What brand of dog food & treats should I get? And when should I change a puppy food into an adult food.?

Question

I know the most popular one is pedigree. But is there any other cheaper but good quality dog food. Perhaps 'Alpo'. What about treats? Can I use the dog food as well? Or can I use treats with no brand?

What age is apropriate for the exchange? Should I buy a whole big pack of dog food or smaller packs?

Please answer.

Answer 1

Pedigree and Alpo and anything you can get at Wal-Mart or the supermarket is garbage. Go to www.dogfoodanalysis.com and pick a 4 star or better food. I personally feed my dogs Canidae. They love it and it is affordable consitering when I fed Pedigree I would buy a 40 pound bag every week and a half to 2 weeks. Now I buy 40 pounds of Canidae every 3-4 weeks. They eat less when on a better food and if you decide to feed Canidae it is for all life stages so no changing food ever. Other good ones are Innova EVO, Wellness, Blue Buffalo, but stear clear of things like pedigree, science diet, eukaneuba, alpo, kibbles and bits. Its basically like letting your dog eat McDonalds all day every day. They dont live as long and arent as healthy with crappy foods. Pick one that works for you and your budget and still lets your dog be healthy.

Treats come in all kinds of varieties. When training we do just a piece of dry kibble for our dogs as a reward when needed. Other than that we get Canidae snap biscuits and some wellness treats as well. And my dogs love Kongs so they have Kong treats too.

Answer 2

You should look for quality foods that don't have corn as their first ingredient (or NO corn - even better). None of the breeders I know personally, use Pedigree. It has a lot of fillers. Costco makes a very good dog food, and it is very affordable. I personally feed my puppies Pro Pac Lamb Meal and Rice Formula. I feed puppies puppy food for 2 years. At the time I switch to adult (I still use Pro Pac), I begin to mix it 1/2 and 1/2, then gradually add more adult to less puppy until it is all adult. I buy the large bags. But, I have 9 dogs, so it goes pretty fast...

A good milk bone makes a nice treat. Just be sure you watch them with anything new so they don't choke.

Answer 3

It all depends how old your puppy is. It is quite acceptable to change over to Adult food when the pup is about 5 months old for a few months while he is going through his growth spurt. This actually stops the pup from becoming skinny and leggy. He really needs the high protein up until this age but if you have already opened the bag then I would suggest you add the odd egg or grated cheese, even some cooked chicken or fish to his meals until you have finished the bag. This will give him the extra protein he needs. Tinned Sardines in Oil are an excellent source of protein. Once you have finished the bag of Adult you can then go back to the Puppy Food. If you are feeding a high protein Puppy Food there is absolutely no need to add any extra vitamin supplements as the Food will have been scientifically balanced to give your puppy all the nutrients and vitamins he needs for his bone growth and development. I am at a loss why your Veterinarian would give you vitamin supplements to add to his diet.

Answer 4

Alpo, Pedigree, Science Diet, Kibbles-n-Bits are all crap food. Don't feed this junk to your dog. Choose a high quality dog food (Flint River Ranch, Solid Gold, Innova, Canidae) - pretty much anything besides Pedigree and Alpo. It will be cheaper in the long run and it is so much better for your dog's overall health. You can switch your puppy to adult food around age 1.

Answer 5

Didnt your vet tell you all this when your puppy had its vaccinations?

Puppy wants to be on a puppy food until 12 months of age. The best brands are Hills, Eukanuba, JWB e.t.c but these are more expensive than your supermarket brands but that is because they are better for your dog. Pedigree is full of crap like most of the other cheaper brands.

A biscuit diet is far better than a meat diet, meat rots the teeth and tinned dog meat is 70% moisture and just rubbish really. You want a good quality complete biscuit diet. If you have somewhere to keep a large amount and it has a long date on it then it will work out cost effective to buy a bigger bag!

Answer 6

I'm sorry, but Pedigree is garbage. and anything by Purina (especially "Beneful") is to be avoided at al costs. I've been feeding my dogs "ultra-premium" food for years, and a few weeks ago, I thought I'd see what would happen if I tried Iams. they love it. better than the "high-end" stuff.
you should start changing your puppy to adult food at albout 11 months. mix the 2 kinds together, with the puppy food initially being more in the mix. then, gradually reduce the amount of puppy food, and he should be on adult food by then.
as for treats, you have to just keep trying. some dogs love biscuits (mine won't touch them). some love rawhide, (but it can cause salmonella, and interfere with thier digestion)
my dogs are small poodles and will only eat "soft treats". or dried liver.

Answer 7

Hills Science Diet, Alpo, Pedigree, all grocery store brands are full of fillers, by products, dyes, chemicals, etc. Don't buy any of that crap.

Instead go to this link and it will tell you the ingredients, it's rating and why they rated it the way they did. Good luck.

http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/index.php

Answer 8

lol When I Was Reading Just The Title I Was Thinking Pedigree. Then I Read The Stroy And I Cracked Up.

I Think Kibbles And Bits Are Good And Alpo Is Good to (Thats What My Grandmas Dog Eats). My Dog Personaly Eats Pedigree. And She Likes It.

Answer 9

I would suggest holistic food and treats . My dog has a digestive problem and has to have holistic food . In fact I have both my dogs on it and they love it and he digests it very well and have never had any allergys or problems with it . good luck and god bless.

Answer 10

Change them to adult dog food when they are a year. Mix half and half (half old and half new food) for a week or else they'll have the runs. If you can, I'd try for something all natural.