Finding an appropriate puppy food

Really wishing they sold Orijen here in Indiana...I can't seem to find it anywhere. I'm looking into Innova...the supply store I go to has Innova and Evo but the Evo they only have the adult formula. I'm teetering on which I want to put him on...honestly I guess I shouldn't be so worried he tries to eat everything without an issue lol.

Right now I have it narrowed down to Innova and Merrick Puppy. I like the grains for the bulk in stool which is why i don't want to go grain free. The wellness diet spooks me with the loose stools I'm already hyper vigilant because of his brush with parvo.

I don't like a lot of grain...but I'm wary of any real high protein foods right yet because of any damage that could have been done to the flora of his intestines and the intensity of the foods on his digestion.

My fiance is about to strangle me...she had to cook more chicken tonight... :uhoh:
 
Over the course of 20+ years of breeding shelties for show, here is what I have fed. Originally, Science Diet for probably 10 years. Then came the "human grade" food trend. Then onto Wellness, which I found produced almost the same amount of poundage of debris (you know). I scoop after both feedings, and it was crazy. That lasted about a year. Then Canidae for probably 7 years. What I liked about this food, was, it was the only one that I could feed to visiting bitches with out any gastro problems. Bitches flying in, can't bring their own food. Now onto the present....

Two years ago, at the dog shows in Maine, we had two pups in the 9-12 class. Our very good friend and co-breeder of the litter, had her littermate down from Canada. Her pup looked like a linebacker with a ton of coat. My pups, thou well conditioned looked whimpy next to hers. The proof was in the pudding. Her feeding program was producing beautiful bloom and good weight. Her food............Eukanuba puppy. I switched that day. The results, are evident in the picture of Robbie at 18 months in my albumn.....that picture was taken 6 months after changing the food. I think Eukanuba has helped keep us in the winners circle with coat luster and overall condition.

People go crazy trying to come up with the ultimate food. Except for special diet needs, a good premium food is all you need. A side note, I only feed dry food, never canned.
 
missjenneygirl said:
Over the course of 20+ years of breeding shelties for show, here is what I have fed. Originally, Science Diet for probably 10 years. Then came the "human grade" food trend. Then onto Wellness, which I found produced almost the same amount of poundage of debris (you know). I scoop after both feedings, and it was crazy. That lasted about a year. Then Canidae for probably 7 years. What I liked about this food, was, it was the only one that I could feed to visiting bitches with out any gastro problems. Bitches flying in, can't bring their own food. Now onto the present....

Two years ago, at the dog shows in Maine, we had two pups in the 9-12 class. Our very good friend and co-breeder of the litter, had her littermate down from Canada. Her pup looked like a linebacker with a ton of coat. My pups, thou well conditioned looked whimpy next to hers. The proof was in the pudding. Her feeding program was producing beautiful bloom and good weight. Her food............Eukanuba puppy. I switched that day. The results, are evident in the picture of Robbie at 18 months in my albumn.....that picture was taken 6 months after changing the food. I think Eukanuba has helped keep us in the winners circle with coat luster and overall condition.

People go crazy trying to come up with the ultimate food. Except for special diet needs, a good premium food is all you need. A side note, I only feed dry food, never canned.
Click to expand...

Thanks for posting this Connie! I too have found the same results about a year ago with Mia, She had the best coat ive ever had on a puppy. At first I thought it was maybe her, however you backed up my theory when you had the same results too! I dont know what the formula is in Eukanuba but it puts nice coats on the puppies!
 
Lightplum said:
Thanks for posting this Connie! I too have found the same results about a year ago with Mia, She had the best coat ive ever had on a puppy. At first I thought it was maybe her, however you backed up my theory when you had the same results too! I dont know what the formula is in Eukanuba but it puts nice coats on the puppies!
Click to expand...

Is it made of good stuff? :confused2: If so I might check to see if PetSmart carries it here. I'd rather buy something where I live instead of online. Shipping on dog food is crazy. I don't feed canned, either. I've always read that crunchy is better for their teeth.
 
