# Purina Puppy Chow... HELP?



## MaddieMagoo (Aug 14, 2007)

I've heard a few good things about Canidae...but not sure how old is your puppy?


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## marshab1 (Aug 28, 2006)

I fed Nutro Natural choice large breed, but they have been sold since then and it has been over a year since I fed that.

If I had a new puppy now I think I would go with Wellness puppy. I'm feeding Wellness (not the puppy formula) right now and Tinkerbell and I both really like it. we also really like Natural balance, but every vet I have seen with Tinkerbell (and I saw several) thought puppy food was important to about 6 months of age.


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## lovethemgoldens (May 17, 2008)

We haven't gotten him yet, but will be picking him on May 30th. I think he is going to be 8 weeks or so then. I just want to be prepared for him. Whoops! I didn't mean to say that we "wouldn't" get canidae. If I could get a little more information on it though, I might look into it.

Thank you!


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## lovethemgoldens (May 17, 2008)

Oh, and thank you for your input Marsha! I will look into those also.


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## Maggies mom (Jan 6, 2006)

All of mine have done well on Canidae even my 11 week old foster.


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## Ash (Sep 11, 2007)

No Canidae is great food that a lot of dogs do well on. Innova is another good food.


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## Maggies mom (Jan 6, 2006)

Mine started out on Innova and now I switch back and forth.


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## LibertyME (Jan 6, 2007)

Many breeders (very good breeders) are using Purina Pro. 
If your pup is doing well on Purina...personally I would stay on it until they are well settled in your home before switching foods around...
Trace has been on Purina Pro and is thriving..no digestive, ear or skin problems...nice steady growth...Lord knows plenty of energy!


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## marshab1 (Aug 28, 2006)

LibertyME said:


> Many breeders (very good breeders) are using Purina Pro.
> If your pup is doing well on Purina...personally I would stay on it until they are well settled in your home before switching foods around...
> Trace has been on Purina Pro and is thriving..no digestive, ear or skin problems...nice steady growth...Lord knows plenty of energy!


That's the other one I would look at. I always have to look and see which Purina product line it is.

And defintiely give the puppy a week or 2 before switching. Many breeders give you a small amount of food to start with, mine did and I still bought a small bag of puppy chow in order to make the gradual switch to another food. Then I donated the extra puppy chow to the humane society.


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## katieanddusty (Feb 9, 2006)

Canidae isn't for dogs with skin problems, it's normal dog food. Both of my dogs have been eating Canidae for a few years now. The dogs do well on it and at least around here it is MUCH more affordable than the other super high quality food. It's usually $25-29 for a 33-pound bag.

I'm not a huge fan of the "all life stages" type of food for puppies, though. I'd probably go with something like Innova Large Breed Puppy. It probably isn't that much of a difference, but I just like the idea of feeding something that has been designed for and tested on large breed puppies. Innova LBP is the only really good one I've found that specifically says it's been through AAFCO feeding trials.


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## Pointgold (Jun 6, 2007)

I have had great success with ProPlan products. Most of the Top winning dogs in the country, in both conformation and performance events, are fed ProPlan. They make a large breed puppy formula, and also a sensitive stomach formula. I use regular Puppy and then, at approx 5 months, I switch them to adult ProPlan - if they are being shown I use Performance, if not, Adult Chicken and Rice.







lovethemgoldens said:


> We haven't gotten him yet, but will be picking him on May 30th. I think he is going to be 8 weeks or so then. I just want to be prepared for him. Whoops! I didn't mean to say that we "wouldn't" get canidae. If I could get a little more information on it though, I might look into it.
> 
> Thank you!


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## katieanddusty (Feb 9, 2006)

Just to clarify in case lovethemgoldens isn't familiar with the difference between "performance events" such as hunt tests/field trials and "companion events" like agility/obedience ... most agility competitors definitely do not feed ProPlan. The agility people who don't feed raw typically feed EVO, Nature's Variety, Innova, etc. 

It's kind of weird, I know a LOT of respected conformation and hunting/field people who swear by ProPlan, but I haven't heard of many agility people who feel the same ...


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## Ardeagold (Feb 26, 2007)

I think most of the Field people use Pro Plan Performance. Don't know about the conformation people.

We use Canidae ALS and started from day one with it for the Newfs. They all did great on it. Most Golden owners, however, use a Large Breed Puppy (LBP) formula first, then switch over to something like Canidae ALS or an Adult formula at around 6-7 mos of age.

There are a lot of decent ones out there, and if you'd like to give the Pro Plan a try...do go with the Large Breed Puppy formula.


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## lovethemgoldens (May 17, 2008)

Thanks everyone. As I said all answers and suggestions will be greatly appriciated. 

I have switched a puppy before and know all about it. I have thought about using Innova, but it is too expensive for us... Maybe it won't be because they are only little puppies, it is High Quality food AND they DEFINETLY aren't Danes.

Thanks everyone. The reason why I don't like Purina anything is because of the ingredients. Even if the ingredients are "Good", I still don't consider it "High Quality" food. If the dog is doing fine on it though, I do understand the people using it! I am also not against anyone who uses it, I just prefer not to use it. Try reading the second post that was made by me in this thread. I will mention another things about Canidae. It's just things that I have read. Check it out though...

