bgb699 Posted August 13, 2004 Share Posted August 13, 2004 Hi everyone~Im getting my puppy in 3 days. His foster mom feeds him Iams large breed puppy food, but from what Ive read, Iams isnt the best choice for him (or maybe Im wrong about that?) Any suggestions about a good brand to switch him to? (that wont break the bank) And how do I go about making the switch as far as mixing the brands (1/4 to 3/4 etc). Hes a 9 week old german shepherd/ yellow lab mix. Also, how old should he be before I switch to adult food? Thank for the help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllAmericanPUP Posted August 16, 2004 Share Posted August 16, 2004 A good food that won't break the bank is Chicken Soup For the Dog Lovers Soul. Switch him slowly. 1/4 chicken soup food, 3/4 iams for about a week 1/2 chicken soup food, 1/2 iams for about a week 3/4 chicken soup food, 1/4 iams for about a week and then full on Chicken soup for the dog lover soul I switch my dogs from puppy food to adult when they are a year old. Some people wait longer, some do it sooner... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TDG Posted August 17, 2004 Share Posted August 17, 2004 [quote]Hi everyone~Im getting my puppy in 3 days. His foster mom feeds him Iams large breed puppy food, but from what Ive read, Iams isnt the best choice for him (or maybe Im wrong about that?)[/quote] you are absolutely right, iams is a pretty poor quality food. if you want to learn more about dog food ingredients and how to tell if a food is of good or bad quality, have a look [url=http://www.mordanna.com/dogfood/index.php?page=identify]here[/url]. [quote]Any suggestions about a good brand to switch him to? (that wont break the bank)[/quote] if you look at daily feeding cost vs. simply the price on the bag, no premium food will really break your bank, simply because you will have to feed much less of a high quality food since it is made of highly digestible ingredients and doesn't contain worthless fillers. my top contender when it comes to ingredient quality vs. affordability is definitely canidae. chicken soup is ok, but once you look at what it really costs to feed a certain brand over the time of say one year and not just at the price per bag, it really becomes very obvious. [quote]And how do I go about making the switch as far as mixing the brands (1/4 to 3/4 etc). Hes a 9 week old german shepherd/ yellow lab mix. Also, how old should he be before I switch to adult food? Thank for the help![/quote] if your dog takes the change well and no digestive upset appears, you can switch him over in just 4-5 days no problem. if he isn't taking it well, slow down. for a fairly large dog like a GSD/lab mix i would recommend switching to an adult or all-lifestages formula right away. you will want to aim for slow, even growth and keep a lean puppy to avoid orthopedic problems. your pup will get all the extra nutrients it needs during its growth phase from the larger amount of food it eats compared to an adult dog. the reason we even have "large breed puppy" foods on the market is that at some point companies started marketing puppy foods, which caused larger breed puppies to grow too fast, put on excess weight and consume too much calcium. of course the pet food companies saw their chance to get peopel to buy even more of their products by offering specific "large breed puppy" formulations when a high quality adult/all lifestages food would do just as well. small breed puppies are an entirely different story since their metabolism is so much higher and they have a lot less growing to do in the same amount of time compared to large breed puppies. so don't fall into that trap, ignore the puppy foods and go with a product like artemis, back to basics, blue buffalo, california natural, canidae, chicken soup, eagle pack holistic select, healthwise, innova, karma, natural balance, premium edge, solid gold, timberwolf organics, verus or wellness. if you are on a budget, see if you can locate premium edge in your area. like chicken soup, it's also made by diamond, but it's marketed for a different target group and mostly only available at feed stores instead of pet stores. it's a good food tho. :) healthwise is also a budget line (made by natura from the same excellent ingredients as innova and cali natural) and not available at most popular pet stores. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bgb699 Posted August 19, 2004 Author Share Posted August 19, 2004 Wow, you guys are an enormous wealth of information for new parents like me! Thank you so much for your advice, I really appreciate it!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted September 26, 2004 Share Posted September 26, 2004 hi i`m picking my pup up next week and keep the pup on what he is eating for at least 2 weeks then change by doing half and half for a week.i`m going to put mine on wellness puppy breed.enjoy dana Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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