I don't normally share things that I read on other forums, but sometimes I think people should be given an IQ test before allowed access to internet forums.

This is a response to a person asking about how to supplement her dogs food. She only has easy access to Purina and was asking what human foods, raw or such, she could add to her dogs food to make it more nutritional.

"Just stick to the Purina. I have fed it with good results. All the bashing of it is based on speculation about ingredients. The only thing that is true is that you do have to feed somewhat more and have larger, softer stools to clean up. The dog is still getting a good balanced and complete diet. The cheaper foods' ingredients may not sound as good to some, but the foods still have all the nutrients dogs need. There are no scientific, controlled tests backing the claims of ''better'' foods. It is all speculation, junk science, and marketing hype with plenty of astro turf thrown in."

He hasn't responded back but my first question was if you admit that you need to feed more and the stools are soft, then doesn't that kinda suggest that it's not good. In my opionion Purina is the equivelent of feeding Mcdonalds every day. You may or may not get harmed from it, but it doesn't mean it's good for you.

Oh WOW! I believe people should be tested before having children, human or furry! You gave a good response and if the guy does not answer back maybe you can fill in this poor lady with good facts.

Oh wow our breeder was giving our puppy purina and of course I went out and bought a bag when we brought him home... Is it really that bad? Figured I'd get the smallest bag and eventually switch to something better figured the cheapest food can't be that great... First dog - what do you guys recommend? I should switch him off?

rpataca wrote:

Oh wow our breeder was giving our puppy purina and of course I went out and bought a bag when we brought him home... Is it really that bad? Figured I'd get the smallest bag and eventually switch to something better figured the cheapest food can't be that great... First dog - what do you guys recommend? I should switch him off?

There's a million answers to this question, all of which if you take a few moments in the Nutritional part of the forum I'm sure you'll find.

Short answer? Yes.

For Aevyn at least, Purina would result in him being very sick. He was switched to Orijen once we did some research, because he can't have fillers. I know several other huskies on the site have the same issues. Take a look at the Nutritional part of the forum.

rpataca wrote:

Oh wow our breeder was giving our puppy purina and of course I went out and bought a bag when we brought him home... Is it really that bad? Figured I'd get the smallest bag and eventually switch to something better figured the cheapest food can't be that great... First dog - what do you guys recommend? I should switch him off?

What kind of Purina? Purina One is not incredibly bad but i wouldnt feed it to my dog. I switched lately to Taste of the Wild. It's a great food and a pretty reasonable price.

I'm going to second Karen on this one. I did the exact same thing as you, and the resulting diarrhea storm is what drove us to find the forum. I didn't know any better and thought I was doing a good thing by switching her up to Purina One from straight Purina puppy chow. After extensive research and testimonials on here, I decided to see if Ghost could tolerate grains and got a small bag of Innova to try. No luck. So, after taking care of the diarrhea issue with eggs and green beans, we got her on Blue Wilderness, which is grain free. She's done really well on that, but it is a bit on the pricey side. I'm thinking about transitioning to Taste of the Wild because it's just as high quality, just less expensive.

A good resource is www.dogfoodadvisor.com

Good luck!

Raz, It's fine for you to have that bag of Purina to mix with whatever you decide to eventually switch her to. A gradual switch is easier on her tummy.

My guy seems to be one of the rare huskies who is doing fine with some grains in his food. I still like to see a rating of at least a 4 on the www.dogfoodadvisor.com website that Meredith recommended. I also avoid all soy, corn and wheat.

