# Purina puppy chow



## Oaklys Dad (Dec 28, 2005)

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.


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## jwemt81 (Aug 20, 2008)

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.


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## goutes (Sep 13, 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 (Jun 23, 2008)

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.


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## momtoMax (Apr 21, 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?


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## BHVHarley (Nov 6, 2008)

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 (Feb 13, 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.


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## Noey (Feb 26, 2009)

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


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## jwemt81 (Aug 20, 2008)

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.


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## momtoMax (Apr 21, 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.


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## Lucky's mom (Nov 4, 2005)

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.


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## Willow52 (Aug 14, 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 (Mar 24, 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.


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## lizlovesmasen (Jan 6, 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 (May 5, 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 (Jan 19, 2009)

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 (Jul 28, 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.


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## Traz (Jan 19, 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.


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## Minnesota Rosie (Jul 28, 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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## Minnesota Rosie (Jul 28, 2009)

So I just got off the phone with the woman who owns the pet food shop. She suggested that I feed Rosie the California Natural chicken and rice food. I'm more confused than ever! She says that you should start feeding young puppies foods with less ingredients. She also does not advocate feeding large breed puppy formulas to goldens. She thinks those foods are primarily meant for the REALLY giant dogs...mastiffs, newfoundlands, etc. She also said that the Fromm four star foods are better than the golds. The four star foods are for "all life stages." Someone please help!


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## Tahnee GR (Aug 26, 2006)

Sounds pretty reasonable to me. I also feed an All Life Stage food-Canidae. I never use puppy food but will add goat's milk during the weaning process.

Goldens aren not truly a Large Breed dog, although we do want to make sure that they grow nice and slow.

You can google Rhonda Hovan slow grow and find a copy of her article on this. I send it to all of my puppy people.


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## Traz (Jan 19, 2009)

Actually you do want a large breed puppy food. It is designed to keep growth slow & steady. Your puppy should gain 1-1/2 pounds a week. To fast will increase the likelihood of bone/joint problems. Golden's are considered large breed.

I use the Fromm Large Breed Gold. If you check Fromm's site they usually tell you where you can buy it in your area.

Unless a puppy has an allergy problem there isn't necessarily a reason to stick with chicken/rice only. Even then, chicken wouldn't be the one I would use, it is more likely than other protein sources to cause problems in a dog with allergies. It doesn't sound like your puppy necessarily has an allergy problem, the problem is more likely from the fillers in the food you use.

Also, just looked at California Natural. First ingredient is not chicken, it is chicken MEAL.
Here is a description of chicken meal:
*Chicken meal *is a commonly-used ingredient in pet foods. It is defined by the AAFCO as "the dry rendered product from a combination of clean flesh and skin with accompanying bone, derived from whole carcasses of *chicken *thereof, exclusive of feathers and skin". *Chicken meal *is never suitable for human consumption as it is rendered.


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## Bock (Jun 23, 2008)

Traz said:


> Actually you do want a large breed puppy food. It is designed to keep growth slow & steady. Your puppy should gain 1-1/2 pounds a week. To fast will increase the likelihood of bone/joint problems. Golden's are considered large breed.
> 
> I use the Fromm Large Breed Gold. If you check Fromm's site they usually tell you where you can buy it in your area.
> 
> ...


Not sure where your getting your info from, but having chicken meal (or lamb meal, beef meal) as a top ingredient is a DESIRABLE thing. That way you know the true number 1 ingredient is a meat. 

I've also always heard ( I'm not 100% sure about this however) that goldens are not considered a true large breed dog.

To minnesota rosie...California Natural is a very good brand. If you decide you want a higher protein/fat content, look at Healthwise which is made by same company and is very comparable to CN as far as having a limited amount of ingredients.


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## Lucky's mom (Nov 4, 2005)

Bock said:


> Not sure where your getting your info from, but having chicken meal (or lamb meal, beef meal) as a top ingredient is a DESIRABLE thing. That way you know the true number 1 ingredient is a meat.
> 
> I've also always heard ( I'm not 100% sure about this however) that goldens are not considered a true large breed dog.
> 
> To minnesota rosie...California Natural is a very good brand. If you decide you want a higher protein/fat content, look at Healthwise which is made by same company and is very comparable to CN as far as having a limited amount of ingredients.


Actually I've never been comfortable with pure meal as meat base. Quality differs and I heard that fresh meat offers a higher quality protien. The stuff is literally cooked to death...into a liquid. Then dried and ground.


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## Bock (Jun 23, 2008)

Lucky's mom said:


> Actually I've never been comfortable with pure meal as meat base. Quality differs and I heard that fresh meat offers a higher quality protien. The stuff is literally cooked to death...into a liquid. Then dried and ground.


