# Help with puppy food.



## Suga (Feb 13, 2010)

Kratos is almost 4 months now, we got him when he was 8 weeks old. We've been feeding him 2x a day. Half a can of Pedigree puppy complete wet mixed with about half a cup of Puppy Chow dry each feeding. In the morning feeding I also throw in a capsule of fish oil. Up until a couple weeks ago he has been very picky on his eating. I have to throw some peas or blueberries in his bowl or find a way to get him to eat. Today he didn't want his morning feeding he took 2 bites out of it then walked away. He only ate his dinner because I'm sure he was starving :hammer:. He'll sometimes eat the food separately, but that's not always the case.

I have a feeling it's just the food that he's not liking. He still has a appetite, bowl movements are good when he eats a full meal, I haven't noticed any weight loss, he's not bloated, and he's still full of energy. I read the sticky thread about food comparison, which just made me even more confused on what to give him.  I was thinking of getting him "Royal Canin MEDIUM Canine Health Nutrition Puppy 32" but i'm not sure if that would be the right one for him or if there's a better one. If I could afford it I would feed him the Innova Evo, I had a cat that I fed that too and it was awesome for her. 

Also I have always given all my pets a combination of wet and dry with no problems, whether mixed or fed separately. But have been hearing that I should only be giving my pup dry. Any help is greatly appreciated. :woof:


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## NinaThePitbull (Feb 10, 2010)

*RAW*

If you are not able to get in on a RAW diet, i defniely recommend Orijen or Acana, i hear a lot of knowledgeable members here also feed TOTW.

will send you some links manana. The food you are giving him is sincerely lacking in nutrients though. Nothing but filler, will provie you with the links for better diet, in the meantime, read some articles posted here, surf through the health and nutrition posts and do some research, you will be glad you did.

take care!


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## Patch09 (Apr 23, 2009)

First off stop feeding the wet food there's just no need for it, I wouldn't bother with the fish oil yet either, I feed my dog low grade food but I started right out of the shoot and only feed him once a day at 3:00 pm, (patch loves to eat) my advice feed him once a day with a decent dry dog food, he'll eat :rollunless there is some underlying health issue)


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## geisthexe (Jan 18, 2007)

Patch09 said:


> First off stop feeding the wet food there's just no need for it, I wouldn't bother with the fish oil yet either, I feed my dog low grade food but I started right out of the shoot and only feed him once a day at 3:00 pm, (patch loves to eat) my advice feed him once a day with a decent dry dog food, he'll eat :rollunless there is some underlying health issue)


*WHAT IS YOUR POINT TO SAY NO FISH OIL EITHER. ALL MY DOGS START ON FISH OIL FROM PUPPIES.*


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## geisthexe (Jan 18, 2007)

@ Suga 

Here are FOOD W/O GRAIN = GREAT FOOD 

- Orijen
- ZiWi Peak
- Before Grain 

Here is FOOD W/ RICE &/OR OATMEAL = DECENT FOOD

- TOTW
- VerUS
- Diamond Naturals

Just to name a few before work. 

I suggest you do not feed a PUPPY ONLY once daily as they need food through out the day JUST LIKE YOU

ALL MY DOGS START OUT AS PUPPIES EATING 
3 TIMES DAILY UNTIL THEY ARE 4 MONTHS OF AGE
AT 4 MONTHS I START THEM ON TWICE DAILY 

I only do the once aday feeding when I am going to a dog trial. The reason for that is so when I hit the field my dogs are ready to work b/c I use food as a motor vador. Once they have competed they get they get a small meal b/c soon after they will be getting there dinner. 

Supplements well you have A LOT ON HERE that are going to tell you NO supplements but I AM A BIG supporter of them. If you read many of my post you will see why I state that. 

anyway best of luck off to work now


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## Suga (Feb 13, 2010)

@ NinaThePitbull

I'd love to try to get him on a RAW diet but with my baby only weeks away I know I wont have time to prepare it and deal with RAW puppy breath lol. Orijen is a bit on the expensive side for me right now, haven't heard of Acana will look into it and I couldn't find TOTW close by. I have been checking out some of the threads on here which is why I kinda was thinking of the Royal Canine. Since it's about $40 for a 30 lb bag, and it's easily found around here. 

@ Patch09

I started him on the fish oil for two reasons 1. He had dry skin and ever since I started giving it to him he doesn't have any dander and his coat is nice and shiny.  2. My moms 9 year old recently started getting seizures and has a neurological disorder. So I give it to him to help sorta lower his chances of it happening to him too.

