Trying to find the right food.

**rlu929s** · 09-22-2005, 07:41 AM

We have a new Chihuahua puppy that is a little over 4 month's old and we are having a heck of a time finding the right food for her.

We have no idea what she ate as a puppy.

We started out with Nutra Natural Choice Lamb and Rice as that's what the petmart guy told us. She didn't really like it so we got Purina Beneful Healthy growth which we now learn has corn/fats/by product which is not good....right?

She does eat that and seems to like it but we notice she does have gas and her stools seem less firm hence less easy to clean up in case of accident.

So then we go buy Science Diet as that's what the vet says. We haven't even opened it as we looked on the back and it has worse ingredients than the beneful.

Then as one last ditch effort someone tells us to go get Maximum sold by walmart and the only puppy kind they had was lamb and rice. Good thing is the first ingredients are lamb meat and Brewers Rice so it sounds better.

We tried mixing a little with the beneful like we're supposed to and what does she do. Picks the beneful out and leaves the rest.

Should we just give up and feed her beneful or does anyone have any recommendations.

Note: We don't want to spend more than $9 for a 5lb back which seems like the norm between 6 and 9 for all store bought sacks.

Obviously she doesn't like "Healthy" food.

What should we do?

THX

**SalemWitchChild** · 09-22-2005, 07:26 PM

I feed beneful and my dog is just fine. :D They seem to like it more than the "healthier" brands and it's less expensive. If she is doing well on it I wouldn't change.

We did just have a discussion on what the best brands are. You may be interested in reading it.

http://www.animalforum.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=855

**MandaGrl** · 09-24-2005, 12:36 AM

I feed my dogs Innova Senior (also comes for younger dogs), but it is pricey. For the smallest bag, it's about $10-$12 for something like 6 lbs (in my area, anyway). I am with you on the by-products bit...I just can't bring myself to feed it to my dogs. Check out www.naturapet.com for info on their lines.

However, whether or not you keep him/her on Beneful is up to you -- it doesn't seem to be that bad except for any ingredients you might personally object to. Obviously the by-products and similar products aren't causing two-headed dogs or anything, so they must be OK. AAFCO or whatever it is sets standards for pet foods so that they must be nutritionally balanced.......though they don't seem to often get very specific as to where that nutrition can or needs to come from.

You can always go to places like a feed store that carries many brands (not necessarily a cattle and horse feed store, either, just more of a warehouse environment that carries wider varieties of foods) and often have samples of lots of different things.

But unless the food is designed for adults and puppies, you should still be getting him a puppy food (up to 1 year old) for proper growth and development.

**Jennifer** · 04-07-2007, 05:50 PM

My parents own a german shepard that is a very very picky eater, we found that she loves the Royal Canine Brand. It is excellent for dogs and is made specifically for each breed. I own a lab that loves it as well. Good luck!! Jennifer

**smiffy** · 04-08-2007, 01:08 PM

mine are on james wellbeloved ocean fish. its made with no preservatives or harmful additives and is gluten and wheat free.

mine all thrive on it and dive in everytime :lol:
just so you know my dogs are, shih tzu, dalmatians and i am currently fostering a golden retriever and past fosters have been everything from a chinese crested right through to irish water dog and they all did well on it :)

**ritabooker** · 04-08-2007, 01:28 PM

We feed Canidae. I love it, the dog loves it.
Here are some sites where you can get ratings on the various foods:

http://www.connecticutk9.com/dogfood.htm

http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_f...wcat.php/cat/8

http://animalark.eapps.com/animal/PetFoods.nsf/$$PetFoodsByManu?OpenForm

**SalemWitchChild** · 04-09-2007, 08:37 AM

Originally Posted by SalemWitchChild

I feed beneful and my dog is just fine. :D They seem to like it more than the "healthier" brands and it's less expensive. If she is doing well on it I wouldn't change.

We did just have a discussion on what the best brands are. You may be interested in reading it.

http://www.animalforum.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=855

Oh how we grow and learn. This thread is old so hopefully the person has found the right food by now. But reading my old post I can't believe what I said...

I simply didn't recognize that my dog was NOT fine. She always had an outbreak on her bum that I attributed to Frontline not working. It was the food. It didn't occur to me that she could be allergic to ingredients in the food.

And her teeth are stained now from her eating Beneful for her first year of life.

So, anyone reading this thread wanting food advice... It's well worth it to go to the higher end brands.

I now feed Chicken Soup for the Dog lovers Soul. It's middle grade. I switched to this because I want to stay away from anything made by menu foods and the ingredients are pretty good.

**smiffy** · 04-09-2007, 09:26 AM

duh! i didnt realise just how old this thread was!! at least there is loads of info inside it to help others :lol:

**ritabooker** · 04-09-2007, 06:47 PM

SalemWitchChild: I too, have wondered many times how many problems I caused my dogs for not feeding something better. Decades ago I just did not know any better.

**smiffy** · 04-10-2007, 04:58 AM

thats the thing rita, the companys didnt have to tell you whats in the food and the info just wasnt available.
i only started feeding a better quality of food after i started learning whats what as part of my canine training and behaviour courses.

ANYTHING with 'animal derivatives' on the packging i now avoid - YUCK YUCK YUCK!!!