Purina puppy chow

6332 Views 48 Replies 22 Participants Last post by GoldenChip, May 23, 2021

goutes

Discussion Starter · Sep 14, 2009

I have been feeding my 14 week old puppy, Purina puppy chow and haven't really had any problems except that her stools are a bit on the soft side. I definately wouldn't say she has diarhea, but when you clean the mess there is some left behind on the grass. I never really knew there was much difference in food, but reading through this forum makes me wonder if I should possibly switch foods. There is a lot of info on these threads on this but not too much on Purina Puppy chow. I am just looking for some opinions, should I think about swithcing? If I do how should I transition to the new food?

Thanks

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Oaklys Dad

· #2 · Sep 14, 2009

Purina Puppy Chow is considered a low end food. Many people have had to try several foods before they found one that works well with their puppy. As you can tell by the number of food threads there is no one food that works for every pup.

If you do switch it is best to do it slowly over a few weeks by mixing the new food into the existing food in increasing doses until it is all the new food.

jwemt81

· #3 · Sep 14, 2009

It definitely is considered a low end food and it's one that I personally wouldn't feed. Have you had your pup checked by the vet to determine the cause of the loose stools? It could be anything from worms or parasites to a sensitivity to something in the food. I would get it checked out.

goutes

Discussion Starter · #4 · Sep 14, 2009

Well I have to admit I didn't realize it was a low end food and I would figure that is what the problem is. When she was at the vet last they did check her stool and found no issues. As I said the stools aren't reall soft as they do hold their form. Sorry for the bad visual! Anyway I am definately going to switch the food. I would ask for suggestions, but I can see that I would probably get a million different suggestions anyway.

Thanks,

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Bock

· #5 · Sep 15, 2009

You would get a lot of suggestions! Just try what you think is best and fits in your budget. Remember to transition slowly. Give the new food about 3 or 4 months before deciding whether to stay on it. Diarrhea may occur as you make the switch, especially if going from puppy chow to a high end food. Just a heads up.

momtoMax

· #6 · Sep 15, 2009

Bah to all you nay sayers!! Max has been on it since I've had him - and look at how beautiful and shiny he is!! It works for us and it's in my budget. He loves it. He's growing super fast. No issues here with the stools being soft so that is not something that always happens. Could you have recently switched her? That will go away in time if that's the case. Maybe it's not the food, if it stays a problem, get hertested for Guardia...spelling?

BHVHarley

· #7 · Sep 15, 2009

if you like and in your budget try purina one. I had to switch back because my other one cost me a lot.
On Saturday I will pick up my new puppy it is a shepherd mix and the recsue group is feeding her Pro Plan.
Just make sure the no BHT and BHA etc is inside food.

Some Food for thought

http://my-sciences.blogspot.com/2007...a-and-bht.html

http://smallbitesnutrition.blogspot....werbhtbha.html

http://petnblog.preciouspets.org/?p=145

Andrea

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DNL2448

· #8 · Sep 15, 2009

momtoMax said:
Bah to all you nay sayers!! Max has been on it since I've had him - and look at how beautiful and shiny he is!! It works for us and it's in my budget. He loves it. He's growing super fast. No issues here with the stools being soft so that is not something that always happens. Could you have recently switched her? That will go away in time if that's the case. Maybe it's not the food, if it stays a problem, get hertested for Guardia...spelling?

Growing super fast is not always a good thing. I have had a couple puppies who grew to fast and ended up with puppy ortho problems. I would opt for nice, even slow growth. I don't feed puppy food, I feed a high quality adult food.

Noey

· #9 · Sep 15, 2009

my Noah could not handle puppy chow...his poop was huge and messy on puppy chow.

jwemt81

· #10 · Sep 15, 2009

DNL2448 said:
Growing super fast is not always a good thing. I have had a couple puppies who grew to fast and ended up with puppy ortho problems. I would opt for nice, even slow growth. I don't feed puppy food, I feed a high quality adult food.

Totally agree. Slow and steady growth really is best for the joints, especially in larger dogs.

momtoMax

· #11 · Sep 15, 2009

DNL2448 said:
Growing super fast is not always a good thing. I have had a couple puppies who grew to fast and ended up with puppy ortho problems. I would opt for nice, even slow growth. I don't feed puppy food, I feed a high quality adult food.

