# My girl on 4health puppy food



## NightHunter65

I am been reading allot on different dog foods, and every one of them goes both ways. Im sure you all know it is enough to drive you up the wall, since this little bugger is like your little baby. I have 4 dogs and never really REALLY looked at what I have been feeding them. The best option I came up with is 4health and the puppy food seems perfect for even the large breed even though I have heard it shot down. I am a science major so I always have to ask WHY and take general reasons as a grain of salt. From what I see it has the right amount of protein (27%) and calcium (1.2%) both low enough for a growing Shepherd.

Along side that, I have also done some further research and found some interesting points, some people keep their dogs on the puppy formula of 4health for something I looked over, the adult dog food have dries beet pulp which of course is a filler and seems to cause some health issues. Though I have also read that is a good fiber for your dog, if it read sugar removed... but this dog food does not read that, I might have to do some calling and find out if it has sugar in it or not.


Ingredients:
Lamb, lamb meal, egg product, ground rice, cracked pearled barley, millet, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), potato protein, potatoes, oatmeal, tomato pomace, natural flavor, flaxseed, ocean fish meal, salmon oil (source of DHA), potassium chloride, salt, choline chloride, dried chicory root, kelp, carrots, peas, apples, tomatoes, blueberries, spinach, dried skim milk, cranberry powder, rosemary extract, parsley flake, yucca schidigera extract, L-Carnitine, dried fermentation products of Enterococcus faecium, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus casei and Lactobacillus plantarum, dried Trichoderma longibrachiatum fermentation extract, vitamin E supplement, iron proteinate, zinc proteinate, copper proteinate, ferrous sulfate, zinc sulfate, copper sulfate, potassium iodide, thiamine mononitrate, manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, ascorbic acid, vitamin A supplement, biotin, niacin, calcium pantothenate, manganese sulfate, sodium selenite, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin B12 supplement, riboflavin, vitamin D supplement, folic acid.

Guaranteed Analysis:
Crude Protein 27.0% (min.), Crude Fat 15.0% (min.), Omega-6 Fatty Acids* 2.2% (min.), Calcium 1.2% (min.), Omega-3 Fatty Acids* 0.3% (min.), DHA (Docosahexaenoic acid)* 0.05% (min.), Moisture 10.0% (max.), Crude Fiber 3.0% (max.), Phosphorus 1.2% (max.), Phosphorus 1.0% (min.), Zinc 150 mg/kg (min.), L-Carnitine* 30 mg/kg (min.), Selenium 0.4 mg/kg (min.), Vitamin E 150 IU/kg (min.).
*Not recognized as an essential nutrient by the AAFCO dog food nutrient profile.

Caloric Content:
3,656 kcal/kg (342 kcal/cup).


The adult large breed dog food

Ingredients:
Chicken, chicken meal, whole grain brown rice, cracked pearled barley, white rice, rice bran, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), dried beet pulp, flaxseed, egg product, fish meal, brewers dried yeast, natural chicken flavor, potassium chloride, salt, dried chicory root, glucosamine hydrochloride, choline chloride, vitamin E supplement, chondroitin sulfate, iron proteinate, zinc proteinate, copper proteinate, manganese proteinate, ferrous sulfate, zinc sulfate, copper sulfate, potassium iodide, thiamine mononitrate, manganous oxide, ascorbic acid, vitamin A supplement, L-Carnitine, biotin, niacin, calcium pantothenate, manganese sulfate, sodium selenite, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin B12 supplement, riboflavin, vitamin D supplement, folic acid.

Guaranteed Analysis:
Crude Protein 24.0% (min.), Crude Fat 12.0% (min.), Omega-6 Fatty Acids* 2.0% (min.), Sodium 0.3% (max.), Omega-3 Fatty Acids* 0.3% (min.), Moisture 10.0% (max.), Crude Fiber 4.0% (max.), Calcium 1.1% (min.), Phosphorus 1.1% (max.), Phosphorus 0.9% (min.), Glucosamine hydrochloride* 750 mg/kg (min.), Chondroitin sulfate* 250 mg/kg (min.), Zinc 150 mg/kg (min.), L-Carnitine 30 mg/kg (min.), Selenium 0.4 mg/kg (min.), Vitamin E 150 IU/kg (min.).
*Not recognized as an essential nutrient by the AAFCO dog food nutrient profile.

Caloric Content:
3,499 kcal/kg (327 kcal/cup).


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## sable123

The sugar is always removed because the sugar goes into, well, making table sugar!!!!

Beet pulp, chicory root & psyllium are the three best fibers for a kibble. Rarely, you will find all three in a food, like Dr. Tim's.

Be careful with price-point foods like 4Health, Costco & TOTW because dog food labeling requirements allow companies like Diamond to up-market pretty average products.


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## mason79

I just bought some of this yesterday at tsc, would also like to hear some opinions.


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## sable123

mason79 said:


> I just bought some of this yesterday at tsc, would also like to hear some opinions.



The most important one is yours but I think if you feed it over 3 months you will see that it is not the bargain you think.


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## Emoore

1.2% calcium is the minimum. What's the max? Max calcium is what we're concerned about.