Fresh meat may offer a higher quality, but by the time you cook the water out of it, there is hardly any protein in there. Whether it gets cooked to liquid or whole, same thing, different form right? Like water and ice?


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## Minnesota Rosie (Jul 28, 2009)

Well, either way, it seems like the Fromm's and the California Natural are both good quality foods. I think I'm going to stick with my initial choice, which is the Fromm's large breed puppy gold. At this point, I'm not concerned about allergies. I probably jinxed myself by saying that!  Anyway, I'll go buy the Fromm's this weekend and start mixing it with the Iams.


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## serenity (Sep 18, 2009)

We feed our dog Blue Buffalo. It's not TOO expensive, and it's supposed to be one of the top 5 dog foods, we did a lot of research to find the best affordable brand we could. When Kaylee was a puppy the food was a bit too rich for her tummy, so we kept her on Nutro puppy food a while and then slowly switched her back about 2 months ago and she's done great with it. We also put our underweight, newly adopted kitten on Blue Buffalo for cats and she's finally gaining weight and eating more than she originally had with the food her foster mom gave us. We've been really happy with it for both of our pets.


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## Traz (Jan 19, 2009)

Bock said:


> Not sure where your getting your info from, but having chicken meal (or lamb meal, beef meal) as a top ingredient is a DESIRABLE thing. That way you know the true number 1 ingredient is a meat.
> 
> I've also always heard ( I'm not 100% sure about this however) that goldens are not considered a true large breed dog.


 Chicken MEAL is not considered desirable as a first ingredient or only meat source. Chicken,fish, turkey or lamb or whatever meat is. If MEAL is listed first or the only source the true amount of actual meat can not be determined because of everything else mixed in & cooked down. 

As far as feeding guidelines are concerned, Goldens are considered large breed. Large Breed is considered over 50 lbs at maturity & Giant Breed starts at 95lbs. The purpose of large breed formula is to protect the bone growth. Too rapid growth has been shown to cause more joint/bone problems.


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## Traz (Jan 19, 2009)

I think you will be happy with the Fromm. Just do the transition with mixing a small amount new with old & then increasing new food.


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## Bock (Jun 23, 2008)

Traz said:


> Chicken MEAL is not considered desirable as a first ingredient or only meat source. Chicken,fish, turkey or lamb or whatever meat is. If MEAL is listed first or the only source the true amount of actual meat can not be determined because of everything else mixed in & cooked down.
> 
> As far as feeding guidelines are concerned, Goldens are considered large breed. Large Breed is considered over 50 lbs at maturity & Giant Breed starts at 95lbs. The purpose of large breed formula is to protect the bone growth. Too rapid growth has been shown to cause more joint/bone problems.


Chicken meal IS chicken!! Chicken meal is just rendered and all the water/fat is taken away. Besides that difference it's the same stuff! 

Chicken meal is *more desirable*, at least to me, because I know if it is at the to of the ingredient list it IS the true #1 ingredient. If chicken is at the top of the ingredient list, but the time you cook it, it is down at #5 or #6 on the ingredient list thus making the second ingredient the true first ingredient.



> In summary, chicken and chicken meal are common ingredients in pet food. Pound for pound, chicken meal provides more nutrients than chicken at a lower cost. Pet food manufacturers need to find good suppliers to provide these ingredients and handle them properly to assure that the nutrients are not damaged.


 -Dr. Ron Rompala

http://www.blueseal.com/techtalks/30/


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## Lucky's mom (Nov 4, 2005)

This is dry reading...but basically studies have shown that fresh meat incorporated in the formula is better. And that meat meal protien quality depends on supplier, type of process.


I think if you trust your company that you do business with...that is the key because meat meal quality depends on the supplier they get it from. I read the actual study by Murry but it went over my head and this article seemed to interpet things for me.

http://en.engormix.com/MA-pets/articles/usa-poultry-meal-quality_431.htm

_Protein quality

Fresh meats would be a preferred material with which to construct petfood diets, but this is not always practical for several reasons: 1) expense associated with freezing and chilling, 2) expense involved wit transportation of high amounts of moisture, 3) most extrusion processes will not handle more than 25% fresh meat in a formula, 4) fresh meat reduces production efficiency, and 5) fresh meat diets can be more difficult to stabilize. Therefore, the use of dry meals with concentrated protein is often necessary._*Table 1.* *Nutrient composition (dry matter basis) of poultry meal (PM) and (or) poultry by-product meal (PBPM) and low ash (LA) PBPM or PM.*







