Which Food To Give Pup Confused

[kezza]

I HAVE A CAVALIER PUP AND HAVE PUT HER ONTO INNOVA DRY. HAVE RECENTLY SEEN ANOTHER BRAND EAGLE PACK. I KNOW THE INNOVA IS GOOD ,WELL SO I HAVE BEEN TOLD . DOES ANY ONE HAVE A VIEW AS TO WHICH IS BETTER AND WHY.THANKS KEZZA

[Scarlet]

Someone posted this previously on DOL.

I cannot find the original post but I kept this as a copy. Not positive that anything is missing nor do I have the reference where it came from.

It is important your pup eats dried food made for pups, usually for a year or as directed by your breeder.

Please don't type in capitals - it means you're shouting.

Dry Dog Foods

How to grade your dog's food:

Start with a grade of 100:

1) For every listing of "by-product", subtract 10 points

2) For every non-specific animal source ("meat" or "poultry", meat, meal or fat) reference, subtract 10 points

3) If the food contains BHA, BHT, or ethoxyquin, subtract 10 points

4) For every grain "mill run" or non-specific grain source, subtract 5 points

5) If the same grain ingredient is used 2 or more times in the first five ingredients (i.e. "ground brown rice", "brewer's rice", "rice flour" are all the same grain), subtract 5 points

6) If the protein sources are not meat meal and there are less than 2 meats in the top 3 ingredients, subtract 3 points

7) If it contains any artificial colorants, subtract 3 points

8 ) If it contains ground corn or whole grain corn, subtract 3 points

9) If corn is listed in the top 5 ingredients, subtract 2 more points

10) If the food contains any animal fat other than fish oil, subtract 2 points

11) If lamb is the only animal protein source (unless your dog is allergic to other protein sources), subtract 2 points

12) If it contains soy or soybeans, subtract 2 points

13) If it contains wheat (unless you know that your dog isn't allergic to wheat), subtract 2 points

14) If it contains beef (unless you know that your dog isn't allergic to beef), subtract 1 point

15) If it contains salt, subtract 1 point

Extra Credit:

1) If any of the meat sources are organic, add 5 points

2) If the food is endorsed by any major breed group or nutritionist, add 5 points

3) If the food is baked not extruded, add 5 points

4) If the food contains probiotics, add 3 points

5) If the food contains fruit, add 3 points

6) If the food contains vegetables (NOT corn or other grains), add 3 points

7) If the animal sources are hormone-free and antibiotic-free, add 2 points

8 ) If the food contains barley, add 2 points

9) If the food contains flax seed oil (not just the seeds), add 2 points

10) If the food contains oats or oatmeal, add 1 point

11) If the food contains sunflower oil, add 1 point

12) For every different specific animal protein source (other than the first one; count "chicken" and "chicken meal" as only one protein source, but "chicken" and "" as 2 different sources), add 1 point

13) If it contains glucosamine and chondroitin, add 1 point

14) If the vegetables have been tested for pesticides and are pesticide-free, add 1 point

Dry Dog Foods

94-100+ = A

86-93 = B

78-85 = C

70-77 = D

<70 = F

Dog Food scores:

Alpo Prime Cuts / Score 81 C

Artemis Large/Medium Breed Puppy / Score 114 A+

Authority Harvest Baked / Score 116 A+

Authority Harvest Baked Less Active / Score 93 B

Beowulf Back to Basics / Score 101 A+

Bil-Jac Select / Score 68 F

Blackwood 3000 Lamb and Rice / Score 83 C

Blue Buffalo Chicken and Rice / Score 106 A+

Burns Chicken and Brown Rice / Score 107 A+

Canidae / Score 112 A+

Chicken Soup Senior / Score 115 A+

Diamond Maintenance / Score 64 F

Diamond Lamb Meal & Rice / Score 92 B

Diamond Large Breed 60+ Formula / Score 99 A

Diamond Performance / Score 85 C

Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance Ultra Premium / Score 122 A+

Dick Van Patten’s Natural Balance Venison and Brown Rice / Score 106 A+

Dick Van Patten's Duck and Potato / Score 106 A+

EaglePack Holistic / Score 102 A+

Eukanuba Adult / Score 81 C

Eukanuba Puppy / Score 79 C

Flint River Senior / Score 101 A+

Foundations / Score 106 A+

Hund-n-Flocken Adult Dog (lamb) by Solid Gold / Score 93 B

Iams Lamb Meal & Rice Formula Premium / Score 73 D

Innova Dog / Score 114 A+

Innova Evo / Score 114 A+

Innova Large Breed Puppy / Score 122 A+

Kirkland Signature Chicken, Rice, and Vegetables / Score 110 A+

Member’s Mark Chicken and Rice / Score 84 C

Merrick Wilderness Blend / Score 127 A+

Nature’s Recipe / Score 100 A

Nature’s Recipe Healthy Skin Venison and Rice / Score 116 A+

Nature’s Variety Raw Instinct / Score 122 A+

Nutra Nuggets Super Premium Lamb Meal and Rice / Score 81 C

Nutrience Junior Medium Breed Puppy / Score 101 A+

Nutrisource Lamb and Rice / Score 87 B

Nutro Max Adult / Score 93 B

Nutro Natural Choice Lamb and Rice / Score 98 A

Nutro Natural Choice Large Breed Puppy / Score 87 B

Nutro Natural Choice Puppy Wheat Free / Score 86 B

Nutro Natural Choice Senior / Score 95 A

Nutro Ultra Adult / Score 104 A+

Pet Gold Adult with Lamb & Rice / Score 23 F

Premium Edge Chicken, Rice and Vegetables Adult Dry / Score 109 A+

Pro Nature Puppy / Score 80 C

Pro Plan Sensitive Stomach / Score 94 A

Purina Benful / Score 17 F

Purina Dog / Score 62 F

Purina Come-n-Get It / Score 16 F

Purina One Large Breed Puppy / Score 62 F

Royal Canin Boxer / Score 103 A+

Royal Canin Bulldog / Score 100 A+

Royal Canin Natural Blend Adult / Score 106 A+

Science Diet Advanced Protein Senior 7+ / Score 63 F

Science Diet for Large Breed Puppies / Score 69 F

Sensible Choice Chicken and Rice / Score 97 A

Solid Gold / Score 99 A

Summit / Score 99 A

Timberwolf Organics Wild & Natural Dry / Score 120 A+

Wellness Super5 Mix Chicken / Score 110 A+

Wolfking Adult Dog (bison) by Solid Gold / Score 97 A

__________________

[Gretel]

