# Beneful: Healthy Growth for Puppies



## Jentwisl (Dec 10, 2007)

Hi all, I was wandering if Beneful: Healthy Growth for Puppies is a good food choice for my 7 week old pup. We just got him yesterday and that is what the breeder fed him and she gave us a small amount of it. The problem is he just doesnt seem like he is eating as much as he should. However, I don't really know how much he should be eating so I do not know heh. Is this a good food choice that will supply him with everything he needs to grow strong and healthy?


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## PreciousPrince (Feb 27, 2006)

No, Beneful is not a good food. Nothing you will find in a regular grocery store is any good. There are a lot of really good foods out there, that can be found in places like Petco, many of the small animal suppy stores, and even some feed stores. My suggestion would be to read read read this food forum. It has a wealth of information on nutrition and quality food. It really helped me when I first joined. Perhaps try some warmed wetfood for him. That might appeal to him more at this age. Also, cutting up the dry food into tiny pieces and soaking it in warm water to soften it might help as well. 7 weeks is very young, and his teeth are probably very small and it's hard for him to chew. I'm glad you joined, this forum is a great resource.


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## Jentwisl (Dec 10, 2007)

Hmm...Im glad I joined after hearing that. Any foods off the top of your head that you would suggest me to look further into?

It does seem like it it really hard for him to chew, we where kind of questioning why the breeder had him on this. Its like he chews a little bit but alot ends up falling out of his mouth. The treats we got from petco however he really enjoys and seems very easy for him to handle. It is a little jar filled with little chewy piecies (Petco brand.)

Also, because he eats very little of this, do you think we need to wheen him off of the beneful or can we just switch to something new without upsetting his stomache? The breeder said he has been on it for about 2 weeks I believe.


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## camfan (Oct 30, 2006)

I have to say that I don't know anything about 7 week old Maltese--I hope someone here can help you that has experience breeding that can help you better. It's recommended that you don't take home a maltese puppy until they are 12 weeks old for reasons that you are dealing with--eating, etc, etc.

PreciousPrince is right--please read the forums as much as you can--there's tons of info here. I've learned everything I need to know from reading here. 

And when you do switch foods, do it gradually--adding the new food little by little. Go by the guidelines on the bag. Best of luck!


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## PreciousPrince (Feb 27, 2006)

Okay since you said you have some Petco treats I'm assuming you have one near you, so I looked online to see some of the foods they carry to make a little list for you. In my opinion the Castor and Pollux Organix is probably one of the best foods they carry (I feed it so I might be biased LOL) and I see that it comes in a puppy formula too. Make sure to get some of the matching wet food in the same meat formula as whatever one you decide on, since even mixing some of it in the soaked wet food might help him to eat, which is very important at his age. Hopefully some of the breeders here will see this thread also as they are more familiar with such young puppies, and will be able to help more. Oh and yes, technically you are supposed to gradually switch the food, but if he's not eating the old food, then that won't work, and you should probably just concentrate on trying to get him to eat the new. Ok so here are a couple of the good foods they carry to help give you some ideas, I don't know if all of them have puppy formulas too, I was just looking at the brands.
Castor and Pollux Organix
Eagle Pack Holistic Select
Solid Gold 
Avoderm
Wysong
Natural Balance
Blue Buffalo
Nutro Natural Choice Ultra


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## carrie (Aug 24, 2004)

> Okay since you said you have some Petco treats I'm assuming you have one near you, so I looked online to see some of the foods they carry to make a little list for you. In my opinion the Castor and Pollux Organix is probably one of the best foods they carry (I feed it so I might be biased LOL) and I see that it comes in a puppy formula too. Make sure to get some of the matching wet food in the same meat formula as whatever one you decide on, since even mixing some of it in the soaked wet food might help him to eat, which is very important at his age. Hopefully some of the breeders here will see this thread also as they are more familiar with such young puppies, and will be able to help more. Oh and yes, technically you are supposed to gradually switch the food, but if he's not eating the old food, then that won't work, and you should probably just concentrate on trying to get him to eat the new. Ok so here are a couple of the good foods they carry to help give you some ideas, I don't know if all of them have puppy formulas too, I was just looking at the brands.
> Castor and Pollux Organix
> Eagle Pack Holistic Select
> Solid Gold
> ...


and canidae! :biggrin: - i'd put that on the top foods to choose from...but that's just me.


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## PreciousPrince (Feb 27, 2006)

Oh yes, definately Canidae. I didn't look through all of the pages of their food and didn't see that one. I'm sure there are other good ones I missed too, I just took a brief look. Thanks for pointing that out Carrie!


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## carrie (Aug 24, 2004)

> Oh yes, definately Canidae. I didn't look through all of the pages of their food and didn't see that one. I'm sure there are other good ones I missed too, I just took a brief look. Thanks for pointing that out Carrie![/B]


you did a wonderful job of listing foods, i was just adding in my 2 cents.


