I have a miniature poodle he's 6 mos. old. He's on purina puppy chow. Is that the best kind of food for him?

Question

I do know that poodle's hair is very hard to take care of. What kind of food would be best for him?

Answer 1

No purina is not a good food. Put him on Innova or Canidae. Anything you can get from Petsmart, Petco, or the grocery store is not good.

Answer 2

Purina Puppy Chow and Dog Chow are some of the worst foods out there. I would strongly recommend switching to a high-quality food.

There is no single food that is "best". For example, some dogs thrive on grain-free foods, while grain-free is too rich for other dogs. What you want to find is the high-quality food that *your dog* does best on.

On choosing a good dog food:
Read the ingredients on the food you buy. Go with a high quality dog food. A grain should not be in the first couple ingredients ingredient (corn and such are mainly fillers, dogs don't digest it well). Avoid foods that have a lot of "by products" listed.

Here is an article about byproducts:
http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=ingrd

And an article on what ingredients to avoid:
http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=badingredients

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Some GOOD foods are :
* Merrick - http://www.merrickpetcare.com/
* Solid Gold - http://www.solidgoldhealth.com/
* Canidae - http://www.canidae.com/
* Timberwolf - http://timberwolforganics.com/
* Orijen - http://www.championpetfoods.com/orijen/orijen/
* Wellness - http://www.omhpet.com/wellness/
* Chicken Soup brand - http://www.chickensoupforthepetloverssoul.com/
* Blue Buffalo - http://www.bluebuff.com/
* Innova - http://www.naturapet.com/brands/innova.asp
* Innova EVO - http://www.naturapet.com/brands/evo.asp

Or check this website for good foods: http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/
(I recommend only feeding foods rated 4, 5, or 6 stars. Anything 3 stars or less, I would stay away from.)

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Stay away from grocery stores brands. They are low-quality foods chalk full of fillers, preservatives, dyes, etc.. (Grocery store foods are those like Beneful, Old Roy, Alpo, Pedigree, Purina, etc.)

Beware "premium" foods. "Premium" does not mean good nutritionally, and is not a nutritionally high quality food. It has the same types of ingredients as grocery store foods, just a bit better quality of those not-so-good ingredients. (Premium foods are those like Iams, Eukanuba, Science Diet, etc..)

Another thing to be wary of: A lot of vets will recommend what they sell in their office. They get profit from the brands they keep on their shelves, that's why they push it. Truth is, vet schools don't focus a lot on nutrition. It's not saying that a vet is a bad vet because he recommends those foods, a lot of vets just are told "this is good food", so they pass the message along without proper nutrition knowledge. Also, some dog food brands (like Hills) support vet schools, so vets have heard of it from the time they start college, which makes them think it's good as well.

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Higher quality food may seem more expensive at first, but it evens out. The higher quality the food, the less fillers eaten (and therefore the less poop comes out the other end). Your dog eats more to try to get the nutrition it needs, and most of the food just passes right on through. Also, it will make your animals healthier, so you save money on vet bills in the long run.

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"Big box" petstores like Petco and Petsmart rarely have quality foods. Also, grocery stores and Walmart aren't good places to buy food either.

Your best bets for getting quality dog food are:
- small, locally owned petstores
- dog boutiques
- farm supply stores

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When switching foods, do it gradually. I do this over about a two week timespan:
25% food A, 75% food B
50% food A, 50% food B
75% food A, 25% food B
100% food A
.

Answer 3

Why they don't shed so I don't understand that question unless you mean hard to keep up with. No purina is not very good. The first 5 ingredients on the bag is what the food is mostly made of. It should be lamb meal, chicken meal. Whatever it should not be by products or whole ground yellow corn, soy beans. Now corn gluten is good and so is soy oil. I'd go with Nutros small bites. It is very healthy and dry food was never on the recall list.

Answer 4

honestly thats the worst kind of food for him. did u know that purina is made by the same company that makes kit kats and nesquick. switch to a holistic food like canidae, innova, or chicken soup brand. stay away from brands like iams, purina, eukanuba, science diet, ol roy, alpo. pretty much anything u find at walmart or see on tv is crap. most holistic dog foods can be found at ur local feed store so look there first. they actually care about what ur feeding ur dog

Answer 5

I wouldn't feed it.I would feed something with no corn,wheat or soy.I've had good results with Diamond or Eagle puppy foods.If you need to feed Purina,go with Purina ONE or Pro Plan.

Answer 6

I second Innova or Canidea.

Purina goes to restaurants and buys their used cooking oil. So the stuff that was used to deep fry your french fries is in your puppies food. Talk about unhealthy.

Answer 7

Read the ingredients on the label. The best food starts with meat, not corn , and not meat by products as the first ingredient on the label.

Answer 8

Your dog or puppy food should NEVER contain WHEAT or corn. Rice is OK but potatoes better. Grains not too good for doggies.

Answer 9

NOOOOOOO!!!!!!! my dog used to use purina and she started shedding massively we switched her to natural dog chow, also YOU SHOULD KNOW if the ingridientants are made in canada there is a huge chance that there is chopped up dog in it, if it is made of corn it will make your dog shed more

*purina is made in canada and has corn in it

Answer 10

No, any pet foods sell in the supermarkets are not premium quality food.