Food for a puppy

[Christina_M]

I read the awesome "Why which dog food and why" thread and didn’t want to highjack it. I’m wondering would I feed the same foods that were recommended on that thread to a 7-month-old Border Collie that was emaciated a month ago? Are there better foods for the puppy age or do you give more of the same type of food if they are under 1 year? The vet recommended that instead of feeding puppy food that I give him Iams because “it’s higher in protein”. So I have him on Iams Lamb Meal & Rice. From reading the threads, I’m thinking that there is probably a better food for Wilson than Iams. I was trying to put more weight on him so he has a little fat to turn into muscle, but so far, he has grown about 4 inches in height and length without getting much fat. I’m also giving him Excel Puppy multi vitamins with DHA. All thoughts are very welcome and I’m not easily offended. I know what to feed a starved horse, but I'm new to the starved puppy. I just want to do the right thing for Wilson (and easy on the wallet helps). Thanks in advance for your help.

[Liz P]

You couldn't pay me to feed Iams to my dogs. Besides, if my memory is correct the Iams Lamb and Rice is very low in protein.

 

You want pups to grow nice and slow, even if they were emaciated at one point. What food you choose depends on personal preference, budget, availability and other factors. Some foods I really like are Innova puppy food, Innova Evo, Eagle Power Pack, Purina Pro Plan (esp the Salmon and Rice formula), Royal Canin puppy food. That is not an exhaustive list by any means.

 

What I am tired of hearing is that you must switch pups to adult food. I do the opposite. I feed my pups and adults food made for all life stages or for puppies. It is NOT the level of protein in the food that causes problems in growing pups but whether or not you feed too much and make the pup fat. Sure, you can really mess up a large breed dog feeding a small breed puppy food, but you can mess them up just as bad by feeding too much of an adult food. Also, there are plenty of adult foods that are more nutrient rich than the average puppy food. There are even "diet" foods that have more calories than puppy food! You can't just pick a food based on what the front of the bag says. You need to be an informed consumer and read the fine print.

[vjp]

I have concluded that the whole "food" topic makes me crazy. It's very subjective, just like it is for humans, and I won't fight about it. I'm very carnivorous and married to a vegan; somehow it works. I feed my 3 dogs close to what I eat, because I think that's how dogs evolved--cleaning up after humans. I eat local meat, brown rice, and as seasonal vegetables as possible, with local fruit. I buy Canidae, but I supplement it with good quality human food, like chicken & beef broth brown, rice and oats. My dogs eat raspberries & blueberries right out of the garden.

 

Just yesterday, when I bought Canidae at my local yuppie puppy store, I asked for a variety of free samples that they had behind the counter. The protein, fat, & kcal amount varied tremendously, even though the contents looked rather sound. It's impossible to decide what's "right" for a dog.

 

If I had a sick dog however, I'd give broth & rice cooked with more than 2x the water. I tend to think that with good, reasonable care, an emaciated pup will put on the weight naturally. I think I'd feed as much as I would for a healthy pup.

[PSmitty]

I am not an Iams fan, either. I recommend any product by Natura, which includes Innova, Evo (not recommended for puppies, though), California Natural and Healthwise. I started Alex on Innova puppy and then by about 7-8 months old, switched him to adult food. I can't remember if I fed my other two puppy food or not, I might've started them on an all life stages food right away.

 

Here's a great website for info on feeding your dog: www.dogfoodproject.com

[Tommy Coyote]

Why is Evo not good for puppies? I started Tommy out on Innova Puppy and later switched to Evo. But she also gets raw food almost every day. The raw I usually buy for her has raw meat, ground bone, organ meat and fruits and veggies in it.

[Rebecca, Irena Farm]

Evo has too much calcium for correct bone growth, up to somewhere around nine months or so for BC puppies - but to be safe I always say just wait until one year. Puppies don't "dump" extra calcium like adult dogs can so not only does it promote unhealthy joint growth, but it also can damage heart muscle and cause deficiencies of vital minerals that calcium binds.

 

My current favorite commercial kibble is Eagle Pack. It's more about trusting the company than anything. The price is good, comparable to Purina One or Iams or Eukanuba, and it's much easier to get answers from customer service when you need it. I've had wonderful luck with both the Premium (carbs provided via corn) and Holistic (no corn) lines.

 

But not every dog is the same, and different people have different comfort levels. Get as much information as you can to make informed choices, but don't let anyone else tell you that you "have" to feed your dog a certain way. Your dog is the most important one who you need to listen to!

[Lenajo]

Puppies don't "dump" extra calcium like adult dogs can so not only does it promote unhealthy joint growth, but it also can damage heart muscle and cause deficiencies of vital minerals that calcium binds.

 

References for this please, the metabolism differences and the studies that show Evo or similar foods cause metabolic damage, thanks.

 

I'm especially curious since grain free foods like Origen now also provide grain-free puppy foods on virtually the same recipes.

 

I'm not an EVO fan, mostly because I see dogs doing poorly on it. I think it's too much cooked protein (which the body tolerated differently than raw proteins) and whatever the preservative/cooking process is it makes dogs eating it so incredibly thirsty can't be good either.

 

For puppies I personally prefer raw. If you can't, then a good midgrade grain/meat kibble with some fresh raw supplementation is preferable to foods like EVO.

[Liz P]

I fed Evo to young pups from weaning to about 1 yr old with the blessing of a board certified veterinary nutritionist. The pups grew nice and slow, no joint problems at all. In fact, I radiographed every major joint (shoulders, elbows, hips and knees) and both body cavities when they were 2 years old because I had the opportunity to do it for free. Their joints looked great and there were no visible abnormalities.

 

Not every dog does well on every food. I have noticed that the way you store and feed Evo has an impact on how dogs do on it. I don't push Evo for puppies but if people want to feed a low carb food that has gone through feeding trials (for puppies) and comes from a good company I don't stop them either.