Welcome and good luck with your new baby!! (PICTURES?? )

Jas has spent most of her life (she'll be 4 in a couple months) on some type of purina food (Purina One, Dog Chow, or Beneful). About a month back i started researching feeds and when i realized that i was giving her some of the lowest quality food there was i felt guilty and had to switch her. I purchased a back of Timberwolf on ebay at a discount price, but i knew that I would not be able to find it at this price forever and that I could not afford it full price. I have heard a lot of people say good things about Blue Wilderness. I finally got a bag of Tast of the Wild Wetlands blend and she loves it. I feed her just a cup in the morning and a cup in the evening and that is all she needs. I started her on Fish oil tablets too. I don't know if it's one or the other or both but i can definately tell a difference in the softness and sleekness of her coat! And besides that, i feel like a much better Dadda since I'm givin her the best I can.

This sucks :/ My breeder gave me a bag of purina - thats what she had been feeding him :/ the vets told me it wasn't a problem and that dogs do really well on it - after reading on here - I'm deffo going to switch him off it, just have no idea what I'm going to feed him - the vets gave me 4kg of science plan vet essentials for puppies - is that stuff any good? shall i switch him to that?

Erinc wrote:

This sucks :/ My breeder gave me a bag of purina - thats what she had been feeding him :/ the vets told me it wasn't a problem and that dogs do really well on it - after reading on here - I'm deffo going to switch him off it, just have no idea what I'm going to feed him - the vets gave me 4kg of science plan vet essentials for puppies - is that stuff any good? shall i switch him to that?

Don't stress over it. A slow transition to a new food is best on their tummies anyway so the remainder of the purina won't go to waste. If you have any left over, you can always donate it to a shelter as for most of the dogs there any food is better than no food. Check out the dog food advisor website to compare food brands. Personally I am not a big fan of science diet foods, but they are pushed by most vets for other reasons. My sister is a vet tech and thinks they are good foods, but they don't rate well compared to others.

Dee&Frankie wrote:

Don't stress over it. A slow transition to a new food is best on their tummies anyway so the remainder of the purina won't go to waste. If you have any left over, you can always donate it to a shelter as for most of the dogs there any food is better than no food. Check out the dog food advisor website to compare food brands. Personally I am not a big fan of science diet foods, but they are pushed by most vets for other reasons. My sister is a vet tech and thinks they are good foods, but they don't rate well compared to others.

I just want him to have the best start possible - and have no idea about puppy foods! No matter how much research i do - I still feel lost lol.

If i just went for one of the 5 star foods on that website - i couldn't really go wrong could i?

You could still have the chance that the food you end up getting may have something your pup may not tolerate well even in 5 star rating foods. It could very well be too rich.

5 star rating means that the ingredients used are of higher standards and quality to cover your pups nutritional needs.

What I would suggest is take a look at the dog foods available to you in your area and compare to the rating (or vice versa). This will give you an idea of what you'll easily be able to find, and it'll give you price points. From there, see what fits in your budget as for most of us, budget also plays a part in what food we feed.

Once you figure out what is available to you and what you can afford, see if you can get sample bags or check what the return policy on unused portions of that dog food in case your pup doesn't do so well. Remember to transition your pup very slowly from the current food to the new food. I will take a total of 3 weeks at minimum to full transition a new food for my female because she has a sensitive tummy.

If you notice soft or runny stools as you are making a transition, there's something that your pup cannot tolerate well, or is too rich. You'll want to go back to the point where your pup had normal stools, get him/her stable first, then try a new food.

If your pup is still within his/her first year, you'll also want to check calcium to phosphorus ratios. Ca:P ratio should fall between 1:1.2 and no higher than 1:1.5 (I think that's it, but I'll double check and post back to confirm).

Erinc wrote:

I just want him to have the best start possible - and have no idea about puppy foods! No matter how much research i do - I still feel lost lol.

If i just went for one of the 5 star foods on that website - i couldn't really go wrong could i?

Don't worry about feeling lost... we are always here to help and answer questions.

Any of the 5 star foods would be great as long as he doesn't have problems with grain, in which case you'd have to go for a grain free food. Take a look at what's there on the website and see what's the easiest for you to find. Some people do have to order their food online as well, but most pet stores should offer at least some of the highest quality foods.

