The never ending food question...

**Skigirl** · 07-24-2011, 11:06 PM

I am about to get a new puppy and am reconsidering the food that I feed him. I started my last dog on eukanuba and sort of stuck with that and it worked well for him. But, so many more foods have entered the market in the past 14 years! I have been interested in the more natural foods such as Wellness or Blue. They seem to have very high quality ingredients. I have also read through posts and it seems like a lot of people on this site are very happy and even demand that their dogs be fed Pro Plan. I am wondering what they see in Purina Pro Plan that makes them so happy about this food vs other brands that appear to have "better" (for lack of a better word) nutrition.

**silverbyrd21** · 07-25-2011, 08:04 AM

its cheaper! lol Im sure there are other reasons but I feed pro plan for that reason. It is the cheapest of the "quality" foods. At least that ive found here.

**BauersMom** · 07-25-2011, 08:21 AM

For me, it has nothing to do with the price. Bauer does really well on Pro Plan. We have tried many different foods, and he had loose poop with everything except Pro Plan. Bauer was on one of the Wellness formulas, and he started shedding like crazy (in January). I would start the puppy on whatever the breeder is feeding.

**Mark_J** · 07-25-2011, 08:34 AM

We use Blue Buffalo and without question it's the best food we've ever used, you can add water to it and it makes a gravy so tasty I forget its dog food!

Less shedding, mealtimes last about 5 minutes, everyone's happy! The only downside is that it's pricey but you can get coupons and our local pet store has a deal where you get a free bag if you buy 10 bags in 14 months. The puppy formula is exceptional as well, just compare their ingredients to other dog foods...

**Tanya** · 07-25-2011, 09:10 AM

Keep the puppy on teh same food he is eating at the breeder's for at least a month or so. If the food is working for the puppy then you can question if you need to change or not and this gives you time to pick possible food options. But definately don't change their food the first day you bring them home, as them what they are feeding the pups and have some of that ready for the puppy.

**Luvmydog2much** · 07-25-2011, 09:37 AM

What Tanya said. If you're confident the breeder knows what he/she is doing enough to purchase a puppy from them, I would trust them to choose a food for you.

**LuvBrown** · 07-25-2011, 10:50 AM

I agree, keep the pup on the food the breeder is feeding for at least a 20# bag and then if you want to change, do it slowly.

**amazongold** · 07-26-2011, 07:30 PM

Check with the breeder, some require that you feed what they have been feeding for a certain period of time. Then, see how your puppy does on the food the breeder had him on. If he does well, why change? People here usually feed what works best for their dogs, and all dogs are different.

**georgie** · 07-26-2011, 08:57 PM

My girls eat ProPlan Selects (not cheap) because they do well on it. No ear problems, shiny coat, good stools. I tried Wellness, which is a good food, but it may have been too rich for them, because they developed very loose stools. You have to feed what works for your dog.

**labby** · 07-27-2011, 07:21 AM

What do I see with ProPlan? Better stools, great coats and overall good health. On Wellness I smelled Lab gas and picked up soft stools. On Blue I picked up soft sometimes runny stools. I've tried just about everything on the market and my dogs do best on ProPlan. I don't believe the "hype" about "better" ingredients. I feed what works for my dogs and that's ProPlan. Don't get sucked into the hype of these "better" foods.

Feed what the breeder tells you to feed. They know their dogs best.