A Question About Dog Food For Puppies

[Marion Carmickle]

Riley has been on Iams Pro Puppy. As I have looked over the ingredients I am disturbed by the salt and by products in the product. I have gone through the forum and learned a great deal from earlier discussions, but I have a few questions:
1. I understand there was a recall on Kirkland's food...was this the puppy food?
2. I am also looking at Wellness and Innova (both were highly rated). Is there a source for buying that is less than in the stores or am I just being too innocent. The Wellness is $48 at Pet Supply House (33 lb bag) and the Innova is about the same. Is this typical?
The Kirkland's is the most cost effective but it, too, has salt, which makes Riley really thirsty. Should I be concerned about salt? The Kirkland puppy chicken, rice and vegies was rated 108, the Wellness Puppy was 117 and Innova Evo and Dog was 114.
I will appreciate your views. Thanks so much!

[Deb, Connor & Simon]

Diane,
Thanks for the heads up. Even if you don't use the pre-graded listings, I think it offers good guidelines as to what to look for in your dog's food. I actually feed my guys Precise Plus - a holistic dry food. And for some added flavor, I add about 2 TBS of Three Dog Bakery's Entree.

[Dawn]

Those of you using Innova puppy food...are you using the puppy or large breed puppy formula? I, too am researching puppy food.

[2hl9mp3c2fuam]

I buy EXCLUSIVE (Purina brand) from a feed store by my house. I have used this for both of my dogs only. My mother recently changed her Westie's food and have found she eats better and her stool is so much healthier. I have not seen the food anywhere else, but I know on their site you can find out distributers.

good luck.... oh and it is a lamb/rice formula...

[Stephanie]

We have been switching to Nutro Ultra (Large Breed Puppy Food) which Brody seems to be doing well on. Its not at the top of the list like EVO or Orijen is...but its pretty good with no by-products and I've heard good things about it from "dog nutritionists" saying its a good dog food without getting to the 'way expensive' range of foods. Hope whatever you choose works out for Riley's little tummy!!!!

[MBKANE]

I would suggest you take a look at Before Grain foods (both dry and canned). My pup Kensi refused all the foods I tried and then found Before Grain. I tried Blue Buffalo, Premium Blend, Purina Pro Plan, Innova, Iams etc. Before Grain is not cheap in fact quite pricey. There is obviously no grains in the foods and it includes lots of veggies, fruits, and real meats. Petsmart doesn't carry the food but Care-A-Lot does and some smaller pet specialty stores will too. Good luck.