# Puppy food - Which is better?



## grooves (Jan 14, 2009)

Hi everyone I am new to this forum and am glad to have found this resourceful centre with so many experienced maltese owners. 

I got my maltese about 2 months back and he is currently going on to 5 months old. At present, he is on Eukanuba chicken food formula (what the breeder had) and I am thinking of switching him to a fish or lamb diet. I went on to the dogfoodanalysis website, and after browsing through this forum, I have shortlisted some of the products for my maltese. I need some advises on which ones worked the best for your maltese.

Wellness core ocean - I know this food is primarily for adults. Is it too protein-rich for puppies?
Orijen 6 fresh fish - Similarly is this too much protein?
Solid Gold Flocken puppy (lamb)
Welness just for puppy - I know this is chicken based, but it seemed like there are very little puppy food that is just fish.

I have read many positive reviews for Natural Balance Duck and Potatoes on this forum. I just wanna find out how NB weighs in with the other products above. I know different dogs have different outcomes with different food and there is no best food out there. I just wanna find out more about these different food products as I tend to get overwhelmed with so many different brands. Any reply is much appreciated 
Oh and I am a first time dog owner


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## grooves (Jan 14, 2009)

I also read that NB duck and potato has limited meat in the product. Is this good for a growing puppy?


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## LJSquishy (Feb 27, 2008)

In general, the foods on dogfoodanalysis.com that are rated 5 & 6 stars are too high in protein for our little Maltese to digest properly, resulting in loose & frequent poops. There are a few people on SM that have had good luck though with a couple of them. It will really depend on what your puppy can handle.

As a puppy, I had London on Solid Gold Hunchen Flocken (lamb), and she did pretty well on it. My only complaint with it was that she had gas and was pooping 3-4x per day (being free-fed). Just a couple of months ago, I switched her to Natural Balance Potato & Duck Small Bites and she is doing much better on that. Her gas has almost completely disappeared, and she's generally pooping 2x per day, with an occasional 3x. I will be honest and say that my only complaint about the NB Potato & Duck is the "star rating" it got -- I wanted to feed London the best of the best, but her digestive system just can't handle it; they're far too high in protein for her.

Like I said, it's best to just listen to your puppy when trying new foods -- they will let you know if their bodies can handle it. Make sure when you do switch the food, to gradually mix them together over a 1-2 week period of time: Day 1, only add a few pieces of new kibble to the old, Day 2 add a few more, etc, until you have completely stopped feeding the old kibble. This will help minimize runny poo.


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## tamizami (May 1, 2007)

Some people think that malts don't really need a specific puppy food because they don't have huge growth spurts like larger dogs. That being said, I used an "appropriate for all life stages" food for mine when they were puppies. We love Orijen 6 Fresh Fish in our house.....


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## Furbaby's Mommie (Jul 10, 2004)

I have been told to stay with a "puppy" food until around 8-10 mo. unless you can't find a good one that your puppy will eat. Then go to one that says "all life stages". The ratios of some things like calcium, fat, protein to other things is a little different for puppies. 

It would make some difference if you are feeding wet or dry food. I prefer to use both. Variety in diet at any age is best, they are most likely to get all the nutrients that way and also are not likely to get tummy upsets when foods are changed. A really good website with lots of extra links is this on DogAware . Staying natural and organic is always best, and no "meat by-products". Dry kibble should be one that is small and easy to chew for tiny dogs. It will make a big difference on what brands you have available where you live. I always supplement with a little natural low fat plain yogurt and cottage cheese. That gives the probiotics. A teaspoonful is plenty.

You can subscribe to Whole Dog Journal or buy copies at pet stores. It has the latest info. on foods and care. There is a book most of us love called "Scared Poopless" by Jan Rasmusen that is wonderful and very helpful in raising a healthy puppy.


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## jmm (Nov 23, 2004)

Double post


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## jmm (Nov 23, 2004)

I don't do puppy food for my Maltese. For my larger dogs, they only eat it until 4 months and then the border collies eat performance and the labs eat adult. My Maltese are very active, but not active enough to need such high quantities of protein and fat in their diets. The high protein 6 star foods have not worked for me at all with any dogs but the border collies.


