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Best dry pup food ?

5K views 12 replies 9 participants last post by  Melmickjamiejasmine 
#1 ·
Hi all new puppy owners.. Loving looking at all your new pup pics, so cute!! We chose a pup in just over 3 weeks and I'm researching EVERYtHiNG now!!

Which dry food is the most nutritious and enjoyable with spending the top end money? I don't want cheap but I don't want the top expensive! Be interested to know what products you use?

Thanks Mel
 
#2 ·
The answer is there isn't a best. It's what ever your pup does the best on and fits within your budget. Do you know what the breeder is feeding? If it is a good food I would stay with it. If it isn't you will need to mix whatever they are feeding with the new food for a week or two. If you need to look for a new food start by looking at some of the large breed puppy foods like Nutro or purina pro plan large breed. They are both good foods. Not super expensive and easy to find at petsmart or petco.
 
#3 ·
I'd use what the breeder is using at least at first. :) it's hard to adjust to the new routines and people and be away from mom & litter mates. I wouldn't add changing foods to that.

With that said we use Taste of the Wild puppy(salmon flavor). It's about $55 for a large bag and our almost 6-month old goes through a bag about every 5-weeks.
 
#4 ·
I would use whatever the breeder is giving your dog at first, unless its a total crap food, it can ease the transition during a stressful time of being in a new environment. If its a good puppy food and your dog tolerates it, you can always stick with that.

The most important thing is to feed a good quality, large breed puppy food, which will help assist in slow growth and give appropriate calcium/phos/calorie content for bones.

Dogfoodadvisor is a good website to use when evaluating various dog food brands. There are LOTs of great dog food choices out there. Personally, I use Fromm brand dog food. Their large breed puppy food is excellent, and I use Fromm Surf and Turf for my puppy, because its grain free, salmon based, and has a calcium/phos content equivalent to large breed puppy foods. Taste of the Wild and Nutro LBP are also great dog foods. A lot of people here use Purina Pro Plan and have great results.

The most important thing is finding something that your puppy does well on, has firm poops and not evidence of allergies (itching, skin rashes etc), and allows your pup to grow in a healthy way.
 
#6 ·
Hi all thank you for your time and suggestions. The breeder has said that she will feed him whatever we want her to.. She said she feeds her big dogs a raw diet but I'm worried about that as it sounds expensive and timely..? She's happy to feed dry for me if that's what we prefer, hence my question.. I'll be discussing this in more detail with her in a week or so anyway but just wanted others thoughts on it.. ?
 
#7 ·
Our breeder started Bailey on Purina Pro Plan Large Breed Puppy. We switched her to Chicken Soup for the Dog LBP since our late Rottie did so well on that brand. Mistake. Even though we switched very gradually, it was constant loose stool. We figured out with our vet's help, that even though the protein content was about the same as the Pro Plan, it has many more sources of protein which can upset a little pup. So, back to Purina Pro Plan LBP we went, and everything has been fine since.
 
#8 ·
Seamus was on Fromm Large Breed Puppy but had soft stool. We transitioned him over to Orijen Large Breed Puppy but he was scratching a lot. So, he went onto Orijen 6 fish. Both our dogs love it! It's not the cheapest but I like the ingredients in it.
 
#10 ·
Great thanks all that's given me some ideas to discuss with her.. Yes she is really nice and wants us to be invoices in decisions like that.. Might even plan another visit down before she gives birth, waiting until pups are there is going too cute and distracting! We are calling our boy Bailey too ??
 
#13 ·
Thanks all, spoken the breeder again and she will start them all on purina pro plan for large breed puppies, and then we'll get an amount to take home with us.. Upon doing our research in some pet shops it seems that ALOT of big brands have too much false / bad / sugar ingredients and not enough meat based content ?!! Purina pro plan looks a good one so I'm quite pleased as if our new pup gets on ok with the food I'll just keep him on it ?
 
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