Looking for food recommendations when transitioning from puppy food

Hi. I will receive Asta this Friday, April 3. He is a 4- month old F1. The Breeder started him on Purina Pro Plan (Focus) Chicken and Rice puppy formula. The Breeder is recommending Life's Abundance when he transitions to adult food. Does anyone have experience using this brand? Thanks for any help.

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Permalink Reply by Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle on April 1, 2015 at 8:03pm

Hi Rhoda, we have a list of recommended brands here in the Food group, the link is on the group main page.

You can do a search for past discussions on Life's Abundance. It is not recommended. It is a mediocre food that costs a fortune because it is only sold through a multilevel marketing program, otherwise known as a pyramid scheme.

Permalink Reply by Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle on April 1, 2015 at 8:06pm

Recommended Food Brands

Permalink Reply by Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle on April 1, 2015 at 8:06pm

Life's Abundance (and Nu-Vet vitamins) is part of an MLM (multi-level marketing) company called Trilogy, which sells all of their products through a structured plan in which each person along the chain receives a commission. If your breeder recommends it, she receives a commission each time you order it using her number. The person who recruited her, the area director, a whole group of people each receive a commission each time you order the food. This is also known as a "pyramid scheme". Here's some info on this "business opportunity". Be sure to watch the video:

http://www.lifesabundance.com/Opportunity/Opportunity.aspx?realname...

This is why the food is priced so high. You are paying premium prices and getting a so-so food. All of the claims that the food is fresher, made in small batches, made to order, etc. that they use to justify the prices is hooey. The price is what it is because a whole lot of people are getting a bonus when you buy it. That's why the breeders, daycares, trainers, etc. recommend it. The food is a private label kibble like any other that manufactured in a plant like any other and stored somewhere until you buy it. They say things like "It doesn't sit on a shelf in a warehouse". Well, newsflash, it may not sit in a warehouse, but it sits somewhere. It's not like ordering a pizza, where they make that bag up fresh right then and there and hop in the car to drive it over to your house. The plant doesn't run one or two or twenty bags at a time, lol.

We have some older discussions here about LA, including the one Laurie mentioned:

http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/thefoodgroup/forum/topics/lifes-a...

http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/thefoodgroup/forum/topics/canidae...

One thing that I hate about LA is the secrecy surrounding the ingredients, nutritional profile, source of ingredients, etc. It's almost impossible to get this information. They say "we use, chicken, potatoes, etc." but they don't give you the simple basic nutitional profile or the actual list of ingredients as every other food does, and they will not give the source of their ingredients. Because of this, I cannot give you an actual analysis. The last time I tried researching it, it was an okay food in terms of ingredients and nutritional content, but I don't know if they outsource the ingredients. They also have a very limited selection of formulas. It's certainly better than Beneful or Pedigree, but for the price, you can do much much better. .

Permalink Reply by Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle on April 1, 2015 at 8:10pm

I would also not wait until your pup is an adult to switch from Purina, it is also not a recommended brand.

But don't change his food for at least two weeks after he comes home.

It's critical that you not change anything about her diet for at least two weeks after he comes home. That means you keep him on the food and treats the breeder is feeding, even if they aren't so great.

Do not introduce any new treats or chews either. Keep her diet exactly the same as it was at the breeder's.

Many, many doodle puppies come home with giardia and other parasites. Giardia has a 10-14 day incubation period, so it won;t show up in a fecal test right away. The excitement and stress of leaving the mother, the litter, and the only home the puppy has ever known can contribute to tummy troubles, too.

We have even had members whose brand new puppies had serious health issues resulting in digestive symptoms.

If you change the food before the dog has had a chance to settle in, and before any parasite issues have time to show up in a fecal test, and the dog has diarrhea, you will not know if it's caused by the food change, stress, parasites, or a digestive illness, and the breeder will blame it on the food change. Thus begins a journey of frustration trying to figure it out and an endless round of food changes. You also don;t want to do anything to upset that delicate digestive system, as diarrhea can cause a young puppy to dehydrate very quickly, and is going to make housebreaking a whole lot tougher.

So you wait. If you leave the dog's diet exactly as is, and diarrhea develops, you have just eliminated any connection to food as the cause, and saved yourself a lot of aggravation. And of course, if the puppy comes home with diarrhea that doesn't resolve in a day, you know your breeder sent you a puppy with an intestinal parasite and you can probably recoup the cost of the fecal testing and the treatment, lol. (I personally would have fecal done on any new puppy I got, along with a general once-over at the vet's office, but parasites may not show up right away.)

So wait at least two weeks. If, after two weeks, the stool is firm and regular and everything seems fine with the pup's digestion, you can start changing him over. Make only one change at a time. Don't introduce new treats until after you have transitioned.

Permalink Reply by Rhoda and Asta on April 2, 2015 at 5:15pm

Thank you so much for sharing info and advice. I have looked at the recommended food list and am thinking about transitioning to Orijen over time. I will definitely follow your advice to wait until he has settled In. His first vet visit is scheduled for Tuesday. Also I really appreciate the links.

Permalink Reply by Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle on April 2, 2015 at 5:35pm

One more word of advice: most of us here have learned to ignore our vets' recommendations about food and diet. There is no nutrition curriculum in vet school, and most of what vets know about dog food comes from the Hill's and Purina salespeople. Vets study medicine not nutrition, much like our own doctors. I wouldn't even ask the vet's opinion about food, most vets have never heard of most of the brands on our recommended list. :)

Looking for food recommendations when transitioning from puppy food

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