# Food advice



## kaeco510 (Sep 28, 2012)

Hey everyone
Sadie is finally sort of approaching the end of the bag of purina puppy chow. I know this is kind of a junky food, but se was being fed it at the shelter so I continued it. 

I have heard that blue buffalo makes really good quality food. Sadie goes CRAZY over the blue buffalo duck flavored treats. I was thinking of getting her the duck flavored food. 

My question is.. Is it ok to do that even though it is not puppy food? Or should I stick w the same brand but get a puppy formula in a different flavor?

Thanks!!


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## Furbabies mom (Jul 25, 2011)

My vet keeps them on puppy food until after their spay or neuter.


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## Bailey&Me (Mar 8, 2010)

How old is Sadie? 

Check the bag of Blue Buffalo - if it says "all life stages" you should be good.


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## kaeco510 (Sep 28, 2012)

She's 5 months old and getting spayed next month. So maybe it wouldn't be too early to buy a bag since I have a coupon and a Petco coupon?? I will def check to see what age they recommend. Is Blue buffalo really a good food?


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## shellbeme (Mar 1, 2011)

I think there are better food choices for the same or less than what blue buffalo costs-however it is not a bad food (it IS one of the better ones) and it is relitively easy to come by.

I think it's a good idea to rotate formulas-meaning rotating meat proteins-but do what you prefer. I would either feed a puppy formula, or an all life stages formula.


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## kaeco510 (Sep 28, 2012)

What other brands do you think are better? I am open to suggestions 

And by rotating meat proteins you mean like rotating the different flavors?

Thanks for the advice 


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## AshleyAndSophiePup (Aug 24, 2012)

Sophie loves her blue buffalo. She's on blue buffalo basics and she really likes it. I'm thinking I may start adding some canned in there for a little more flavor. Watch the protein levels, blue tends to be really high in protein. That's why I have her on the basics, the protein level was perfect. The food looks bland and boring, it's doesn't have the "flavor and ingredients you can see" in other words it doesn't have all the dyes and additives. Make sure since she's reaching the end of the bag that you gradually switch her over. Doing it abruptly can cause tummy problems. And if she does have tummy problems a teaspoon of canned pumpkin (just the pumpkin, not the one with the spices) will help. Also a teaspoon-tablespoon of plain yogurt will help too, and it helps take some of the yeast away from tear stains


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## kaeco510 (Sep 28, 2012)

What's a good protein level for our fluffs? I'm kinda clueless about this stuff  


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## AshleyAndSophiePup (Aug 24, 2012)

I think Sophie's food has 24% protein. I remember reading that a malt should have 20%- 28% protein in they're diets. 


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## kaeco510 (Sep 28, 2012)

Awesome thank you so much!!! 


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## shellbeme (Mar 1, 2011)

My favorite is Fromm, but it doesn't work for everyone. If you take a look at their ingredient list, you'll find a ton of whole foods listed instead of some meal and then a couple grains and then a bunch of stuff that no one really knows how to pronounce. That being said, sometimes the whole list of foods they use don't settle well with dogs that have food sensitivities-no one dog food is best for everyone. Still, they are my favorite, I like the four star line.

I like Nutri Source-but it does cost more than fromm (around here anyway)

The other brands I favor are not standard kibble. There are many kibble brands that are good-but they all have some reason I am displeased with them. (I'm really harsh on manufacturers though) These include:

*Blue Buffalo* (Overpriced)
*Canine Caviar* (Overpriced)
*Acana/Orijen* (they are starting to cut corners and putting more plant, less meat)
*Merrick* (I want to love them but it will take a while, they have had a rough past-however they are 100% USA from what I understand, and that is important to me)
*Wellness* (Overpriced and some of their products were being made at the nasty diamond plant-dunno if that is still the case)
*Natural Balance *(Totally NOT overpriced buy they have questionable sources for their ingredients  )

For me, Fromm is still overpriced but I think it has the best ingredients comparied to the others I have seen, and the best price comparison.

But just because it works for me doesn't mean it will work for you-you'll eventually find your brand.  There are other good and perfectly acceptable brands out there, but I haven't looked over all of them enough to have a definate opinion.

As for protein level, I, personally do not know the answer to that, but what I do know is that most people seem to prefer to keep protein under 30% and in fact closer to 25-28 or so. So, when you start looking at premium kibble, it can be difficult at times to find something that falls into this.

I love the website www.dogfoodadvisor.com you can sign up for recall alerts and it gives you and idea of where to start in kibble. The reviews are mostly based on ingredients-and there is so much more to dog food then what websites like these present to us so dont' get too carried away with 'omg omg I have to get a 5 star brand food!' but, it is a starting point.


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## Snuggle's Mom (Jan 3, 2008)

Blue Buffalo is the choice for our two; Snuggles and Chrissy. And yes, it is expensive, but well worth the money since they are both doing so well on it and have no issues. There are many choices to choose from but as someone else posted, be careful with the protein values since foods with higher protein tends to put on weight.


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## kaeco510 (Sep 28, 2012)

Thank you everyone for the advice! I did check out dogfoodadvisor.com but to be honest I wasn't 100% what I should be looking for. I still have a little while before Sadie reaches the end of her current bag of food so I have time to figure it out  thanks again! 


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## AshleyAndSophiePup (Aug 24, 2012)

kaeco510 said:


> Thank you everyone for the advice! I did check out dogfoodadvisor.com but to be honest I wasn't 100% what I should be looking for. I still have a little while before Sadie reaches the end of her current bag of food so I have time to figure it out  thanks again!
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Petguide.com Free App


Now would be a good time to switch foods, since you still have some of the bag left to gradually mix the new food in.

The dog food advisor was great, I didn't search too much on the website, I just signed up for recall emails. And every time I get one of those emails I think "wow, I'm glad Sophie isn't on that food!" Most good is recalled due to "possible salmonella contamination" it's good to just know what food not to get for her


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## Bailey&Me (Mar 8, 2010)

I just remembered a thread I had posted a while back : http://spoiledmaltese.com/forum/52-maltese-health-behavior/113945-how-choose-good-dog-food.html

It contains links to two great videos by Dr. Becker in which she talks about dog food choices. I found these videos to be extremely informative so do check them out if you get a chance!


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## kaeco510 (Sep 28, 2012)

Thank you! I will def check out the videos etc today 


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## LoveLucy (Mar 18, 2012)

Lucy is on Natural Balance, but only because she has digestive issues and needs the limited ingredients formulas. She eats the Duck and Potato and and am trying to rotate with either Potato and Rabbit and/or Sweet Potato and Fish. It is so reasonably priced it almost makes me suspicious, but it works for Lucy. If Sadie likes the flavor of duck, I highly recommend the Natural Balance treat rolls--they have the duck and potato in the roll. I could almost guarantee Sadie will love them. Lucy goes nuts as soon as she sees them. They sell little trial size rolls for $1.99 at Petco. The great thing is you can cuts these in pieces as small as you would like. They are perfect for training. Not that Lucy is really getting trained, but she's doing quite well at training ME to give her treats.


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