Re: what dog food do you feed? would purina puppy chow be ok I would carefully read the ingredients list on any brand, but I know Purina has some not-so-good choices. There many other brands that are much healthier than Purina's puppy food. There is a website called "dogfoodadvisor.com" run by a man who analyzes dozens of brands and rates them. I've had good experiences with following his advice.
Re: what dog food do you feed? would purina puppy chow be ok I know we had a cocker spaniel when I was young and she was skinny and my mom switched her food to Purina puppy chow and she gained wait fast and did very well on it but don't remember what food she originally was on. She has a jack Russell terrier that won't eat anything other then ol Roy kibbles chunks and chews and does very well on it.
Re: what dog food do you feed? would purina puppy chow be ok I am guessing because you used the term "mom" that you are in The States, so what is available may be different from what is available here in the UK. Molly came to us on Royal Canin Puppy. After some months I switched her to James Wellbeloved Turkey and Rice Kibble. My previous dog had done very well on it. I recently economised by buying a bag of a different brand of Turkey and Rice Kibble. I had to increase the amount I gave her because she was obviously hungry and she produced lots more poo. Far more than could be explained by the increase in the amount of food. There are lots of excellent dog foods out there. I think it is worth paying the extra for a good food, you will use less, there is less poo to pick up and I honestly believe that if you feed your dog good quality food you will spend less time and money at the Vets
Re: what dog food do you feed? would purina puppy chow be ok I would advise feeding the best food you can afford. Not to say that more expensive necessarily means better, but cheap almost always means poor quality. This website is also excellent for comparing different brands: http://www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk/the-dog-food-directory I currently feed Hills Science Plan for puppies, which isn't great but is the best puppy food that's easily available here. I also feed plenty of raw food (chicken, rabbit, pork, beef, fish....). When they are old enough, I shall be switching to Burns adult food, but still feeding as much raw as practicable.
Re: what dog food do you feed? would purina puppy chow be ok Juno was weaned onto Husse Puppy food and thrived on that. She was changed over to Royal Canin Junior Large dog neutered after her spey on the vet's advice and I'm now in the process on changing her to Hills Prescription Diet J/D reduced calorie after her elbow op at the advice of the Vet and Orthopaedic Surgeon. As others have said good quality food, although not the cheapest option, is usually fed in smaller quantities and gives them a good start in life. If in doubt you could discuss with your vet and see what they recommend.
Re: what dog food do you feed? would purina puppy chow be ok I'm not a big believer in one commercial, processed, kibble being a whole lot different from another commercial, processed, kibble (leaving aside the websites with various ways of analysing them - a very attractive tool for people unable to decided between products that are pretty much the same ). I think at the very cheapest end of the market, there seems to be an excessive amount of fillers, but once you get into the medium price range and brands, I reckon they are probably all just as good, or bad, for a dog's health. They all contain carbohydrate in one form or another. So I'd say just find something reasonable and that your puppy does well on, unless you have a particular reason for avoiding a certain ingredient or the puppy has a special requirement for a certain level of protein etc. The biggest difference is between feeding kibble or feeding raw, I reckon, not really between different brands of reasonable kibble.
Re: what dog food do you feed? would purina puppy chow be ok You really do have to factor in how much money you are willing to spend, what ingredients are important to you, and what your dog in particular does well on. when I had to change my Bella's food, I did a lot of looking and talked with my vet about it. I was comparing the brands Taste of the Wild, Blue Buffalo, Wellness, Natural Balance, Canidae, Eagle Pack and a few others. There is a wealth of information out there - and conflicting information about the efficacy of different ingredients. I settled on Hill's Ideal Balance Large Breed Puppy that my vet recommended because of health concerns I was having with Bella early on. It's affordable, and has managed her health effectively. Another month or so and I will transition her to an adult food.
Re: what dog food do you feed? would purina puppy chow be ok Also keep in mind certain factories are prone to issues - in North America, the one that comes to mind is Diamond. You can look up how often your type of food has been recalled for issues online, but it isn't always negative - issuing a voluntary recall can show they care about the quality of their product. My vet likes bigger brands (more testing) and brands with veterinary nutritionists on staff. I'm in the middle of trying to decide if I will change Maisie's food... She's on an expensive food right now and I'm not convinced it's necessary - I think I fell for the hype surrounding the product (Acana) and she would do fine on another food as long as I keep in mind less fillers, recall history, and don't go for the bottom of the barrel. I need to see what Hills/Royal Canin retails for and some other brands I'm interested in, then sort out which is best suited in price and ingredients, then try Maisie out on them.
Re: what dog food do you feed? would purina puppy chow be ok Ellie is almost 10 weeks now and I've continued feeding her what her foster mom fed her, which is Nutri Source Puppy Chicken. She was also giving her can food, which I did the first couple of weeks but I've stopped that altogether. Honestly, I wouldn't give her purina puppy chow. The first ingredient is whole grain corn and then it has gluten meal, meat by products, and down farther on the label are dyes. There are definitely better foods out there to buy. I know purina is a lot cheaper than nutri source but it's worth it to buy a more quality food. Your dog will be healthier because of it. Lisa
