Quality Dry Food for New Puppy

[Indi The Lab]

Hi everyone

Our little black ball of fun will be joining us this weekend. We are excited and nervous! Introducing her to our 11 year Pomeranian x, Ruby, that we rescued when she was 3 months old is going to be fun - she isn't much of a dog lover!!

The breeder is currently feeding her Eukenuba but I prefer the Wellness Core as it is grain free. We have fed Ruby on this for quite a few years and she has only just started turning her nose up at it. Of course if we were to change the food over it would be done gradually to avoid any tummy upsets.

What does everyone think of the Wellness Core brand? Or is there something else you would suggest in terms of premium dry food? We will also be incorporating meaty bones, sardines, yoghurt etc into her diet.

Thanking you in advance ☺

[Rebanne]

There have been some heart problems associated with some grain free foods. Golden Retrievers have been one breed that has reacted poorly to such a diet. Google could be your friend. I make sure to mix my food up, one bag of grain free, one with grains. And I believe it's not so much as being grain free but what they replace the grain with, but I'm not 100% sure on that.

 

I've never heard of Wellness Core so can't help you out there except to say you could alternate between grain free and grain but personally I'd not feed grain free to such a young pup.

 

I'm sure you will have a lot of fun with your new family member even if Ruby does not approve

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jemappelle]

I've never used the Wellness Core brand either.  I feed mine a mixture of dry, freeze dried and raw at the moment in their 2 meals per day.  Some times I change the freeze dried to the cooked Prime100 rolls.  Mine love the variety and are doing really well on it.

[Indi The Lab]

Jemapelle, which dry do you use?

 

[jemappelle]

Royal Canin breed specific one for Cavaliers and sometimes their light one for small dogs.

[Indi The Lab]

Rebanne, why is no grain not good for puppy?

[Rebanne]

2 hours ago, Indi The Lab said:

Rebanne, why is no grain not good for puppy?

As I said it's been linked to heart disease. It can kill an adult dog pretty quick. Why would you risk a growing pup. You need to Google grain free and heart problems

[Papillon Kisses]

I wouldn’t feed grain free unless there was a genuine medical need (i.e. known allergy or intolerance) and/or the diet was formulated by a veterinary nutritionist. I was previously in the ‘whatever floats your boat’ camp but it’s not worth it with what they’re seeing with boutique/grain free diets and heart problems. I’d find a brand/diet you like that meets WSAVA criteria and agrees with your dog – feed the dog in front of you! Below are a couple of websites that may be of interest.

 

It has changed depending on his needs, but I typically feed my dog Royal Canin. I called them a while ago as I needed to find out what exact proteins were in a particular prescription diet. I was amused when I realised that if they were to individually list ingredients rather than lumping them together, the internet would be fawning over them.

 

https://vetnutrition.tufts.edu

https://wsava.org/global-guidelines/global-nutrition-guidelines/

 

 

Edited February 17, 2021 by Papillon Kisses

[_PL_]

Congrats! Puppy photos please!  

Grain free was a bit of a fad IMHO, that said, you have to feed what your dog does well on and some are put on grain free by dermatologists. I believe grain free foods sprang from the fact that a lot of companies were using them as filler. There's plenty of better balanced food around now that include grain.

 

I like Royal Canin Mini Puppy for babies up to 6 months (I order everything from Budget Pet Products where you can read ingredients etc without standing in the pet supply store for hours lol) Just don't limit yourself to dry. Raw and sardines etc sound perfect.

 

If the breeder will supply you with some Eukanuba you can wean onto whatever you choose. If it's a diarrhoea disaster then you may have weaned too fast/soon.

[Indi The Lab]

Thank you everyone. Great info on the grain free. Our Ruby was on it due to allergies but has not been eating it for a while. Indi has arrived and is settling in well. Ruby does not approve at this stage!!!!

[felix]

They replaced grains with legumes. And, if I remember correctly, the overdose with one of the amino acids present in legumes caused heart problems. It is still largely not understood, but no need to risk it.

 

[leac1801]

Wellness Core now has a grain inclusive line – it is my backup if my Diamond Naturals order doesn’t arrive on time. I’m not a fan of grain free, I fed the Meals for Mutts single protein range when I first moved away from raw as it doesn’t have legumes, but when I fed formulas that did my dogs stank. While there is correlation, though no proof of causation, between legumes and DCM, I’m opting to steer clear.