# Overwhelmed By Food Choices



## Julie718 (Feb 17, 2006)

I am trying to decide what kind of adult dog food to switch Tango to. I talked to my breeder and she said I can begin feeding him adult dog food anywhere from 8-9 months old. She recommends Royal Canine Mini Special. I looked at the ingredients online and I read that it contains "beet pulp". I have read that beet pulp does and does not cause tear stains!







Tango still has some tear staining and I'm trying to see if maybe the food is contributing to it. Then I read a lot about Innova on here and researched it. It looks like Innova has a high protein percentage. I thought that the high protein isn't good for our babies???? I'm pretty much totally confused as to what food to get for Tango.







Does anyone know what percentage of protein is too high? Also, do you think foods with or without "beet pulp" have caused or cleared up tear staining on your Malt?


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## LexiAndNikkisMom (Apr 13, 2004)

Not sure about the percentage of protein but yes beetpulp can cause tear stains.

I feed the girls Nature's Variety. They love it.


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## wagirl98665 (Jan 5, 2006)

> I am trying to decide what kind of adult dog food to switch Tango to. I talked to my breeder and she said I can begin feeding him adult dog food anywhere from 8-9 months old. She recommends Royal Canine Mini Special. I looked at the ingredients online and I read that it contains "beet pulp". I have read that beet pulp does and does not cause tear stains!
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I think beet pulp is in most of them, but I forgot why. You're right picking the right food
is confusing.


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## bek74 (Jun 26, 2006)

My babies have been fed Royal Canine little bites Puppy since I got them. Both of mine have NO tearstaining.
Your baby could have staining because he is teething and that should settle at around 12mths.
I know alot of people believe that Beet pulp can cause staining, but I think it depends on the dog it's self.

I will always stick with Royal Canine even when they go to adult food, It has worked for me.

BEK,SAMMY MAREE & MAX


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## hillary&lola (Apr 4, 2006)

i looked at the ingredients in royal canin and was not impressed. i could be wrong, but some of the ingredients did not look to be the best. i've heard innova (regular not evo) is great, and the protein is the same as any high quality food. i think you were thinking of the innova evo, which is a grain free food and is super high in protein, i think about 40% or something. good luck on your search, i'm still having issues with lola, she has become a very picky eater- she's on natural balance sweet potato and fish/ nb reg. ultra. its a great food!


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## Suz & the Fluffs (Mar 11, 2006)

> My babies have been fed Royal Canine little bites Puppy since I got them. Both of mine have NO tearstaining.
> Your baby could have staining because he is teething and that should settle at around 12mths.
> I know alot of people believe that Beet pulp can cause staining, but I think it depends on the dog it's self.
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*I *I know the ingredients of Royal Canin aren't the best. But trust me we've tried a quite a few higher end dog foods but she wouldn't eat them. I'm not even happy with how much she likes Royal Canin but I'm not going to go to a worse dog food. Well just have to keep trying.


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## dolcevita (Aug 3, 2005)

Have you tried Solid Gold Just a Wee Bit? That's a good one, and the pieces are small, so they're easier for little ones to eat.


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## thinkpink (Sep 25, 2004)

I give Bella Royal Canin Special. It's one of the only foods that didn't give her tearstains and one that she'll actually eat. It works so for now I'm sticking with it. She had been on Nutro for about a month and after switching back to Royal her staining was noticably better within a few days.


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## mightymite (Jul 5, 2005)

> I am trying to decide what kind of adult dog food to switch Tango to. I talked to my breeder and she said I can begin feeding him adult dog food anywhere from 8-9 months old. She recommends Royal Canine Mini Special. I looked at the ingredients online and I read that it contains "beet pulp". I have read that beet pulp does and does not cause tear stains!
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I am not a fan of Royal Canine exactly because I don't like the quality of ingrediants they use. They are better than some (purina for example) but not as good as others. Both Royal Canine and Purina Pro Plan push their products on show breeders. What they do is give away free bags of food, create incentive plans, including couons and merchandise redemption programs, plus free t-shirts, books, totes, hats, spray bottles, cocktail hours, you get the idea - to get the breeders using their products. Then it's an easy step -once momma dog is eating the food, now the breeder sells the pups with a bag of food to take home and now the puppy is hooked on the product as well. Really brilliant merchandising if nothing else!









There are tons of wonderful dog food products out on the market. To make your life simpler, try getting a hold of Whole Dog Journal's annual review. They review both dry food and wet food. What I do with my own dogs is rotate between brands, all of which are listed on the WDJ listings. Right now, they get Innova Evo Kibble (they are mostly show and performance dogs - don't recommend this brand for small house dogs) in the morning, and Innnova (regular) canned mixed with Wholistic Pet Canine Complete Joing Mobility supplement at night. No tear stains.