HI Kezza,

I wouldn't feed Innova simply because I will not shop at THAT PLACE (yes I am shouting!). Since the food is only available from PP it is not one I would consider. What food did your pup's breeder recommend? It's usually best to keep to a similar diet to avoid tummy upsets at first. I have fed Royal Canin, Advance and Eagle Pack to pups and been very happy with them.

[Mushaka]

Im pretty sure Innova is available at Major pet suppliers such as Petcare 2000.. No sale of animals there,..just supplies!!

I feed my pup on a mix of rice,chicken mince and Hills Puppy foods,small bites..and scraps from dinners etc!! I get my Hills SD from my vet,but it is also available at Petcare 2000

[Mushaka]

Scarletm,that was very informative..THANX!!!

[Guest Tiggy]

Feed BARF!

[Mushaka]

until DOL.. i thought BARf was something u did after two many scotchs on a Saturday night,moments after eating a hotdog,and somwhere prior to,or after getting the taxi home..preferably not somewhere in between. Thos damn taxi drivers get so mad about that kinda thing!!!

[KitKat]

Check out this website - Dogfood Project - very informative, unbiased against any particular food, very easy to read and it will tell you what to look for in a dry food -both good and bad!

[Static'sMum]

I too was told to try Innova - but as already stated, won't buy it due to who sells it. (As far as I know, in WA PP is the ONLY place that sells it).

I also wouldn't feed Hill Science Diet, as it contains a lot of fillers, and for the price, you can buy better products.

We did feed Royal Canin to our Rottweiler, and he loved it, but I made a decision not to purchase it from the shop near us for personal reasons - although it is a good food.

Now, we are using Eagle Pack Large Breed Puppy and Eagle Pack Holistic Chicken. We alternate between the two (although, I do plan on trying the other Holistic varieties - Duck/Anchovy/Lamb at a later stage)

We have had great success with Eagle Pack. Not only does it come home delivered for a cheaper price than we were paying to go and get our Royal Canin, Static loves the taste, has GREAT stools and hasn't had any irritations since starting it . And it actually works out quite cheap if you buy large bags, which is a must when you have a 40kg Rottweiler!! But even if you have a small dog - it lasts a long time if you store it appropriately so viola!! great value for money!

[Mushaka]

wow..sd with fillers..Hmmmmm might have to change brands then.

A vet put me onto Hills SD ages ago when i had a rescue dane with special dietry needs!!!

[KitKat]

Hills isn't a bad food...it isn't one of my favs...but my cats love it and do well on it so they often get it...lol. I know oodles of dogs that do wonderfully on the stuff as well and have no hesitation feeding it to my dogs occasionally.

However vets often encourage people to buy Hills as they generally stock the product.

If your dog is doing well on Hills then stick with it if you are happy and your dog is happy. However if you feel the dog could do better try something else, or if you want to try your dog on something else then also do so - there are heaps of great foods out there to choose from

[Mushaka]

kitkat wld u advise to slowly intorduce new food?..i will get some now and slowly ween off SD..

thanx...Love DOL..i learn somethin new everyday!

[KitKat]

Yup...best to slowly transfer the foods over a few days to a week depending if the dog is sensitive to change etc. Perhaps put a blob of natural yogurt in with dinner each night to help the tummy deal with the change

[Mushaka]

Will get the yoghurt lol..thanx for that!

[kezza]

HI Kezza,

I wouldn't feed Innova simply because I will not shop at THAT PLACE (yes I am shouting!). Since the food is only available from PP it is not one I would consider. What food did your pup's breeder recommend? It's usually best to keep to a similar diet to avoid tummy upsets at first. I have fed Royal Canin, Advance and Eagle Pack to pups and been very happy with them.

Hi gretel,thankyou for your answer. I live in Melbourne so i am not to sure what you are talking about in buying the food from PP. Is the company not good to deal with. looking forward to your answer.Thanks Kezza

[helen]

Another good food from Australia is Advance, my dogs thrive on this

[Gretel]

HI Kezza,

As far as I know Innova is only available from Pets Paradise. I will not shop there as I do not agree with animals being sold in pet shops.

[KitKat]

And often as not it's not just that PP sells pups and kittens...it's where they obtain those pups and kittens...and the age and treatment of them

[Falling_dawn]

hi kezza Congrats on you new puppy I have A Cavalier KC as well I have fed

super coat puppy - hated it

advance puppy wet/dry- was ok good for a fussy eater

Eagle pack chicken holistic- good but puppy was not fussed on it will prob go back to it when shes older

Purina proplan puppy- good so far

and my Fav is Barf wonderful Barf (stands for Bones and Raw food I think " if you do a search you will find lot and lots

P.S. alot of DOl's Will not go into, buy anything from or have anything to do with PP please dont get upset but there are some stong feeling ( of which I have as well ) on this site regarding pet shops selling live animals , puppy farmers, and BYB If your interested do a search for pet shops, BYB,and PP and you will be well informed of alot of peoples feelings held in this forum