# What are you feeding your puppy?



## Umqueen33 (Jul 24, 2012)

I just got word from the breeder that the visit to the vet went great and all puppies are healthy! What a relief! She sent us feeding instructions, etc. She is mixing Native 3 puppy with Fromm Gold Puppy and By Nature. She has suggested to get Canidae ALS, but it's not easily found in our area. 

She said it's our decision, but to choose a 4 or 5 star dog food. I cannot believe how much dog food there is. I am overwhelemed. Another food mentioned was Blue Buffalo?

What food are you feeding your puppy? Any thoughts on Blue Buffalo? Thanks again for your help!


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## WasChampionFan (Mar 31, 2012)

I would recommend Dr. Tim's Kinesis, 26/16. You can get it on PetFlow in 44lb bags. If you want to buy the food in store, just ask a local store to call Zeigler's Distribution and order it. Great product.

There is also no reason to mix foods like the breeder is doing.


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## Rainheart (Nov 28, 2010)

Food is such a touchy subject on here and everyone has their own opinion. Go with what you want to feed and take everyone's advice with a grain of salt.

Personally, I have seen a lot of dogs with diarrhea and other issues on Blue Buffalo. I have never been a fan of their product. I feed Purina Proplan that is easily found in Petsmart and Petco. It is their top quality product and not way overpriced. I would like to feed something like Taste of the Wild but it is out of my price range, especially with 3 dogs total at my mom's house. 

Good luck on your food search! And don't hesitate to email me if you have any other questions! When is gotcha day??!


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## Mosby's Mom (Oct 19, 2011)

If you're not against ordering food online, I've had awesome customer service from wag.com, and they carry Canidae if you want to go with what your breeder recommends. Our pup was raised on Fromm, which I saw your breeder is also including, and you can get that on doggiefood.com (I've also ordered food from them and have no complaints!).


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## CStrong73 (Jun 11, 2012)

I also feed Purina ProPlan. At first, I thought about switching to Fromm's. I really like everything I've read about the company and product. However, the breeder had the puppies on ProPlan, and Rocket has been doing so well on it, I figured, why change if it's working well? We haven't had any of the tummy problems that a lot of the new puppy owners on here have had.

We're just finishing our second bag of the puppy formula, and will be switching over to the all life stages version for the next bag, again at the recommendation of our breeder.

I won't go into details on her reasoning, because I never did any research of my own on the subject so I couldn't say one way or the other, but for what it's worth, our breeder was adamantly against Blue Buffalo.

I do also give Rocket a decent size serving of veggies any time we have extra, and some cheese now and then.

And he gets lots of treats during walks and training sessions. Lately he's been getting homemade all-natural peanut butter dog treats during the day and turkey hot dogs for training sessions.


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## Darby6 (Aug 21, 2012)

Hey there.. I personally feed my golden blue buffalo.. I have heard that some people have had some dierriah issues with blue buffalo during transitioning over to it, we just weaned her over slowly and have had no probs.. she has always had a problem keeping weight on (hence the reason we switched) but since we switched she's at a nice healthy weight and her coat is more full and much softer than before. Ive heard alot of good things about canidae but I have no personal experience with the brand. As a prior post mentioned everyone has their own experiences and preferences, you just have to take everyones input and see what works for you


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## Ohiomom9977 (Jul 27, 2012)

CStrong73 said:


> I also feed Purina ProPlan. At first, I thought about switching to Fromm's. I really like everything I've read about the company and product. However, the breeder had the puppies on ProPlan, and Rocket has been doing so well on it, I figured, why change if it's working well? We haven't had any of the tummy problems that a lot of the new puppy owners on here have had.
> 
> We're just finishing our second bag of the puppy formula, and will be switching over to the all life stages version for the next bag, again at the recommendation of our breeder.
> 
> ...


I'm thinking the same way you are. We feed Iams Smart Puppy Large Breed partially because that's what the breeder was feeding and partially because our previous golden did so well on Iams. We've had no digestive issues so far and his growth is right at the average for his age so I see no reason to mess with changing foods. Our previous golden started out on Science Diet and we switched brands 3-4 times throught his life for various reasons - he did the best on the Iams.


