Thoughts on this puppy food.

[Sara Hornsby]

A few friends have said they use this local pet food delivery company to get their dog food. I was wondering if this puppy food would be a good choice?

http://shoppetpantry.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=7...

Thank you so much in advance for your help!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I emailed the company to ask about the sourcing of their ingredients; I'll update when and if they reply. "Made in USA" doesn't mean that the ingredients are not imported from China.

As for the food itself, I'm not impressed. The Omega 6:3 ratio is horrendous; anyone feeding this would have to use a good fish oil supplement. Chicken fat as the third ingredient is a risk factor for bloat, and mineral oil doesn't belong in dog food, period. I'd take a pass on this. There are lots and lots of better foods on our recommended brands list, and there are several good companies that delivery. Chewy.com is fabulous, a lot of people here rave about them. Great prices and great customer service.

[Sara Hornsby]

Thank you SO much, Karen!  I really appreciate your help!  We will stick to something on the recommended list!  

Another question as a newbie...I would like to change her food after the two week period.  There is so much good information here ..how do I go about picking one from the list.  I see a lot of positives and negatives about most foods.  Do I just pick one and see how it works for us?

Thanks again!  You are wonderful!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Thanks for the kind words.

I don't think there are a "lot of negatives" about any food on our list, lol. I hope not. 

Some of the criteria you may want to use when choosing a new food are availability (you can order just about any food, but some of us prefer to have it available in the local stores) and price (this can be deceiving, because if one bag costs less than another, but you have to feed more of it and therefore buy more bags in the same period of time, then the lower priced food may actually cost more over time.) Some of us prefer to feed grain-free diets. Some of us know that certain ingredients or types of formulas don't seem to agree with our dogs. 

With a new puppy who has no known sensitivities to any particular ingredient, you have a lot of options. What is she currently eating?

[Sara Hornsby]

lol.  True, not negatives...just didn't necessarily agree with some pups.

She is currently on Eukanuba.  We have a little less than 2 weeks before we get her.  

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

You're definitely going to want to switch her, because Eukanuba is an awful brand. But you have at least 4 weeks to look into other foods. Once you have her and you see how her digestion is and what exact Eukanuba formula it is, we can help you choose a new food. 

[Sara Hornsby]

Perfect!  Thanks so much!!  

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

So here is the email I sent, and here is the response:

Me:

Hi, can you tell me where you get the ingredients in your dog food? Are they all sourced in North America? Is anything from China? Do you use a third party food broker to purchase your ingredients? I know it says made in USA, but where in the USA?

I would appreciate any information you can give me.  

Pet Pantry: 

Hey this is Heather with the Pet Pantry. I am the owner. The Pet Pantry dog food comes from a company in Ohio. It’s a small family that makes it there. If you would, go online to shoppetpantry.com and look up the Pet Pantry Holistic Dog food. It will tell you all of the ingredients. 

Thank you,

Heather

Obviously, Heather had no idea what I was asking, lol. So I sent the following this a.m.:

"Hi Heather, I have looked at the ingredients. My question is the sourcing of the ingredients: where do they come from? Many pet foods are made here in the USA with ingredients that are imported from China. What I am asking is, does the company that makes this food purchase the ingredients from American suppliers?

It appears that you are the distributor, not the manufacturer. I would be happy to email these questions to the company that actually makes the food if you give me their contact info."

In the meantime, I did a little research. All "Pet Pantry" businesses, and there are dozens of them all over the country, are just distributorships for a private label food made in Ohio. I can't see any reason at all to use them, or to feed this food, even if it does turn out that the ingredients are sourced solely in North America.