What to feed my new goldendoodle puppy?

[Amanda and Wheatley]

So I've been looking at dog foods to feed my new upcoming puppy, but I don't know what brand to buy? I thought Canidae looked good, but honestly I have no idea. No matter what I buy I will use NuVet with it, but does anyone have any suggestions?? Thanks guys!

[Denise, Winnie, and AngelAbby]

Canadae (5*) is a very good choice - but the key is finding one your pup will like. There are a few good ones out there - Blue Buffalo (4*), Natures Variety Prairie (5*), Wellness Super 5 (5*), Merrick (5*), NutriSource (4*), Solid Gold (5*). I have tried them all, and my pup likes the Merrick and NutriSource. But she eats Blue Buffalo too. I buy them and mix them together. She has a steel stomach, mixing has never been a problem for her. I also make homemade dog food too, that I freeze - and she gets that at supper time. Luckily we have a Pet Atlas here and if your dog doesn't like a food, you can take it back and try something else. That saved me a small fortune!! LOL It will be trial and error until you find the right one - at least that's what I found. What is NuVet? Never heard of it.

[Amanda and Wheatley]

The breeder who I'm buying from recommends Purina Pro Plan, which I'll probably keep the puppy on since thats what he/she will be used to, but I would like to eventually weed him/her off and onto a more wholesome dog food. I have looked into making my own food, and I definitely can't afford the Pet Atlas thing so I'm worried I won't be giving my puppy all the nutrients it needs. NuVet is a supplement that a lot of breeders recommend, its full of vitamins and minerals. You can check it out at NuVet.com. I noticed almost every breeder I looked at said that they have their puppies on it, and strongly recommend to keep them on it, so I plan to do so as well! If you have any recommendations for recipes I would loveeeee to hear them. I am a nutritional sciences major so I do know a little about nutrition haha, I'm just not quite up to date on doggie nutrition!

[Adina P]

If you want to make your own food I highly recommend petdiets.com -- evidenced based (seemingly so anyway) info and recommendation from a veterinary nutrition specialist.

[Yvonne, Riley, Murphy and Luca]

My puppy is on NuVet and he loves them. When they first arrived I looked at them and thought" how am I going to get him to eat this huge vitamin everyday?" But he will do his best trick for that vitamin now. He sits and does down so proudly everyday for it.

Check out Royal Canin food too. That is what I use and I loved the fact that as the dog matures there is a food specialized towards the Labradoor and I believe there was one for Golden Retrievers.

[Adina P]

Amanda, be sure to join our Food Group on here as there is a TON of good info and recommendations as this question comes up a lot and is dealt with really well in that group. Good luck!

[Denise, Winnie, and AngelAbby]

That's a great group - and they have also started a new group in that group - with only recipes. Absolutely - check them out.

[Terri]

My doodle is on Solid Gold. My last 2 dogs were also on it. We absolutely love it! It does wonders for his coat, and is great for sensitive tummys. We didn't use the puppy formula...but straight to the adult formula Hund-n-flockn.

[Ali]

Right now my puppy is on Eagle Pack Holistic, but I am not sure how great this is. She has never been really excited about her food. After reading things in the food group I think I will be switching her to Nature's Variety because it has so many flavors and such a variety of food. I think this is what she needs because she gets bored of her food. When she has new food she eats it up in a second.