What is the best recomended brand of puppy food?

Question

We are going to pick up a 2 1/2 month old cocker spaniel puppy this weekend. I asked the breeded what brand of dog food she uses to feed the pups so that i can stick with the same food and not traumatize the little gal while she is adapting to a new enviornment. The breeder said that she uses IAMS puppy food. After looking up IAMS online and seeing that some of their food was recalled i have become weary of using IAMS. I am aware that only the canned and soft dog food was recalled but that questions have risen about the quality of the dry food. I only want the best for my new puppy and was oping for some suggestions, please.

Thanks;)

Answer 1

I used Pedigree Puppy Dog Food.

It's healthy and reliable, Ask your vet about that.

See if you can also find reviews about the dog food.

Answer 2

There is no food that is the *best*, different individual dog may thrive on different foods. What is best for one may not be the best for the next. And just because a food is good quality, it doesn't mean it will jive the best for your dog.

What you want to find is the HIGH-QUALITY food that *your dog* does best on.

Here are some good foods appropriate for a puppy:

* Canidae All-life-stages

* Merrick Puppy Plate

* Artemis Fresh Mix puppy

* Innova puppy

* Chicken Soup for the Puppy Lover's Soul

* Wellness Just for Puppy

(More brands further down in my answer)

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Read the ingredients before you buy.

Here is my "short list" of rules when I am looking at dog food ingredients:

1) When I chose a dog food, I chose one high meat content. I want to see preferably at least 2-3 out of the top 5 ingredients be meat or meat meal (first ingredient must be!). Meal is simply the meat with the moisture removed.

2) I want to see higher quality grains, such as barley, brown rice, and oatmeal, instead of seeing wheat and corn. Or an alternative starch/carbohydrate such as potatoes or sweet potatoes.

3) I don't want to see any byproducts.

4) I don't want to see a lot of fillers.

5) I don't want to see preservatives that are believed to be carcinogens (BHA, BHT, ethoxyquin).

6) I don't want to see artificial colorings such as the Red, Blue, and Yellow dyes.

7) I don't want to see added sugars (sugar, corn syrup).

8) I don't want to see mystery meats (meats identified only as "meat" or "poultry".)

Here is an article about byproducts:

http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?...

And an article on what ingredients to avoid:

http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?...

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Here are some examples of GOOD dog foods:

* Artemis Fresh Mix

* Blue Buffalo

* California Natural

* Canidae

* Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul

* Eagle Pack Holistic Selects

* EVO

* Fromm Four Star

* Innova

* Merrick

* Nature's Variety

* Orijen

* Solid Gold

* Taste of the Wild

* Wellness

* ZiwiPeak

Or check this website; the 4, 5, or 6 star rated foods are all good foods. http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_...

(For a puppy, go with a 4 or 5 star food, the 6 star foods are high-protein, which I feel is better suited for adult dogs.)

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Higher quality food may seem more expensive at first, but it evens out. The higher quality the food, the less fillers eaten (and therefore the less p**p comes out the other end). Your dog eats more of a low-quality food to try to get the nutrition it needs, and most of the food just passes right on through. Also, higher-quality food will make your animals healthier, so you save money on vet bills in the long run.

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What *NOT* to buy:

Stay away from grocery stores brands. They are low-quality foods chalk full of fillers, preservatives, dyes, etc.. (Grocery store foods are those like Beneful, Old Roy, Alpo, Pedigree, Purina, etc.)

Beware "premium" foods. "Premium" does not always mean good nutritionally, and is not a nutritionally high quality food. Most of these foods have the same types of ingredients as grocery store foods, just a bit better quality of those not-so-good ingredients. (Premium foods are those like Iams, Eukanuba, Science Diet, Bil-Jac, Royal Canin, etc..)

Another thing to be wary of: A lot of vets will recommend what they sell in their office. They get profit from the brands they keep on their shelves, that's why they push it. Truth is, vet schools don't focus a lot on nutrition. It's not saying that a vet is a bad vet because he recommends those foods, a lot of vets just are told "this is good food", so they pass the message along without proper nutrition knowledge. Also, some dog food brands (like Hills) support vet schools, so vets have heard of it from the time they start college, which makes them think it's good as well.

Hills company, the makers of Science Diet, are heavily involved in vet schools. "Hill's scientists author more than 50 research papers and textbook chapters each year and teach at leading schools of veterinary medicine" (Source of quoted section: http://www.hillsvet.com/zSkin_2/company_... )

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"Big box" petstores like Petco and Petsmart rarely have quality foods. (There are some higher quality foods at those locations, but most of the foods aren't.)

* Blue Buffalo

* Castor & Pollux

* Eagle Pack Holistic Selects

* Natural Balance

* Solid Gold

* Wellness

Also, grocery stores and Walmart aren't good places to buy food either.

Your best bets for getting quality dog food are:

- small, locally owned petstores

- holistic pet food stores

- dog boutiques

- farm supply stores

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When switching foods, remember to do it gradually by mixing the foods together for a week or two.

.

Answer 3

SCIENCE DIET. It may be a little more expensive but its the best.Its not greasy like most dog foods. When my dog at 8 wks old was sick vomiting and wouldnt stop we took him to the vet and after he was sent home they told us to keep him on that for the rest of his life. They have this dog food  for puppies and older dogs. You can buy this anywhere. (walmart,petsmart, or even at the vet)

note: you do not want to keep feeding your dog canned dog food bc it will mess with its bowls the older it gets. science diet helps prevent that from happening.

hope this helps

Answer 4

I've had really good results with Flint River Ranch - all natural human-grade food ingredients- no artificial colors or preservatives and no byproducts.  It is one of the few companies that makes it's own pet food and doesn't use imported ingredients (except free-range New Zealand lamb).  They have never had a recall of their food because they maintain their own high level of quality control.

The delivery to your home is included in the price at no extra charge.  For more information visit the company website at:

http://www.frrco.com/120820  

Answer 5

you could always try making your own food for the puppy. im sure she would like it, and you know exactly what is going into it!

x

Answer 6

I feed my dog California natural with two 1000mg salmon oil capsules. California natural is excellent. It's by natura which makes a whole line of different holistic brands. I reccomend Innova too which is also by natura.

http://www.naturapet.com/

Answer 7

go to dogfoodanalysis.com. you will find good foods on this site. stick with the 4-6 stared food. hope that helped.

Answer 8

Well i she got sick- she may have a sensitive stomach. The vet has food for that. Why not just try Pedigree with the pup for a while- that's what we- and some breeders we know use. Don't use Atta Boy or anything cheap w/ lots of fillers. It causes excess stool mass- and nobody wants that!

Answer 9

Anything that is all natural is best for your puppy.  Check out the website below.  Some of the brands are kind of expensive, but well worth it for the health of your dog.

Answer 10

Blue Buffalo all the way. My puppy's breeder fed her Eukanuba but she didn't really care much about it but when I switched her to Blue buffalo she loved it so much! She actually anticipated feeding time and I also noticed that she was much healthier and much more active. I highly reccomend the stuff!