@ geisthexe

I will for sure look into the Diamond Naturals and VerUS. Sometimes I would feed Kratos 3 times, but that was only when he would let me know he was hungry so i'd give him half a cup of dry. I wont be cutting his feeding down to once daily till he's about 1 year or till he lets me know 2x's to much. I'm a supporter of supplements as well they just have so many benefits and have helped my other pets in so many ways. If I never saw any results I'd never think of giving them to any of my pets. :woof:


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## jmejiaa (Dec 8, 2009)

I've always fed Kirkland food to my pup. She does great with it. I was feeding way too much and was surprised that she just wasn't eating, I now feed 2 times a day, about 3.5 cups a day. I also add the fish oil.

The fillers in your food might be keeping the pup full and not wanting to dig in.(I'm no expert)

Also at 4 months I started feeding twice as recommend on my food label(Kirkland). I feed once at 7am and then again around 6:30pm.


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## Patch09 (Apr 23, 2009)

geisthexe said:


> *WHAT IS YOUR POINT TO SAY NO FISH OIL EITHER. ALL MY DOGS START ON FISH OIL FROM PUPPIES.*


EXCUSE ME!!!!!!!!!!! I was just providing her with options, I didn't know the dog was prone to dry skin, and just because your way one with your dogs doesn't mean that way will work with every owner...........Every dog I've had I feed once a day, and they all ate Purina products, and they all lived to 12 years and beyond...........thank you and good night, mr. meanie


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## geisthexe (Jan 18, 2007)

Patch09 said:


> EXCUSE ME!!!!!!!!!!! I was just providing her with options, I didn't know the dog was prone to dry skin, and just because your way one with your dogs doesn't mean that way will work with every owner...........Every dog I've had I feed once a day, and they all ate Purina products, and they all lived to 12 years and beyond...........thank you and good night, mr. meanie


@ Patch

Well I am not a MR I am a MS 
But I didnt mean for you to think I was coming off mean. I just dont get it when folks dont want to supplement there dogs diet. But hey to each there own.


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## reddoggy (Jan 31, 2008)

I've supplemented on top of cheap food in the past, and in the long run, it ends up costing about the same. Seems like adding a bunch of stuff like chicken, rice, and pills was just a way of spreading the cost. Go out and buy a bag of good kibble and you'll follow the feeding directions accordingly and you'll find out that you're spending about the same amount. 
BTW, feeding CHEAP food causes side effects in some dogs, so why bother. 
Ending up with ugly hot spots and loose BMs, and watching weight fluxuate like crazy just isn't worth it.


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## Patch09 (Apr 23, 2009)

reddoggy said:


> BTW, feeding CHEAP food causes side effects in some dogs, so why bother.
> Ending up with ugly hot spots and loose BMs, and watching weight fluxuate like crazy just isn't worth it.


I'm sure that's very true, but purnia hasn't gone out of business yet, alot of dogs are eating that stuff and are perfectly healthy.

I know that debate is 1000 years old


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## geisthexe (Jan 18, 2007)

reddoggy said:


> I've supplemented on top of cheap food in the past, and in the long run, it ends up costing about the same. Seems like adding a bunch of stuff like chicken, rice, and pills was just a way of spreading the cost. Go out and buy a bag of good kibble and you'll follow the feeding directions accordingly and you'll find out that you're spending about the same amount.
> BTW, feeding CHEAP food causes side effects in some dogs, so why bother.
> Ending up with ugly hot spots and loose BMs, and watching weight fluxuate like crazy just isn't worth it.


@ Reddoggy

Some folks just dont get it ....

So how are you today? and the doggies? :woof:


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## jmejiaa (Dec 8, 2009)

Check out the food reviews online, or even on this site. Many Kibble's are graded with a letter and number. For the price, Kirkland has been great for me.

Cheap food but seems to be good compared to other name brands and Sasha has been doing better on it then when I was feeding Wellness.

I don't mind paying for more expensive food but the other more expensive foods get the same good quality reviews so why bother?


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## Patch09 (Apr 23, 2009)

geisthexe said:


> @ Reddoggy
> 
> Some folks just dont get it ....


Some people think dogs are human! I get it! I have kids so I dont have that problem..............


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## geisthexe (Jan 18, 2007)

Patch09 said:


> Some people think dogs are human! I get it! I have kids so I dont have that problem..............


