[janine]

Ok....I have done research asked questions and read everything I can find, flyers from different co., Whole Dog Journal info., stuff on the forum, But still to many choices Go Natural Grain Free, , Innova Puppy, Orijen Puppy Large Breed, Wellness, Fromm Puppy or all life stage, Acana, Artemis Med/Large breed puppy. I know everyone feeds different foods for different reasons and problems but what do I feed a 8 week old puppy that I hope has no eating problems. ( I can switch later if I need to) I have to get the poor guy something to eat before we bring him home on 10-17. Chester his big brother (2 years) eats California Natural Herring & Sweet Potato. I belive this is a good food, maybe not on the top of some of this lists I have been reading but good food. I picked this food mostly based on what the owner of my priviate pet store advised. California Natural has a puppy food Lamb meal & rice formula, it has not been on any lists that I have seen. What is it I should be looking when reading the bags, amount of Crude Protein, Crude fats, fiber the vitamins???? I think my pet store can order some foods and last cost needs to play a factor in here as well I want a good food that will not break the bank. I know with better foods I might feed less but I still need to feed my human family. Thanks for any input.

 

[Luci]

We're planning on starting with feeding what Arcane has been feeding her for 2-4weeks then slowly switching to Acana. We like that they use human grade ingredients and it's not going to break our bank to feed her a good food. It's also made in Canada, which I appreciate!

I know this isn't much in the way of "advice", but thought that any input would be helpful. Good luck! This decision was even harder than the name discussion for us!

 

[MyBentley]

Rest assured that there are any number of brands and formulas you could try with your puppy that he would probably do fine with. But you have to start with a choice somewhere, right? First, I would find out what the breeder is feeding and buy a small bag of that. If you feel you want to feed a different food for whatever reason, begin a slow transition a couple of weeks after you have him home. Let him get acclimated.

In this day and age, I believe choosing the company is as important as choosing the formula. I want a company that only makes pet food, sources their ingredients responsibly, and seems to have a good track record of quality control.

My dogs are on a kibble rotation for breakfast with Champion Petfoods (Orijen and Acana) and Natura (EVO which I use, and also makes Innova, California Natural and Healthwise). I'm planning on trying Horizon Legacy (from a Canadian company) soon.

For puppies, I try to find food with not less than 25% protein (preferably more) and 16% fat. Everything I've read says that protein and fat are the basic building blocks for development. I also want the protein to be meat-based and not plant-based.

You mentioned California Natural. I suggest the CN Chicken Meal and Rice Puppy over the CN Lamb Meal and Rice Puppy, because the over 2% calcium in the lamb formula makes me uncomfortable for a puppy.(young puppies can't excrete excess calcium). The chicken formula has 1.3% calcium. The Innova Puppy is a more complex formula which some do well with and others don't. And finally, Natura's Healthwise for puppies is very reasonably priced and has a great set of ingredients on paper.

I have a 2 yr. old lab that I raised on Orijen Large Breed Puppy and was very satisfied with. If the Acana Provincial line (by the same company as Orijen) had been available, I probably would have tried it with its more moderate protein % in the 30s. It's an "all life stages" formula.

So, there are numerous routes you can go. Sometimes you just have to pick one that fits your beliefs and budget and let the dog try it. After a couple of months you'll know how well it's working.

 

[janine]

MyBentley, thank you so much for your pet food knowledge. I did know I wanted meat based but I didn't know about puppies and excess calcium. I will be calling/visiting my pet store this weekend. Luci thank you also for your input and your puppy is so sweet.

 

[Bock]

Rest assured that there are any number of brands and formulas you could try with your puppy that he would probably do fine with. But you have to start with a choice somewhere, right? First, I would find out what the breeder is feeding and buy a small bag of that. If you feel you want to feed a different food for whatever reason, begin a slow transition a couple of weeks after you have him home. Let him get acclimated.

In this day and age, I believe choosing the company is as important as choosing the formula. I want a company that only makes pet food, sources their ingredients responsibly, and seems to have a good track record of quality control.