His dad is BIG as well. What I meant is that his growth doesn't seem to be suffering for it. Hmm, well, he's 5 months old. I was actually thinking about adding some beneful to his diet and replacing some of the puppy food. I could not afford to keep monster Max in high end doggy food.

Lucky's mom

· #12 · Sep 15, 2009

I fed Lucky Purina Puppy Chow. Its a good brand with a good reputation and an excellent track record. It depends on the dog if its a good food. Its a fact that some dogs get sick and a bad digestive system from..."high quality" food.

My past dogs did really well on cheaper foods, but Lucky doesn' seem to have a good coat with soy. So I don't feed him that as a rule...but sometimes he gets it when I can't get to a store that sells his Iams.

Willow52

· #13 · Sep 15, 2009

Definitely low end. Has anyone read the ingredients list? There isn't any real meat (by-products [beaks, toe nails, feet] aren't real meat) in the food. Lots of filler and other junk. I realize sometimes budget doesn't allow for high end foods but there are some good mid range foods.

Ingredients
Whole grain corn, chicken by-product meal, corn gluten meal, brewers rice, soybean meal, animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols (form of Vitamin E), barley, dried beet pulp, animal digest, calcium phosphate, calcium carbonate, fish oil, salt, potassium chloride, L-Lysine monohydrochloride, choline chloride, L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (source of Vitamin C), zinc sulfate, Vitamin E supplement, zinc proteinate, ferrous sulfate, manganese sulfate, DL-Methionine, manganese proteinate, niacin, Vitamin A supplement, copper sulfate, copper proteinate, calcium pantothenate, garlic oil, pyridoxine hydrochloride, Vitamin B-12 supplement, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin supplement, calcium iodate, Vitamin D-3 supplement, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), folic acid, biotin, sodium selenite.
N-4035

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BJSalz

· #14 · Sep 15, 2009

DNL2448 said:
Growing super fast is not always a good thing. I have had a couple puppies who grew to fast and ended up with puppy ortho problems. I would opt for nice, even slow growth. I don't feed puppy food, I feed a high quality adult food.

What brand do you feed?

I've asked about different brands recently too.

My pup is on Iams.

lizlovesmasen

· #15 · Sep 15, 2009

Food has been a huge issue for Masen (and me, I'm the obsessive one!) over his 11 months on this earth! I was always super conscious about the food I fed Masen after finding out that Purina and other mass pet food makers often buy euthanized animals from humane societies to supplement their food...ingredients often read "animal fat" or "animal by-products"...your dog could be eating dogs (eww in my book). Not to mention that their ingredients are often sub-par.

Also, personally, I researched food costs to make sure that I could afford appropriate food for Masen, that was a priority in deciding whether I could afford him at all. With this said, I found many viable options that were affordable for me.

My favorite food for Masen is LBP from Orijen, Masen did AMAZING on that food. However, we moved away from the city and the closest place to get Orijen is almost 100 miles away and I can't make it that far consistently. So right now we're using Nutro Ultra LBP b/c you can buy that in the local Petsmart, there are no boutique pet stores here

Definitely be conscious about your puppy's food. Small, firm stools 2-3x day are ideal, any more than that and your dog is getting too many fillers in their food. And we all know fillers = bad!

Check out http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=badingredients . This website was very helpful to me! Good luck!

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MyBentley

· #16 · Sep 16, 2009

There are many other reasonably priced kibbles to try that have meat-based proteins. Two that come to mind that my daughter has fed successfully to her dogs are:

Chicken Soup for Puppies:
Ingredients:
Chicken, turkey, chicken meal, turkey meal, whole grain brown rice, whole grain white rice, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), oatmeal, potatoes, cracked pearled barley, millet, duck, salmon, egg product, flaxseed, natural chicken flavor, kelp, potassium chloride, salt, choline chloride, chicory root extract, carrots, peas, apples, dried skim milk, cranberry powder, rosemary extract, parsley flake. Vitamins and minerals.

