You can figure on puppies doubling their weight in the first 7 days
What foods are best
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I found this list a few weeks ago and thought it was interesting. It lists the majority of dog foods and their top 6 ingredients and percentages of protein, fat, fiber…etc. Some of them just look disgusting. It's at least a good place to start when comparing different foods.
http://www.alternativepetservices.com/Dog_Food_Ingredient_Analysis.xls
wow that's a great list…and Nina it lists chicken by-product as the second ingredient in Euk...to my knowledge by products of any meat are a no no for a dog.
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@Mia:
wow that's a great list…and Nina it lists chicken by-product as the second ingredient in Euk...to my knowledge by products of any meant are a no no for a dog.
Yea I want to avoid by-products. On the bag I bought though I didn't see that listed. The list given in the previous post actually doesn't have the Euk puppy food listed, only regular & adult.
I think choosing a food is the most complicated part of becoming a pet parent!!! :p
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Here are the listed items for Euk Lamb & Rice Puppy (From their website)
Chicken, Corn Meal, Chicken By-Product Meal, Ground Whole Grain Sorghum, Brewers Rice, Fish Meal, Chicken Fat (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Natural Chicken Flavor, Dried Beet Pulp (sugar removed), Dried Egg Product, Brewers Dried Yeast, Potassium Chloride, Fish Oil (preserved with mixed Tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Salt, Vitamins [Vitamin E Supplement, Ascorbic Acid, Beta-Carotene, Vitamin A Acetate, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate (source of Vitamin B1), Niacin, Riboflavin Supplement (source of Vitamin B2), Inositol, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (source of Vitamin B6), Vitamin D3 Supplement, Folic Acid], Choline Chloride, Minerals [Ferrous Sulfate, Zinc Oxide, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Manganous Oxide, Potassium Iodide, Cobalt Carbonate], DL-Methionine, Marigold, Rosemary Extract.
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I have it narrowed down to two brands…
Blue Buffalo or By Nature
I checked the website given earlier in this site & those were two that were recommended for dogs. Any opinions over these two?
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Other ingredients to avoid in the Euk are the:
-Brewers Rice (which is the cruddy part of rice that has no nutritional value)
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Buffalo, Oatmeal, Barley, Salmon Meal, Venison, Whole Brown Rice, Canola Oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols – a source of Natural Vitamin E and Ascorbic Acid, a source of Vitamin C), Flaxseed, Freeze Dried Potatoes, Freeze Dried Carrots, Freeze Dried Peas, Freeze Dried Apples, Dicalcium Phosphate, Calcium Carbonate, Potassium Chloride, Lysine, Guar Gum, Sea Salt, Choline Chloride, Zinc Amino Acid Complex, Whole Blueberries, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Dried Venison Broth, Whole Garlic, Chondroitin Sulfate, Glucosamine Hydrochloride, Natural Venison Flavor, Chicory Root, Marigold Extract, Lactobacillus Plantarum, Enterococcus Faecium, Lactobacillus Casei, Lactobacillus Acidophilus, Natural Celery Flavor, Iron Amino Acid Complex, Vitamin E Supplement, Manganese Amino Acid Complex, Natural Caramel Color, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Copper Amino Acid Complex, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin D3, Niacin, Lecithin, Ribofl avin Supplement, Biotin, Ethylenediamine Dihydriodide, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Cobalt Amino Acid Complex, Folic Acid, Thiamine Mononitrate, Sodium Selenite.
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I tried Blue B as well and Sahara did good on it. It is not available in the town that I live and so I researched and decided to go with Merrick's products. I like the fact that it is a family run business, they all have dogs and all the ingredients are good, no by-products and the business is very successful. I like the idea of putting apples, sweet potatoes, peas and carrots in the food, the fiber is good for dogs. Sahara does not seem to have any problems with her anal glands, and a big plus is that I can buy it locally at a pet nutrition store which is run by a local vet and his family.
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Corn Meal, Chicken By-Product Meal, Ground Whole Grain Sorghum, Brewers Rice, Fish Meal
I have problems with these ingredients…if you look up what these are it's really not good nutrition IMO.
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Just curious…I've always fed my dogs (larger breeds) Bil-Jac...but I don't see this mentioned anywhere on this thread? Any opinions on Bil-Jac products? The reason I've always used it was because I was told by my breeder when I had a lab that the first two ingredients should be meat (don't know if that's really a big deal or not). But I'm wondering if Bil-Jac would be okay for my b-pup that we are bringing home in 2 weeks. It is not what the B-breeder is feeding them currently, so we'll make the transition slowly...but I'm definately interested in anyone's opinion/experience with Bil-Jac!!!
Thanks all!
