# Victor or Merrick?



## 68chevy (Oct 12, 2019)

Currently feeding my 4 month old pup Purina Pro Plan sport. Pup is not gaining weight that well on it. Thinking of switching to something new anyone have any recommendations welcome? Thinking of either Merrick or Victor


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## Rocky B. (Nov 1, 2019)

During the very young age, Rachael Ray Nutrish Bright Puppy is what we fed him. He gained really fast (healthy gain). We switched it to rachel ray nutrish (for all life stages) for a while, and then we found Wag (from amazon, Lamb & Lentil flavor is for all life stages). Now just bought Gentle Giants from Chewy.com for the first time, so we will feed him that this week.
Trying to stay higher protein and more joint support in the dry dog food, but reasonably priced since we have two other dogs to feed too.


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## Shane'sDad (Jul 22, 2010)

Between Merrick and Victor I'd go with Victor mainly because we'd had such good luck with Victor with all 3 dogs until recently... one of my dogs has been on it since a pup and done really great on it..we also have another female who has stomach issues and didn't tolerate the newest version of Victor she's now on a version of pro plan for stomachs.....


Reading your post I see that you're feeding pro plan sport which ( I'm sure you know) is 30/20--protein/fat--we adopted the dog in my avatar (Meesha) from the SPCA at the end of July she was very under weight at just over 40lbs....she's now at 52.6 she looks good and feels good when I put hands on her my point is she was fed pro plan sport and with her it was a slow but steady weight gain.....


Pups as they grow go through spurts where they gain weight then slow down only to start gaining again later if you're feeding close to the recommended amount and the pups still seems hungry try feeding a bit more...some folks here will say the 30/20 ratio is a bit much for a growing pup but I have my own opinion....be a good idea also IMO to check with your vet and see how they think the pups doing at 4 months just may be there's nothing really wrong...again you can feed more but be sure "more" is actually needed....


BTW :welcome: to the forum and great choice in car brands...:grin2:


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## tc68 (May 31, 2006)

Victor. Mine is/was on Victor from the beginning. He grew fast.....like a weed.


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## BigOzzy2018 (Jan 27, 2018)

My pup came home a few days ago was on Purina Pro plan sport as well. Just now slowly switching over to Sport Dog Cub formula for puppies. I will feed this until 5months then switch to Sport Dog all stage food. My boy is on Sport Dog Dock dog series.


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## CometDog (Aug 22, 2017)

Welcome to the forum! Before looking at the food..because ProPlan is a good food in general - can you define further not gaining weight? How much does he weigh, also any pictures of him from the side and top? What has the vet said about his growth? How are his stools? His energy levels?

Sorry for the tons of questions, but when any quality kibble is being fed and a dog isn't gaining, I'd first want to know those questions up there.


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## 68chevy (Oct 12, 2019)

He weighs about 25lbs. Vets says he is a little too skinny. Checked for parasites test came back negative. His stool is firm. He has tons of energy,feeding 2.5 cups of pro plan a day.


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## CometDog (Aug 22, 2017)

Do you have any pictures? That would help too.


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## 68chevy (Oct 12, 2019)

Still trying to figure out how to post pics?


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## BigOzzy2018 (Jan 27, 2018)

My pup is eating 3 cups a day so maybe he needs more. Not sure in the weight of my pup yet but I’m guessing 20lbs. 
Pics would be helpful


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## 68chevy (Oct 12, 2019)

A couple of pics


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## Shane'sDad (Jul 22, 2010)

I've always liked to keep my dogs lean and have been regularly told they're "skinny"..... but based on your pics I think i'd increase the kibble by 1/2 to 3/4 cups and add an egg and maybe ground turkey..I do that regularly with mine...it looks like I may be "seeing" his spine is that true or just the wave in his coat...


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## 68chevy (Oct 12, 2019)

I think it’s his hair making it look that way, but I’ll increase the amount of food and see if it helps


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## gsdsteve (Apr 24, 2010)

He'll fill out eventually. The most important thing is to stay away from grain free foods!


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## cesartriangle (Jun 23, 2018)

Get your food Origen or Acana nothing less!


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## Damicodric (Apr 13, 2013)

He’s thin. 

Victor. Hero Canine. Great stuff.

4-5 cups / day / 4 - 6 weeks. Just watch him thicken up.

Then, hang around 4 cups / day.

Been there.


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## Thecowboysgirl (Nov 30, 2006)

He's definitely too thin in my opinion. If he is doing well on the purina, just feed him more.

Purina has a sport formula of some kind that is higher in calorie than any Victor if I recall. If you can't get him right on the formula he's on now you could try adding some of that but you could just increase a cup per day of what he usually eats and see what happens first


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## Magwart (Jul 8, 2012)

I agree that he's too ribby.


This may be something already dealt with, but given the age (4 months), have you done a recent fecal test at the vet? With a pup whose ribs are showing despite regular feeding, I'd probably ask the vet to prescribe 3 days of Panacur (dewormer) just to be sure that there are no worms. Many worms are microscopic, so not seeing them in poop doesn't mean they're not there--the vet needs to look for them on a slide under a microscope. 



We often see skinny pups in the rescue start filling out right away after a good deworming--even on less expensive food than you're feeding (we usually feed either Costco Kirkland Puppy formula or Diamond Natural's Large Breed Puppy, which are both decent chicken-and-rice-based foods, under $50 for 40 pounds).


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## dogfaeries (Feb 22, 2010)

I definitely think he needs to eat more. I don’t think 2.5 cups is nearly enough food.


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## 68chevy (Oct 12, 2019)

Update stopped feeding him Purina, he’s already a little over 30lbs. A friend gave me some Fromm puppy food, it’s working well. I did give Panacur C towards the end of October, that could of helped to.


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## huntergreen (Jun 28, 2012)

I used From large breed puppy food for his first year with good results. I then switched to Victor Hi pro formula.


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## tc68 (May 31, 2006)

huntergreen said:


> I used From large breed puppy food for his first year with good results. I then switched to Victor Hi pro formula.


Hey hunter, why the Hi pro formula and not the professional or anything else? Mine's been on the Professional formula for about a year or so now. He's about to turn 2yo in about 2 weeks. He's starting lose interest in the Professional formula. I'm looking at Victor's other choices and I'm curious why you picked that one.


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## huntergreen (Jun 28, 2012)

Sorry didn't see this. I picked this formula based on our activity. So far it's been great. He looks good and doesn't add any excess weight. And of course he tolerated it well. A plus is it contains glucosamine for the joints.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

@tc68 You also want to look at the protein and fat levels. A working dog, actively working, needs 30%. Any more than that (I think the magic number was 32%) they saw a decline in stamina. So if an actively working dog needs 30%, an active pet does not need that amount. That's one of the reason I chose the Hi Pro vs any other. I liked the 24/20 percentages for a growing puppy. When they are competing and training every day, then I'll up it to 30% protein.


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## tc68 (May 31, 2006)

Jax08 said:


> @tc68 You also want to look at the protein and fat levels. A working dog, actively working, needs 30%. Any more than that (I think the magic number was 32%) they saw a decline in stamina. So if an actively working dog needs 30%, an active pet does not need that amount. That's one of the reason I chose the Hi Pro vs any other. I liked the 24/20 percentages for a growing puppy. When they are competing and training every day, then I'll up it to 30% protein.


Ok. Good point, Jax. I'll have to think more about that.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

tc68 said:


> Ok. Good point, Jax. I'll have to think more about that.


There's actually a study out of Cornell on the protein requirements of working dogs based on field dogs.


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## cesartriangle (Jun 23, 2018)

Acaba is the best food by miles!


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