Yes, Smudge, Petsmart carries Eukanuba brand. An added bonus is, you sign up for the paw points program with Eukanuba, and you send in your proof of purchase seals. Then they send you coupons for FREE 20lb bags of food. Once you sign up, they send you an envelope with your account #, and you just keep filling the envelope, until you feel like mailing it. You can go on line and check your account to see how many points you have acquired toward your next free bag. Periodically they send promotion coupons for $5 off a bag. Just go to the Eukanuba website to sign up.
Check and see if Petsmart has the frequent buyer program, like Petco does. For every 10 bags you buy, they give you one free bag. Their computer keeps track of your purchase amount, and lists it on the bottom of your receipt.
So, after the puppy food, I feed Eukanuba Active Performance, and my older dogs are on their Senior formula.
 
I fed my forever pup Eukanuba for years, before I ever knew about dog food reviews and test sites and all that -or dog forums, for that matter!

He often had loose stools and diarrehea. I never thought of relating it back to the food. Who knows. He did have a great coat, however.
 
This food business is a real pain in the butt. When we started out with our setters they ate Purina, the foods on the market was very limited. Then poof all these brands came on the market. I thought this is as bad as picking out human cereal if you never ate it for my shelties.

Lucky as a pup was on Nutro, and started tossing his food up because they changed the receipe on me. Both Lucky and Lil' Lady are on Wellness 5 Mix. I like it because of the protein level. These are my thoughts only I do not like going any higher then 24%-27%. My Wellness has a 17% protein, and the Taste of The Wild Salmon that I give as a treat on top of their food for the Omega is a 25%. My Lucky is 8 and Lady is 4 years of age. Even as a pup I watch protein levels. Again these are just my thoughts. Like I say, its like an author of a book, its their thoughts nobody elses.

I only give the salmon as a treat, because I treat my shelties like humans, great for Omega, but salmon has a high fat content. Since my shelties are small I also watch fat.

When you find a food that works, stick with it, ask your vet what he thinks about protein. There is a variety of Wellness foods. I have heard complaints about giving dogs the runs. I have never heard of this problem until I read a few posts here. As I stated before I like Wellness because someone had a dog with a very poor immune system (which mine don't have) but it really got this dog healthy. So I figured when I put my two on Wellness their immune system would remain healthy. As I stated Lucky is 8, Lady is 4, and no health problems here, no allergy problems either.

Mother Hubbard Treats are made by Wellness, there is also Wellness Treats now. For other treats to change around, they get cheerios with blueberries on top, frozen green beans. Once in awhile, not often, they get some Dannon Yogart. Great for the immune system, but it adds fat also.

My very best to you, good luck on your food adventure.

sable
 
The "poop" about Protein...

Here are a few links on protein....I could go on and on....

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+1661&aid=702

http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=protein_myth

http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=protein

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/pic/article.cfm?aid=459#answer_1

http://www.thepetcenter.com/article.aspx?id=3408

My personal feeling, after reading these articles, is that a high protein, grain-free diet, satisfies the basic necessities that mother nature demands for our dogs (apart from a raw diet itself). It provides the right balance of "good, digestible" proteins.

Isn't this enough to make your head explode! :wink2::lol::rolleyes2:
 
So we decided on Evo red meat, I've been transistioning him as slowly as possible, but Moonshine is picking the evo out of his food to eat and leaving the rest. Even after mixing it up really really well he spits out the rice and eats the evo...too smart I tell ya.

Well today I think I had a slight heart attack woke up to diarrhea thinking "What they are supposed to have an immunity to this after getting it? I just gave him his first vaccines?!? What if he has distemper??"

And then.....I remember the food change. Talk about paranoid right??

I'm wondering though, if the high quality diet is kind of shocking the system right now and he's "purging" the rice and chicken and crap diet he's been on.
 
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