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## KZoppa

sable123 said:


> The most important one is yours but I think if you feed it over 3 months you will see that it is not the bargain you think.


 
my dogs have been on 4Health since September 2010. For us, its a huge bargain. Allergies are no longer an issue so vet visits have gone WAY WAY WAY down. Their coats are fabulous. they actually LIKE to eat their meals and they eat them completely. we also dont have to feed as much of it because its a better quality than what we were feeding them. I guess its just one of those things you'd have to try to know for sure.


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## NightHunter65

big thing seems to be that its like going Ford or Chevy...

I see allot of people going from one extreme to the next, allot of people feed their dogs better than they eat, and people still live fine just like dogs have for a long time on corn kibble. I dont care for corn kibble that is why I have gone up to a better quality food, even if this is not the best, it is better than what most feed their dogs for the price, it is a good quality food. I just like to hear some other opinions to see how they feel about and how they been doing on the 4Health dog food. I don't do well with the raw or barf because of the time, i hardly have time to set myself food at times with school, work, kids, dogs. So... I am intending however to add some raw meats in along with kibble that way she is at least getting some raw animal protein.


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## sportsman1539

My mom and I both have our pups on the puppy formula and they seem to be doing .great on it. Shiny coats and their growth seems to be good


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## NightHunter65

Yeah my little girls seems to be doing well on it, she isnt growing too fast, about 1lb every 3 days or so. She is 9 weeks old 14lbs, kind of small but I think she will start sprouting soon.


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## KZoppa

NightHunter65 said:


> big thing seems to be that its like going Ford or Chevy...
> 
> I see allot of people going from one extreme to the next, allot of people feed their dogs better than they eat, and people still live fine just like dogs have for a long time on corn kibble. I dont care for corn kibble that is why I have gone up to a better quality food, even if this is not the best, it is better than what most feed their dogs for the price, it is a good quality food. I just like to hear some other opinions to see how they feel about and how they been doing on the 4Health dog food. I don't do well with the raw or barf because of the time, i hardly have time to set myself food at times with school, work, kids, dogs. So... I am intending however to add some raw meats in along with kibble that way she is at least getting some raw animal protein.


 
we stopped having allergy issues that were food related when we switched to 4health because theres no corn in it. The dogs are actually excited to eat. They get a raw egg about once a week with the occassional junk food treat aka people food. They're on a daily vitamin as well. Since JUST switching them to the 4health, the changes we've seen have been nothing but positive. Add in the vitamins have helped as well. I think for the price its worth it. It came highly recommended to me when i was asking about quality foods in a tight budget. and for the record (lol) i'm a ford or chevy person as long as it works and i like it!


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## Emoore

NightHunter65 said:


> big thing seems to be that its like going Ford or Chevy...
> 
> I see allot of people going from one extreme to the next, allot of people feed their dogs better than they eat, and people still live fine just like dogs have for a long time on corn kibble. I dont care for corn kibble that is why I have gone up to a better quality food, even if this is not the best, it is better than what most feed their dogs for the price, it is a good quality food. I just like to hear some other opinions to see how they feel about and how they been doing on the 4Health dog food. I don't do well with the raw or barf because of the time, i hardly have time to set myself food at times with school, work, kids, dogs. So... I am intending however to add some raw meats in along with kibble that way she is at least getting some raw animal protein.



That's wonderful, but you should still find out the MAX calcium on the puppy food, not just the minimum.


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## sportsman1539

Btw, my has been on it for about 3 months now and her growth has followed the GSd growth charts almost to the pound. She doesn't seem to be growing too fast and is on pace to be about the size of her mother. 65lbs


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## NightHunter65

Emoore said:


> That's wonderful, but you should still find out the MAX calcium on the puppy food, not just the minimum.


Oh yeah I understand, Ill do some research on that. I am still so used to 3rd shift that I up when no one is open, getting used to this day walker thing again=)


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## KZoppa

sportsman1539 said:


> Btw, my has been on it for about 3 months now and her growth has followed the GSd growth charts almost to the pound. She doesn't seem to be growing too fast and is on pace to be about the size of her mother. 65lbs


 
yup. Shasta hasnt had any growth issues. She's not grown too fast and she's currently about 63-65 lbs at a year old. She's starting to fill out since she's done growing up. I'm really only expecting her to gain maybe 5-10 more pounds before she's completely done with all that growing stuff.


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## XTOL

For what its worth Ive had Abby on the 4Health food almost from
the beginning. The first bag of food I got for her was Purina Pro Plan
since thats what the breeder was feeding. But I changed over to the
4 Health Puppy Formula right after.

At 6 months I changed her to 4 Health Chicken and Rice for Adults.

She has done great on it and eats it right up. She just turned one year
old on May 12th and is a lean 70 pounds.


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## NightHunter65

Well she was going so good on it, but for some reason she rather eat my mothers dogs food, Dog Chow, I just dont understand it. She rather have the cheap stuff, she still eats the 4health but she only eats about 2 cups, which almost what she should eat, kinda feel worried she isnt eatting enough if i keep her on it. The first dog ive ever had who didnt clean their bowl as a puppy.


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## Lin

NightHunter65 said:


> Well she was going so good on it, but for some reason she rather eat my mothers dogs food, Dog Chow, I just dont understand it.


Thats pretty common actually. Low quality foods have a lot of artificial flavoring in them, think of it like McDonalds. It especially happens in cats, because they're stricter carnivores so foods are highly flavored to entice them. Then the cat becomes a "junk food junkie" and snubs healthier alternatives.


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