# Undecided on puppy food...



## Wordsmith (Jan 5, 2016)

We will be picking up our new golden Barnaby in a couple weeks, at which time he will be 7 weeks old. I've been trying to decide on the best puppy food to start him out on. I plan on mixing a little of what the breeder has been giving him in with whatever we choose to make it easier on his tummy. 

Here are the ones I've found that look promising. Do any of you have experience with these?

1) Holistic Select Large & Giant Breed puppy food
2) Taste of the Wild puppy food (unsure which flavor to go with)
3) Pro Pac Performance puppy food


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## Swampcollie (Sep 6, 2007)

First, find out what the breeder has been feeding the litter and stay with that food for at least a month before considering making a change in diet. You want to make slow gradual changes with puppies.
(If possible bring a few clean empty jugs with you and fill them with water at the breeders.) 

First days home, keep the pup on water from the breeder. Then start mixing water from the breeders, with your own water for the pup. Last switch to completely your water. After a couple of weeks with no Ill effects, you can start thinking about transitioning the food. (Large breed formulas from Eukanuba, Pro Plan and Nutro usually work well.) Check with the breeder about the food before you start your dog on it. They Know their dogs best and can prevent you from picking something that will likely be incompatible with the pup's digestive system.


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## Wordsmith (Jan 5, 2016)

Thank you, Swampcollie! I'll look those up. 

I've been told that dog food with chicken in it is bad for dogs, but I've received very mixed reviews on this. Has anyone heard anything on this?


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## Swampcollie (Sep 6, 2007)

Bronte said:


> Thank you, Swampcollie! I'll look those up.
> 
> I've been told that dog food with chicken in it is bad for dogs, but I've received very mixed reviews on this. Has anyone heard anything on this?


Chicken is probably the #1 protein source for dogs in commercially prepared diets (kibble).


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## rabernet (Feb 24, 2015)

Bronte said:


> Thank you, Swampcollie! I'll look those up.
> 
> I've been told that dog food with chicken in it is bad for dogs, but I've received very mixed reviews on this. Has anyone heard anything on this?


Bad for them in what way? 

We were very pleased with the Purina Pro Plan Large Breed Puppy food, which is chicken based. 

I also did a lot of research, and the Pro Plan line is one that a lot of folks use and trust, as well as a lot of top golden breeders. And, it's not out of my budget, which was a plus. 

We've recently switched to Sensitive Skin and Stomach formula, but because Noah is becoming more and more athletic and involved in more dog sports activities, we might transition him to one of the Sport formulas instead. Haven't decided yet - and ultimately, want to decide on the formula best for him and stick with it.


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## MilesToEmpty (Sep 3, 2015)

We've tried a few foods.

Fromm Large Breed Puppy. This is what I wanted to really keep using, but it makes our pup's poops too soft and she gets gassy.

Orijin LBP. She got sick off this and had pure runs.

ProPlan LBP. She got itchy off this.

Natures Variety Instinct. She seems to like it and have ok results.

Pulsar Pulses & Fish Formula. Great results, great poops, but she smells "dogish" a week after her bath. I read this could be from the salmon.

Currently she's getting the Pulsar and Instinct with some Fromm mixed in to get rid of it.

Im currently looking at trying Dr. Tim's since we havent found her perfect food yet. She's 6 months old now.

Go check out the Puppy forum here for more help


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## rabernet (Feb 24, 2015)

MilesToEmpty said:


> We've tried a few foods.
> 
> Fromm Large Breed Puppy. This is what I wanted to really keep using, but it makes our pup's poops too soft and she gets gassy.
> 
> ...


That's a lot of food changes in a few months! LOL

Noah was an itchy baby - when we added Bragg's Apple Cider Vinegar (a capful in his dinner), that all went away. Sometimes it's not the food. Golden Paste also cleared up his puppy allergy bumps.


