Hi I am a new owner

andrewxlt · Jun 23, 2006

Hi I am a new puppy owner and I love every minute of it. I do have some questions on food choice though. Right now I am using the brand Beneful by Purina but Rusty seems to be picky with it. He will eat it but not as much as he should or at least I dont think. I was just curious as to what would be a better choice or maybe a better ingredient food for him. I know this is a loaded question due to their being so many foods out there I was just curious Smile Thanks and Im going to enjoy reading the forum.

Here is a pic of the new family member.

Zoom · Jun 23, 2006

I would recommend any of these:

Canidae
Eagle Pack
Innova/Innova EVO
California Natural
Solid Gold

He looks to be a Golden mix, which means he'll probably get fairly large as an adult. Look for either a Large breed puppy food or an All Lifestages food. This will help to regulate his growth so that he doesn't grow too big too fast and stress out his joints and bones.

welcome to the boards!

D.K. Murphy · Jun 23, 2006

What a cutie! I researched food choices for hours before coming up with a choice for Murph. You should know what is available in your area. There are lots of sights online that help you compare different products... spend some time looking around to see what might be best for Rusty!

Renee750il · Jun 23, 2006

He's beautiful! Welcome to Chazhound . . . Zoom's given you excellent choices.

Those of us who have spent too much time researching - particularly Mordy, who has spent untold thousands of hours researching - have learned that we don't want to feed our dogs anything that we can pick up at the grocery or department-type store. The stuff that's put in those kinds of alleged pet foods . . .

Saje · Jun 23, 2006

I wouldn't feed anything from a grocery store including Beneful. Nutro is ok, middle of the road sort of food but you can do a lot better for your money. Check out Mordy's site. www.dogfoodproject.com and maybe ask her some questions. She's invaluable.

Good luck and you have a gorgeous pup

papillon806 · Jun 23, 2006

I would recommend:

Solid Gold (www.solidgoldhealth.com)
Innova (www.naturapet.com)
California Natural (www.naturapet.com)
Royal Canin (www.royalcanin.us--can get at Petco)
Canidae (www.canidae.com)
Chicken Soup dog food (www.chickensoupforthepetloverssoul.com)
Natural Balance (not sure of the website but you can get it at Petco)

Definatley NEVER buy dog food from a grocery store....you get what you pay for!
--Also check out Mordanna's site www.dogfoodproject.com to get educated on how to read/interpret pet food labels and ingredients

andrewxlt · Jun 23, 2006

thanks for the responses

Ive been reading about Inova but i was also curious as to the different types. Do i need to get a puppy formula or could i get the large breed formula adult food. Does it make a difference ?

Mordy · Jun 23, 2006

You don't need to give a specific puppy formula as long as the adult version of the food is labeled as suitable "for all lifestages".

If you want to try the Innova, you might want to start out with the regular (not large breed) puppy formula though, since it has a lower fat content, which will make the transition from a poor quality food a bit easier. Then after the bag is used up, you can go to the Adult food.

Amstaffer · Jun 23, 2006

I feed Sal and Athena... Nature's Balance. They love it and this seem to be doing very well on it. I have heard and read a lot of good things about it. Here is the companies website. http://www.naturalbalanceinc.com/dogformulas/home.html

It is easier to find then a lot of the "best" dog foods. It is also fairly reasonable in price.

I don't think you can go wrong with any of the dog foods mentioned so far.

Herschel · Jun 23, 2006

I'm a big fan of Canidae.

If you use their website to try to find a store near you, please search with your area code! (The zip code search is useless for some reason)

andrewxlt · Jun 24, 2006

hate to keep asking questions

One more question and i will stop

, the Innova EVO dry food, can you feed it to puppies or is it adult only?

Brattina88 · Jun 24, 2006

the more questions the better! We love to see dog owners trying to learn, as apposed to idiots who really just don't care

I think it really depends on the breed. Large breed puppies need a large breed specific food, so it doesn't through off the whole growing routine

you have to be careful with their food and joints and stuff.
Smaller breeds I'm pretty sure its okay to feed them. My little Shih Tzu I used to foster ate EVO when she was still a pup
HTH

Renee750il · Jun 24, 2006

Keep asking questions, Andrew! That's how you learn . . . and you should never stop learning

Brattina's right. EVO is primarily an adult dog food. It's fine for the smaller breeds as pups, but not for large breeds. For large breeds, stick to a good all life stages food, like the regular Innova, or you can go to their large breed puppy food.

andrewxlt · Jun 24, 2006

thank you so much

I can't say enough how helpful all of you have been. Thanks for the responses and i know Rusty will enjoy the new food better than the Beneful

Renee750il · Jun 24, 2006

You'll have to post some pics of your Rusty. We'd love to see him

andrewxlt · Jun 24, 2006

here are the pics

andrewxlt · Jun 24, 2006

more

Renee750il · Jun 24, 2006

Rusty's adorable! And he's such a gorgeous color

dogstarsleddogs · Jun 24, 2006

Rusty is absolutly adorable!!!! I love the 2nd from the last pic! As for foods, I'd feed Canidae if I could get it at a cheaper price, and it had a bit more fat. (I like the food to have atleast 20% fat). I'd also feed Eagle, but again if I could get it at a cheaper price.
Right now, I feed Kasco, irs Royal Canin's "lower" brand. I couldnt be happier with it! Sure it has by-products, corn as #2, but the dogs have never been better!

andrewxlt · Jun 26, 2006

Innova EVO

Had a question abou Innova EVO, would it be appropriate to give Rusty right now or shouldi wait till he is out of the puppy stage. Im going to go with Innova brand food Im just not sure what kind.

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