Good luck! Take a deep breath and don't be afraid to keep pestering us with questions if you have them

Got the ratios backward.
Ca:P for puppies should be between 1.2:1 to 1.5:1

cmanding wrote:

see what fits in your budget as for most of us, budget also plays a part in what food we feed.

Budget is a very good point, adding to it you should also probably be aware that with the higher quality foods you wont need to feed as much.

My boyfriend and I freaked out a little when we saw the price tag of Orijen, and knowing that we needed to feed him something of that quality to save him from being sick. (Blue Willderness was also an option, but not available in our area).

At $80 a pop, it seemed really pricey. We didn't realize that Aevyn would only be eating about 2 cups a day (any more and he just leaves it there), and that for $80 we effectively have his food for a month, often more.

This is very helpful. But you guys are right with the pricing.... I just went from a 20dollar 32lb bag to a 80dollar 32lb bag... going to try to find the food online.

I'm looking at the TimberWolf Wild and Natural Dry food - saw some of you guys recommended it. Will this be ok for my 6 week old puppy?


I found this guy online with ALMOST expired food (on ebay)... he's trying to sell by the palette or bag... very cheap, not sure what the shipping would cost me but still seems like a very good deal. What do you guys think....

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Timberwolf-Organics-Wild-and-Natural-Canine-Kibble-/160665788658?_trksid=p5197.m7&_trkparms=algo%3DLVI%26itu%3DUCI%26otn%3D1%26po%3DLVI%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D4537499822112428214#ht_510wt_881

Seems like a good deal to me, though I've never heard of that brand before. Some of the cat food I get from the shelter for my foster kittens is out of date, but I've never had any problem with them. It was all canned food though.

See what shipping will cost. I don't see his shipping prices listed.

I would be hestitant to get it off ebay. 1) you bought a bag of food that you don't know how your pup will do. 2) how much of the food will you be able to get through before it expires? 3) what conditions has the bag of food been kept in? Is it hot and wet or dry and cool? 4) Why and how does he have an almost expired bag of food that is he is trying to sell? Did it come from a reputable store? Or did it come from another unknown source?

I wouldn't buy it. I would hesitate because I don't know the above and it could cause your pup to get sick.

That's just my opinion.

As for the food you mentioned, is it all life stage food? Or is it puppy food? Did you check the Ca:P ratio? Does that fall within the range that is OK for your a puppy?

Raz, I think you need to find something that you can afford and stick with it rather than hope to find deals from month to month. I buy 4 star rated dog food with what I consider wholesome grains for about $1 per pound. My dog is doing well on this, so I have not had to consider more expensive foods. I have used or considered Whole Earth Farms by Merrick, Canidae Chicken and Rice or Lamb and Rice, Natural Balance, Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul... You can find decent stuff that will not break your bank. If you have access to Costco, I've heard they have a decent, reasonably priced food.

If your dog cannot digest rice (which is the primary grain in all of these foods I mentioned above), you may have to pay the big bucks for the grain-free foods. I think other members have mentioned that not all grain-free foods are created equal. Certainly just because it costs the most does not automatically make it the best. Research and recommendations....

Good luck!

Good call - you guys are right. I'll look around the forum a bit more and decide on something good - quality and price. Like all you guys I just want whats best for the little guy.

Thanks for the feedback!!

wag.com has very good prices and huge discount for first time customers. However, you may want to visit a small shop to get samples or email the manufacturer first. As well, As Lisa said - Costco has a high quality (4 star) grain free food made the same folks as Taste of the Wild - it's called Nature's Domain and is $32 for a 35 lb bag - very reasonable. Best of luck!

naturalk9supplies.com also has great prices and if you BARK10, you get an additional 10% off their discounted prices. I buy ALL my treats from this site, and some of their regular food. They sometimes have free shipping or 15% off instead of their usual 10% off.

awesome thanks guys! I will check those out!