My breeder currently has the puppy on Diamond, and I wanted to switch her to TOTW but we do not have the puppy formula up here anywhere. Our Tractor Supply only has the adult food. So I was thinking of putting her on Merrick's grain free. But not sure which flavor/meat? They have Chicken& Sweet Potato, Real Buffalo and Sweat Potato, Real Duck & Sweet Potato, and Real Pork and Sweet Potato? Please help! Kiya comes home in a few days!!

I think it's a personal choice of what she likes.
If you like TOTW you can still feed it to her it's an all life stages food

"Formula: The current Taste of the Wild adult formulas are safe and nutritious and can continue to be fed to puppies until the puppy formulas are available. Pet owners will even be able to transition their puppy from the adult formula to a puppy formula, if desired.

Availability: The Taste of the Wild® Puppy formulations are now available in stores.

Improved Digestion: The new puppy formulas have a total fiber content of 5% while the adult Taste of the Wild formulas have a fiber content of approximately 4%. The higher fiber content is achieved through additional tomato pomace, a natural vegetable fiber from ripe tomatoes, and will support improved digestion and contribute to overall good health. We include probiotics in all of our foods as an additional feature to support optimal digestive health. Probiotics are live beneficial bacteria that support proper digestion and suppress the numbers of any bad bacteria in the digestive system. We’ve also added twice the amount of prebiotics from dried chicory root to the puppy formulas. Prebiotics are fiber ingredients that help maintain a normal, healthy balance in the GI system.
Since puppies go through significant stress such as weaning, leaving their litter mates, diet changes and vaccinations, it is ideal to provide them with a diet that enhances digestive health and helps to avoid digestive upset that is common in stressful situations. Multiple fiber sources – dried chicory root; tomato pomace; yucca schidigera; and probiotics – work in concert for optimal digestion and aid in avoiding digestive upset. Because adult dogs do not experience the unique stressors puppies do, the adult Taste of the Wild formulas do not have additional fiber. "

Honestly you could probably put her on the adult food of TOTW, as I've been told there's not much difference between the puppy and adult food as the adult is an 'all life stages'. If you're wanting to choose Merrick, I'd probably say buffalo or duck.

Some people say puppy food isnt really needed.. Koda is 6 months and i dont feed him
A puppy.. I feed him nutrisca chicken and chicpea recipe. As far as best meat, its different for each dog.. Koda gets sick on any food with turkey in it so i avoid turkey with him.. Realy its just trial and error with puppys.. Just make sure you transiston food slowly.. Goodluck!

You'll want to check the Ca:P ratio in all-life stage food - for puppies, you'll want to keep the ratio close to 1.5:1.

There is no best meat for puppies, the same way there is no one best food out there. What is best for your dog is whatever they personally do best on and the only way to determine that is through trial and error. So pick a food that you feel comfortable with and give it a try, if it doesn't agree with your dog then try something else.

You don't absolutely have to feed a puppy formula but you may want to keep an eye on Ca:P ratios in All Life Stages or Adult formulas. The recommended calcium to phosphorus ratio for small to medium breeds is actually 1.2:1. The Ca:P ratio for large breed puppies is 1.5:1. Sibes are a medium breed so I'd shoot for closer to a ratio of 1.2:1 if possible.

I like Merrick over TOTW for multiple reasons so if it were me I would put my dog on that if it was between those two choices. What meat is in the Diamond food that the breeder is feeding? You may want to choose the formula that uses the same meat if you already know the pup does well on a certain meat. For instance if it's a chicken based Diamond formula you might opt for the Merrick Chicken & Sweet Potato formula for starters and then later try out the other proteins...just a suggestion. I also like to keep new dogs/puppies on their old food for a good 2 weeks after they come home just to ease the transition and stress of being in a new home and with total strangers. After that 2 weeks I gradually switch them over to whatever new food I have chosen and donate the rest of the unused original food that they were initially on to a friend or the shelter. Not everyone likes to wait, and you certainly don't have to, but I have found it beneficial in the past and it helps rule out what is causing the stomach upset that so often happens with bringing new puppies home. Just a quick look around the forum will show many threads on puppies with diarrhea.

Thank you so much for all of the responses. All of the advice is great. Valerie, I never even thought about keeping the food the same for two weeks for an easy transition. That is such good advice, and so is keeping the meat the same. The one thing that makes my stomach curl is that diamond uses chicken by product.

I personally use TOTW, the pacific stream flavor as my female is allergic to chicken so that was trial and error for me, and I see great results with it and have nothing against the food. But as I said before, Merrick is also a great choice, so its all about which you'd prefer to go to. If you don't like Diamond, you'll probably want to go to Merrick as TOTW is a brand by Diamond. Some don't like TOTW and some swear by it. It's really about finding what your pup does best on, I didn't bias by company and my pups all do fantastic on their food. But when you're making the switch be attentive as she/he may have a specific allergy like mine. And of course as Valerie said, make the transition slowly.

Alicia22 wrote:

The one thing that makes my stomach curl is that diamond uses chicken by product.

I know it's not ideal but being on a less than great food for a few extra weeks won't ruin your pups health or negatively impact them for life if you do decide to stick with the food the breeder is using for that initial period when the puppy comes home. I have had to do the same with my dogs when they came home to me, basically buy the cheap crap the breeder was feeding and put up with that for a couple weeks before moving on to the good stuff. No harm done in waiting it out and it helped them transition better to keep something the same as before they came to their new home. Again, it's not for everyone, but it can have it's benefits. It's certainly something that I choose to do and will continue to do with any future dogs I acquire if I know what they are being fed before coming to me.

Thanks everyone!!