Thankyou :)
2007-03-01 08:18:51 · 12 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Dogs
My Petco carries Natural Balance, that is a pretty good food. Petco's carry different foods depending on area so I'm also including my article on choosing a high quality food. Some foods not to even bother looking at include Science Diet, Eukanuba, Iams and anything Purina.
You're going to find that most high quality foods don't carry a "puppy" formula. This is because they are formulated for all life stages. They can be fed from puppyhood through the senior years.
Puppy food actually very good for puppies.
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. 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...
2007-03-01 08:38:27 · answer #1 · answered by Bindi *dogtrainingbyjess.com* 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
The best place to find good puppy/dog food at a store like petco is SmartPuppy. I have 2 dogs of my own, I have a fine German Shepard, and with that I have To be very careful about which kinds of food to get. I chose SmartPuppy so my dogs can live long and happy!
2007-03-01 16:37:41 · answer #2 · answered by ceel 1 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Nutro Natural Choice is one of the best in my eyes. What you want to look for is the least amount of 'crude' anything you can find(crude protein, crude wheat, etc) as well as by-products, 'animal' fats that aren't specified, 'dedicated fiber sources', sweeteners, food fragments, etc. Most foods have some of this but the less, the better. Don't get something that says 'crude protein' as the first ingredient.
We're all suckers for good advertisement. Read the label before you buy something. You'll look like an idiot squatting on the floor of the Petco store but your dog will be better off for it ; ) Think about it, does your dog really care if his food is half orange, half red, and shaped like a small cow? Nope.
2007-03-01 16:35:50 · answer #3 · answered by Jello 3 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Out of Petsmart, the only two brands I'm really impressed with and would feed is Blue Buffalo (which I feed after having confirmed they'd taken the synthetic Vitamin K out) or Royal Canin.
Petco may be different, and if they have it: Timber Wolf, Solid Gold, Wellness, Chicken Soup for the Dog's Soul, and there's another food I can't remember the spelling of - C something, another poster mentioned it in your Nutro question.
2007-03-01 18:46:01 · answer #4 · answered by throughtwoeyes 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I have a 6 month old chihuahua and i feed her Nutro Natural Choice small bites puppy. Its all natural with no bi-products or presertives, which is good for your dogs digestion. Its very good food, her coat is so shiny and she is very entergetic (other than being a puppy) and happy. This dog food is very good for dogs, i highly recommend it. But if your switching your puppies food you need to wein it off the food you were feeding it so you dont upset its little digestive tract. Feed it like 80% old food with 20% new for 2 days, then go to 60% old with 40% new for a couple days and so on until its eating 100% new food. Hope i've helped, good luck!
2007-03-01 17:12:45 · answer #5 · answered by Tamara H 1 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Ther are several brands of good, quality dog food at Petco. You just need to decide which brand you and your dog will like the best. I use Chicken Soup for the Puppy/Dog Lovers Soul. You can also use Merrick, Canidae. or Natures Choice. There are a lot of good quality dog foods. I would ask someone who works there to show you the best food choices, and go with the one you like.
2007-03-01 16:27:23 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 1⤋
Different foods for different dogs... Go to petco with your pet and then ask an associate or start reading labels like the rest of us... lol
I think you took a smart pill today and you are letting your fingers do the walkin' N talkin'
YOU HAVE A GREAT DAY
2007-03-01 16:24:38 · answer #7 · answered by H.O.T. Dog 6 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Solid Gold Wolf Cub or Canidae All stages
2007-03-01 16:21:35 · answer #8 · answered by W. 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋
The Blue brand Is really good. Check the label and be sure there are not a lot of fillers (like corn) in it. When your at the store you could ask one of the trainners for their recomendation. Also you can ask you vet.
2007-03-01 16:28:32 · answer #9 · answered by tumbleweed 2 · 1⤊ 4⤋
the best puppy food is one high in organic cat meat... but I am not sure that you can get it a store like PETCO... you may have to go to your local Chinese take out place and get an order of Mu-Shoo "Pork" and then ask Sung-Mi for a bag of their special puppy food
2007-03-01 16:26:29 · answer #10 · answered by Matt 1 · 0⤊ 7⤋