Thanks again everyone!!!!


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## Penny & Maggie's Mom (Oct 4, 2007)

Eagle Pack Holistic line, Canidae ALS, Wellness, Natures Variety, Innova are all good, quality foods that many have done well on ( and that come to mind right now). If you can access the Whole Dog Journal from Feb 08, they have their approved dry foods listing. It is quite an extensive listing of quality food. They also give their criteria for selection. WELL worth the subscription.


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## Charlie06 (Feb 10, 2007)

Canidae here for us. All 3 of my dogs eat it.


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## lovethemgoldens (May 17, 2008)

Thanks Betty. I will look in to that


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## arcane (Sep 18, 2007)

I currently use 3 different brands of food and I am very happy with the results of each of them.
My pups are fed Purina ProPlan Chicken & Rice (puppy) then weaned onto the Adult C&R at about 4-5 mos...my in whelp girls and nursing moms are fed the puppy as well.

my adults get Kirkland Chicken& Rice & Vegetables (performance) 

and my old girl is now on NOW - Duck & Turkey Adult (no grains) 

what works for one dog may not work for another...


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## Debles (Sep 6, 2007)

I don't feed Pro Plan but if you read the ingredients you will find it is much higher quality than other Purina food.


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## RileyStar (Mar 24, 2008)

Basically I look at the first 5 ingredients. "Meat Meal" is very broad and they should define what kind of meat it is. Also if corn is in the first 5 ingredients its used a filler and its cheap, and not so easy on the pups tummies. I don't even touch the food if I don't know what they first 5 ingreidents are. Also dog food companies don't have to obide by regulations like our food companies do, they don't have to list the ingredients in order of quanity. 

Our breeder fed and reccomends Pedigree lamb and rice, which we could not find for puppies, but we did start out on pedigree and she got this funky lookin section of her tail that either grew too fast or she chewed it. I did alot of research on pet food and read the book "Foods dogs die for" By Ann Martin.

Now I do not buy my dog food at the grocery store or petco/petsmart. I only buy it at local pet stores or feed shops that carry good food. I feed my older dog Caniade and Riley gets Innova LBP.

Like others said eagle pack hollistic, wellness, solid gold, evo etc... are all pretty good brands.

Looking around I found this site:
http://www.wysong.net/controversies/rate_your_dog_food.shtml
Anyone feed this? I don't know if they sell it in feed store I've never seen it. Of course they edit the list so their food looks the best.


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## SadieBodean (Mar 28, 2008)

I've fed Canidae for years with good results. But my new GR puppy didn't like it, she barely gained any weight from 8-9 weeks. The vet suggested Pro Plan but I read the ingredients and when I saw "animal digest" that just grossed me out. Who knows what the "animal" had been eating? So now I switched her to Wellness Puppy and she loves it and is doing great.

Here's an interesting website about what to look for in dog foods. http://www.roycroftcavaliers.com/manualfeeding.htm


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## lovethemgoldens (May 17, 2008)

Thanks you guys! You are all so helpful and kind. I will try as hard as I can to check them all out. We were feeding Feeding Eagle Pack to Titus (Our Great Dane Puppy), not Holistic though. The person we gave him to said that she fed Eagle Pack to her Great Dane and it got Bladder Stones - but it wasn't holistic and Titus didn't like the taste of it anyway (most puppies don't).

Thanks again!!!!


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## Penny & Maggie's Mom (Oct 4, 2007)

lovethemgoldens said:


> Thanks you guys! You are all so helpful and kind. I will try as hard as I can to check them all out. We were feeding Feeding Eagle Pack to Titus (Our Great Dane Puppy), not Holistic though. The person we gave him to said that she fed Eagle Pack to her Great Dane and it got Bladder Stones - but it wasn't holistic and Titus didn't like the taste of it anyway (most puppies don't).
> 
> Thanks again!!!!


Being a dane person, have you checked out the greatdanelady's website. She is a canine nutitionist and has some great articles and info. http://www.greatdanelady.com/


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## Ljilly28 (Jan 22, 2008)

My 10 month old and 3 month old both thrive on Canidae ALS. I used to feed my goldens Eukanuba, and Raleigh lived to be 15 eating it, but then it got sold to (i think) Johnson&Johnson and all the new research about pet foods became available. My vet thinks Canidae is a good choice for growing goldens, though sometimes too many calories for a middle aged one.


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## lovethemgoldens (May 17, 2008)

Yes, I have. I have known about it for over 2 months. But thank you, I haven't taken a look at it in a while - actually, I completely forgot about it. Thanks Penny & Maggie's Mom and Ljilly28!



Penny & Maggie's Mom said:


> Being a dane person, have you checked out the greatdanelady's website. She is a canine nutitionist and has some great articles and info. http://www.greatdanelady.com/


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## Ljilly28 (Jan 22, 2008)

Looking around I found this site:
http://www.wysong.net/controversies/rate_your_dog_food.shtml
Anyone feed this? I don't know if they sell it in feed store I've never seen it. Of course they edit the list so their food looks the best.[/QUOTE]

That was SO interesting. It's a baffling topic.


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## lovethemgoldens (May 17, 2008)

Hmm... I will look at it.


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