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## Max's Dad (Apr 23, 2012)

My 2 cents. We fed Max Eukanuba Large Breed Puppy food. He did very well on it. Available at Petco/Petsmart.


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## oro perro (Aug 20, 2012)

I heard some great things about Innova, for LARGER BREED puppies.

A bit costly...but it is your best buddy.


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## Sammy&Cooper (Dec 28, 2011)

I'm gonna repeat the phrase feed what works best for your pup. 
FWIW I fed cooper wellness LBP until he was 6 months old then transitioned him to wellness super5mix lamb. he was doing relatively well on both of these but after a major price increase at my local store and a couple quality control issues with a couple bags I bought I have since switched him to blue buffalo basics turkey and potato (he had a sensitivity to chicken so blue buffalo worked best so far). it's been a month on this food and so far so good!


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## MikaTallulah (Jul 19, 2006)

Mine all eat FROMM's Chicken a la Veg and they love it.

My Goldens did not do well on Wellness or Blue Buffalo. They Yorkies are fine with any kibble.





I used feed Proplan but never again- They had Waggin Train and Canyon Creek Jerky treats that killed my Zoey. These treats continue to make other dogs sick and kill many. They don't care.


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## Pretzel's Mom (Aug 23, 2012)

Has anyone tried Nature's Variety. I am currently using Nature's Domain (Costco exclusive) but I would like to give her a variety and it is 5 star. They have a new one with Instinct with some raw included. Any thoughts


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## Wyatt's mommy (Feb 25, 2011)

Both my boys came home with Iams large breed from both breeders. And have fed them Iams ever since. Both had no problems.


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## mylissyk (Feb 25, 2007)

Umqueen33 said:


> I just got word from the breeder that the visit to the vet went great and all puppies are healthy! What a relief! She sent us feeding instructions, etc. She is mixing Native 3 puppy with Fromm Gold Puppy and By Nature. She has suggested to get Canidae ALS, but it's not easily found in our area.
> 
> She said it's our decision, but to choose a 4 or 5 star dog food. I cannot believe how much dog food there is. I am overwhelemed. Another food mentioned was Blue Buffalo?
> 
> What food are you feeding your puppy? Any thoughts on Blue Buffalo? Thanks again for your help!


She mixing 3 different types of puppy food? Why not pick one of the puppy foods the breeder is feeding them and keep your puppy on it when you bring him home?


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## Charmie (May 30, 2012)

I'm doing Innova for Nana. She likes it so much more than her other food. I'm transitioning her slowly, but it's hard when she wants to pick out all of the innova kibble and leave all the nutrisource behind haha.


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## Laurie (Sep 20, 2009)

I feed all of my boys Acana All Life Stages and they're all doing great.

I also feed raw (at supper). I've been very fortunate that Acana and raw are obviously agreeing with Lexx as he has had no diarrhea and no vomiting since we've brought him home.


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## Vinnie's Mom (Jun 9, 2012)

I feed Vinnie Simply Nourish Chicken and Rice puppy formula from Petsmart. It's the same as Blue Buffalo but a little less expensive. It has a 4 star rating. My pup loves it a he getting a beautiful coat.


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## Shay1 (Aug 10, 2011)

Sarayu has been on a raw food diet since we brought her home from the breeder, and she has never had any problems.


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## CarolinaCasey (Jun 1, 2007)

Stick with the Fromm Gold.  Excellent food and great company.


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## Goldengal9 (Apr 18, 2012)

I feed Fromm large breed puppy and zoey is doing great on it.


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## john martin (Feb 26, 2012)

In my honest opinion, I try to avoid ALS foods. Somewhere in this forum, it says that your food's Calcium to Phosphorus ratio should not exceed 1.4:1 for large breeds. Most ALS foods have higher ratios. I feed my pup, Orijen Puppy Formula, but might shift to Orijen Large breed puppy soon.

Budget permitting, feed your pup the best food during their rapid growth period which usually starts 4months to 8 months.

Just my 2 cents.