My dogs are on a kibble rotation for breakfast with Champion Petfoods (Orijen and Acana) and Natura (EVO which I use, and also makes Innova, California Natural and Healthwise). I'm planning on trying Horizon Legacy (from a Canadian company) soon.

For puppies, I try to find food with not less than 25% protein (preferably more) and 16% fat. Everything I've read says that protein and fat are the basic building blocks for development. I also want the protein to be meat-based and not plant-based.

You mentioned California Natural. I suggest the CN Chicken Meal and Rice Puppy over the CN Lamb Meal and Rice Puppy, because the over 2% calcium in the lamb formula makes me uncomfortable for a puppy.(young puppies can't excrete excess calcium). The chicken formula has 1.3% calcium. The Innova Puppy is a more complex formula which some do well with and others don't. And finally, Natura's Healthwise for puppies is very reasonably priced and has a great set of ingredients on paper.

I have a 2 yr. old lab that I raised on Orijen Large Breed Puppy and was very satisfied with. If the Acana Provincial line (by the same company as Orijen) had been available, I probably would have tried it with its more moderate protein % in the 30s. It's an "all life stages" formula.

So, there are numerous routes you can go. Sometimes you just have to pick one that fits your beliefs and budget and let the dog try it. After a couple of months you'll know how well it's working.

I agree with just about everything written.

 

[Ash]

I feed Acana. Its good quality and there nutrition levels have been just what I need for my dogs. Not too high and not too low. When I bring puppies home I usually switch them quite quickly to what I am feeding. Your breeder should send you home with enough food to make the switch.

 

[pokey]

We are still in the transition stage, but we are loving the Acana Pacifica for our puppy. He was having soft stools on the California Natural Lamb Meal and Rice Puppy so I decided on Acana. My older dog is on a fish based food so I figured I would try with the puppy. Stools firmed up on the first day and he didn't even have that much of the Acana! He is going a bit more often, but as long as I can pick it up I do not care

As soon as the puppy is done with his transition, I am going to switch the older dog. I was afraid to do both at the same time in case it didn't agree with one of them, but I am thinking it will be fine for the older one.

 

[Willow52]

Hank is on Innova LBP and doing great. We're so happy with his skin and coat, firm stools, bright eyes. He just looks so healthy.

 

[janine]

Thanks everyone for the input on puppy feeding.

 

[Traz]

I use the Fromm. Good quality but not outrageous in price. We just got a second puppy & I am transitioning him not to Fromm. Already his stools are better formed & less frequent. Fromm manufactures their own foods in their own plants which I found a positive.

 

[Minnesota Rosie]

I just started feeding Rosie the Innova Large Breed Puppy food a few weeks ago. She's doing great with it. Originally, I wanted to try the Fromm Large Breed Puppy Gold, but my pet food store would've had to special order it for me. I like everything about the Innova food so far...the ingredients are top notch, Rosie seems to love the taste of it, no allergy problems and her poops are nice and firm. The only negative thing I can say about Innova is that the price seems to be a bit higher than some of the other good brands. I pay about $60 for a 30 lb. bag. Compared to what I spend on food for my husband and 3 kids, it's a bargain, but it's more than some of the other brands I've checked out. I think Fromm is a little less expensive and so is Blue Buffalo. I will probably try some of the Fromm foods when we switch to adult food. I don't know much about Blue Buffalo, but the ingredients seem good. Also, you can buy it a Petco, so it might be more convenient for some.

 

[Willow52]

There's a link on the Innova website where you can request coupons. They sent me $8.00 in coupons.

 

[Minnesota Rosie]

There's a link on the Innova website where you can request coupons. They sent me $8.00 in coupons.

Funny...I just got $8 of coupons in the mail yesterday! The thing that amazes me, also, is the variance in prices charged by the different pet food stores. I found that my local pet food supplier charges about $5 more per bag than a farm feed store that is just a few minutes farther away. This place does not specialize in "pet" food...they will sell you food for horses, cows, pigs, etc., but they also have a great supply of the better dog food brands. Also, the woman who works there is quite knowledgable. I never would've thought to check the farm feed store, but I'm glad I did!