# Need help choosing food for 8-week old



## ChrisWall (Mar 4, 2016)

Hi! I brought my 8 week old pup home on Saturday, everything seems to be going great. One of the only concerns I have right now though is that the person I bought him from was feeding him Ol Roy puppy food (very cheap, $3 a bag at Walmart) 

Of course I don't want him eating that junk, but I bought a bag for the sake of consistency and to help with him adjusting to a new home. Now for my questions...

I'm feeding him 1 cup 3 times a day of this food, equalling about 1,000 calories a day. Should he be eating more/less? How much should an 8 week old male be eating a day? 

Also, as far as switching to another brand, what is recommended? Should I switch him to puppy food or adult? I hear some people skip puppy food altogether. 

Any help is appreciated, I'm a first time owner so everything is an adventure for us both!


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

Since the calories in various foods vary so much it's impossible to say exactly how many cups a day he should be eating. I looked up Ol' Roy (and you're right - it's junk), and it has 310 kcals per cup. A higher quality food like Fromm Large Breed Puppy has 389 kcals per cup. That would be a daily difference of 237 calories in the same number of cups. What I usually do is start with the feeding guide on the back of the bag, and then adjust the quantity from there based on the puppy's condition.

In the past, I have fed an all life stage food to puppies from the time they came home. Since then I've used a large breed puppy formula. There are many quality brands to choose from, so it's hard to say which would be best for him. Fromm is certainly a good choice, but not the only one. Victor makes some good foods that tend to be well priced compared to much of the competition. Even if you're limited in what's available in pet supply stores and/or feed stores near you, you can often get good deals online, such as with Chewy.com.


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## ChrisWall (Mar 4, 2016)

Thanks for the reply! 

I bought a bag of Nutro puppy (not the large breed variation) because I heard good reviews, but I went ahead and bought a bag of the Ol Roy since that was what he was used to. Is Nutro a recommended brand, even though it isn't the large puppy version? And if so, during transition should I switch from Ol Roy to the new too slowly?


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

Considering how crappy Ol' Roy is, I'd personally get him off it as quickly as possible. Nitro isn't the best, but it's certainly better than Ol' Roy. 

I would not use a regular puppy food for GSDs. If you're going to use puppy food, a large breed formula would be best. Puppy food supports rapid growth, and with larger breeds slow steady growth is best for developing bones and joints. 

Can you return the Ol' Roy?


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## NYCgsd (Apr 23, 2016)

Cassidy's Mom said:


> Considering how crappy Ol' Roy is, I'd personally get him off it as quickly as possible. Nitro isn't the best, but it's certainly better than Ol' Roy.
> 
> I would not use a regular puppy food for GSDs. If you're going to use puppy food, a large breed formula would be best. Puppy food supports rapid growth, and with larger breeds slow steady growth is best for developing bones and joints.
> 
> Can you return the Ol' Roy?


hmm, I got my little girl royal canin, the one specifically for GSD puppies. She seems to like it. She gained 10 pounds in under a month. I also bought blue buffalo recently. It has about 4% more protein. I would go raw but honestly don't think I can keep up with all the measurements. What would you recommend as a store bought food?


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## voodoolamb (Jun 21, 2015)

Personally I would return both the ol' Roy and the nutro. The former is crap and the second is way over priced for its actual quality. 

The important thing with puppy chow is the calcium to phos ratio and amounts. Not all all life stage food is appropriate. Not all puppy food nor adult food is. Gotta read the packages. 

Fromm is a good brand and in the same price range as the nutro.


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## Momto2GSDs (Mar 22, 2012)

Ol' Roy 

2 of the first few ingredients tell you why you should NOT feed this food!

Appendix - Dog Food Samples Used in CVM Pentobarbital Surveys and Analytical Results = “There appear to be associations between rendered or hydrolyzed ingredients and the presence of pentobarbital in dog food. The ingredients *Meat and Bone Meal* (MBM),* Beef and Bone Mea*l (BBM),* Animal Fat *(AF), and *Animal Digest (AD)* are rendered or hydrolyzed *from animal sources that could include euthanized animals*”. 
Farm animals, Zoo's, Shelters????? WHAT animals' meat, bone and fat?????

I have never seen this "Appendix" recanted. 





Butylated hydroxyanisole… better known as *BHA*… is “reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen” (a cancer-causing agent)1. 




According to the National Institute of Health, BHA in the diet has been found to consistently produce certain types of tumors in laboratory animals2. (dogfoodadvisor)





Jim Eastin, supplier quality assurance scientist for *Nutro* Company, presented a seminar titled:
“The Importance of Rendered Ingredients in Pet Foods” at the October 26, 2011 Pet Food Industry symposium. He referred to poultry by-products as 
"value-added ingredients" and described rendering as "environmentally responsible" by converting by-products into ingredients Nutro uses in its pet food products. 
Nutro Co. scientist discusses using poultry by-products as petfood ingredients 





Remember the old saying "You are what you eat"?  

A high quality food will benefit your pups health and your pocketbook in the long run! (with vet bills)



I'd go with Fromm's Puppy as mentioned. 

Or Nature's VARIETY Instinct which you can purchase at Petsmart/Petco.




*FROMM’S: **http://frommfamily.com/products/gold/dog/dry/#heartland-gold-large-breed-puppy** Store Locator: *Find a store that carries Fromm 
*NATURE’S VARIETY INSTINCT: **http://www.instinctpetfood.com/product/instinct-raw-boost-grain-free-kibble-large-breed-puppy-food-chicken* Store locator: Find A Store | Nature's Variety




Moms


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## burrman (May 21, 2016)

I've been feeding my 12 week old puppy Taste of the wild puppy feed and he's loving it so far and so is my mom's schnauzer. His stool has been very consistant and no adverse effects. I've been feeding it for about month now.


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## Besketball (Apr 27, 2016)

I second Fromm LBP and Nature's Variety. 

There's others, I haven't researched but my first impressions were good. I just can't remember the names right now.

Ancestry - https://ancestrypetfood.com/shop-online/dog-food/?ref=sammysnacks 
Fromm LBP - https://www.chewy.com/fromm-gold-holistic-large-breed/dp/32624


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## ChrisWall (Mar 4, 2016)

Thank you all your replies! He definitely won't be touching the Ol' Roy anymore, of course I already knew it was bad I just fed it to him since his previous owner had fed him that. 

Unfortunately the Nutro is not able to be returned, but thankfully it is the smallest bag available. I will feed it to him since I did pay $25 for it, but he'll go through it in less than a week.

I will look into both Nature's Variety Instinct and Fromm for a permanent diet.


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## Momto2GSDs (Mar 22, 2012)

ChrisWall said:


> Thank you all your replies! *He definitely won't be touching the Ol' Roy anymore,* of course I already knew it was bad I just fed it to him since his previous owner had fed him that.
> 
> Unfortunately the Nutro is not able to be returned, but thankfully it is the smallest bag available. I will feed it to him since I did pay $25 for it, but he'll go through it in less than a week.
> 
> I will look into both Nature's Variety Instinct and Fromm for a permanent diet.


*YEAH!!!!!! :grin2:

*Changing from the Ol'Roy would be like you switching from eating a Big Mac and Fries 3 x daily to eating salads!.......bad food to good food = Gut upset, if done too quickly!
So, always transition with small amounts of new food mixed with old, taking a week or two to change. If stool get loose, go back to previous amount fed (when stool was solid) and hold at that amount for a few days until his gut gets use to it. Then increase again. This is called "bowel tolerance".


Good luck and keep us posted!
Moms


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## ChrisWall (Mar 4, 2016)

Update, just in case anyone was wondering. My local petsmart doesn't sell Fromm, but i've switched him to Nature's Variety (for all life stages). Thank you all who gave me recommendations from the both of us!


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## ChrisWall (Mar 4, 2016)

Momto2GSDs said:


> ChrisWall said:
> 
> 
> > Thank you all your replies! *He definitely won't be touching the Ol' Roy anymore,* of course I already knew it was bad I just fed it to him since his previous owner had fed him that.
> ...


Thanks for the tips! Yeah i figured he would need to be transitioned in a way like that. I switched him in the span of a week, all went well. No bowel fluctuations


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