BEST food for puppies? I have a new one.

[wendy]

I like Orijen’s large breed puppy food. Or Nature’s variety. Ignore the AAFCO standards- they are SO low. A food can meet AAFCO standards and still be unable to support optimal health.
Make sure you add a good-quality fish oil to the diet, and adding canned foods and carefully selected table scraps is a good idea.
There was a horrible study done that Iams tried to bury- pups fed nothing but “complete and balanced” kibble were, at 6 months of age, found to be profoundly more stupid, difficult to train, and more hyperactive than pups fed kibble supplemented with salmon oil. Just what you want- a hyperactive puppy who is difficult to train.
Even if it’s not one of the inferior kibbles like Science Death or Purina corn chow, kibble by itself is not sufficient to support optimal growth and health.

For a large breed puppy, you want to check the calcium level- most foods only list a minimum level, and you are concerned with the maximum level. Around 1.5%.
All dogs need a diet with at least 30% protein (from meat, not soy and glutens and corn) and around 20% fat. This in particular applies to growing puppies. If you find a kibble with sufficient protein but the fat is a bit low, remember you should be pouring fish fat onto it, so it will be ok. If the protein is a bit low you can supplement with canned foods or meat or eggs.

[clint]

I recently got a Golden Retriever puppy, and after trying several foods (Innova, among a couple of others) I tried her on the Blue Buffalo large breed puppy food. It feeds well, and she looks great, maintaining her lean profile. I was given a bag of Science Diet puppy food when I got her, and it remains unopened.

[cute_lil_fancy_pants]

I figure though since AAFCO standards are so ridiculously low that a food that can’t even pass their diet trials should be extra scary. I know Blue Buffalo food was recalled recently because of reports of kidney problems being seen by veterinarians, the veterinarians asked what was being fed and all the animals were on Blue Buffalo, and it turns out that the food had too much vitamin D.

[supaflyskye]

Thanks for all the valuable information!
I went to Petsmart and looked at all the foods they carry. I am switching her over to Blue Buffalo large breed puppy food, and giving her a hard boiled egg in the morning to supplement. I could not find any unflavoured liquid fish oil but she doesn’t seem to mind the orange flavour that I bought.
I’m assuming I should just give her the same amount of fish oil that a human would take, for the moment?
Also not sure if I should be giving her more than one egg. I’m giving the eggs separately to her as a treat because I free feed, and although she’s not hugely food motivated, she loves eggs and I’m pretty sure that if I broke one up in her food she’d finish the bowl in one sitting.

Her name is Nika (like NEE-kah, its the feminine of Nikolai)
I think she looks somewhat like a German Shorthaired too, that seems to be the most popular consensus among those who’ve seen her. Although I’ve also had people ask me if she’s a Catahoula, a Pit, and a Dalmation. :lol:
She probably has a little Pit in her somewhere, though I don’t think she looks much like it. Most of littermates were more Pit-looking in the face …a couple of them even looked a bit Boxerish. Of the 6 of the litter, 2 (including her) had ticking and looked more Pointer/Hound influenced.

[wendy]

because I free feed,

oh please don’t. Why? it is such an unhealthy practice.
With a growing large-breed puppy even more important than what you feed is how much you feed- there was a study showing you could cut the incidence of hip dysplasia in half just by feeding less food during puppyhood and keeping the pups really lean.
Besides, you want a dog that learns that food comes from you, not available any time from a bowl. Asking a pup to do a task like sit or stay before getting a meal is a wonderful training exercise, and getting a pup to hold a stay in the presence of food will improve the pup’s ability to have self-control. Dogs who never learned self-control as a youngster are often extremely unpleasant to live with.

[supaflyskye]

[QUOTE=wendy;5604057]
oh please don’t. Why? it is such an unhealthy practice.
With a growing large-breed puppy even more important than what you feed is how much you feed- there was a study showing you could cut the incidence of hip dysplasia in half just by feeding less food during puppyhood and keeping the pups really lean.
Besides, you want a dog that learns that food comes from you, not available any time from a bowl. Asking a pup to do a task like sit or stay before getting a meal is a wonderful training exercise, and getting a pup to hold a stay in the presence of food will improve the pup’s ability to have self-control. Dogs who never learned self-control as a youngster are often extremely unpleasant to live with.[/QUOTE]

I think it depends on the dog. This puppy is not particularly food motivated and not a terribly enthusiastic eater(even treats).
I make sure her bowl has about 2 cups , maybe a touch more (Science Diet daily recc amnt was 2 1/4c and Blue Buffalo is 1 1/2c - 3c) of food in it at the start of every day. She rarely finishes it.
She eats when she’s hungry. Sometimes she may just eat a bite or two at a time, other times she may finish 1/4 of the bowl.
Even when I first fill up the bowl in the morning, w/ the food jingling and whatnot, she does not pay much mind(she usually doesn’t have much appetite until later in the day.)
Even if I fed her set meals I suspect that the bowl would still sit full most of the day.
She is fairly lean. Vet thought she was a bit ribby but said that since she seems to be parasite free, it isn’t of much concern at her age as long as she’s eating pretty well.

