Best puppy food?

robocode

I have a new labrador (10 weeks old) and I heard such good things about Royal Canin that's what I went for. Then, however, I started seeing people giving out about it here. What do you think is the very best for him? What are you basing it on, price/quality etc?

tk123

I have my pup on BARF like her big bro but if I was going for a dry food I'd probably try Barking Heads first (it can be trial and error) - I use it for training treats and no probs. I like the ingrediants in it and it's not full of fillers like some of the other foods out there.

robocode

I'll probably stick with dry for now thanks. I heard great things about Orijen and Acana but then other people saying the high protein could be detrimental to the growth of my dog, lameness etc. There's so much conflicting advice about dogs it's hard to know what's right!

keno-daytrader

I got my lab at 10 weeks and she has been on Orijen, Acana or Taste of the Wild.

With growing dogs its nothing to do with the protein level, its all to do with the levels of phosphorous and calcium in the food.

Hooked

If they are on RC and you're changing, be sure to make it a gradual change over by mixing the new food in at a small ratio and increase the split over time.

tk123

robocode wrote: »

I'll probably stick with dry for now thanks. I heard great things about Orijen and Acana but then other people saying the high protein could be detrimental to the growth of my dog, lameness etc. There's so much conflicting advice about dogs it's hard to know what's right!

You just need to make sure that

a) The puppy is kept lean so as not to put extra stress on their joints - you should be able to easily feel the ribs. Make sure you adjust the amount of food for your individual dog, take some out the daily portion out to allow for any treats etc etc
b) You don't over excercise the puppy - follow the 5 mins per month of age rule

tinyter28

I've had my Sibe on Orijen Large Breed since 12 weeks and hes doing great on it. Pricey but its meant to be a lot higher quality then the other more famous ones

runawaybishop

robocode wrote: »

I'll probably stick with dry for now thanks. I heard great things about Orijen and Acana but then other people saying the high protein could be detrimental to the growth of my dog, lameness etc. There's so much conflicting advice about dogs it's hard to know what's right!

I don't think high protein is the issue, though it was for a long time considered bad. Protein is essential for muscle growth and repair and for skeletal health. Excessive calcium is linked to skeletal disorders, such as hip dysplasia.

tinyter28

runawaybishop wrote: »

I don't think high protein is the issue, though it was for a long time considered bad. Protein is essential for muscle growth and repair and for skeletal health. Excessive calcium is linked to skeletal disorders, such as hip dysplasia.

Study to back that up... Although it was done by the people that make Orijen


Interesting read
http://files.championpetfoods.com/Myths_of_High_Protein.pdf

runawaybishop

tinyter28 wrote: »

Study to back that up... Although it was done by the people that make Orijen


Interesting read
http://files.championpetfoods.com/Myths_of_High_Protein.pdf

The protein levels or the excess calcium issues? There are several studies on both.

Heres one that covers both anyway - https://www.msu.edu/~silvar/hips.htm with a couple of points highlighted for ease

Like excess energy, protein has been thought to be associated with skeletal disease. A study by Nap and coworkers reported on the role of protein in disturbances of skeletal development(21,22): Three groups of Great Dane puppies were fed three levels of protein (31.6%, 23.1%, and 14.6% on a dry matter basis) in an isoenergetic dry dog food from 7 weeks through 18 weeks of age. No demonstrable effects were noted on calcium metabolism or skeletal development. These levels of dietary protein are unlikely to cause a disturbing role in canine endochondral ossification.

A growth diet should contain more than 28% protein (dry matter basis) of high biologic value that supplies at least 16% of the dietary energy. In the normal dog, dietary protein requirements decrease with age.

Young, giant-breed dogs fed a diet containing 3.3% calcium (dry matter basis) and 0.9% or 3% phosphorus have significantly increased incidence of developmental bone disease. These dogs seem to be unable to protect themselves against the negative effects of chronic excess levels of calcium.(26) Calcium levels for a growth diet should be between 1% and 1.6% (dry matter basis).

tldr: high protein isn't the cause of the issues, overfeeding and excess calcium could be though.

robocode

If Orijen/Acana turn out too expensive (though some say they work out cheaper per day versus Royal Canin) then what else would you recommend?

runawaybishop

robocode wrote: »

If Orijen/Acana turn out too expensive (though some say they work out cheaper per day versus Royal Canin) then what else would you recommend?

I think skinners is decent, though I'm only feeding adult dogs now and haven't used their puppy food. Its pretty inexpensive if you order it from amazon on a subscription as you get free postage.

keno-daytrader

robocode wrote: »

If Orijen/Acana turn out too expensive (though some say they work out cheaper per day versus Royal Canin) then what else would you recommend?