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Just curious…I've always fed my dogs (larger breeds) Bil-Jac...but I don't see this mentioned anywhere on this thread? Any opinions on Bil-Jac products? The reason I've always used it was because I was told by my breeder when I had a lab that the first two ingredients should be meat (don't know if that's really a big deal or not). But I'm wondering if Bil-Jac would be okay for my b-pup that we are bringing home in 2 weeks. It is not what the B-breeder is feeding them currently, so we'll make the transition slowly...but I'm definately interested in anyone's opinion/experience with Bil-Jac!!!
Thanks all!
Bil Jac is not bad food and meat should be the first ingredients.. however be careful that it is meat and not "by products"… The only thing that I don't like about the Bil Jac is the corn. Corn is useless for dogs, IMO, it is a filler that has no value and many dogs have allergy problems with corn... There are a number of threads about foods on the forum
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Pat,
Thanks for your opinion….I didn't know that about the corn (had heard that many dog-people had opinion about teh cane molasses that is in the Bil-Jac product...we might go with something else (EVO, Merrick, Wellness all sound like they come highly recommended from the look of things on the threads in the forum).Again, thanks for your opinion.
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I switched Dallas over to Merrick's but for some reason he didn't take to it very well. He did at first, when I switched him from eukanuba but then suddenly stopped eating. He would nibble a bit but would actually spit the kibble out. Not sure if it was just that specific kibble, since he did seem to like the Wilderness blend [he spit out the Cowboy Cookout] so now I am trying to get him on Wellness. I mixed it tonight with the Merrick's & he ate more than he has in the past week and a half but I'm going to keep an eye on him since I really do like the Merrick's brand…
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Pat,
Thanks for your opinion….I didn't know that about the corn (had heard that many dog-people had opinion about teh cane molasses that is in the Bil-Jac product...we might go with something else (EVO, Merrick, Wellness all sound like they come highly recommended from the look of things on the threads in the forum).Again, thanks for your opinion.
I have one that has allergies to corn, so I am pretty sensitive to corn in foods… and things like "by products" since you have no idea what is in "by products".... we all do the best we can with feeding our kids.. and food does become a person choice...
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I have recently switched to Blue Buffalo and my kids really really like it.
I like that they have these lifesource bits mixed with their kibbles thats cooked in much lower temperature, so all the vitamins, nutrients, antioxidants are not being destroyed by the high temperature processing, so are much potent. What I like about blue buffalo food too is that they use deboned chicken so you are getting more meat for the buck. Not to mentioned they have no corn, by products and other fillers.
Anyhoo…..Highly recommend! And you can get them at any petsmart and I think some of the petco.I personally don't believe in feeding puppies puppy food. I either feed all lift stage or start with a premium quality adult food.
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Thanks Steffie!
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Hey Michelle!
March 30th is getting closer and closer.
I am getting more and more excited for you!! -
I know…we are SO excited. Thanks for thinking of us.
We have everything ready for him...and have spent the past weeks "puppy proofing" our house. Now we just need to get back from vacation (we are going to Las Vegas next week) and when we get home we will be picking him up! YEA! -
**Have fun in Vegas!!
I LOVE Vegas, such a fun fun place!!
Yea, better get out while you can, having a pet makes it hard
to travel.
One little dog is not bad but with me having 3, it's hard to take
all of them with me especially if I fly, not drive.
Boarding cost adds up QUICK!!!Again, have fun in Vegas and be sure to share all your
puppy pictures and stories with us once you pick up the
little guy. :rolleyes:**I know…we are SO excited. Thanks for thinking of us.
We have everything ready for him...and have spent the past weeks "puppy proofing" our house. Now we just need to get back from vacation (we are going to Las Vegas next week) and when we get home we will be picking him up! YEA! -
Well, we finally found our puppy's food (whew). I tried Merrick on the recommendation from so many people on the forum (mixed with his old food of course) and he hated it (wouldn't eat the Merrick & sorta gave me this look like..eww-mom when you mix this stuff in with my regular food it makes everything taste/smell gross)…but when I put down the Wellness food he scarfed it right up...we've found our winner!
LOL He definately has had much more energy since he started eating the Wellness and I'm looking forward to trying some Wellness treats since he's rather picky about his treats as well (so far he just likes hotdogs...) LOL All those other expensive treats I've bought will have to be donated to a rescue...as Jackpot wants nothing to do with them. Maybe we'll have better luck with the Wellness treats? -
I tried Dallas on Welness & he did okay on it. I ran out while visiting my grandfather & with Petsmart the only local pet store I had to get something, ended up with Blue Buffalo & now he scarfs that down quicker than he did with the Wellness!
As for the treats, eh. Dallas doesn't go crazy for them like some of the other kinds I have bought. I give him cheese & peanut butter in moderation since those seem to be his favorites. I also buy the tuna treats & he goes crazy for them. Although honestly, they smell TERRIBLE! They sell them at Petsmart
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Nina,
Thanks for the info. I laughed when you mentioned how smelly the treats are…I think with Jackpot his motto is "the smellier the better!" LOL I will look for those treats you mentioned next time we are at the petstore!
