Best Food?

[Micoloko]

Hi, i've recently purchased a puppy rottweiler. She is now 2 1/2 months old. Im giving her dry food, my vetenarian insisted that I give her Purina Pro Plan. Now, the 37. something Lb bag costs around 45 dollars. Am I overpaying? is it worth spending that much on dry food? Or should I just change it to Purina One? The 50Lb bag is only 25 dollars. What should I do, My vetenarian said that his concern is she getting overweight.

[hokisteph5]

Neither food is very good IMO, but I will say my two got Purina One before I found this site. The biggest complaints I had wer my male was very gassy and sometimes smelled. For the past two years they've been eating more of the premium foods and have been doing well.

Do you have access to Wellness, Healthwise, Innova, California Natural in Puerto Rico? I can buy a 40 lb bag (5lbs are "free) of Healthwise for $32.95.

[Micoloko]

I have never heard from those brands until today, here on the web site. Here in Puerto Rico the most known brand is PURINA. The have here; Beneful, Alpo's, dog chow, One, Pro Plan, (All Purina). But there is also, Pedigree, Science Diet, Eukanuba, Royal Canin. Maybe others... IDK what else to do, Im curently on Pro Plan, Recomended by my vetenarian!... But as I see here it is not recomended. WHAT SHOULD I DO THEN???

[winnie22]

If those are your only two options, go with the purina one and save the money. The quality of pro plan is no greater to justifiy spending that much more money.

[lilm48]

I would suggest doing a lot of research on the products used in dog food and then make a decision from there. I can tell you that corn, by products and beet pulp are not good ingredients to have in dog food. They are the equivalent to human junk food. I looked at the ingredients in the brands you say are available in your area and it looks as though Science Diet's Nature's Best is your best bet. It doesn't contain any of the above ingredients I mentioned.

Also keep in mind by feeding your Rottie a better quality food you don't have to feed them nearly as much-- since better quality foods don't contain all the "fillers." I feed my almost 6yr old female Rottie Canidae (which I just read on another thread has made some slight changes to their ingredients) a heaping (one) cup of food in the morning and another at night....so no more than 3 cups a day and she is content. I am able to buy a 40lb bag-- which is some where around 50 bucks, but it lasts me 2 months, which only comes out to 25 bucks a month. Not too shabby.

Just remember, the better quality of food you start your pup out with in the beginning, should keep her happy and healthy well into old age!

[AngelBunny]

lilm48, the OP doesn't live state-side so options for prepared kibble are likely limited.

Micoloko, if the prepared kibble is inferior, what about feeding raw??

[Micoloko]

I have done a lot of research, pet shop after pet shop, vet after vet that I know..! Most of the people suggest ((Eukanuba)) they say that is the best you can get here!....>
Raw??... what kind of raw products can I feed my puppy??

[AngelBunny]

Originally Posted by Micoloko

...Raw??... what kind of raw products can I feed my puppy??

Nutrition and Grooming has a terrific new section Natural Diets Raw and Cooked.

I encourage you to read thru it. You'll find good discussions on raw feeding.

[Iceman330]

Originally Posted by angelbunny

nutrition and grooming has a terrific new section natural diets raw and cooked.

I encourage you to read thru it. You'll find good discussions on raw feeding.

i whole heartedly concur!!!

[mjfish]

Do you access to Nutro products, specifically Nutro Ultra? That is a decent dog food if you can find it.

As to the vet's comment about her weight, you might want to also cut back on the amount you are feeding, and start walking her a little more if she's had her shots and all. You want to keep your pup on the lean side if possible so her joints don't have the added stress of too much weight as she's growing. Don't follow the amount on the bag...that is usually too much. Start by cutting back a little each feeding and see how she does...cut back a little more if need be until she is looking a little lighter and you can easily feel her ribs.

I would also agree that if you easy access to butcher scraps and/or inexpensive meats, that you could feed her raw. You could always feed one of her meals with the best kibble you can and the feed other one or two meals of the day with raw meat.

Good luck and enjoy your pup!!

[Tpickme]

When my puppy (we have an 8 month old male) was on dog food we used Blue Buffalo. It was hyped up to be all natural and it made my dog sick. His breath smelled awful and he had runny poop. Then we switched to Avoderm. If I were to feed my any processed dog food, it would be Avoderm. His coat was shiny, his poop was solid and he pooped less. It's available at PetsMart and PetCo. However, after doing research on the short life span of Rotts (average of 9 years) and possible link between processed dog food and certain types of cancer in Rotts, we have switched him to a raw diet. I would recommend the raw diet. His urine is less acidic-meaning less and less yellow spots on the lawn, his coat is shinier than ever, and his breath has no smell. His poop has decreased. His energy level is excellent. I've read that you can start a puppy on the raw diet as early as 6 weeks. Just remember that if you are going to feed processed food, there should be no "corn" anywhere in the ingredients. Corn is NO GOOD to dogs.