# question for the kibble feeders



## krtemt (Aug 2, 2011)

My little girl is almost 3 months old. i have been feeding her Purina Puppy chow. The problem is now is she barely eating it. I have had to move the cats food to a higher place and when I let her out to play with my cousins Australian shepherd, I have to pick up her food dish. She acts so hungry, but barely touches her own food. My cousin feeds his dog Purina one healthy lifestyle, or something like that I just know its a Purina brand. Would it be ok to switch my little girl from the puppy chow to what my cousin feeds his dog? Or should i buy a bag of each and mix them?


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## PaddyD (Jul 22, 2010)

I won't be the only one to tell you that Purina Puppy Chow is not very good dog food. Don't buy dog food at the grocery store. Go to a 'good' pet store and look for grainless or very low grain puppy food. It is more expensive but your puppy will require less of it and is likely to thrive more.
Good luck. Getting puppies to eat is one of the biggest challenges some people meet.


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## Verivus (Nov 7, 2010)

I would not feed any purina product. They are very low quality foods. I would go to your local feed/pet store and look into something better.


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## Riley3696 (Aug 24, 2011)

You can get Victor Puppy food and its a much better dog food than what your feeding and its at a very good price. You should do some research on dog food!!


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## Freestep (May 1, 2011)

The Purina Pro-Plan foods are a notch better than Puppy Chow, but Purina Puppy Chow is one of the worst foods out there, IMO... when I was 18 and didn't know any better, I started my first pup on Puppy Chow and she had the runs nonstop. I switched her to Wayne puppy food (not sure if it's still around) which was the cheapest decent food I could find--she did much better.

Pretty much anything you can get from a pet supply store or feed store is going to be better than Purina Puppy Chow. My dogs get Diamond Naturals, and I don't think you can get a better kibble for the price.


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## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

No way in Hades I'd feed any dog I liked Purina puppy chow or Purina One. Go to Homeyer feed and supply in Caldwell, or K&S Farm and Ranch in Brenham, and get Victor in the purple bag. Or go to Tractor Supply Co and pick up 4Health Chicken and Rice, or Diamond Naturals Chicken and Rice or Diamond Naturals Large Breed Puppy. Switch your puppy over to any of these foods slowly so as not to upset her stomach.


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## jwemt81 (Aug 6, 2011)

Verivus said:


> I would not feed any purina product. They are very low quality foods. I would go to your local feed/pet store and look into something better.


I agree that Purina Puppy Chow is plain junk with horrible ingredients and it's not a food that I would ever feed any of my dogs; however, Purina Pro Plan is an excellent quality food that a lot of breeders, handlers, and owners of many breeds swear by. Many top show dogs are strictly fed Pro Plan. We use the Pro Plan Sensitive Skin & Stomach formula. It has no corn, wheat, or soy and all 3 of our dogs have absolutely beautiful coats, firm stools, and great energy levels on it. Our last GSD was on Pro Plan for almost her entire life and lived to be 12 with absolutely no health problems whatsoever, so I definitely wouldn't say that ALL purina products are bad. That would be kind of a blanket statement. I won't feed anything but Pro Plan because of the amazing results we've had with it. In fact, we tried our 2 golden retrievers on other "premium" brands like Innova, Fromm, Canidae, Orijen, and a few others and they had terrible coats on them and we had to switch back to Pro Plan.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

my dog stopped eating his food on 2 different
occassions. i switched brands and both times 
he began eating with no problems. i only use the premium
brands. i also add things to his kibble, organic yogurt,
beef, chicken, fresh fish, can fish (in water no salt added),
raw egg, can food, salmon oil (human grade).


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## sable123 (Jul 11, 2010)

doggiedad said:


> my dog stopped eating his food on 2 different
> occassions. i switched brands and both times
> he began eating with no problems. i only use the premium
> brands. i also add things to his kibble, organic yogurt,
> ...


How many brands do you use? What is a "premium brand".


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## chelle (Feb 1, 2009)

krtemt said:


> My little girl is almost 3 months old. i have been feeding her Purina Puppy chow. The problem is now is she barely eating it. I have had to move the cats food to a higher place and when I let her out to play with my cousins Australian shepherd, I have to pick up her food dish. She acts so hungry, but barely touches her own food. My cousin feeds his dog Purina one healthy lifestyle, or something like that I just know its a Purina brand. Would it be ok to switch my little girl from the puppy chow to what my cousin feeds his dog? Or should i buy a bag of each and mix them?


There's a TON of info on this forum about various kibbles... almost too much info, it's mind boggling! I would definitely get away; far, far, away from Purina Pup Chow. 

Is your pup a GSD or other large breed? If so, you'd likely want to go with one formulated for a large breed pup. 

Do some research on how to switch over. My puppy was on that same awful food, too and it took almost three weeks to get him properly switched without diarrhea.  I went with what the general advice was on the mix but it was too fast for him and he ended up with diarrhea and we had to start all over. My pup is not on the highest end dogfood, but better than average, I think (Innova Large Breed Pup) and the difference between the cheap stuff and the new stuff was apparently pretty overwhelming to his system. 