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## camfan (Oct 30, 2006)

We use Natural Balance from Petco.


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## kathym (Aug 5, 2006)

Baci ate either Wellness or Merrick, But your puppy is really young talk to your Vet .Baci was also young 9 weeks . There was a lot i learned on this site after the fact.


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## Scoobydoo (May 26, 2005)

> > index.php?act=findpost&pid=483476
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Welcome to SM Jentwisl  

Canidae is a great food but I don't think it's available at Petco, we buy it online, the one we use is for all life stages, canned and dry and the boys love it. It's chicken, lamb and herring with all the necessary nutrients but none of the grains, fillers and unwanted preservatives, all natural. I usually empty the can and make slices for each day and freeze them separately so they stay fresh. I always warm thawed food for both boys in the micro for just a few seconds so it's body temperature.
Here is the site we get Canadae from, they are great and deliver really fast.

http://www.heartypet.com/products.php?cat=26

I also feed Castor & Pollux Organic and Ultramix to Scooby, it has been great for his recovery after illness. They do have a puppy formula that I would start with for such a young puppy.

I do hope you are aware of the dangers of hypoglycemia and how to manage it, you need to keep Nutrical (available at Petco) and some Karo Syrup (available at the store) on hand because if your puppy is so young and not eating enough he could have a low blood sugar problem (hypoglycemia). If he looks weak and sleeps a lot and his gums are very pale you need to put some Karo on your finger and gently rub it on his upper gums, it's absorbed very quickly this way. We had a few episodes with Koko at the beginning and this method was almost instant for his recovery. We also gave Koko a tiny taste of Nutrical daily, even though he was 12 weeks when he came home he was very tiny just under 2 lbs and the risk of hypoglycemia is high with tiny and very young puppies. It is a life threatening problem.

I do wish you luck with your little puppy and hope he begins to eat well.


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## sassy's mommy (Aug 29, 2005)

The others have named some good foods so I won't go into that. I will say however that you may have to try several before you find one that your new baby will eat and tolerate. He is very young and the stress of relocating to his forever home may cause him to not eat properly for a few days. You should probably purchase a tube of Nutri-Cal or another supplement and give him a dollup here and there to prevent low blood sugar which can be fatal. At his age 5-6 small bite kibbles 4-5 times a day will be about all he will eat. His teeth are very tiny and you may have to soften the kiblbles with fat free chicken broth in order for him to eat it. Please see your vet ASAP and have him checked over good and get advice from him. You will want to find a vet who is familar with small breeds. These tiny pups are much different from large breed pups. So vet advice is not a one size fits all. 

P.S. most quality foods have a 100% guarantee written right on the side of the bag. This means if your baby will not eat it you can return it for a full refund or exchange for another brand. Don't feel bad by doing this. No matter how much quality the food has, if your baby will not eat it then it has no nutritional value to him. Remember you can always get good advice here on the SM forum if you need it. Some folks may sound harsh about your baby's age, but try not to be offended. The bottom line is that you now have possession of the baby and you have to do whatever it takes to keep him healthy and grow into a healthy/sound adult. 

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## Jentwisl (Dec 10, 2007)

What is yall's take on Science Diet? I noticed it is not on your mentioned list. My vet reccomended it, however there lobby was filled with Science Diet so I assume they have some affiliation with them. I bought a small bag for Rocky and so far he has been eating a lot more since we gave him the science diet. Any opinions?


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## carrie (Aug 24, 2004)

> What is yall's take on Science Diet? I noticed it is not on your mentioned list. My vet reccomended it, however there lobby was filled with Science Diet so I assume they have some affiliation with them. I bought a small bag for Rocky and so far he has been eating a lot more since we gave him the science diet. Any opinions?[/B]


well, it's not the best... that's why it wasn't listed... but it's _much_ better than beneful.


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## sophie (Jul 9, 2006)

Our Petco just recently redid and expanded their dog food section. They now carry the Organix, Solid Gold, Avoderm, etc. And, those Petsmart treats are my kids favorites - we call them "doggie crack." They literally go wild when we pick up the jar.


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## Jentwisl (Dec 10, 2007)

Is there any perticular reason why Science diet is not as good as the others? I just bought a bag so Id hate to return this one also.


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## carrie (Aug 24, 2004)

> Is there any perticular reason why Science diet is not as good as the others? I just bought a bag so Id hate to return this one also.[/B]


what's the first ingredient? it should be a protein/meat source and it should be "meal" not by products... also corn isn’t’s all that great of a grain source...


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## Scoobydoo (May 26, 2005)

Quite honestly my thought is that your little puppy is eating the Science Diet so I would stick with it till he is older and stronger. I don't like SD as much as the organic and natural pet foods that are out there.
Many vets recommend SD even ours but they know I won't use it so now they don't bother trying any more, I just prefer the more natural foods for the boys.
I feel there is a lot of corn and fillers in SD, but, and say it again, if your little baby is eating it stick with it, it's much better than Beneful


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