Who in the Heaven said dogs where humans, IF YOU ARE SPEAKING OF ME, YOU MUST NEVER READ A POST BY ME. And what do KIDS have to do with the TEA IN CHINA?????

Patch have a GREAT DAY!!!


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## MY MIKADO (Apr 7, 2006)

To the OP I really like D i c k Van Patton products. I have had good luck with them. My dog look great. I feed my puppies twice a day and when they are older I switch to once a day unless I'm working them if they are burning calories I make sure to fuel them up again. 

The best thing to do is to check out prices to see what you can afford. Then ask the pet store if the have samples of the food you are thinking about. I wish I had did this with TOTW as it made Vendetta break out.


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## fortyfootelf (Feb 2, 2010)

Patch09 said:


> I'm sure that's very true, but purnia hasn't gone out of business yet, alot of dogs are eating that stuff and are perfectly healthy.
> 
> I know that debate is 1000 years old


@Patch09
keep in mind, im not attacking you at all. but the reason purina hasnt gone out of biz is bkuz they are a *name* brand company that the people recognize. people buy their product bkuz they simply do not know any better.

companies add alot of filler to their foods in order to make mass quantity cheaper. yes it fills your dog up and yes they will eat it. but that does not make it healthy for your dog\cat or whatever animal you are feeding.

as an experiment put a piece of the kibble into a glass of water, then come back in 10 minute intervals to watch it grow. the more holistic brand foods (TOTW, Blue Buff...) still contain this filler (rice, ...Meal, corn etc) but it doesnt contain as much. you can look at the bag of food that you give your dog and you will notice that the first labled ingrediants are more likely brewers rice, whole grain corn, corn gluten meal, whole grain wheat, animal by product, animal fat, animal digest... etc the list goes on and on. and on the other hand, holistic foods ingredients begin with some type of meat, and most of the time it has several different meats in the ingredients bkuz different meats provide diffeent nutrients.

in other words the food that you are giving your pets, is based of these things, instead of larger amounts of the things that they need. meat, veggies, and some starch (not like we eat). now dont get me wrong, purina and kibble, and other brands they do have the necessities in their products, just not the ideal amount. thats why you feed them more often, their bowels and stool are either too dry or too wet.


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## geisthexe (Jan 18, 2007)

keep in mind, im not attacking you at all. but the reason purina hasnt gone out of biz is bkuz they are a *name* brand company that the people recognize. people buy their product bkuz they simply do not know any better. *They have also hit the Vets offices with there Medical diets and that has even more pushed the Purina name.*

companies add alot of filler to their foods in order to make mass quantity cheaper. yes it fills your dog up and yes they will eat it. but that does not make it healthy for your dog\cat or whatever animal you are feeding. *With Cats fillers are causing more and more health problems then it does dogs, hense Male Cats that get crystals it is truly due to the filler diet. CATS are pure carnivores they can not digest anything but meat & bones*

as an experiment put a piece of the kibble into a glass of water, then come back in 10 minute intervals to watch it grow. the more holistic brand foods (TOTW, Blue Buff...) still contain this filler (rice, ...Meal, corn etc) but it doesnt contain as much. you can look at the bag of food that you give your dog and you will notice that the first labled ingrediants are more likely brewers rice, whole grain corn, corn gluten meal, whole grain wheat, animal by product, animal fat, animal digest... etc the list goes on and on. and on the other hand, holistic foods ingredients begin with some type of meat, and most of the time it has several different meats in the ingredients bkuz different meats provide diffeent nutrients. 
*I have yet to see any holistic diets have CORN WHEAT or SOY. Meal yes! 
Chicken meal, product from a combination of clean chicken flesh and skin with or without accompanying bone, derived from whole carcasses of chicken, exclusive of feathers, heads, feet and entrails.
Beef and bone meal, product from beef tissues, including bone, exclusive of any added blood, hoof, horn, hide trimmings, stomach and rumen contents, except in such amounts as may occur unavoidably in good processing practices.
Lamb meal part from mammal tissues, meat, and has not had any added blood, hoof, horn, hide trimmings, stomach and rumen contents added to it.
NOTHING REALLY WRONG WITH MEAL IF YOU TRULY THINK ABOUT IT
*

in other words the food that you are giving your pets, is based of these things, instead of larger amounts of the things that they need. meat, veggies, and some starch (not like we eat). now dont get me wrong, purina and kibble, and other brands they do have the necessities in their products, just not the ideal amount. thats why you feed them more often, their bowels and stool are either too dry or too wet. 
*Again dogs can not digest cellose (veggies skin) & starch sorry but you are incorrect on that, dogs CANNOT digest grains so why give it. The only thing that dogs get from grains are guten (sugar) and fiber depending on what grain your feed. NO STARCH *


