# puppy food choice



## chrisbgsd (Mar 20, 2020)

Help!! Been researching the incredible amount of brands and I need the help of the community. Picking up my puppy next week. I understand many people like Victor but they are not an editor's pick on dogfoodadvisor. Nor is the Adult food from Victor. Since the food is highly rated I thought Victor Hero Canine grain free Active dog and puppy for the first year then transitioning to either Victor Nutra Pro or Victor Hero Canine Adult. My other choice was Wellness Complete Health Natural Dry Large Breed Puppy then transitioning to Wellness Core grain free Large Breed...Any thoughts would help!!


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## McGloomy (Mar 13, 2018)

The most important thing other than choosing quality food is to see which one YOUR PUP LIKES. Try one bag and if he/she likes it then try to stick with it. If you change his food just cos you're anxious to shop (trust me I know) you'll be creating a picky eater and let me tell you, you wouldn't want that.


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## McGloomy (Mar 13, 2018)

That being said, both brands have good reputation. But I'd go with Wellness between the two if budget wasn't an issue.


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## chrisbgsd (Mar 20, 2020)

McGloomy said:


> That being said, both brands have good reputation. But I'd go with Wellness between the two if budget wasn't an issue.


yes, I did choose Wellness. Thank you for your help!!


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## McGloomy (Mar 13, 2018)

Let us know how it goes!


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## Equiuga (Jan 19, 2013)

Muenster has 3 in their ancient grain line (exclude pork and chicken due to legume) that have optimal Ca/P levels for growing large breeds. With Muenster, you can get custom additions added to your food like salmon or coconut oil, raw, bacon fat etc. You can also use NutriSource Turkey and Rice that has acceptable levels.


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## theresagsd (Mar 10, 2020)

My shepherd was fed Royal Canin when I brought him home from the breeder at 8 weeks, I continued feeding that.. had problems. I switched to Wellness CORE, more problems with his GI tract. Put him on a raw diet at 1 year old.. hes now 4 years old and he has been doing awesome ever since. I realize raw isn't for everyone, we have had success with it. If you feed a balanced raw diet and are confident in making your own, then its well worth it in my opinion. My only regret with the raw diet is that I didn't start it sooner


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## chrisbgsd (Mar 20, 2020)

On Wellness now but the stool is the consistency of mashed potatoes. I guess I will have to change.


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## chrisbgsd (Mar 20, 2020)

McGloomy said:


> Let us know how it goes!


Didn't go to well. The stool is the consistency of mashed potatoes. Was hoping it would get better but so far it hasn't. I guess back to the drawing board.


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## Fodder (Oct 21, 2007)

chrisbgsd said:


> On Wellness now but the stool is the consistency of mashed potatoes. I guess I will have to change.


How long has he been on it and how slow was the transition from whatever the breeder was feeding?
I fed wellness core to my adult dogs over 10yrs ago (I assume the formula may have been updated) and found it too rich for them. Victor is not so popular where I am (Ca), so I tend to support the Fromm Gold recommendations....I fed it to my two for a year before switching to raw and they did very well in it.


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## Magwart (Jul 8, 2012)

Why are you hungup on Dogfood Advisor? Isn't it run by a dentist? All that it does is analyze labels -- and labels hide a lot of important information. There are some foods with great-looking ingredient lists, but crappy sourcing of those ingredients (e.g, from ingredients China, using low-quality/potentially contaminated meat meal, etc) that could easily game that kind of rating. The rating there is only a starting point. You have to look at the integrity of the brand behind the label -- what kind of quality control do they have, do they own their own plant or just email a recipe to a factory to source the ingredients and make the food? Where do their ingredients come from? What kind of QA happens during production, and before foods leave the plant?

Moreover, some high-end foods that would get 5 stars on DA have been implicated in the FDA's DCM scare -- they'd get kudos for having more meat on DA, and then end up over-represented in the dogs with heart problems. Again, DA's method may not be what's best for YOUR dog. 

Frankly, grain-in foods are better for many dogs! Grain-free is largely a marketing scam substituting harder-to-digest legumes and such for easily digested grains like rice and oats--and sometimes they have LESS meat than the grain-in version because the legumes are a sneaky protein booster. You may well end up paying more money for less meat.


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## dogfaeries (Feb 22, 2010)

Yes! To all the above ^ that Magwart wrote


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