Hi all

Sorry for a topic that has probably been done to death...

I am getting ready for my puppy to come home and looking into foods.

I can get TOTW delivered from interstate, but can get Canidae and Earthborn Holistics locally. Delivery from interstate is only $5 so it is not a drama to order in. I wont really be able to get or try samples so need a bit of advice.

I don't believe we have TOTW puppy versions in Australia either, but can get Earthborn puppy which is not grain free.

So based on Dog Food advisors ratings which food do you recommend. I am not sure what the breeder is feeding at present but will find out and do a gradual change - I doubt they feed TOTW as it is pretty hard to come by in Australia . For those that don't know Ronin will be 8 weeks when I get him in the beginning of January.

I also have some K9 Showstopper Puppy Gold to use as a supplement after hearing some great reviews from a Malinois breeder, so there is probably no real need for a puppy specific kibble. Happy to be corrected though.

Any advice will be greatly appreciated!

Taste of the Wild Sierra Mountain (3.5 stars)
Taste of the Wild Wetlands Formula (5 stars)
Taste of the Wild High Prairie Formula (5 stars)
Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream Formula (4 stars)
Taste of the Wild High Prairie Puppy Formula (4 stars)
Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream Puppy Formula (4 stars)

TOTW? does that stand for something?

Sorry - Taste of the Wild

Have you thought about Orijen? We get it here in NZ .. So I guess you may be able to get it there.

heres the nz site www.orijen.co.nz

Yeah, I thought about it but they stopped bring it in due to numerous pet deaths. They have to irradiate that particular food to pass quarantine in Oz.

OUCH! that isnt good

I am pretty sure it was mainly in cats that the deaths occurred

TOTW is all life stages food, so you don't necessarily need a puppy formula to feed. To be honest, I feed blue buffalo and did not get puppy food for my new puppy since the calcium/protein levels were pretty close in the adult food to the puppy food. So she eats exactly what my adult eats, just smaller meals. And I haven't had any issues. So you can feed TOTW if you want to.

Excellent - many thanks cinnamonbits!

My breeder suggested taste of the wild and said it was fine to feed the normal food to puppies. That's what she used and her dogs are show\sled dogs in great shape. She did mention that she felt her dogs did best on the salmon one.

The Pacific stream one is what I meant. I'm pretty sure it has salmon in it.

Great, many thanks

I adopted my pitbull greyhound mix, Malikai two years ago who was on Pedigree (worst food ever!!!!!) and he had an allergy to I believe both corn and chicken. I moved him to TOTW pacific stream and he has done amazing on it!

I have a 3 month old siberian husky puppy, Kodiak and started her on TOTW pacific stream and seemed to do well on it but then started getting diarrhea and got the high prairie but seemed to make it worse.. I switched her over to Nutrisca salmon and so far so good, she loves it!!! When she would normally just pick at TOTW or need it mixed with wet food.

I will end up switching Malikai to Nutrisca so that I am not having to feed two separate foods.. I have heard some people bashing Nutrisca because 1% of the food ingredients isn't from the US, and many people don't like that, however I am far more careful about what I put in my pets belly than I am my own and haven't yet gotten severely sick from a product from china.. However I do not support buying goods from china, I do have many items in my home. I also know many people won't feed TOTW because it is owned by Diamond, notorious for recalls, I myself won't feed Diamond dog food but haven't had a problem with TOTW with my older dog.

To each their own, I would just stick with what your dog enjoys unless you have worries.

During all my research I found it hard to find a puppy salmon grain free food, or an all stages food that had a low calcium level. The four brands I really likes were TOTW, Nutrisca, Wellness Core and Evo. Wellness and Evo are both for adult and a median level of calcium with added glucosamine and chondroitin. The price for Nutrisca is a bit more expensive however you feed about half of what you would for TOTW. I really like the dog food advisor for a quality review.

Good luck!

My puppy is on TOTW high prairie puppy formula and he loves it

We feed TOTW to our working/show dogs but we do the High Prairie since it's the highest protein/fat content of the formulas, the Salmon one is just not enough to cut it through the working season.

We have been on Pacific Stream but I'm not sure If Kye was loosing his appetite or didn't like the taste but he slowed down his eating to a cup a day (more if he got extra exercise). I changed to High Prarie and he seems to eat it easier. It may just be a self moderation thing with huskies and growing up, he's loosing his fascination with food. I did like the salmons' effect on his coat though. IMO you cant go wrong with any of the foods discussed on the forum, It's a matter of what works with your pup and what he/she likes.

Elise, who is your breeder? A lot of breeders out your way refuse to feed TOTW, I've noticed. I think it's great that someone might.

Megan B. I got my puppy from a breeding between Kaniska Siberian Huskies from Washington and Rocky Ridge Siberians also from Washington. Kaniska Siberian's is the one that said she liked TOTW but they personally fed a food that she thought was as good but you could get it for a really good price at costo. I can't remember what that food was but when I asked about TOTW she said she thought it was great food to raise my pup on.

Black Hawk is a great Aussie food but unfortunately not grain free (it's its only downfall really) and you can usually buy it in local feed stores - here in Melbourne anyway.
I also buy Canidae Pure and TOTW High Prairie or Wetlands formulas as these are the only high quality foods available here in Australia - apart from Ziwipeak of course - but it costs $180 per 5kgs :/
I get my food from http://www.pawsforlife.com.au.


Great to see you have done your research on nutrition, especially since all the pet stores and vets promote the likes of Hills, Royal Canin and Eucanuba (which seems the least bad from these 3).

Good luck on your pup!