Food question

jerseymom · Posted: Thu Oct 02, 2008 7:52 am Post subject: Food question

I recognize everyone has very mixed opinions on this topic, but I would love some advice. According to Jersey's previous owners she has a sensitive stomach. She is now on Purina Large breed puppy. I personally would like to switch her off to something more natural. She does very well on this food, however....Also, she's about 6.5 months almost 7 months (as far as we know, she's adopted...) and I am feeding her 3 cups a day + usually atleast 1/4 cup in her kong. Does this seem like enough? Maybe 4 would be better? here is the breakdown of the food...Any suggestions would be graciously accepted Smile

Oh, and I unfortunately cannot/or more will not do raw. Thanks!!

Purina Pro Plan - Puppy Large Breed Formula

Ingredients:
Chicken, brewers rice, corn gluten meal, poultry by-product meal, whole grain corn, whole grain wheat, animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols (form of Vitamin E), pea fiber, fish meal, animal digest, dicalcium phosphate, egg product, fish oil, salt, potassium chloride, potassium citrate, L-Lysine monohydrochloride, choline chloride, zinc sulfate, Vitamin E supplement, ferrous sulfate, manganese sulfate, niacin, Vitamin A supplement, calcium carbonate, copper sulfate, calcium pantothenate, garlic oil, pyridoxine hydrochloride, Vitamin B-12 supplement, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin supplement, calcium iodate, Vitamin D-3 supplement, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), folic acid, biotin, sodium selenite

Guaranteed Analysis
Protein: 28%
Fat: 13%
Fiber: 6%
Moisture: 12%

Calories
382 Kcal/cup

Other Nutrient Guarantees
Calcium: min 1.1%
Phosphorus: min 0.8%
Glucosamine: min 500 mg/kg (ppm)

Wrench · Posted: Thu Oct 02, 2008 9:24 am Post subject:

I work in a holistic pet food store in Sugar Land Texas and have been researching foods sicne I got my Wrench and have learned a ton since working here but I still claim not to know evferything of course and I do always say I am not a vet and you cna run thigns by a vet...for a 2nd opinion run them by a regular vet and a holistic vet....

Now....your ingreiants list.

brewers rice,corn gluten meal: this means that you are feeding fillers, corn doens't digest ground up or whole...feed some whole kernals to your dog and you will see the whole kernal come out the other end. These bad fillers also just make your dog feel fed but it's like feeding him the white buns from the big mac....not god and plenty of bad.

You want grains ( unles syou go grainless altogether which you can do without going raw with foods such as wellness core, evo, instinct, etc) that are whole grains like brown rice ( only white rice if balanced with brown) , barley or oatmeal.

poultry by-product meal: What "poultry" means and by-product is...and at leats I can give them this...they are being honest, if only by law when they are saying...you are feeding your dog beek, feathers and feet but not any actual meat...by-product or anytime you see poultry instead of turkey, duck or chicken named precicly is the left over"crap" they pick up from the floor . This is comparible to what a mcDonalds hamburger is....which is ground up cow spine for the most part.

whole grain corn: Whole grain corn? Ever heard of that??? Corn is corn and this is like the 3rd time now mentioend in yoru list of ingreiants.

whole grain wheat: wheat is not good either and causes much of the yeast problems your dogs get...again oatmeal, barley or brown rice if any grains at all.

animal fat preserved: This goes the same as the by profuct and poultry thing....if it doens't say chicken fat it isn't good....chicken fat however is fine .

animal digest: Let me just clear up that this is NOT the same as tripe.

egg product: Product? Eggs are eggs or they aren't.

I just broke down the easiest to explain but it goes on. And really you now can see that you spend a lot of money of corn and feathers as well as that your dog may feel full ( such as when you eat bad fast food) but he is hungry again very soon because it passes right through and he isn'tr getting any nutrients from it.

I feed Praierie and love it. I love the innova but it just didn't work for Wrench's poo's though it's great for most dogs , wellness or wellness-core, before grain from merrick or even any merrick line is good and eagle pack holistic , california natural, etc.....and they donm't usually cost much if any more to buy either but your vet bills will drop too in the long run.

h20fwlkillr · Posted: Thu Oct 02, 2008 12:48 pm Post subject:

SilverMist · Posted: Sat Oct 04, 2008 11:09 am Post subject:

Switch to something much more natural. The glutens and by products and all the other fillers in that food are not good for long term health.

Prairie is an awesome food. You can go to their website and download coupons. I personally feed Natures Variety Raw.

harpbonefran · Posted: Sat Oct 04, 2008 11:23 am Post subject:

I would suggest looking for a food without the fillers that Wrench pointed out. The grains can actually be contributing to Jersey's sensitive tummy. I feed a grainless food, Blue Buffalo Wilderness. It might be too high in protein for a puppy though.

There are lots of better choices out there and I would follow Wrench's advice if I were you. Your dog might be doing fine on the food she's on but you will probably notice that she does even better on a higher quality food. And she will get more nutrition from less food which makes for less poop!!!

Here are some great resources to look at:
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/
http://www.dogaware.com/dogfeeding.html#commercial
http://drydogfood.bravehost.com/menu.htm

weimamama · Posted: Sat Oct 04, 2008 6:12 pm Post subject:

try ANY of Natural Balance Limited Ingredients Diets.
No corn no wheat no soy so byproducts, not artificial preservatives...available at ant PetCo. Excellent for allergies and sensitive stomachs. 1 life stage... means good for pups to seniors.
We feed B n J Sweet potato and fish (salmon)