very, very low quality meat... if it is even meat. Chicken by-products can include beaks and feathers. Animal Fat...doesn't even specify what species of animal?!?!?

This is just my opinion on the first few ingredients.

EDIT: Just wanted to add that we all have our own reasons for choosing the food that we feed...digestive reasons, financial concerns, health issues, what's available in your area, etc. We all only want the best for our dogs, so do not feel like a bad owner because you may use food that others don't agree with.

There was a time when my dog had digestive issues and the only food that worked was food that is probably rated negative stars, but it worked for her and that's all I could do. When she her stomach stabilized a few months later, I switched her to food that I thought was better quality. After that I wanted to feed her something even better, but I just couldn't afford it.

[take4roll10]

Originally Posted by adellelauren

She will only be 4 weeks old on Monday. We bring her home May 14th. She will be on Science Diet Puppy Small Bites and we get a little with her when she comes home. So I will be getting a small bag of that so she will have it for a week and then we will do the change. I just have to find out what the ratio is.

Before you change her food, make sure she is settled in, is comfortable in her new home and is free of any parasites.

Sometimes transitioning food can cause a stomach upset, which is why I like to wait until my dogs are 100% comfortable in their new home before I transition. You want to make it as stress-free as possible.

I transition over the course of 2-3 weeks. More or less depending on how well my dog is doing. She had a sensitive stomach when she was younger, so I had transition her very slowly.

I start out by using the new food as treats. After that I'd just slowly add in the new food, while decreasing the old food every day. If my dog started to have an upset stomach, I take a step back and feed that amount for a few days until she settles.

[Silaria]

Originally Posted by adellelauren

So I will be getting a small bag of that so she will have it for a week and then we will do the change. I just have to find out what the ratio is.

I normally recommend food change happens over a period of weeks, so you may need to purchase a small bag of the SD puppy food during the transition.

The ratios I use when changing foods, and I believe others on this forum use the same ratios is:

• First week: 3 to 1 current food to new food
• Second week: 2 to 2 current food to new food
• Third week: 1 to 3 current food to new food
• Fourth week: only new food

If you notice, I don't specify exact measurements but ratios. What I normally do is take a large zip top bag and, if this was the first week, I'd put 3 scoops of my current food in the bag then 1 scoop of the new food; repeating the 3 scoops old, 1 scoop new, about 3 or 4 times - until I have roughly 1 week's worth of food.

Once I use up what's in the bag, I mix a 50/50 mix adding 2 scoops old/2 scoops new about 3 or 4 times until I have roughly a weeks worth.

I repeat this process until I'm only using the new food.

IF I have a week with looser stools, I'll stay at the current level until the stool looks normal again.

[marymrumfelt]

Originally Posted by take4roll10

I respectively disagree. Yes, some dogs do not do well on higher quality kibble. My dog did not do well on some of the higher brands either, but I did find one that met most of my standards for quality food and it worked out great for her.

Also, just like there are some dogs that do not well on premium dog food, there are just as many dogs that do not do well on lower quality food and do great on the premium food.

Every dog is different. Some have digestive issues, allergies or health issues, so not everyone can feed the same food. Plus, everyone has different views on what they consider high quality or premium dog food.

Regardless, everyone has the right to express their opinion and point out the pros and cons of food. That is what this forum is for and that is what the OP asked for.

I think the most important thing is to find food that you're comfortable feeding your dog and one that digestively agrees with him/her.

Personally, I do not think SD puppy kibble is good food.

This are the first few ingredients:
Whole Grain Corn, Chicken By-Product Meal, Corn Gluten Meal, Animal Fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), Dried Beet Pulp.

Corn is not easily digested by canines and is the main ingredient of this food. Remember even though dogs can digest some fruits and veggies, they are still carnivores and thrive on meat.

Chicken by-product meal is very, very low quality meat... if it is even meat. Chicken by-products can include beaks and feathers. Animal Fat...doesn't even specify what species of animal?!?!?

This is just my opinion on the first few ingredients.

Don't forget that corn mostly comes from genetically modified seeds. If you're not familiar with GMOs, Google is your friend. Your dog, nor yourself/family, should be eating corn for that reason, also soy is mostly GMO. I think (since we're stating our opinion here) SD is probably one of, if not, the lowest quality you can find on the market. There's probably a tiny, tiny, tiny bit of meat in this. and gross @ the animal fat. That's probably euthanized pets in there.

If you qualify this as a good food, you really should take some time to research the dietary needs of a canine. Because this food, doesn't even begin to meet what a dog needs to live a long, healthy life.

[BarbV]

Originally Posted by take4roll10

Before you change her food, make sure she is settled in, is comfortable in her new home and is free of any parasites.

Sometimes transitioning food can cause a stomach upset, which is why I like to wait until my dogs are 100% comfortable in their new home before I transition. You want to make it as stress-free as possible.

I transition over the course of 2-3 weeks. More or less depending on how well my dog is doing. She had a sensitive stomach when she was younger, so I had transition her very slowly.

I start out by using the new food as treats. After that I'd just slowly add in the new food, while decreasing the old food every day. If my dog started to have an upset stomach, I take a step back and feed that amount for a few days until she settles.

I'm with you on both the transition schedule and your opinion of SD. It's ok food, like Wellness....just ok.

That being said, if things ain't broke don't fix it. Bring pup home and see it does. You can always change foods later. DO monitor skin condition, and yes, poop! They are both indicators of perhaps a need to change diet.