Just speaking from what we went through, don't do anything too fast, do your research and take it slow if you switch to a better/higher end food.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

when my dog was a pup he was being fed
purina by his breeder. he came home with a bag
of purina. i slowly switched him to Natural Balance.
a month or 2 later he stopped eating Natural Balance.
then i switched him to Wellness. after a month or 2 he stopped
eating the Wellness. then we switched to Verus. after i
switched to Verus he never stopped eating his food again.
at some point i started switching brands from bag to bag.
i keep several brands of can food on hand.

when i say i use the premium brands i mean the
better quality brands (can or kibble) and you know what they
are. you're not going to bait me into a quality brand naming. 



doggiedad said:


> my dog stopped eating his food on 2 different
> occassions. i switched brands and both times
> he began eating with no problems. i only use the premium
> brands. i also add things to his kibble, organic yogurt,
> ...





sable123 said:


> How many brands do you use? What is a "premium brand".


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## Germanshepherdlova (Apr 16, 2011)

I switched my dog from Purina Dog chow straight over to Purina One Lamb and Rice and had no problem whatsoever with the switch. As a matter of fact, he digested the Purina One much better than the Purina Dog chow.


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## sable123 (Jul 11, 2010)

doggiedad said:


> when my dog was a pup he was being fed
> purina by his breeder. he came home with a bag
> of purina. i slowly switched him to Natural Balance.
> a month or 2 later he stopped eating Natural Balance.
> ...


verus is a good food and a bargain why would you switch?


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## Salix (Feb 13, 2011)

When I look at good 'kibble', nutrients aren't the only thing on my mind. It is the foremost but not the only thing. 

I also think about healthy teeth and gums and how the food passes into the dog's system. 

I stay away from canned (tried it, no thanks). I stay away from anything that contains meat by-products and it will say if it does. I stay away from any kind of food that has corn or wheat or starch as its first or one of its first ingredients. 

Food has to have the highest nutrients as well. I don't spoil my dog with much but he gets absolute top of the line food with a protein percentage at 34% with Blue Buffalo's Wilderness Salmon. It is absolutely grain-free. Because of its high protein, it takes half of that to make up for what I would feed if it were something at a lower protein percentage. It took some doing to get to that point but I feel it's one of the best and Denver deserves that - no matter how much of a chunk it eats into my wallet at $75 per 24 lb bag. He consumes this in three weeks. This means approximately *$1,300* goes to dog food _per year. _Not including organic treats.

Top quality food is the absolute priority for me, up there with adequate exercise and mental stimulation. If someone can prove to me adequately how another brand can bring the equivalent or even greater, I am happy to hear about it. 

I have also eaten and tried his Blue Buffalo food to taste myself the salt content in it. I have no problem with it and I am aversive and dislike too much salt. Too many dog food brands are infused with insane amounts of salt. People may think I'm crazy but nothing goes to my dog that I cannot consume myself. 

I hope that helps.


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## sable123 (Jul 11, 2010)

Salix said:


> When I look at good 'kibble', nutrients aren't the only thing on my mind. It is the foremost but not the only thing.
> 
> I also think about healthy teeth and gums and how the food passes into the dog's system.
> 
> ...


I hate to tell you that you are being ripped off. There is nothing special about what you feed your dog. $75 for 24lbs of a 34/15 is criminal.

How did you come from all these conclusions from reading the bag? You said you stay away from starch but this food is about 40% potato by calories.


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## Salix (Feb 13, 2011)

sable123 said:


> I hate to tell you that you are being ripped off. There is nothing special about what you feed your dog. $75 for 24lbs of a 34/15 is criminal.
> 
> How did you come from all these conclusions from reading the bag? You said you stay away from starch but this food is about 40% potato by calories.


Things are much more expensive in Canada and we pay high taxes.


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## sable123 (Jul 11, 2010)

Salix said:


> Things are much more expensive in Canada and we pay high taxes.


Holy Smokes!!!

Is even Nutram that expensive?


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## Salix (Feb 13, 2011)

sable123 said:


> Holy Smokes!!!
> 
> Is even Nutram that expensive?


I don't even recall seeing a Nutram up here and I've been around to the smaller boutiques too. Maybe I missed it? We don't have as much selection as our US neighbours as well unfortunately. Where do you buy your Nutram, if I may ask? I'm always on the look out for good or better diets. 

I know many Canadians here who make the 1 hour customs plus drive down to Bellingham, south of the BC-US border and they tell me that the Petsmart down there has prices that are $15-20 cheaper per bag. I pay that much more plus the 12% of BC harmonized sales tax (HST).

A bag of BB Wilderness here is $68 in store. With 12% tax included it comes up to $73.16 to be more exact.


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## sable123 (Jul 11, 2010)

Salix said:


> I don't even recall seeing a Nutram up here and I've been around to the smaller boutiques too. Maybe I missed it? We don't have as much selection as our US neighbours as well unfortunately. Where do you buy your Nutram, if I may ask? I'm always on the look out for good or better diets.
> 
> I know many Canadians here who make the 1 hour customs plus drive down to Bellingham, south of the BC-US border and they tell me that the Petsmart down there has prices that are $15-20 cheaper per bag. I pay that much more plus the 12% of BC harmonized sales tax (HST).
> 
> A bag of BB Wilderness here is $68 in store. With 12% tax included it comes up to $73.16 to be more exact.