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## Cpc1972 (Feb 23, 2015)

We used nutro large breed puppy lamb and rice. At six months we switched to purina pro plan adult grain free lamb and egg. Nutro is good but something made her itchy. Chloe is one of those that chicken didn't agree with her as a young dog. Since pro plan didn't make a large breed puppy that was lamb based we put her on the adult grain free at six months. I will say her coat is fantastic on the pro plan. It's so soft and shiny. Even better then the nutro.


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

Max was fed Eukanuba Large Breed Puppy Food until he was about 15 months old. He did very well on it. I have noticed on the forum that many puppies have problems with the richer, grain free formulas. 

We switched Max to grain free Acana Wild Prairie after the Eukanuba.


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## MilesToEmpty (Sep 3, 2015)

rabernet said:


> That's a lot of food changes in a few months! LOL
> 
> Noah was an itchy baby - when we added Bragg's Apple Cider Vinegar (a capful in his dinner), that all went away. Sometimes it's not the food. Golden Paste also cleared up his puppy allergy bumps.


Yea... Lots of small bags, returns, and donations to friends and shelters lol. 

I actually contacted Natures Balance yesterday and they are going to send me multiple sample bags for us to try to see which flavor she likes. And with the LID we should be able to pinpoint whats making her smell sweaty and to kick down on the kicking/chewing.

But back to the OP, the food you use depends on you. People will swear up and down that their food is the best, etc. Ive read a few horror stories about people getting harrased by coworkers and family about their food choice. 

Find the ones that are recommended:

Fromm
TOTW
ProPlan
Acana

etc. They're all highly recommended, pick one to try and see how it works. But pick up what your breeder was feeding so its not a shock.

Im going to look into this Golden Paste.


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## Wordsmith (Jan 5, 2016)

Thank you for all the feedback! I spent a good chunk of yesterday researching the foods recommended, and we decided to start with the Fromm Gold large breed puppy food.


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## SheetsSM (Jan 17, 2008)

Why would you not continue w/ what the breeder is feeding?


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## Wordsmith (Jan 5, 2016)

SheetsSM said:


> Why would you not continue w/ what the breeder is feeding?


 I wasn't against continuing with what the breeder was feeding him, but I preferred to do my own research on what is out there and work with my vet to find the best option. If that ended up being what the breeder was feeding him, then great. So after getting different recommendations and doing some research, I contacted our vet. He believes that we should feed him food specifically for large breed puppies, which is not what the breeder is feeding him. Fromm happened to be my favorite of the brands I researched.


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## MyBentley (May 5, 2009)

I hope your puppy will do well on the Fromms. After our new puppy was home for two weeks, we slowly transitioned him to Fromm Puppy Gold and have been very happy with our decision. He likes the food, seems to digest it well, is gaining weight apprpriately and has good skin and coat. Fromm has never had a recall which means a lot to me.


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## Rob S. (Feb 2, 2014)

I would have chosen Dr. Tim's.


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## artbuc (Apr 12, 2009)

Rob S. said:


> I would have chosen Dr. Tim's.


+1. Rocky has done great on Dr T's Pursuit and Kinesis. So glad I switched away from Orijen 6Fish. Dr T's is a superior food at a faction of the cost. Made at Ohio Pet Foods.


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## Harleysmum (Aug 19, 2014)

Swampcollie said:


> First, find out what the breeder has been feeding the litter and stay with that food for at least a month before considering making a change in diet. You want to make slow gradual changes with puppies.
> (If possible bring a few clean empty jugs with you and fill them with water at the breeders.)
> 
> First days home, keep the pup on water from the breeder. Then start mixing water from the breeders, with your own water for the pup. Last switch to completely your water. After a couple of weeks with no Ill effects, you can start thinking about transitioning the food. (Large breed formulas from Eukanuba, Pro Plan and Nutro usually work well.) Check with the breeder about the food before you start your dog on it. They Know their dogs best and can prevent you from picking something that will likely be incompatible with the pup's digestive system.


This is very good advice. There are heaps of threads on here about puppies with raging diarrhoea who changed food too early.


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