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Best puppy foods?

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Baja You're like two- sides of the- same coin     Barked: Mon Aug 27, '12 10:09pm PST  I am getting a german shorthaired pointer at the end of september and I am trying to decide which food is best. Ultimately I would like this puppy to be on a grain free diet, but I have read that grain free food is not good to feed puppies because it is too high in protein and calories. I am thinking maybe Canidae all life stages as it isn't too high in protein content, I have thought about Healthwise as I had a german shorthair on it before and he loves it but it is not the highest quality, Blue buffalo did not get as high of ratings as the canidae and wellness has sweet potatoes and I have heard that it can cause bad breath and plaque build up. Any suggestions? my posts | my page | msg me | gift me | become pals [notify]

Ginger 968251     Barked: Tue Aug 28, '12 10:27am PST  Nature's Variety has puppy formulas now. There is also Wellness puppy food. I have known people that feed Blue Buffalo puppy food and have been quite happy with it. Fromm makes good foods and is a very good company. Horizon also makes puppy formulas. The guy at The Paw Depot, where I buy my dogs' food, recommends foods from Horizon and Fromm mostly. Those are his 2 favorite companies. Sometimes, Fromm and Horizon are a little harder to find, but can usually be found online. We don't have puppies right now, but have been feeding Fromm 4-Star Nutritionals and are currently feeding Horizon Pulsar. When we had puppies, we fed Nature's Variety Prairie chicken meal & brown rice formula and had no issues. The guy we buy food from thinks their quality has gone downhill some though since they expanded and started selling in the big box stores. He also says to stay away from ANYTHING made by Diamond. He's pretty adamant about that, but will sell it to customers that insist on using it. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Member Since 09/10/2011     Barked: Tue Aug 28, '12 10:32am PST  Ginger - Is the warning against foods made/manufactured by Diamond due for any other reasons except for recalls? Olive was fed Wellness Just For Puppy, and Blue Buffalo Wilderness -- before switching to ToTW. We now do 1/2 raw, 1/2 ToTW. my posts [notify]

Baja You're like two- sides of the- same coin     Barked: Tue Aug 28, '12 11:00am PST  I am trying to stay away from any food with sweet potatoes. Which include Fromm, Nature's Domain, and Wellness. Blue Buffalo did not rate as high as the Canidae. Pulsar is not available anywhere near me. Nutri-source grain free looks really good, low protein content and not as high calorie wise as Fromm. Any suggestions? my posts | my page | msg me | gift me | become pals [notify]

Olive Lab/Rottie/Chow/- Shepherd Mix!     Barked: Tue Aug 28, '12 12:00pm PST  Merlin - if you're looking for grain-free foods, you might be hard-pressed to find a dry food that doesn't contain potatoes, as this starch is what holds the food together. I wouldn't say it contributes to plaque build-up and stinky breath -- but if this is what concerns you, I keep my dog's mouth by giving her a RMB often (raw meaty bone) -- she doesn't have any plaque or doggy-breath issues. I don't brush her teeth - but that could also be an option. I personally think grain inclusive foods are what contribute most to poor dental health. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Baja You're like two- sides of the- same coin     Barked: Tue Aug 28, '12 12:43pm PST  I don't mind potatoes, just not sweet potatoes. Tuscan Natural makes a great grain free dog food but its too high in protein content for a puppy. I am considering their puppy food, which is not grain free but has good quality ingredients. Nutri-source has a grain free that is lower in protein content and does not contain sweet potatoes that might be fine for a puppy. my posts | my page | msg me | gift me | become pals [notify]

Ginger 968251     Barked: Wed Aug 29, '12 10:31am PST  The reasons he gave for discouraging feeding foods made by Diamond were the recalls, lower quality ingredients, ingredients sourced from China (and anywhere else they can get them the cheapest), and a fairly high glycemic index. A lot of dogs do well on foods made by Diamond and a lot of people like to feed Diamond because it is relatively cheap. He feeds his own dogs (bostons) a food called Amicus, made by Horizon. My dogs seem to like the Pulsar grain free chicken kibble. They are not picky eaters though. They also like Fromm, and just about any other kibble I have given them. They LOVE the frozen raw. I give them a little bit every evening at dinner time (the small dogs get about an ounce per day to supplement the kibble). I tend to rotate foods fairly frequently (kibble). I don't stick to just one food all the time. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]

Baja You're like two- sides of the- same coin     Barked: Wed Aug 29, '12 11:44am PST  My top 2 choices are Tuscan Natural (Pyramid Pet foods) and Nutri-source (Tuffys pet foods). Nutri-Source has a lower protein grain free dog food that would keep the puppy grain free without the dangers of high protein and calorie content. Tuscan Natural has a puppy food that is not too high in protein and has many quality ingredients, although it is not grain free. Products that I am no longer considering and why: Fromm-too expensive TOTW-made by Diamond Horizon-not available anywhere near me/too expensive Canidae-made by Diamond Healthwise-now owned by Procotor and Gamble EVO-now owned by Proctor and Gamble Wellness-bought products from Diamond Blue Buffalo-Contains citric acid which can cause bloat Nature's Variety Instinct-contains citric acid which can cause bloat Orijen-protein content is too high for a puppy(will consider once full grown) Acana-protein content is too high for a puppy(will consider once full grown) Any further suggestions would be great! my posts | my page | msg me | gift me | become pals [notify]

Daisy Baby Daddy's Spoiled- Little Girl!     Barked: Wed Aug 29, '12 3:46pm PST  canidae is now made by their own manufacturing plants. They started shortly after the diamond recall. I use Dr. Tim's food. I get it on Petflow for very affordable and it only takes about two days to get with free shipping. hey now have a grain free. We just started on this food and took all of our dogs off vet food and they have done amazing with it. I like the food too because I can actually talk to the owner and developer of the food(via facebook). He has been very forthcoming and is a Vet himself. I did call Canidae awhile back and they did confirm that they are now manufacturing their own, she gave me a date that they did but I just can't remember. my posts | my page | msg me | my family's posts | gift me | become pals [notify]