Taste of the Wild. I get mine on amazon.co.uk

offline

Sorry while not strictly an answer to your question , I thought it should be mentioned .
RC are sponsoring illegal bear baiting in Romania , and for that alone should loose any customer support , whatever your opinion on their actual product IMHO .
Please check this link for more info / proof :
http://digitaljournal.com/article/354979
WARNING DISTURBING PICTURES ( sorry don't know how to post links properly , or just google bear baiting and royal canine )
Mods please feel free to remove if this is not acceptable

More related to your question , personally I like Gain a lot as a food choice , quality and value for money seems quiet good .

muddypaws

offline wrote: »

More related to your question , personally I like Gain a lot as a food choice , quality and value for money seems quiet good .

And Gain sponsor greyhound racing, which has many animal welfare issues, so if you want to feed ethically I'd suggest you stop promoting that food

offline

muddypaws wrote: »

And Gain sponsor greyhound racing, which has many animal welfare issues, so if you want to feed ethically I'd suggest you stop promoting that food

You are of course right with that statement , but where do you draw the line ? Greyhound racing , horse racing or the now considered controversial pedigree dogs in the showring , these are sponsored by a with variety of dogfood manufactures which would leave pretty much none you could refer to a ethical . Raw it is so , you say ... but are you assuring the meat you use has been ethically raised and humanly slaughtered ?

This is a pretty much a bottomless pit ... though I personally would draw a line somewhere around setting a pack of dogs on a tendered , dehydrated and manhandled animal ...

I apologize for taking this of topic , mods please feel free to delete my contributions

DBB

I see no need to delete, but I will ask that there is no more discussion on the topic on this thread.
If anyone wishes to start a discussion on the subject of ethics of dog food manufacturers, feel free to start a new thread.
Thanks,
DBB

meoklmrk91

There are loads of great foods out there, I don't have much of an issue with RC or Hills I just think they are midranged foods priced as high range foods, you can get much more bang for your buck. On the upper levels of pricing you have Acana, Orijin, Eukanaba and Taste of Wild, I think TOTW is the cheapest of the lot, all very good quality foods. Then Burns, James Wellbeloved, Arden Grange and the cheapest of the lot would be Skinners. It all depends on how much you want to spend, there are loads of great options out there, I've just mentioned a few.

I personally have been using Skinners for what must be over a year now and I am very happy with it. I am on a tight budget these days so it works well for me plus the dog is healthy and happy which of course is the most important thing for me. There are lots of decent foods in lots of decent price ranges.

Newport81

I'm now feeding my puppy Lilys Kitchen and he absolutely loves it where he wasn't impressed by barking heads burns hills Arden grange etc.

The Lilys kitchen is also grain free and organic. So am happy with it

Nody

meoklmrk91 wrote: »

There are loads of great foods out there, I don't have much of an issue with RC or Hills I just think they are midranged foods priced as high range foods, you can get much more bang for your buck. On the upper levels of pricing you have Acana, Orijin, Eukanaba and Taste of Wild, I think TOTW is the cheapest of the lot, all very good quality foods. Then Burns, James Wellbeloved, Arden Grange and the cheapest of the lot would be Skinners. It all depends on how much you want to spend, there are loads of great options out there, I've just mentioned a few.

Sorry but Eukanaba has nothing to do on that list; it's RC level of quality in another name.

Here's an sample from their puppy range.

Large Breed Puppy Food wrote:

Chicken, Corn Meal, Chicken By-Product Meal (Natural source of Chondroitin Sulfate and Glucosamine), Ground Whole Grain Sorghum, Brewers Rice, Dried Beet Pulp, Chicken Flavor, Dried Egg Product, Fish Oil (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Brewers Dried Yeast, Fish Meal, Potassium Chloride, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Salt, Calcium Carbonate, Choline Chloride, Fructooligosaccharides, Minerals (Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Potassium Iodide, Cobalt Carbonate), DL-Methionine, Vitamins (Ascorbic Acid, Vitamin A Acetate, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Thiamine Mononitrate (source of vitamin B1), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Niacin, Riboflavin Supplement (source of vitamin B2), Inositol, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (source of vitamin B6), Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid), Vitamin E Supplement, Marigold, Beta-Carotene, Rosemary Extract.

meoklmrk91

Nody wrote: »

Sorry but Eukanaba has nothing to do on that list; it's RC level of quality in another name.

Here's an sample from their puppy range.

You're dead right looking at that ingredients list, point taken, I didn't realise it was such a poor food, especially at that price. :eek: