What kind of puppy food can I buy that my puppy will really like?

Question

I have tried Science Diet, Purina puppy chow, and now Beneful. My puppy eats her food grudgingly. Is there anything she'd actually enjoy eating?

Answer 1

You may consider one of the premium foods like Iams. I sold these foods for a number of years and they are very good. Since they have less 'filler' the dog eats a lot less and poops a lot less -stuff also doesn't smell as bad. They shed less hair and their coat is normally shinier. Look for a formula made for your specific doz size or breed.

Two mistakes commonly made with premium foods. First, since they eat less, people assume that their dog doesn't like it -not true. Dogs usually eat as much as their body needs. Cheap foods with lots of fillers leave the dogs feeling unsatisfied, so they eat a lot more trying to get what they need. The proof is that dogs that eat a premium food, even if they only eat about 1/3 as much as a cheap brand, don't lose weight and are much healthier.

The other thing to remember is that when you start to giove them a new food you must mix some of their old brand with the new brand for a few days. Lots of people just grab a bag of Iams or another food when theirs runs out. Then they suddenly switch the dogs diet and the dog gets diarrea. People then blame the food. Dogs have bacteria which help them digest foods. Different bacteria digests different ingredients. With a cheap food dogs may have bacteria that digests lots of corn (that's the main ingredient in many of these cheap foods) and then you give them Iams, which has lots of chicken or lamb their stomach is in an uproar until it adapts. By mixing the food for a few days you avoid this. Again, they will usually only eat 1/3 to 1/2 as much food because this new food is so nutritious so the food is not even more expensive per serving.

One more side note .... don't be fooled by foods that list chicken or whole chicken as their main ingredient. Chicken by weight is mostly water. If you dried out that chicken it would be the fourth or fifth ingredient on the ingredient list. Iam's and similar premium foods from your pet shop use human edible grade chicken or lamb meal and by products and so when you read that chicken meal is the main ingedient you can be sure that it has 3-5 times more chicken than the brand that uses 'whole chicken (with water)' as its main ingredient.

Answer 2

STOP WHAT YOU ARE DOING!!!! You have just fed some of the worst foods ever created for dogs!!!!

If you are going to buy a Purina food...make it ONE since its the best they have. But it still isn't even that good. Iams is ok and Eukanuba is a bit better.

The best foods that are "kibble" are Innova, Nature's Balance, Eagle Pack, and theres one more but I can't remember. Chicken Soup is also pretty good. Some of these only have large breed puppy, but otherwise there is no age difference in food. Wild wolf cubs do not have a puppy formula. Most of these foods sell puppy formula for dogs because they are so big. Such as great danes or st. bernards.

You probably realize that these are quite expensive. Look at the back. No preservatives or by products. My dogs will be going on a raw food diet (except for one. Im looking after him for a while...for a vegan friend so he will be on Innova).

Answer 3

Choose a dry food intended specifically for puppies, avoiding generic foods and those that sell for unusually low prices. We suggest brand name puppy food because it is impossible to distinguish good dog food from poor dog food simply by looking at the ingredient list on the label. Many things that owners look for, such as high protein levels and extra vitamins, are as likely to be harmful than helpful. For example, overfeeding and over supplementation are factors contributing to hip dysplasia. If you have a large-breed puppy, purchase "large breed" puppy food. The actual formula is different, not just the the kibble size, and is better for very rapidly growing puppies.


And as for the answer about table food...

Do not give people food. If you start with a balanced diet and add goodies from the table, you won't have a balanced diet anymore, and your puppy will have more digestive trouble. Treats that are reasonably balanced, such as Milk Bone Biscuits are OK, but since they are not really all that great nutritionally, don't let them become an important part of the diet. Canned puppy food is perfectly all right, but we usually suggest feeding dry food because it is cheaper, easier to use, and better for the teeth.

Answer 4

Blue Buffalo, Natural Choice, Natural Balance, Evo, Call of the Wild, Merrick, etc. Foods like that are very high quality. Merrick, Natural Choice, Natural Balance, and Blue Buffalo can be found in any Petco or Petsmart, but I'm not sure about the other 2 or any other brands. Purina is a food my dogs have always had problems with. In my opinion, it isn't the best quality food, which is why I would definitely not recommend feeding it. Also, you'll need to feed your dog puppy food up until the age of 2 years, then you can switch to the adult formula of whatever brand you choose for your dog.

Answer 5

First you should talk to your vet. However, we just purcahsed 2 lab puppies, they were rather picky at first, but we started mixing the dry puppy food with canned puppy food. On the labels there are conversions for mixing dry and canned together so that your puppy gets enough. Good Luck

Answer 6

Any kind of puppy food will work as long as you remain consistant and don't change the food too often. Here's a tip to get them to eat. Buy a couple cans of a beef or chicken moist cat food, and mix a spoon or two in with the dry food, the smell and added flavor will entice them to eat and cat food will not harm your puppy.

Gradually overtime reduce the ammount you mix in until you are not adding any, they will have become accustomed to their food by then and you shouldn't have any further problems getting your puppy to eat.

Answer 7

Science Diet is crap - way over priced for its quality.. the other two are also crap - too much fillers and not enough nutrition

what kind of dog? big or small?
what country are you in? Austria? Argentina? Australia?

I will assume North America..
go to a pet food supply store and select 2-3 of the better brands (in Canada NUTRAM, ACANA, SUMMIT) - (in USA - INNOVA, CANNIDAE, WELLNESS or NUTRO NATURAL CHOICE - not a top one.. but its okay)
now.. get samples of these foods.. you dont want to have more than 3 samples...see which she likes best
sometimes if puppies were raised on really low quality food (eg mainstay or Kibbles and bitz) they have been eating foods with extra fat added for palletability the fat tastes yummy and like eating potatoe chips makes these foods addictive so they dont want good food...
if the pup is reluctant - then put the food in microwave for 5-10 seconds to bring out the natural oils and make it smell good.. or sprinkle garlic powder on to make it smell better...
once your pup starts eating a good food it will stay with it...
however you need to realize that because the good foods are good they have less filler so more nutrition so your pup wont need to eat nearly as much....

Stay OUT of grocery stores and Wal Marts when looking for dog foods... always read lables - avoid by-products (beaks feet feathers)

Answer 8

you've done fine--maybe just not a food driven puppy. Be sure you switch to adult food earlier than the bag says -- like 3 months because puppy food makes them grow too fast. Any good breeder will tell you this. Check into making your own puppy food --lots of sites about this.

Answer 9

hmmm......... Maybe try a store brand.

Go onto petsmart.com and look for the "nutritional selector". Here is a link

http://petsmart.promotions.com/JSP/flashnew.jsp


But some other good brands are:

Nauture Natrul Puppy formula

And

Innova Puppy food

Answer 10

Try Wellness. It is a really good food and it is naturally flavored. The first ingredient in it is meat. Another thing you can try is warming the dry food up in the microwave. I know, it sounds stupid, but it brings the flavor out more and it may satisfy your pup.

If this doesn't work try Vita Gravy. It goes over the food to make it more intising to the dog.