# Food for new puppy ... ???



## blueberrybug (Aug 3, 2011)

We will be bringing home our new addition in a little while. I am wondering what food I should use for a baby maltese? Thanks!!!


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## Malt Shoppe (Jul 20, 2011)

blueberrybug said:


> We will be bringing home our new addition in a little while. I am wondering what food I should use for a baby maltese? Thanks!!!


For that puppy......MOTHER'S MILK. 

Toy dogs need to remain with their mothers much longer than big dogs like Labs or Heelers.

Please be fair to the little guy and let him stay with his mother - he needs her.


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## blueberrybug (Aug 3, 2011)

As I have clarified in my other post, we DO NOT have the puppy yet. He will not be coming home to us for at least another month, maybe longer. I was asking about what to feed him later...just trying to be prepared.


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## shellbeme (Mar 1, 2011)

I use wellness small breed puppy  you mentioned that you had other dogs, do you have a favorite brand you use for them? Is cost a concern?


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## LJSquishy (Feb 27, 2008)

If you have specialty pet food boutiques I would go there and see what they have available. Petco has a few good foods, and Petsmart has even fewer quality choices. The best foods from Petsmart are probably Wellness Grain-Free, Innova, and Blue-Buffalo grain-free.

If you want to feed dry kibble, my favorite brands are Acana Grain-Free and Now! Small Breed Formula. I highly recommend feeding a quality canned food if your budget allows it. Let me know if you need any suggestions for canned food!

A great website to see how dog foods rate as far as quality is Dog Food Advisor.


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## Alex (Jul 29, 2011)

How much is the Wellness grain-free small breed puppy food cost?


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## Snowbody (Jan 3, 2009)

Alex said:


> How much is the Wellness grain-free small breed puppy food cost?


Not sure because I used to feed Tyler the canned Wellness but there are often sales at places like Petco on it especially in sunday circulars. Also Wellness' website usually has discount coupons you can get if you sign up with e-mail.


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## michellerobison (Dec 17, 2009)

I'm not sure about small bags of Wellness,small breed puppy formula,but our Wellness large breed puppy formula was on average about 57.00 for a 30 pound bag. A large bag would last him months. They come in zip lock top bags now whch is nice.


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## bellaratamaltese (May 24, 2006)

I feed all of mine Nature's Variety Prairie, puppies and adults. I add some canned puppy food to the puppies though to make sure they are getting enough of what they need. Prairie is a little pricey but for just one dog, it shouldn't be bad at all.


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## michellerobison (Dec 17, 2009)

Looks like it only comes in 6 and 12 pound bags,doubt it's much more than 49 for the small bag and $14 for the larger one..


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## silverhaven (Sep 6, 2009)

I recently got the NOW Small Breed for snacking for Penny. It is really teeny little flower/clover shaped kibble, and considered excellent.


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## shellbeme (Mar 1, 2011)

I don't believe the wellness puppy formulas are grain free, I think it's only their core line. It, is, however still a high ranking food. I use the wellness small breed puppy, we get the small bag at a specialty food store that is local, the last one I bought was about $13, I believe.

Wellness Small Breed - Just for Puppy

Here are the ingredients:

Deboned Turkey, Chicken Meal, Salmon Meal (a source of DHA- Docosahexaenoic Acid), Oatmeal, Ground Barley, Ground Brown Rice, Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Rye Flour, Tomato Pomace, Natural Chicken Flavor, Menhaden Fish Meal, Pea Fiber, Tomatoes, Ground Flaxseed, Salmon Oil, Salt, Carrots, Spinach, Potassium Chloride, Sweet Potatoes, Apples, Blueberries, Vitamins [Vitamin E Supplement, Beta-Carotene, Niacin, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin A Supplement, Riboflavin, Vitamin D-3 Supplement, Vitamin B-12 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C), Biotin, Folic Acid], Minerals [Zinc Proteinate, Zinc Sulfate, Iron Proteinate, Ferrous Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Manganese Sulfate, Sodium Selenite, Calcium Iodate], Choline Chloride, Mixed Tocopherols added to preserve freshness, Taurine, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (a source of Vitamin C), Chicory Root Extract, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Dried Lactobacillus plantarum Fermentation Product, Dried Enterococcus faecium Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus casei Fermentation Product, Dried Lactobacillus acidophilus Fermentation Product, Rosemary Extract.
This is a naturally preserved product.

