daisyandme Posted December 13, 2009 Report Share Posted December 13, 2009 I have been feeding my 4 1/2 month old puppy Wellness Super 5 Mix-Just for Puppy as a result of the www.dogfoodanalysis.com site. It seems to be the only puppy food with a high rating that does not mention calcium and protein levels as too high. What are your thoughts on this food? Daisy seems to be doing pretty well on it. I really wanted to go with a grain free food, but this seems very limited for puppies right now. Also I was wondering about commercial raw, specifically Primal Pet Foods or Natures Variety? I found this website and it seems pretty interesting: Dog Aware Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Journey Posted December 13, 2009 Report Share Posted December 13, 2009 I am about to get into a bag of the WS5MJFP. In research and questioning many people, it seems the best way to go for me right now. At 4.5 mo old I personally would not be feeding puppy food. I switch my pups from puppy food to a high quality adult - all life stages, at about 12 weeks. Raw, well, we get fresh killed venison here and when that gets low they get beef, lamb or goat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daisyandme Posted December 13, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 13, 2009 Oh ok thanks!. I did not know I could switch her over that early, I had read so many different thing that I thought she should be closer to a year old. May I ask why you switch after 12 weeks? I am about to get into a bag of the WS5MJFP. In research and questioning many people, it seems the best way to go for me right now. At 4.5 mo old I personally would not be feeding puppy food. I switch my pups from puppy food to a high quality adult - all life stages, at about 12 weeks. Raw, well, we get fresh killed venison here and when that gets low they get beef, lamb or goat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliepoudrier Posted December 13, 2009 Report Share Posted December 13, 2009 Many of us switch our youngsters to adult food early. My 18 week old has been on adult food since about 10 weeks or so (maybe earlier--the only reason they got puppy food at all is because their mom was on puppy food while she was nursing them and then I just finished up the bag once the pups were weaned; if I had gotten the pup from someone else at 7 weeks or so, it would have been put right on adult food). A slim puppy is a healthy puppy and many puppy foods tend to be a bit too high in fat and calories (and calcium). All life stages foods meet all of a pup's nutritional needs and don't "encourage" rapid growth or roly-polyness (which is what folks expect of a puppy, even though it's not the healthiest condition for the pup), which in turn is better for joints that aren't completely finished growing. By switching to an adult food early, you reduce the risks of too-rapid growth and increase the chances of allowing your pup's joints to remain stress free while they grow. P.S. I've always liked the Wellness foods, for both my dogs and cats. J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PSmitty Posted December 13, 2009 Report Share Posted December 13, 2009 What Julie said. Another good site: www.dogfoodproject.com I'm feeding Wellness to my cats, they love it and are doing very well on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
in2adventure Posted December 13, 2009 Report Share Posted December 13, 2009 I just switched to Wellness Core for my guys. I can't get GO here and I hate spending money on S/H charges. Core looks like great stuff and they seem to really like it. I agree with everyone else on the puppy food thing. Neither of my two have ever gotten puppy food. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daisyandme Posted December 13, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 13, 2009 Thanks so much everyone! I will begin the switch over now! I hope I haven't damaged her She has been on that food for about a month and I have no idea what she was on at the rescue. They just gave me a bag of Science Diet. I have not seen too rapid of growth spurts from her. She seems pretty slow and steady. More so weight gain in the beginning though because she was severely underweight. What are your thoughts on Nature's Variety Instinct? My parents have their dogs on that food and I visit often and have caught Daisy a couple times going for that food. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliepoudrier Posted December 13, 2009 Report Share Posted December 13, 2009 I liker Nature's Variety too. I used to feed their Prairie kibble to my geriatric dog. As for the pup, she should be kept on the thin side--that is, you should be able to easily feel her ribs (but not see them), just as you would with an adult dog. J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brentd49 Posted December 17, 2009 Report Share Posted December 17, 2009 Many of us switch our youngsters to adult food early. My 18 week old has been on adult food since about 10 weeks or so (maybe earlier--the only reason they got puppy food at all is because their mom was on puppy food while she was nursing them and then I just finished up the bag once the pups were weaned; if I had gotten the pup from someone else at 7 weeks or so, it would have been put right on adult food). A slim puppy is a healthy puppy and many puppy foods tend to be a bit too high in fat and calories (and calcium). All life stages foods meet all of a pup's nutritional needs and don't "encourage" rapid growth or roly-polyness (which is what folks expect of a puppy, even though it's not the healthiest condition for the pup), which in turn is better for joints that aren't completely finished growing. By switching to an adult food early, you reduce the risks of too-rapid growth and increase the chances of allowing your pup's joints to remain stress free while they grow. P.S. I've always liked the Wellness foods, for both my dogs and cats. J. I read on www.dogfoodanalysis.com that Wellness Core has too much protein for puppies. So I was going to use Wellness Puppy until 1 year of age. That is what they recommend and that is their only available option if you use Wellness exclusively for the life of the dog. You're saying I'll need to switch to an All-Life-Stages food until he's old enough for Wellness Core? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliepoudrier Posted December 17, 2009 Report Share Posted December 17, 2009 You don't have to, but if you feed a puppy food be sure that you're not overfeeding it and making him grow too rapidly or making him fat. Many puppy foods are designed to encourage rapid growth (large breed formulas are probably the exception). From my perspective, I want my pup to grow slowly and steadily to reduce the risk of any problems associated with too-rapid growth or being overweight. Each dog is different and it's just my preference not to feed puppy food. Consider that wild canid pups, once weaned, eat no differently than their adult relatives, except perhaps for having the meal slightly pre-digested. If you feed a good quality puppy food and are sensible about your pup's weight and rate of growth, you'd probably be okay with the Wellness puppy food if that's what you'd prefer to feed. ETA: If you've ever read the Whole Dog Journal dog food analyses, one of the things they've always said was that it makes sense to rotate feeds. That way if one is short on a particular nutrient or has a tad too much of something else, you can in effect balance that over the life of the dog by not feeding one brand exclusively. I have a particular brand that is my "foundation" brand, but occasionally I will switch the dogs to something else for a period of time. J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brentd49 Posted December 18, 2009 Report Share Posted December 18, 2009 You don't have to, but if you feed a puppy food be sure that you're not overfeeding it and making him grow too rapidly or making him fat. Many puppy foods are designed to encourage rapid growth (large breed formulas are probably the exception). From my perspective, I want my pup to grow slowly and steadily to reduce the risk of any problems associated with too-rapid growth or being overweight. Each dog is different and it's just my preference not to feed puppy food. Consider that wild canid pups, once weaned, eat no differently than their adult relatives, except perhaps for having the meal slightly pre-digested. If you feed a good quality puppy food and are sensible about your pup's weight and rate of growth, you'd probably be okay with the Wellness puppy food if that's what you'd prefer to feed. ETA: If you've ever read the Whole Dog Journal dog food analyses, one of the things they've always said was that it makes sense to rotate feeds. That way if one is short on a particular nutrient or has a tad too much of something else, you can in effect balance that over the life of the dog by not feeding one brand exclusively. I have a particular brand that is my "foundation" brand, but occasionally I will switch the dogs to something else for a period of time. J. Okay. Thanks for the explanation. Maybe I'll get some Canidae All Life Stages next. I just started a 50lb of the Wellness puppy, so I'll use that first. My pup is currently 12 weeks old. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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