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## Ladysmom (Oct 19, 2004)

Royal Canin used to be a premium food years ago, but when Waltham started distributing it in the US a few years ago they changed the formula. They started adding cheap fillers like corn. Our local upscale pet boutique carried it for years, but stopped doing so when the quality declined.

With that said, that's the only food my cats really love. I have tried them on Wellness and other premium foods, but they turn up their noses at it.

If you can get him to eat a better quality food, go for it, but, if not, as Princess Bella's mom said, there are worse foods out there.


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## mightymite (Jul 5, 2005)

I definitely y agree that there is a hierarchy when it comes to pet foods. I much prefer seeing people feed foods like Royal Canine, Eukanuba, Iams and Science Diet over the vast majority of “supermarket” foods. And I would rather see someone feeding a dog Innova, Wysong, Solid Gold, Canidae, etc. over the latter group. Ideally, if you could make a home prepared food that was nutritionally balanced, that would be the best. But its all about being the “lets get real” club. We do what we can for our pets. I have a friend who has a Yorkie he feeds high quality foods to, but the only thing he can use as a training treat with this dog is truly the bottom of the barrel – the artificial reconstituted, processed supermarket dog treats like Snauseges and beggin strips!


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## bek74 (Jun 26, 2006)

> I definitely y agree that there is a hierarchy when it comes to pet foods. I much prefer seeing people feed foods like Royal Canine, Eukanuba, Iams and Science Diet over the vast majority of “supermarket” foods. And I would rather see someone feeding a dog Innova, Wysong, Solid Gold, Canidae, etc. over the latter group. Ideally, if you could make a home prepared food that was nutritionally balanced, that would be the best. But its all about being the “lets get real” club. We do what we can for our pets. I have a friend who has a Yorkie he feeds high quality foods to, but the only thing he can use as a training treat with this dog is truly the bottom of the barrel – the artificial reconstituted, processed supermarket dog treats like Snauseges and beggin strips!
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I agree anything premium is better than supermarket rubbish
I live here in Aussie and I haven't even heard of or seen any of these brands of dog foods. I have seen people on here mention them, but they are no where to be found here in Aussie ( well at least I haven't seen them).
I tried Eukanuba, Iams (same company), Hills, pro plan. Mine wouldn't eat any of them. When I got Sammy she was fed supermarket rubbish and there was NO WAY ON EARTH my baby was eating that crap. So after heaps of money on other foods, I stubbled across Royal Canine, I asked my vet about it, she got some in for me, and my baby hasn't looked back.
Maybe it doesn't have the BEST ingredients, but it works for my kids, and is better than supermarket rubbish.
I have heard of you all talking about Natural Balance, wouldn't mind trying that, just to see, but have no Idea if we even sell it here in Aussie.


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## k/c mom (Oct 9, 2004)

I highly recommend Newman's Own. The chicken is free range and the rest of the ingredients are organic and the profits go to animal charities. My guys are berserk over it. Their poop is always firm and has no smell. Here's a video re-post of Catcher's enthusiasm over his Newman's.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jHkxwAbdo4

Also here is info about beet pulp. I believe there has been some confusion between beet pulp and red beets and the Internet has been a source of spreading the untruth that beet pulp is red and causes tear staining. I have found no reliable source saying that although some do say it is just a filler and should be avoided while others say it is a good ingredient. It isn't in Newman's. 

http://www.homestead.com/bulldogsworld/tear.html

"Some pet foods with certain additives will stain hair in the mouth area, HOWEVER BEET PULP WILL NOT CASE TEAR STAINS, that is mis-information to assume it will. Beet pulp used in dog foods and treats are "sugar" beets, they are white, not red and do not contribute to tear stains."

From Drs. Foster & Smith: http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cl...;articleid=2705

*The origin of beet pulp*
"Some people confuse beet pulp with the common garden vegetable, but beet pulp is actually very different. Beet pulp is the by-product of the extraction of raw sugar from commercially grown sugar beets. Sugar beets are grown in huge quantities for the production of sugar. After the sugar has been extracted, the remaining pulp contains very little sugar, but is valuable as a fiber and energy source. .... MORE.....

This site has info on dog food: http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=betterproducts


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## Cosy (Feb 9, 2006)

Hahaha..so many choices, so confusing. I somehow doubt beet pulp causes 
staining unless your dog is allergic to it. 
Is you dog still a pup? If so, teething will cause eye staining. 
Why not try your breeder's choice and see how that goes. You can always
try another later. Stay away from corn, wheat..eggs. Also, keep your baby's
eyes flushed out once or twice a day with a good eye wash (collyrium Fresh Eyes 
is a good one). It's a human product. Also, be sure to keep the face clean and 
dry.


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