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## Sampsons Dad (Jul 4, 2008)

I don't know why i am compelled to answer these posts ...but here it goes....
I don't give puppies puppy food. We feed Purina adult dog foods.
A dog that needs to live on special ingredient foods are not breeding quality in my opinion.
My dogs have always had Purina products and have never been sick because of it. We tried Solid Gold Diamond Lamb and Rice and Chicken Soup for blah blah blah....but the dogs didnt do well n the more expensive brands. So we went back to what works.....Purina products. 
We NEVER feed canned nor semi moist and we add veggies, oils, and grains like rice to the food. My oldest dog ate Purina Dog chow and puerto rican food for thirteen years.

To say dogs don't digest those food ingredients doesnt make sense.
There are a million dogs that are eating Purina, Pedigree, O'l Roy and all kind of other cheap foods right now and living well.


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## geisthexe (Jan 18, 2007)

Sampsons Dad said:


> I don't know why i am compelled to answer these posts ...but here it goes....
> I don't give puppies puppy food. We feed Purina adult dog foods.
> A dog that needs to live on special ingredient foods are not breeding quality in my opinion.
> My dogs have always had Purina products and have never been sick because of it. We tried Solid Gold Diamond Lamb and Rice and Chicken Soup for blah blah blah....but the dogs didnt do well n the more expensive brands. So we went back to what works.....Purina products.
> ...


Thats GREAT that it works for you. But I absolutly disagree with if a dog needs a special diet shouldnt be bred. what does that have to do with breeding? its does not pass on digestion problems. to me that statement is just plain stupid but to each there own. I personally feed my dogs RAW and I love it. I have good looking dogs and to talk about a dog that is still alive well I have an American Bulldog Female in california with my sister who is 14 yrs and getting ready to turn 15 yrs. My sister still feeds her RAW diet.

About dogs not being able to digest those items well guess what you can not digest CORN either but you and other humans still eat it. Plain fact LOOK it up talk to NUTRITIONIST .. HELLO!!!!!


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## Akasha (Oct 30, 2009)

Changing the food to a better quality may be good in the long run. However puppies eat weird.

Akasha who is going on 8months old still has times where she just doesn't feel like eating. It depends on how active she is that day, or whether or not she has an appetite. Sometimes Akasha will eat 2cups in the morning and 2 cups in the evening - or sometimes she won't eat in the morning, but will eat 4 cups at night. From what I understand it's normal for puppies to go on a binge.

If your pup starts showing signs of being sick, then i would start to worry about it. Also make sure your pup is getting exercise, this may increase his appetite.


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## Sampsons Dad (Jul 4, 2008)

geisthexe said:


> Thats GREAT that it works for you. But I absolutly disagree with if a dog needs a special diet shouldnt be bred. what does that have to do with breeding? its does not pass on digestion problems. to me that statement is just plain stupid but to each there own. I personally feed my dogs RAW and I love it. I have good looking dogs and to talk about a dog that is still alive well I have an American Bulldog Female in california with my sister who is 14 yrs and getting ready to turn 15 yrs. My sister still feeds her RAW diet.
> 
> About dogs not being able to digest those items well guess what you can not digest CORN either but you and other humans still eat it. Plain fact LOOK it up talk to NUTRITIONIST .. HELLO!!!!!


Why would you breed a dog with allergies?


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## geisthexe (Jan 18, 2007)

Sampsons Dad said:


> Why would you breed a dog with allergies?


YOU never said an allergy dog. 
OK answser this WHY would YOU BREED (human) if you have allergies, medical conditions, Brain problems, crippled, NO limbs darn I can go on... People do it EVERYDAY.

If a dog has allergies to grass IT WILL NOT PASS IT ON.

I personally do not agree with breeding a dog with medical problems, hips, heart, skin issues etc.

*BUT GUESS WHAT YOU DID NOT STATE THAT FROM THE BEGINNING!!! *

But breeding a dog that is allergic to food again WILL NOT PASS IT ON.