I have several Canadian friends in Ontario using Nutram. It is a very good mid priced food according to them. 

Nutram Premium Pet Food dedicated to providing pets with food that is properly balanced and beneficial to good health and palatable


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

i switch his kibble so he's not eating the samething
all of the time.



sable123 said:


> verus is a good food and a bargain why would you switch?


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## chelle (Feb 1, 2009)

doggiedad said:


> i switch his kibble so he's not eating the samething
> all of the time.


Is there a nutritional benefit to this? Does it cause any digestive upset? Do you mix the two or just go to all one, then the other? How often do you switch? How many do you switch between?

Sorry for the inquisition, I'm just curious. I am, as of tonight, starting the switch for my oldest and second oldest. I'm doing this for the oldest because of suspected allergies. Doing so for second oldest because they eat together and prefer them to be on same food. Just curious as to the benefit of switching out kibble.


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## CookieTN (Sep 14, 2008)

Regarding the original post, your puppy is probably just holding out for something he likes better. I'm not sure if anyone else mentioned this or not, but if she doesn't eat what she's given within a certain amount of time, tough noogies for her. She can just go hungry until next meal time. A healthy dog will not starve itself.

That said, I do agree that there are better foods out there than Purina.


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## CookieTN (Sep 14, 2008)

chelle said:


> Is there a nutritional benefit to this? Does it cause any digestive upset? Do you mix the two or just go to all one, then the other? How often do you switch? How many do you switch between?
> 
> Sorry for the inquisition, I'm just curious. I am, as of tonight, starting the switch for my oldest and second oldest. I'm doing this for the oldest because of suspected allergies. Doing so for second oldest because they eat together and prefer them to be on same food. Just curious as to the benefit of switching out kibble.


Know you're not talking to me, but...
I'm not completely certain of nutritional benefit. I have a theory that there is. The idea goes that not all of the ingredients are going to be 100% digestible, and different brands having different ingredients will have some different nutrients available.
That said, back when I fed the rotation diet it was mainly because it didn't cost as much that way. I could buy Solid Gold one time, which would be too expensive to buy very often, then Chicken Soup or Taste of the Wild next time.


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## sable123 (Jul 11, 2010)

chelle said:


> Is there a nutritional benefit to this? Does it cause any digestive upset? Do you mix the two or just go to all one, then the other? How often do you switch? How many do you switch between?
> 
> Sorry for the inquisition, I'm just curious. I am, as of tonight, starting the switch for my oldest and second oldest. I'm doing this for the oldest because of suspected allergies. Doing so for second oldest because they eat together and prefer them to be on same food. Just curious as to the benefit of switching out kibble.


There is none. In fact, exposure to all kinds of proteins for a predisposed animal will just make it more difficult to find an animal protein that does not cause a reaction. Bad practice, wasteful and silly.


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## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

CookieTN said:


> Regarding the original post, your puppy is probably just holding out for something he likes better. I'm not sure if anyone else mentioned this or not, but if she doesn't eat what she's given within a certain amount of time, tough noogies for her. She can just go hungry until next meal time. A healthy dog will not starve itself.


Strongly, _strongly_ agree with this.


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## Salix (Feb 13, 2011)

sable123 said:


> I have several Canadian friends in Ontario using Nutram. It is a very good mid priced food according to them.
> 
> Nutram Premium Pet Food dedicated to providing pets with food that is properly balanced and beneficial to good health and palatable


I'll ask around! Thanks.


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## CookieTN (Sep 14, 2008)

sable123 said:


> There is none. In fact, exposure to all kinds of proteins for a predisposed animal will just make it more difficult to find an animal protein that does not cause a reaction. Bad practice, wasteful and silly.


Studies? (Out of curiosity. I've heard this said before.)


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## sable123 (Jul 11, 2010)

CookieTN said:


> Studies? (Out of curiosity. I've heard this said before.)


This is the feeling of experts in the field I don't recall a formal study. It makes sense to me that you stick with a protein until you have a problem, which is unlikely to begin with. If a dog has eaten all the proteins then none of them are novel.

I never understood why people do this. I guess they are bored.


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## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

Precious little in the field of canine health and nutrition (or human health and nutrition for that matter) is actually tested in double-blind, placebo-controlled university studies. Often nutrition and health is studied in longitudinal, survey-type settings but then that is criticised for being flawed. Which of course it is. We are forced to rely on personal observation and anecdote far more often than we would like. It's human nature to state our own anecdotes and observation as fact, and when someone counters with a different opinion we ask for studies.


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## CookieTN (Sep 14, 2008)

sable123 said:


> This is the feeling of experts in the field I don't recall a formal study. It makes sense to me that you stick with a protein until you have a problem, which is unlikely to begin with. If a dog has eaten all the proteins then none of them are novel.
> 
> I never understood why people do this. I guess they are bored.


Okiedokie. I don't know about that myself, but anywho.


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