Transitioning puppy food! Suggestions please!!!

[LaurenKristiRob]

Hi everyone! I have a 7month old frenchie and we are currently on taste of the wild salmon puppy food kibble! He likes it well enough but his farts/poops are becoming a little rancid for my liking. Also about 10-15% of the time his poops aren't always formed. I'm open to suggestions! I've heard good things about royal canine but they only make adult dog food not puppy (how soon do most of you switch to adult from puppy)? I'm seeing a lot of posts about the Barf diet? Not sure what that is and I don't have time to make him homemade (plus he doesn't beg and I want to keep it that way -- no human food unless he decides to vacuum up our kitchen for us).

Lastly, I feed him now about 3/4 cups of food 2x a day? I know people say gauge by the bag and how much he eats. But he will eat anything you give him unless other dogs are around then it's go time! And my vet told me not to go off of the bag... I know we don't want him to get fat but I think he could use a little more meat on his bones! What are some recommendations on that?

Thank you all in advance whoever responds! I'm working on getting a new vet since mine is not my favorite then I can start asking these terrible questions else where!

Thank you!
(Clearly first time frenchie puppy owner)
Lauren

 

[MaplesMommy]

Royal Canin is definitely nota good brand and Id avoid any kind of 'vet food' !
Good kibble brands are Acana and Orijen. I knoe some people on here feed Fromm as well. I personally find it too high in carbs, but the quality of the food is good.

A 'barf' diet is a type of raw feeding that involves raw meat,bone,organ + veg + a carb.

But its much easier to feed a raw,species appropriate diet that already comes prebalanced for you. It can come in nuggets or patties and all you have to do is thaw and feed. Its really not a lot of work

As for the 'no human food'... Well. I always think it is so unfortunate how this 'myth' is still out there,that 'human food' is bad.of course dont give him chocolate or chips,but anything else (veggies,fruits,left overs from your turkey etc) are absolutely good for them (except onions and grapes.).
By only adding a handful of green,leafy vegetables to his food, you can reduce the risk of cancer, and considering the fact that 1 in 2 dogs comes down with some type of cancer in his life, Id do anything to prevent it

 

[CalvinsMom]

Hi Lauren,

I am in the same boat with you - I am looking to change food for my pup (4 months old) to a new dry kibble. I currently have Calvin on Fromm Puppy Gold. He loves it, but his stools are still loose, and he seems to be itching a little (which I know can be several things). I was thinking of trying Fromm Heartland/Prairie puppy formula. This is a chicken and grain free formula - but I am unable to locate anywhere in my area (this formula) and rather not order online. Was thinking of trying Acana or Orijen - but these puppy formulas have chicken. I am not crossing out chicken yet, but being usually food allergies are caused from grains and chicken - was going to try and find something with this type recipe. I need some help too

Thank you!
First time Frenchie owner too :blush:
Brandi

 

[Honeybacon]

Mines on royal canin puppy mini, shes only 14 weeks. I hadn't heard that its not good food, only herd good things. Guess ill be back to the drawing board.:blush2:

 

[MaplesMommy]

Mines on royal canin puppy mini, shes only 14 weeks. I hadn't heard that its not good food, only herd good things. Guess ill be back to the drawing board.:blush2:

Royal Canin is more than 60% carbohydrate which in turn turns into sugar. They are owned by a chocolate bar manufacturer...
The ingredients are terrible and dont even come close to a species-appropriate diet. On top of that is the quality of the ingredients,which is highly questionable...

 

[LaurenKristiRob]

My last post didn't seem to post? So I apologize if it does and there's two of the same similar ones! Thank you everyone for your Input! I didn't realize that Royal canine had that all going on with them! I appreciate you breaking it all down for us! I will look into acana or Orijen as possible choices! As for the human food and dog correlation I do give blueberries and stuff like that as treats just not around meals or near the kitchen so he doesn't figure out what it really is but with all the studies for it being a great probiotic for cancer in dogs I will have to add some more into his diet/treats! Thank you everyone!

 

[hannah]

We are going through the same thing. We were feeding our 10 month old boy Natures Variety Salmon and sweet potatoe. We are transitioning into Acana. I am not following the full transitioning rules as we don't have enough of the old. So starting to feed the new one and adding a bit of the old until its gone with each meal, only had enough for about 2 days. So far so good.

Acana is high quality kibble and highly recommended! They also have lots of different proteins to choose from so your dog doesn't get bored.