When I looked into grain free (which we may do once he's an adult) Orijen is the only one I found with a puppy formula, and I honestly feel like the protien levels in orijen are too high. I also feel like I've read far too many reviews of dogs not doing well on it. That is just my personal opinion though, there are tons that swear by the brand. It's also-around here at least-one of the most expensive foods available.


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## shellbeme (Mar 1, 2011)

I also wanted to add that I do use canned food too. I take a can of puppy food, devide it into portions, freeze most and keep one in the frige at a time. Just enough to last a couple days. I mix about a tablespoon with his food at each feeding. Hubby doesn't want us to go all canned so it's our compromise


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## silverhaven (Sep 6, 2009)

shellbeme said:


> I don't believe the wellness puppy formulas are grain free, I think it's only their core line. It, is, however still a high ranking food. I use the wellness small breed puppy, we get the small bag at a specialty food store that is local, the last one I bought was about $13, I believe.
> 
> Wellness Small Breed - Just for Puppy
> 
> ...


NOW! also does a grain free puppy formula, but the small breed is considered for all life stages. The actual puppy one has much bigger pieces like Origin though. *INGREDIENTS*

De-boned turkey, potato flour, pea, potato, whole dried egg, pea fibre, tomato, apple, flaxseed, canola oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols, a source of vitamin E), natural flavor, coconut oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols, a source of vitamin E), salmon, de-boned duck, sundried alfalfa, carrots, pumpkin, bananas, blueberries, cranberries, raspberries, blackberries, papaya, pineapple, grapefruit, lentil beans, broccoli, spinach, cottage cheese, alfalfa sprouts, dried kelp, calcium carbonate, dicalcium phosphate, lecithin, sodium chloride, potassium chloride, dried seaweed meal, vitamins (vitamin E supplement, L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), niacin, inositol, vitamin A supplement, thiamine mononitrate, d-calcium pantothenate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, riboflavin, beta-carotene, vitamin D3 supplement, folic acid, biotin, vitamin B12 supplement), minerals (zinc proteinate, ferrous sulfate, zinc oxide, iron proteinate, copper sulfate, copper proteinate, manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, calcium iodate, sodium selenite), taurine, DL-methionine, L-Lysine, chicory extract, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus casei, Enterococcus faecium, Bifidobacterium thermophilum, dried Aspergillus niger fermentation extract, dried Aspergillus oryzae fermentation extract, yeast extract, yucca schidigera extract, marigold extract,L-carnitine, dried rosemary.

I think the NOW small breed is a really good food for our little ones. Cute too. LOL


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## edelweiss (Apr 23, 2010)

michellerobison said:


> Looks like it only comes in 6 and 12 pound bags,doubt it's much more than 49 for the small bag and $14 for the larger one..


Then I would take the larger one!:HistericalSmiley::HistericalSmiley:


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## poochie2 (Jan 14, 2010)

I recommend Petcurean Pet Nutrition.
The NOW small breed is an excellent kibble and the vitamins are balanced including the protein which thankfully is NOT in excess like some brands.


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## lyndy (Jul 9, 2011)

I also feed my puppy NOW small breed. We also do a canned food, Natural Instinct Chicken formula. We do canned with a little of the dry in the morning and just dry for dinner. For a 3lbs bag of NOW it is $14 and it lasts quite a while. Her canned food is $3 a can. We use a little more than half a can a week and freeze the rest.


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## edelweiss (Apr 23, 2010)

Have you used the NOW fresh grain free?


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## lyndy (Jul 9, 2011)

If you don't mind my asking is NOW fresh NOW's canned food. I know the small breed formula and the canned food I currently feed her are both grain free.


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