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## Claudia M (Aug 8, 2012)

we have Rose on Blue Buffalo Large breed puppy formula. No problems with the stools; they are actually very nice. Her coat is beautiful and she absolutely loves it. At 11 weeks she is between 18 and 19 lb. - She was 16.8 at 10 weeks. She is very active outdoors


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## Yaichi's Mom (Jul 21, 2012)

I'm migrating Brisby from Purina Puppy to Orijen large breed puppy. So far so good...nice firm stool.


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## tippykayak (Oct 27, 2008)

I tend to prefer LBP food for our pups (we do Eukanuba LBP). It seems like the best shot for lowering the risk of growth-related issues. However, since Goldens aren't a truly large or giant breed, an ALS food probably doesn't offer any higher risk than an LBP food. Still, we use Euk LBP until they're about 18 months and then switch to Euk PP 30/20.


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## Shalva (Jul 16, 2008)

When I was feeding kibble I never fed puppy food. I fed a high quality adult food. I have two dogs here (out of 9) that eat kibble, one is a prescription food for a medical issue so he doesn't count but Natalie (not a golden but an Irish Wolfhound) has eaten Fromm Gold Large Breed adult. She has done exceedingly well on it and while I originally planned to change her over to a raw diet, I have opted not to do so she does get raw about once a week, but I am of the "if it is not broken don't fix it" when it comes to food. 

The nice thing about Fromm is that they control their own manufacturing as does Eagle. Irish wolfhounds can have some pretty significant growth issues so for her to grow the way she has with no issues at all considering the rapid growth 6-9 pound per week, I would give Fromm a gold medal....


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## vcm5 (Apr 20, 2011)

I agree about sticking to the Fromm - that is what Riley eats and he loves it!


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## Umqueen33 (Jul 24, 2012)

After speaking to the breeder more in depth, the email about Fromm was sent in error. She is feeding the puppies, Canidae All Life Stages, and said they are doing very well on it and seem to enjoy it. We bought a small bag, so we have enough, until we speak to our vet about foods, etc. Bringing him home on Thursday evening and vet visit on Friday! Very excited!!


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## Melfice (Aug 4, 2012)

vcm5 said:


> I agree about sticking to the Fromm - that is what Riley eats and he loves it!


I am interested in Fromm Large Breed Puppy food, but I can't find any info on the calcium levels etc


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## Bolledeig (Aug 10, 2012)

I figured I'd just post in this thread;
What do you guys think about Acana vs. Fromms vs. Hi-Tek?
And is there a big price difference?

My breeder feeds Hi-Tek.


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## Max's Dad (Apr 23, 2012)

We have been feeding Max (2 years old) Acana Wild Prairie for about 6 months now. He loves it. We pay about $55 for a 29 pound bag. We fed him Eukanuba Large Breed Puppy until he was about 15 months old. Not familiar with Fromms or Hi-Tek. One thing we like about the Acana product is that it is grain free.


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## Pup (May 12, 2012)

Rain has been on Orijen puppy for a few months, I LOVE it. her coat is amazing. But unfortunately when she eats more than 2 1/2 cups she gets soft poop, so I've been switching her over to Solid gold puppy for a while since it seems she hasn't been growing much. As soon as I started feeding her a cup more, she has been VERY active and is doing a lot better! I will be switching her back to Orijen or Acana in the future.

So long story short, feed whatever your pup does best on! Make sure they have a great coat, clear eyes, nice energy level and firm stool


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## Vinnie's Mom (Jun 9, 2012)

I feed Vinnie Simply Nourish Chicken & Brown Rice Puppy food. It's a Petsmart brand. He's about 5 months old now and I'm switching him to the Adult formula. It's almost exactly the same as Blue Buffalo but it's a little less expensive. It has a 4 star rating. Vinnie loves the food. He has a beautiful coat and good stools.

I agree with everyone else about choice but I know when I was making a choice getting feedback really helped and I did a lot or research.


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## xoerika620xo (May 25, 2012)

Like everyone else i would say just what works best for your dog. Chester was on canine maxi puppy but I didn't want to continue feeding him that because it was only available at petsmart which was pretty far from where I live. We gradually changed him to Purina pro plan and he's doing well on it.

As for blue buffalo I can only tell you what ive heard which was it has caused some dogs to get upset Timmy's and runny poop, which is why I didnt want to take a risk with Chester. Good luck =]


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