Guaranteed Analysis %:
Crude Protein 28
Crude Fat 17
Moisture 10
Omega-6 Fatty Acids (min) 3.3
Crude Fiber 3
Omega-3 Fatty Acid 0.5
Sodium 0.3

Healthwise for puppies (by Natura)
Ingredients:
Chicken Meal, Brown Rice , Oatmeal, Chicken Fat, Flaxseed Meal, Natural Flavors,Herring Oil, Avocado Oil, Garlic Powder, Dried Kelp,Potassium Chloride, Choline Chloride, Calcium Carbonate, Vitamins, Minerals

Guaranteed Analysis %:
Protein 28
Fat 18
Moisture 10
Fiber 3.5

Both of the above kibbles sell a 35 lb. bag for about $36-$38 depending where you live. Yes, I know there are less expensive kibbles that than these; but many brands are much more. Also, I'd rather spend my money proactively on food I feel good about. I've read about so many dog owners in newspapers and on dog forums who say they would spend any amount of money, and even go into debt, to provide their dog with a surgery, medicines or chemo treatment. Sometimes, they are the same people who wouldn't dream of spending a dollar a pound or more on dog food. It seems short-sighted to me.

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Traz

· #17 · Sep 16, 2009 (Edited)

When I was deciding on a food for my puppy I did some detailed research along with Sucker for Gold who got a littermate at the same time. We both were looking for a food that would support the slow growth plan. I did a comparison chart of quite a few dog foods compairing nutritional value. Surprisingly we found out that MANY dog foods are made by only a few different companies. The big one was Diamond. They make more than Diamond dog food. That is one reason when there were recalls it was widespread across different dog food brands. I was shocked to find out Atremis was one of the foods made by another company. If you compare Artemis to Chicken Lovers for the Pet Lovers Soul you will find almost exact ingredients. If you were looking for a budget food, but decent quality, I would recommend it. After writing them I could not get them to say the food used equoxifine (?sp) free food sources.
I ended up using Fromm. Good quality ingredients, good nutritional values & good for slow growth for puppies. The biggest selling point for me. They make their own food in their own plants. No one else makes there food & they do guarantee equixifine free food sources. I stayed away from Origen because of the high protein in the puppy food & scare of bone fragments at the time I was choosing.
I had used Iams on my last dog before I knew much about corn products in food. (I also started when Iams was really Iams & not Procter & Gamble. I have found that I use les of the better quality food so cost is not as expensive as I originally thought it would be. I think since it isn't full of fillers, it takes less to get the nutrition needed.

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Minnesota Rosie

· #18 · Sep 16, 2009

I never thought that choosing a food for my puppy would be so confusing! She's been eating Iams, b/c that's what the breeder fed her. Then, we got a sample bag of Science Diet from the vet. Now I hear that Science Diet is not very good. Some of the "better" brands seem so expensive! I guess it's still relatively cheap to feed a dog, when you consider what we spend to feed our 3 children. Plus, there seem to be so many theories regarding what's best for the dog. It makes my head swim! Honestly, it makes me want to stick with Iams, even though I'm sure there's something better out there for a comparable price.

Traz

· #19 · Sep 17, 2009

I bet I spent more money on Iams than I do on Fromm. My puppy is 8 months old & I have bought only 3-4 big bags. I was buying one a month with Iams & my other dog. With the better foods you don't use as much. Plus you have to consider if the diet is better, you spend less in vet bills down the line.

If cost is a concern I would consider Chicken Soup food. It seriously has good ingredients for the price.

Be sure to use large breed puppy food what ever you choose & not too high protein. Stay away from products with corn.

Minnesota Rosie

· #20 · Sep 17, 2009

Traz said:
I bet I spent more money on Iams than I do on Fromm. My puppy is 8 months old & I have bought only 3-4 big bags. I was buying one a month with Iams & my other dog. With the better foods you don't use as much. Plus you have to consider if the diet is better, you spend less in vet bills down the line.

If cost is a concern I would consider Chicken Soup food. It seriously has good ingredients for the price.

Be sure to use large breed puppy food what ever you choose & not too high protein. Stay away from products with corn.

I am interested in trying Fromm. Which kind do you use? I was looking at the Large Breed Puppy Gold. My local pet food store has a coupon for any of the Fromm products...buy one bag, get one for half price. Even without the discount, Fromm doesn't seem to be prohibitively expensive.

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