I don't think 3/4 cups twice a day is enough. We follow what the bag says...

We are feeding 3 times a day as well not 2. Will be switching to 2 times and to adult food when he is 1 years old.

 

[hannah]

Mines on royal canin puppy mini, shes only 14 weeks. I hadn't heard that its not good food, only herd good things. Guess ill be back to the drawing board.:blush2:

Lots of breeders recommend royal canin.. I have no idea why. Same with some vets. Maybe they get a big discount for buying in bulk/maybe they sponsor them... who knows

 

[MaplesMommy]

Lots of breeders recommend royal canin.. I have no idea why. Same with some vets. Maybe they get a big discount for buying in bulk/maybe they sponsor them... who knows

You bet! Most breeders are sponsored by a brand and get free food/discounts as long as they recommend it to their puppies new owners.
Vets get paid a comission on every bag they sell & most 'nutrition' realted courses are unfortuntely sponsored by the big names, so of course they tell them how wonderful their food is :/

 

[hannah]

You bet! Most breeders are sponsored by a brand and get free food/discounts as long as they recommend it to their puppies new owners.
Vets get paid a comission on every bag they sell & most 'nutrition' realted courses are unfortuntely sponsored by the big names, so of course they tell them how wonderful their food is :/

I figured as much

 

[CalvinsMom]

Hi Hannah,

With the Acana that you are transitioning to - are you just going to feed puppy now? And then go to adult. I get so confused with so many options and want to be sure I am doing the best possible for him. I am not familiar enough with raw/dried feed - so I rather stick to kibble with occasional treats such as veggies, fruit and basic meats.

thank you EVERYONE for all your feedback.

Brandi

 

[hannah]

Hi Hannah,

With the Acana that you are transitioning to - are you just going to feed puppy now? And then go to adult. I get so confused with so many options and want to be sure I am doing the best possible for him. I am not familiar enough with raw/dried feed - so I rather stick to kibble with occasional treats such as veggies, fruit and basic meats.

thank you EVERYONE for all your feedback.

Brandi

Yes we are still feeding puppy. Puppy and Junior Acana. We got a big bag and are feeding It to our 10 month and our 10 week old.

Banksy is also getting a mix of the beef Acana which is adult. He will fully transition to adult when he is 1 years old

Aiko will continue to be fed puppy and junior - as long as it all works out!!

Here's hoping

 

[CalvinsMom]

Just another quick ? - too many of these lately The Acana regional line - states all life stages. So is this ok to feed a pup, or is it too harsh and should stick to puppy formula?

Thanks!
Brandi

 

[hannah]

Just another quick ? - too many of these lately The Acana regional line - states all life stages. So is this ok to feed a pup, or is it too harsh and should stick to puppy formula?

Thanks!
Brandi

If it says all stages it is okay to feed to a puppy. I personally like to stick with the puppy food, so I chose the heritage line.

When we first got Banksy we started him out on Orijen 6 fish, which is all stages, and made by the same company. We found it was a little rich for Banksy.

Try one out and see how it goes! Keep us posted. And don't worry about the questions that's why this forum is here!

 

[Honeybacon]

Where do you guys buy the named good foods? I looked online i can only find 15lbs of acana for $60 which is is so not gonna happen

 

[Jakeyjake]

Where do you guys buy the named good foods? I looked online i can only find 15lbs of acana for $60 which is is so not gonna happen

I would check out Chewy.com. They have pretty good prices and carry most brands.

 

[hannah]

Where do you guys buy the named good foods? I looked online i can only find 15lbs of acana for $60 which is is so not gonna happen

There are lots of specialty stores in my town that sell the good brands of food. But I am in Canada and not sure where you are? If you go to the website, i'm sure they have a store locator to find a store near you that sells it.

 

[WeeDex]

Also, you can usually get trial size bags if you look online. I'd highly recommend these, having learned the hard way and given away sooooo much food in the last few months!

 

[MaplesMommy]

Also, you can usually get trial size bags if you look online. I'd highly recommend these, having learned the hard way and given away sooooo much food in the last few months!

Pet food is generally speaking always fully refundable
As long as you have the original package (for the UPC Code) and your receipt.

 

[WeeDex]

Pet food is generally speaking always fully refundable
As long as you have the original package (for the UPC Code) and your receipt.

Oh wow - we can't do that here! They won't touch it once you've bought it unless there's something wrong with it. Wish I'd been able to do that!