Finding an appropriate puppy food

M

MoonshineDad

Forums Enthusiast
Well my fiancé is still cooking for Moonshine (and I’m still buying it which is getting costly with supplements, pumpkin, chicken and rice) and we’re looking for an appropriate puppy food for him. I’ve looked through quite a few of the posts here which have been helpful, but my questions still aren’t answered.

As I’ve said before I used to own Aussies. They were disc dogs and sporting dogs. My fiancé grew up with cats and remains a cat person. So I’m sort of at a stump on what to feed. My fiancé went to the local pet store we used for the Aussies. I fed both of them Solid Gold Wolf King due to my oldest having chicken allergies (that was fun let me tell ya) and Wolf King being a bison based diet. I’m not sure that’s such a good food for Moonshine it seems like bison would be hard on his digestive tract.

So my fiancé being the wonderful woman she is went to the store while I was at work so I wouldn’t have to do so. She got the run around and came home with brewer’s yeast vitamins and an adult maintenance dog food with a 44% protein content!

So I know that high of protein can’t possibly be ok…every nutrition class I’ve taken has pushed fat and carbs as the main energy source in dogs. I’m wondering if any of you have any suggestions? Orijen isn’t available where I am…and I’m a bit wary of Taste of the wild due to a lot of my clients having issues with loose stool and lowest protein content is their ocean fish formula which I’m trying to remember is somewhere around 24-28% maybe.

I was thinking Merrick this isn’t grain free but seems fairly high quality. I’m also wondering what your suggestions are as far as protein levels versus fat for a puppy. Moonshine is only around 14 weeks. I am not used to a small breed my Australian Shepherds were both upwards of 40lbs.

Anyway. sorry for the long post any suggestions or help would be greatly appreciated :)
 
I'm definitely no expert as we just switched foods, but I can tell you what our vet recommended. Bentley has a bit of a sensitive stomach but we wanted him on a higher quality food. The vet recommended California Natural.
 
Sca is about similar age and I am sure you are FAR more knowledgeable than me FWIW. I checked out a site recommended by some here and decided on http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/showproduct.php?product=2287&cat=all based on stars, contents and availability locally.

I have not tried it yet with him but plan on mixing it with some Science Diet he was getting as soon as he gets back on a normal schedule/diet (he pounded my Mom's dog's food this weekend :()
 
The dog food analysis site is a great site. The 5 and 6 star foods are a good place to start.

My Sadie has had digestive problems but is doing really well on Wellness. I have a 12 week old puppy as well and I'm considering switching her over to Wellness puppy. Despite being a good food there has been some mention of dogs having loose stools on Wellness though, so be forwarned if you're thinking of trying it. Sadie has been fine on Wellness but she was a bit constipated to begin with. Ginny, our pup seems to be a bit constipated too, so I think Wellness will be a good match for her.

I've also heard good things about Innova dog food.
 
I would think of looking into the Wellness or Blue, when Maggie was a puppy she ate Innova. Wysong is a good food but hard to find. Solid Gold has a puppy food.
 
Phebe has been on TOTW High Prairie (bison and venison) since she was 4 months old, but she doesn't have a sensitive tummy. She's also extremely active. On the 2 or 3 days a week she goes to play group, she gets to have lunch.
 
While Wellness is a good food, it is not for every dog, though as Ontario Sheltie said, it's working for her because her dogs had constipation issues to begin with.

I think you definitely need to stick with a puppy formula of a high quality brand.

I'm fond of the high protein, grain-free diets. You definitely want a higher fat content for a puppy, but a high protein in a puppy Sheltie is fine too (I think you only need to be cautious with high protein in large breeds, but I may be wrong). It's too bad that you can't get Orijen where you are. But look for puppy versions of EVO, GO!, Horizon Legacy, if you are interested in grain-free.

My boys have been on Orijen, and now Legacy and their digestives are great.

Here is a link that will help you in making decisions about what is right for your dog! It helps to demystify the Dog Food Analysis site!

http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=main
 
Smudge has had a roller coaster of puppy food in his short little 6 months. :lol: First it was Purina, then Purina Pro, then Wellness, and finally...Orijen! :biggrin2:

Smudge did like the Wellness, but it gave him stomach problems. It wasn't fun to clean up at ALL, especially when it rains and you're dashing outside to hurry and clean it up.

While training I gave Smudge cheese for two days not thinking of the problem that would cause. :rolleyes2: So now I'm giving him the Mother Hubbard crunchy dog bones to help give the reverse effect! :lol:
 
I think you'll be good on any premium brand puppy food. I do think that 44% protein seems over the top for a Sheltie puppy, that would be tough on his tummy and I think you'd see some digestive issues.

I do own a miniature australian shepherd who we got from a top breeder of agility and disc dogs, and she advised that we feed him adult food -- she felt even regular puppy food had too high of a protein content and would make the rest of his body grow too fast for his skeleton (or something to that effect). But our sheltie Smoke ate supermarket brand puppy food when we didn't know any better and he has turned out fine.

As long as your pup is healthy and happy I wouldn't worry over much :yes:
 
I'd give TOTW a try anyway. I've never had any trouble out of it in the 2 years I've used it. Your clients have probably had problems with it because they've switched from lower quality foods to it. Any of the higher protein foods are usually going to give a loose stool in the beginning until the dogs system adjusts, especially if they haven't properly changed them over slowly from the old food.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top