_NR: values not reported_ 

_Achieving this dry meal requires rendering; however, the rendering process can have a substantial impact on nutritional quality. Murray et al. (1997) reported that protein and total amino acid digestibility at the ileum in dogs fed a diet containing rendered poultry by-product (meal) was reduced by greater than 10% when compared to a diet containing fresh poultry by-product. However, no differences in total tract protein digestibility were detected. Energy and amino acid digestibility of animal by-product meals can be negatively affected by different rendering processes, high rendering temperatures, extended residence times (Wang, 1997), and high rendering vessel pressures (Shirley and Parsons, 2000).
_
_Poultry protein meals can have a better (Bednar et al., 2000; Yamka, 2003b), equal (Bednar et al., 2000), or poorer (Clapper et al., 2001) protein digestibility than soybean meal. Unlike vegetable proteins, poultry meal is not fraught with some of the anti-nutritional components; however, composition (Locatelli and Hoehler, 2003; Dozier et al., 2003) and performance can be quite variable. As an example, van Kempen et al. (2004) reported that the variability in digestible lysine and methionine in PBPM was 3 times that of soybean meal. Locatelli and Hoehler (2003) reported that protein and amino acid concentrations of 409 PBPM samples from 1999 to 2002 varied widely within years and the mean concentrations changed by several percentage points from one year to the next.
_


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## Bock (Jun 23, 2008)

Lucky's mom said:


> This is dry reading...but basically studies have shown that fresh meat incorporated in the formula is better. And that meat meal protien quality depends on supplier, type of process.
> 
> 
> I think if you trust your company that you do business with...that is the key because meat meal quality depends on the supplier they get it from. I read the actual study by Murry but it went over my head and this article seemed to interpet things for me.
> ...


I'll agree with this when you bring into account ALL dog foods. However, in the upper echelon of foods such as Naturapet, Fromm, NV, etc, I would rather see a named meal rather than just "chicken" since I know the meal is high quality from these companies.


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## missmarstar (Jul 22, 2007)

Bock said:


> Chicken meal IS chicken!! Chicken meal is just rendered and all the water/fat is taken away. Besides that difference it's the same stuff!
> 
> Chicken meal is *more desirable*, at least to me, because I know if it is at the to of the ingredient list it IS the true #1 ingredient. If chicken is at the top of the ingredient list, but the time you cook it, it is down at #5 or #6 on the ingredient list thus making the second ingredient the true first ingredient.
> 
> ...




I have to agree with Erik here. I would much rather have a food with a NAMED meat meal listed first than just a named meat. However, if there is a named meat, and then followed by other meat or fish meals to make up for the lessened weight of the primary meat once water content is removed, I would be fine with that... as is the case for many premium kibbles I know of.


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## missmarstar (Jul 22, 2007)

Bock said:


> I'll agree with this when you bring into account ALL dog foods. However, in the upper echelon of foods such as Naturapet, Fromm, NV, etc, I would rather see a named meal rather than just "chicken" since I know the meal is high quality from these companies.



Agree! (again!)

Also in the example posted by LM, they are talking about poultry by-product meal... which I would not choose to feed my dog regardless of whether it was "fresh" poultry by-product or poultry by-product meal. I don't feel either one of those is an especially high quality ingredient. That's what I meant in my above post by clarifying that I would prefer a NAMED meal, and even more specifically not a "by-product".


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## Lucky's mom (Nov 4, 2005)

missmarstar said:


> Agree! (again!)
> 
> Also in the example posted by LM, they are talking about poultry by-product meal... which I would not choose to feed my dog regardless of whether it was "fresh" poultry by-product or poultry by-product meal. I don't feel either one of those is an especially high quality ingredient. That's what I meant in my above post by clarifying that I would prefer a NAMED meal.


I think they were using fresh chicken by products against chicken by product meal to gauge protien quality issues that occur with rendering assuming it would be the same using fresh chicken against chicken meal.

Reading stuff like this keeps me away from foods that have only meat meals as the protien. I like to have some "Fresh meat" as first ingredient and the meal come up hopefully second or third at least.


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## missmarstar (Jul 22, 2007)

Lucky's mom said:


> I think they were using fresh chicken by products against chicken by product meal to gauge protien quality issues that occur with rendering assuming it would be the same using fresh chicken against chicken meal.
> 
> Reading stuff like this keeps me away from foods that have only meat meals as the protien. I like to have some "Fresh meat" as first ingredient and the meal come up hopefully second or third at least.



I dunno, I agree that I think fresh meat is probably a better ingredient in theory (hey I feed raw, so you know I agree with that LOL) but in the context of a kibble ingredient list, if the only meat source listed is a fresh meat, I would be weary to feed it knowing that its actually much further down the list by weight and content after its water is removed making lesser quality ingredients (grains, etc) higher on the list. 

I guess what I'm saying is, my ideal dog kibble would look something like this...

