What to feed my puppy? - Page 1

What do you recommend feeding a growing puppy?  Our girl is 8 weeks old and is currently on Royal Canin German Shepherd Puppy.  I hate that it has corn in it.  Is there a certain amount of protein that you look for in a dry food?  I think I remember reading that you don't want to feed puppies too much protein.  We are currently paying about $40 for a 35lb bag of Royal Canin and we really can't afford to pay too much more than this.  What do you think of Canidae?  We are also wanting to switch our 5 yr old girl too, as her coat is dull & seems "itchy".  This whole food thing is soooo confusing!!  I spent an hour at IncrediPet and then another 45 minutes at Petsmart the other night, just comparing food ingredients, prices, etc.  And walked away buying the same thing (Royal Canin) because it was too confusing to make a decision!  argh.   

PS- also, what kinds of raw bones can I safely feed an 8 week puppy?  Today we gave her & her mama each a frozen meaty turkey neck, but we took it away from the pup once we got down to the bones. 

Great question......

Many people on this board really believe in feeding raw chicken necks and back to puppies. My puppy (3 1/2 months) loves them, but  I ended up having to steam clean my carpets EVERY weekend....not good.

Right now, he's on Science diet "ID" with  cooked chicken and rice, with yogurt, bone meal, vitimins, pro-boitics added. As he developes, I will discontinue the Science Diet. Right now he's happy, healthy and has plenty of energy AND semi solid poops.

Our adult dogs get a quality chicken and rice or lamb and rice kibble, supplement with 1/4 cup raw meat or poultry daily (no bones or back to the steam cleannig again).They also get fish oil caps and pro-biotics. Our dogs have lots of energy, extra shiney coats and clear eyes - even the 10 year old.

When changing food, do so very gradually, start with 10% new food and slowly increase ........

Mostly, you'll have to experment and see what works best for your puppy and you.

at the moment, my puppies are on Solid gold-Wolf King and barking at the moon food.

 

Thought I would add that I just made a couple phone calls to pet food stores & found out I can get Taste of the Wild for the SAME price as I'm paying for the Royal Canin.  Isn't TOTW considered a more top-quality food?  Given the choice, how does TOTW & Canidae compare? 

We feed our adult dogs and puppy the Blue Buffalo brand (dry and canned) and they've all done really well on it.  Petsmart carries the brand.

Simply Shepherds

Pro-pac performance puppy

I feed all 3 of mine Canidae including my pup. She is almost 10 months old and has been eating Canidae ALS since 10 weeks.

If you decide to feed raw, I've found I'm able to buy a great selection of turkey necks, beef and pork hearts, pork necks, fish shoulders (seriously) and other similar items by shopping ethnic markets, i.e. Chinese, Japanese. My cost is averaging about $1.00 per pound but I know I could get that down with a little effort.

I have it all packaged separately and just throw a mixed bowl of it together. My dog LOVES it, has small, firm stools, her teeth are pearly white and she is the picture of health.

When I bought her she was fed Costco's Kirkland brand food which I understand to be a good food for the price, but she always had noxious gas, and heinous smelling stools the size of manhole covers.

We're both happy now.

 

I never cease to be amazewd that dog food from major companies that claim research behind their product STILL have corn and wheat in them. It's like dentists passing out Juicy Fruit gum, or Butterfingers candy at every visit. I tried TOTW as a back up while awaiting a shipment of Platinum. It is a premium food, too. The dogs did so well on it, that I may forego any further orders of Platinum in the future. I noticed no change in the stools, nor any gasiness from my male (who gets ugly gassy when his food is changed). The coats were still so glossy that you'd think I'd used "product," and it costs a LOT less.

For a puppy I like the Solid Gold Wolf Cub. It is a good large breed puppy food. That is what we raised out 2 males on ans they did very well on it.
Our adlut dogs eat the Kirkland Costco chicken and rice. There coats are great, stools are good and energy levels are great also.