And as for me personally HOW WOULD I KNOW IF MY DOGS ARE ALLERGIC TO ANYTHING, I DO NOT FEED THEM *GARBAGE (CORN WHEAT AND SOY)* so in YOUR BREED who is MUCH MORE prone to ALLERGIES and YOU FEED GARBAGE then guess you would not breed them.

WE can just keep going around and around. but in the end. YOU FEED GARBAGE AND I FEED A GOOD DIET OF RAW


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## Sampsons Dad (Jul 4, 2008)

You call it garbage and yet my dogs are in superb health.
My dogs have no allergies to wheat, corn, or soy.
Who told you food allergies are not genetic?


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## Sampsons Dad (Jul 4, 2008)

You have insulted me every time we discuss dog food on this forum.
Do us all a favor a have some respect for different opinions.
To be perfectly honest I think it is one thing to cater to dogs with allergies but completely unintelligent to intentionally breed dogs with food allergies.


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## Sampsons Dad (Jul 4, 2008)

*A dog that needs to live on special ingredient foods are not breeding quality in my opinion.*

That clearly indicates dogs with special needs....ie: food allergies


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## los44 (Jun 1, 2008)

try different foods, brand, diet methods and pick the one that works for you. i know people that feed strictly raw, i know people that feed strictly kibble, and i know people who feed a combination of the two.....its the same thing with the brand names. dont be affraid to experiment a lil, just pay attention to your dog and he/she will let you know. jmo


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## Sydney (Aug 14, 2007)

Sampsons Dad said:


> *A dog that needs to live on special ingredient foods are not breeding quality in my opinion.*
> 
> That clearly indicates dogs with special needs....ie: food allergies


How are you catering to or providing "special" ingredients to a dogs diet if you are feeding them only what they were intended to eat.

You are ignorant in stating that a dog that is allergic to something he should not even be eating to begin with is not a dog worth being bred. JMO

It's like putting 87 octane in a Ferrari...if your lucky it might run, but to get the true peak performance out of it you need to run what it was engineered for, and dogs were just not "engineered" for grains/carbohydrates


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## NinaThePitbull (Feb 10, 2010)

Patch09 said:


> I'm sure that's very true, but purnia hasn't gone out of business yet, alot of dogs are eating that stuff and are perfectly healthy.
> 
> I know that debate is 1000 years old


neither has Marlboro. That's not a strong point. I've read your other statements and think your pretty knowledgable, but the "hasn't gone out of business doesnt hold validity in a question about whether it is good for your dog.
I'd rather pay more for quality food than end of with more visits to the vet.


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## geisthexe (Jan 18, 2007)

@ Sampsons Dad

You call it garbage and yet my dogs are in superb health. My dogs have no allergies to wheat, corn, or soy.
Because the food has corn, wheat & soy, thats why I call it. But if your dogs are doing good on it by all means like I said before GREAT

Who told you food allergies are not genetic?
I have been in the medical field both dog and human for at least 15 yrs now I have yet to ever hear about allergies being genetic. But if you have PROOF by all means POST please.

If you do not wish to breed a dog with allergies thats your option. No one is stopping you or denying you. I would rather look at things that are genetic in my opinion


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## geisthexe (Jan 18, 2007)

@ Sampsons Dad

You have insulted me every time we discuss dog food on this forum. 
If you have been insulted I cant help you with that as I have never ment to insult you just giving my opinion back to ya.

Do us all a favor a have some respect for different opinions. 
Well I do respect other and there opinoins but if you do not want your opinion disected on a FORUM then maybe you should just read and never post. Its a FORUM to talk and give each ones option to post back.
To be perfectly honest I think it is one thing to cater to dogs with allergies but completely unintelligent to intentionally breed dogs with food allergies.
Again your option and opinion to breed or not breed the dog. I personally do not have any allergy dogs b/c I do not feed them things that they could possibly show signs of. So in reality I do not know if they would or wouldn't be allergic to the stuff I call GARBAGE. Again I would prefer to worry about HIPS, ELBOWS, HEART, GENITICS, STRUCTURE, AND TITLES TO PROVE MY DOGS


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## Rocko-is-his-name (Jan 7, 2011)

geisthexe said:


> @ Suga
> 
> Here are FOOD W/O GRAIN = GREAT FOOD
> 
> ...


Hi, so you say that you are a support of supplements, do u mind going into more detail because i am interested in getting my dog on them but not at the moment because he is young.


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