Ingredients
Turkey 
Chicken 
Chicken Meal 
Barley 
Brown Rice 
Potatoes 

(Actual first ingredients for Innova)

It has the fresh meats listed first, but then chicken meal listed after but still BEFORE the grains listed, so I know that meat is most definitely the primary ingredient in the food.


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## Lucky's mom (Nov 4, 2005)

missmarstar said:


> I dunno, I agree that I think fresh meat is probably a better ingredient in theory (hey I feed raw, so you know I agree with that LOL) but in the context of a kibble ingredient list, if the only meat source listed is a fresh meat, I would be weary to feed it knowing that its actually much further down the list by weight and content after its water is removed making lesser quality ingredients (grains, etc) higher on the list.
> 
> I guess what I'm saying is, my ideal dog kibble would look something like this...
> 
> ...


I agree with that, though, for me, if even a byproduct meal was listed second I'd be ok with it. Iam's is *Chicken, chicken by-product meal, corn meal,*

I'm a Naturapet fan myself...I think they use the good stuff.

I just worry about some of the more affordable holistic foods.


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## Bock (Jun 23, 2008)

Lucky's mom said:


> I agree with that, though, for me, if even a byproduct meal was listed second I'd be ok with it. Iam's is *Chicken, chicken by-product meal, corn meal,*
> 
> I'm a Naturapet fan myself...I think they use the good stuff.
> 
> I just worry about some of the more affordable holistic foods.


I feed Healthwise. Below are the first few ingredients for the chicken and lamb formula...

Chicken Meal
Oatmeal
Brown Rice
Chicken Fat



lamb meal
oatmeal
barley
chicken meal

Naturapet guarantees at least 80% of protein comes from the meat, so in this case (and other upper level foods) I would prefer to see a meal over just chicken or just lamb. With no meal, oatmeal is the true #1 ingredient.

I wasn't even considering fresh by-product or meal by-product when starting my opinion.


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## Minnesota Rosie (Jul 28, 2009)

All this talk about food is making ME hungry! 

I went to buy my Fromm food, and walked out of the store with a bag of Innova Large Breed Puppy Food. I had a nice chat with the owner, and she talked me into it. Rosie seems to love the taste of it. She eats all the Innova kibble first, then eats the Iams. Funny how they can separate them!


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## missmarstar (Jul 22, 2007)

I think you will not be disappointed with the Innova... Naturapet is a great dog food company IMO..


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## skip99 (Sep 15, 2009)

How often do you feed your puppy?


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## Bock (Jun 23, 2008)

skip99 said:


> How often do you feed your puppy?


Are you asking someone specific?

Depends on age...young pup 3 times daily, and older pup/adult 2 times daily.


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## Minnesota Rosie (Jul 28, 2009)

I feed Rosie 3 times per day. She's 16 weeks old. I'm not sure when I'm supposed to switch to 2 feedings per day. I need to ask the vet, or do a search on this forum.


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## Lucky209 (Sep 22, 2009)

I have always fed Lucky Purina Pro Plan. She started out on the Puppy Large Breed but got really finicky with it so we switched her to the Puppy Natural Lamb and Rice formula from Purina Pro Plan and she hasn't had any problems at all. It isn't the highest food they make, but it is still top line and not that expensive.


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## Willow52 (Aug 14, 2009)

Minnesota Rosie said:


> I feed Rosie 3 times per day. She's 16 weeks old. I'm not sure when I'm supposed to switch to 2 feedings per day. I need to ask the vet, or do a search on this forum.


A lot of times around this age your puppy will signal that s/he is ready to eliminate that 3rd feeding by not being interested in lunch. If by 6 mos. they are still eating 3 meals/day, I'd make the switch to 2 meals for them.


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## Minnesota Rosie (Jul 28, 2009)

Willow52 said:


> A lot of times around this age your puppy will signal that s/he is ready to eliminate that 3rd feeding by not being interested in lunch. If by 6 mos. they are still eating 3 meals/day, I'd make the switch to 2 meals for them.


Thanks for the advice. Strangely enough, since I have started mixing the Iams with the Innova, she has been gobbling up her food. Prior to that, she didn't seem to be as interested. I don't know if it's because she loves the taste of the Innova, or if she's excited about tasting something new, or if she's hitting a growth spurt. Anyway, maybe I should be giving her more per feeding. I currently give her 1 cup of food, 3 times per day.


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## windfair (Jul 19, 2008)

We use Purina Pro Plan and have had no issues. Ranger loves it...'course he thinks goose poop is great too...is always trying to sneak some in!


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## GoldenChip (Apr 27, 2021)

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?


How long were you on Purina puppy chow for? When he started as a puppy and until how long?😊


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