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## wolfieinthehouse (Dec 14, 2007)

I feed my puppies Nutro Puppy Small Bites. It is a chicken based dry kibble.
I move them on to Nutro Lamb and Rice when they are a year old.


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## Maidto2Maltese (Oct 19, 2004)

QUOTE (JMM @ Jan 14 2009, 03:36 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=706053


> I don't do puppy food for my Maltese. For my larger dogs, they only eat it until 4 months and then the border collies eat performance and the labs eat adult. My Maltese are very active, but not active enough to need such high quantities of protein and fat in their diets. The high protein 6 star foods have not worked for me at all with any dogs but the border collies.[/B]



I agree about the 6-star not necessarily being the best for a Malt. As I've mentioned here several times.. little Quincy Adult not a puppy) had been on the EVO before he came here and I continued with it. I was impressed with it's 'rating' and had strongly considered switching Naddie over to it. Then Quincy needed a dental and a bloodpanel was done prior to that. The results showed a lot of things off... protein high and triglycerides very very high... etc. Vet wanted to know what I fed.. we went over the analysis and realized the fat content was very high! She wanted me to switch him over to what Naddie was on. ( Naddie has had all but perfect blood work!) Months later we found his panel showed all came into normal ranges. Unfortunately he did get some fatty deposits in his eyes. vet said this came from the high fat diet. now we have to be extermely careful for fats in any food to keep at a minimum to help prevent more from forming.


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## design by dawn (Jan 22, 2008)

started and still do - almost yr later- nature variety- no wheat which is importanti also add a teaspoon of ground meat- chicken or beef usually- to bribe her to eat- only because i started her on human food- big mistake for me- now i'm always having to do this- sucks


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## dwerten (Oct 6, 2007)

Be careful on the nutro as i have been hearing alot of things on other groups about problems with nutro  dogs vomitting and diarhea 

QUOTE (wolfieinthehouse @ Jan 14 2009, 04:39 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=706056


> I feed my puppies Nutro Puppy Small Bites. It is a chicken based dry kibble.
> I move them on to Nutro Lamb and Rice when they are a year old.[/B]


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## dwerten (Oct 6, 2007)

i do baked organic chicken for demi as she is picky and she is almost 5 - I think it is ok as i checked with nutritionist if it would throw off protein balance so as long as it is a small amount then you are ok. Beef is higher in fat than chicken though - i get the organic chicken at costco 


QUOTE (design by dawn @ Jan 25 2009, 01:11 AM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=712881


> started and still do - almost yr later- nature variety- no wheat which is importanti also add a teaspoon of ground meat- chicken or beef usually- to bribe her to eat- only because i started her on human food- big mistake for me- now i'm always having to do this- sucks[/B]


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## dwerten (Oct 6, 2007)

I agree i think high fat content is not good for yorkies or maltese due to liver issues that run in the breed and yorkies for sure as pancreatitis and trust me you do not want to deal with severe pancreatitis as they can die from it mine almost did  

QUOTE (Maidto2Maltese @ Jan 24 2009, 09:02 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=712730


> QUOTE (JMM @ Jan 14 2009, 03:36 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=706053





> I don't do puppy food for my Maltese. For my larger dogs, they only eat it until 4 months and then the border collies eat performance and the labs eat adult. My Maltese are very active, but not active enough to need such high quantities of protein and fat in their diets. The high protein 6 star foods have not worked for me at all with any dogs but the border collies.[/B]



I agree about the 6-star not necessarily being the best for a Malt. As I've mentioned here several times.. little Quincy Adult not a puppy) had been on the EVO before he came here and I continued with it. I was impressed with it's 'rating' and had strongly considered switching Naddie over to it. Then Quincy needed a dental and a bloodpanel was done prior to that. The results showed a lot of things off... protein high and triglycerides very very high... etc. Vet wanted to know what I fed.. we went over the analysis and realized the fat content was very high! She wanted me to switch him over to what Naddie was on. ( Naddie has had all but perfect blood work!) Months later we found his panel showed all came into normal ranges. Unfortunately he did get some fatty deposits in his eyes. vet said this came from the high fat diet. now we have to be extermely careful for fats in any food to keep at a minimum to help prevent more from forming.
[/B][/QUOTE]


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