Best kinda of dog food for puppy?

Question

my dog is a large breed and was wondering what a good brand of puppy food would be?

Answer 1

Instead of feeding puppy food, feed an all stages food.

Explanation as to why puppy food is BAD for puppies, especially large breed pups: It contains WAY MORE protein than needed. It causes rapid growth, rapid growth then leads to future bone and joint problems. Feeding a high quality all stages food will promote a more desired slow growth, and thus lessen the chances of bone and joint problems later. Puppies should grow up slowly, not spring up like weeds.

In my opinion "puppy" foods should only be fed to pregnant and lactating dogs who actually can use all that extra protein and calcium.

Nothing you find at a grocery store is going to be a good food. High quality foods can be found at large pet store chains, or online. A couple of foods I like are Nutro Natural, Innova, Innova Evo and Cannidae.

There are other high quality dog foods. Here's how to spot them:

A high quality food will have little or no fillers such as corn, wheat or soy. These aren't very digestable for dogs, and are common food related allergens. Since you were seeing corn meal in the first few ingredients, those are not high quality foods. Foods list ingredients by content, with the ingredient it contains most of at the top.

A high quality food will not contain BHT, BHA or Ethoxyquin, these are all chemical preservatives that have been linked to cancer.

A high quality food will not contain by-products of any kind. Meat meals are ok as long as the source of the meat is listed, such as Chicken Meal.

A high quality diet should have meat as at least the first ingredient., and be made from human grade ingredients. Foods that don't use human grade ingredients often get their ingredients from less than desirable sources, such as meat from animals that were diseased, or euthanized.

There is another diet option other than dog food. Some people choose to feed a raw diet. This involves feeding the dog raw meaty bones and organ meat. And unlike kibble, raw diets actually do keep teeth and gums healthy. Kibble cleaning teeth is a myth, and you can see this by looking at the dental health of our pets today.

However it is not as simple as throwing a couple chicken bones in a bowl everyday. If you wish to feed this type of diet, do lots and lots of research first. Switching to this diet without knowing what your doing can lead to nutritional problems for your dog. I'll give you some links as a starting point in research if you are interested in this type of diet.

http://www.willowglen.com/barf.htm.........

http://www.bestfrisbeedogs.com/diets.htm...

http://www.rawlearning.com/rawfaq.html.....

http://www.rawfed.com/myths/index.html.....

http://www.rawdogranch.com

What's Really In Pet Food
http://www.api4animals.org/facts?p=359&m...

Answer 2

Please go to dogfoodanalysis.com and read their reviews for dog food and select one of the premium foods with at least a 5-star rating.

Suggestions:
Artemis Fresh Mix Medium/Large Breed Puppy Formula
Canidae All Life Stages
Innova Large Breed Puppy Food Dry (the best in my opinion)
Orijen Puppy Large

P.S. If you give your puppy the right dog food there is no need to give them extra vitamin supplements

Answer 3

A good quality food with NO corn, wheat, soy or beet pulp in it.

Stay away from supermarket brands, IAMS/Eukanuba, Science Diet, Purina, Pedigree, Alpo ..they contain way too many cheap fillers. Also foods like Beneful and Kibbles n'Bits have dyes and sugars in them.
Dogs are carnivores, designed to eat meat and extract nutrition from meats not grains. It takes up to 3 times more of a grain laden food for a dog to receive proper nutrition then it does of a good quality meat based food.

Look for a good quality food such as Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul, Canidae, Solid Gold, Blue Buffalo, California Natural,Innova, Timberwolf just to name a few.

Answer 4

Nutro Natural Choice is one of the best foods out there. It contains a lot less of the crude materials(crude protein, grain, etc) than some other foods. Be sure to get the puppy food. It has more of what the puppy needs(protein, etc). I'm not entirely sure but if they have a large breed puppy formula, get that one.

Answer 5

I'm a fan of Nutro products. I have had great success with my 4 dogs and 3 cats.
In any case, you should purchase a puppy food specifically formulated for large breed puppies, since they have different nutritional needs than small and medium breeds.

Answer 6

Do not feed grocery store brands eg. eukanuba,iams,pedigree,purina,alpo,kibbbles n bits,ol'roy, Hill's Science Diet,Waltham's. etc
these are not good foods for any dog they are filled with by-products which is :chicken feet,beaks,feathers,hooves,offal ,lungs, ligaments,teeth, corn,intestines etc, also added to this horrid bad dog food is:Coloring agents, Drying agents ,Flavoring agents, Lubricants, Texturizers
chemicals used in this dog food:BHA (butylated hydroxyanisole) - known to cause liver and kidney dysfunction
BHT (butylated hydroxytolulene) - known to cause liver and kidney dysfunction,Ethoxyquin - suspected of causing cancer
Propylene glycol - causes the destruction of red blood cells
I am not kidding this is whats really in these dogs foods.This bad dog food is cleaned up with the all-encompassing label of “meat-and-bone meal” and “by-products” on the outside of the bag.

some really good foods are :fromms,chicken soup for puppy lovers soul, natural balance,timber wolf,acana,innova,innova evo,solid gold,california natural,orijen.. etc. hope this helps you !!! these foods can be found in some pet foods or holistic pet food stores. also forgot to mention there is always the raw diet! p.s corn goes right through dogs just like people yet they add it too these bad dog foods, not only is it undigestible ,but it has no nutritional value and alot of dogs have allergies to it, beside do you really think a dog is going to go find some corn to eat in the wild?? i doubt it.....lol good foods can be expensive but it is extremly benifical for your pet to be eating a good diet.. less poops and most dogs on a good diet eat less. I have owned a pet food health store for several years now i have done extensive research on what is truly good brands of dog food ,whats in it?,and how is it benifical to the animal? I hope this helps too many people dont do there home work on what they feed there doggies.good luck with your new pup!!!! :-)

Answer 7

well it is the best out there but it is one of the most expensive. it is called Innova large breed puppy food. it cost forty dollars a bag but it is a lot healthier than any other dog foods out. it has no fillers and unwanted ingredients that your dog does not need. since its so good it takes less to fill them up and you will notice that your dogs coat will be shinier and he/she will be a lot healthier all around. I use it for my two rottweilers and it works great!

Answer 8

There are so many good dog foods on the market...science diet, eukanuba, authority, etc. I'd check the labels and look at protein and fat levels, puppies need a higher ratio than adult dogs. Most dog foods offer a food designed for puppies, some even offer large breed puppy food. I'd stay with a dry food, it promotes healthy teeth and gums.

Also it's a real good idea to put the puppy on a real high quality chewable vitamin (nuvet labs makes a great vita men).

Answer 9

The important thing with large breed puppies is making sure that the calcium phosphorus ratio is correct. Several dog food companies make large breed puppy foods that are perfect, Purina puppy chow large breed is readily available most everywhere, and pro plan large breed puppy is also widely available.

Answer 10

I highly recomend NUTRO large breed puppy food. I have fed this to all my goldens for many years and they have grown to be beautiful and happy and healthy dogs.