[clint]

[QUOTE=supaflyskye;5604127]
I think it depends on the dog. This puppy is not particularly food motivated and not a terribly enthusiastic eater(even treats).
I make sure her bowl has about 2 cups , maybe a touch more (Science Diet daily recc amnt was 2 1/4c and Blue Buffalo is 1 1/2c - 3c) of food in it at the start of every day. She rarely finishes it.
She eats when she’s hungry. Sometimes she may just eat a bite or two at a time, other times she may finish 1/4 of the bowl.
Even when I first fill up the bowl in the morning, w/ the food jingling and whatnot, she does not pay much mind(she usually doesn’t have much appetite until later in the day.)
Even if I fed her set meals I suspect that the bowl would still sit full most of the day.
She is fairly lean. Vet thought she was a bit ribby but said that since she seems to be parasite free, it isn’t of much concern at her age as long as she’s eating pretty well.[/QUOTE]

The amount of large breed puppy food recommended is for the day, meaning that amount should be split into two or three feedings. I feed my puppy 1 c. three times a day, and that amount is keeping her lean. She cleans it up, and if she didn’t, I would feed her a little less.

[supaflyskye]

[QUOTE=clint;5604223]
The amount of large breed puppy food recommended is for the day, meaning that amount should be split into two or three feedings. I feed my puppy 1 c. three times a day, and that amount is keeping her lean. She cleans it up, and if she didn’t, I would feed her a little less.[/QUOTE]

Yes I am aware that it is for the whole day. So instead of eating in 2-3 sittings, she eats in 5. How is this bad?
I would prefer that she didn’t feel the need to eat right away and finish completely whatever becomes available to her.
If I put food down and she eats two bites, then walks away for the moment, should I then remove the food and only give her 2 bites worth next feeding time? That is nonsensical.

I have always considered self control very important in my dogs and I think she has quite a bit for such a young puppy. I don’t see how free feeding would effect that.
I was playing w/ her yesterday and accidentally threw her favourite toy in the kitchen, where she is not allowed. It landed less that a foot inside the doorway, and I wouldn’t have told her off for taking a step in, grabbing the toy, and getting out; but she bounced right up to the edge of the doorway and just looked at her toy for a moment, then came running back to me w/o setting foot in the kitchen.

[clint]

I didn’t see where you were giving her five feedings. I read you were giving her two cups in the morning. My bad, if you are giving her five feedings.

[wendy]

I make sure her bowl has about 2 cups , maybe a touch more (Science Diet daily recc amnt was 2 1/4c and Blue Buffalo is 1 1/2c - 3c) of food in it at the start of every day. She rarely finishes it.
She eats when she’s hungry.

well keep in mind that the amount of food recommended on a dog food bag is usually WAY more than what the dog needs- I find feeding about half that is the norm for most dogs or they get fat. Look around you- how many fat dogs do you see? I believe the food you are feeding is 450 kcal/cup. If you’re adding an egg and fish oil and doing training with treats, it’s very unlikely she needs 2 cups of kibble.
Also it’s pretty hard to housebreak a puppy who isn’t on a strict eating schedule.
You’re teaching her to be a picky eater. A normal healthy dog on a diet they like will eagerly consume their meal in minutes. Either she hates the food, is being seriously over-fed, or just has bad eating habits. Can’t say which for sure.
Put the dog in a crate, give the bowl, give her 15 minutes, take it away. After three or four days she’ll be eating normally.

[CookiePony]

Another disappointed Natura customer here because of the P&G buyout. We switched to NutriSource: http://www.nutrisourcedogfood.com/

[supaflyskye]

[QUOTE=clint;5604319]
I didn’t see where you were giving her five feedings. I read you were giving her two cups in the morning. My bad, if you are giving her five feedings.[/QUOTE]

I do put 2 cups (or if there’s 1 cup leftover I will only put 1 cup) in her bowl in the morning. She finishes maybe half or a little more of it over the course of, on average, perhaps 5 sittings. She does not just sit down and eat 2c in the am.
My vet told me to start by feeding the recommended amount, then adjust appropriately. I haven’t seen her start to get fat yet but she doesn’t eat it all, and I suppose w/ the egg and fish oil added she won’t need as much anyway.
I don’t understand how eating when she wants to would cause her to be a picky eater or indicate she hates her food. Her housetraining is going quite well. We have set walking times in the am and pm and/or she indicates her needs by scratching on the door. We have had very few accidents so far(knock on wood).

[Pedro0204]

Here is a good resource for dog food: https://pupjunkies.com/best-dog-food-brands

People can have very different ideas about which foods are best but you should try to avoid foods that contain large amounts of peas, lentils, legumes, potatoes, and sweet potatoes – or any root vegetable.