We are getting a new puppy, and need help with food.

[Pup-e-Love]

We are getting a puppy for the first time and need some help with puppy food. The previous owners have been feeding him Pedigree soft, and I know that is not good. What should we feed him and should we introduce the new food all at once? I tried to do a search for puppy food, but the link is not working. Thanks!

[RoscoesMommy42]

Well there are a lot of great foods out there and I know you will get a ton of great advice. I feed my big boy, who is almost a year old, Taste of the Wild and my 4 month old puppy eats Chicken Soup for the Puppy Lovers Soul. You should always transition foods slowly by mixing with the food they are eating and gradually adding a little more over about a 2 week period.

Oh, and congratulations on your new addition!!!

[AddieLove]

You should transition the food slowly. Feed your pup 75% of the old stuff mixed with 25% of the new stuff. Do that for a couple days and then switch it to 50% and 50%. Then after a couple of days, do 25% and 75%. Then after a couple of days go completely on the new stuff.

There are a lot of great foods out there. For Addie, I fed her Wellness for Puppies until she was a year old. Now I have her on Orijen Six Fish, and I'm very happy with it. But each dog takes differently to food. Some are very picky eaters or have very sensitive stomachs, so you just need to keep an eye out.

You really just need to research like crazy and pay close attention to the ingredients.

[AddieLove]

Oh, and you want to watch out and make sure the dog food you feed doesn't have ethoxyquin added. From what I can tell, dog foods won't say on the package that there is ethoxyquin added mainly because they don't have to. Do a search on this site and you can read the post about it. Orijen doesn't have ethoxyquin, but I believe TOTW and Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul have it added.

[MaddiesMommie]

I recently switched my girls to TOTW b/c it is grain free and for all stages. I have a 2 year old and a 4 month old.

I am concerned/confused about hearing about ethoxyquin in TOTW. I have read about this on here before but can't find it listed as an ingredient on the bag or thier site. The only thing I can find about food preservatives on thier site is:
Chemicals are not used to preserve any of our formulas. We use mixed tocopherols (vitamin E) to preserve the chicken fat in our pet foods. Added ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and rosemary extract in some of the formulas also have preservative effects.

Can anyone point me in the direction of where this information has been found? Thank you

[Breny]

I feed my Puppies Life's Abundance. It a premium Health food. they love it and do very well on it. No by products or fillers!

[AddieLove]

Here is the link to the talk about it here: http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/yor...thoxyquin.html

And here is an interesting discussion about it on another forum: Taste of the Wild Ethoxyquin Free? - Boxer Board

From what I gather, the company says they don't use it, but they don't guarantee that their suppliers do not.
Directly from the forum I listed above: "When it comes to fish products, in the US it is required by law that all ocean fish products destined for pet food meal be preserved with Ethoxyquin (yes, the law stipulates that chemical specifically). For anyone to NOT be using fish meal products preserved with ethoxyquin, then their suppliers must either be supplying non-ocean farmed fish or else they must have a special dispensation from the law (i.e. allowed to use some other preservative instead). As you might imagine, that would be a tiny minority. And if it were the case, you'd expect your dog food manufacturer to be shouting it from the rooftops as a marketing point."

And directly from the FAQ on Orijen's site:
ETHOXYQUIN: Does ORIJEN contain ethoxyquin?

A: No. ORIJEN fish meats arrive FRESH; which means they are never frozen and have no preservatives what-so-ever. We work directly with our fish meal suppliers and pay them a premium to have ORIJEN fish meals preserved naturally with Vitamin E, Citric acid and Rosemary extract instead of the commonly used ethoxyquin preservative.

[MaddiesMommie]

I find on their site they purchase ALL of thier meats from food grade suppliers and are certified hormone and antibiotic free, and they use no chemical preservatives instead Vitamin E, Vitamin C, and rosemary extract.

Is this a chemical used to only preserve fish? How can one find who the suppliers are for thier dog food?

[AddieLove]

Originally Posted by MaddiesMommie

I find on their site they purchase ALL of thier meats from food grade suppliers and are certified hormone and antibiotic free, and they use no chemical preservatives instead Vitamin E, Vitamin C, and rosemary extract.

Is this a chemical used to only preserve fish? How can one find who the suppliers are for thier dog food?

That I can't speak to. I'm by no means an expert on Ethoxyquin in dog food. I read on here that TOTW has Ethoxyquin in it but didn't do any further research with the brand since Addie isn't on it.

The chemical is used for preservation. This doesn't just include fish. It can be used to preserve spices to help maintain their colour as well. But it seems for dog food, the chemical is mainly used in the preservation of fish meal because of current laws.
As far as finding out the suppliers of your dog food, I would think you would have to contact the company or maybe just do a Google search.

[MaddiesMommie]

Originally Posted by AddieLove

That I can't speak to. I'm by no means an expert on Ethoxyquin in dog food. I read on here that TOTW has Ethoxyquin in it but didn't do any further research with the brand since Addie isn't on it.

The chemical is used for preservation. This doesn't just include fish. It can be used to preserve spices to help maintain their colour as well. But it seems for dog food, the chemical is mainly used in the preservation of fish meal because of current laws.
As far as finding out the suppliers of your dog food, I would think you would have to contact the company or maybe just do a Google search.

This got me to thinking so I did a little research on this. I received an email from TOTW today that stated this:

Thank you for your inquiry.

Taste of the Wild Pet Foods does not add ethoxyquin to any of the formulas.

Fish meal is required by law to be preserved with ethoxyquin. Ethoxyquin is most effective at preventing rancidity in the highly volatile fish meal. Rancidity in ingredients can lead to severe illness.

Most of the ethoxyquin is destroyed in the cooking process, requiring other preservatives to be used. Tests for ethoxyquin are run routinely on Taste of the Wild products. The results are typically less than 5ppm. The amount allowed, and considered to be safe, by the FDA is 75ppm.

Fish meal is an important ingredient that provides quality amino acids and omega-3 fatty acids. These nutrients are important for all aspects of a healthy life, including great skin and coat, control of inflammation and a strong immune system.

Sincerely,
Dr. Brookshire

Funny the things I will research to find about for my girl, but don't even think twice about for myself. LOL

[AddieLove]

Originally Posted by MaddiesMommie

Funny the things I will research to find about for my girl, but don't even think twice about for myself. LOL

Same here! I'll eat whatever (including hydrogenated coconut oil), and there are a lot of bad ingredients I probably eat that I don't even research or pay attention to. But I am always trying to watch and make sure Addie only receives the best.

[ArmyWife313]

We feed Orijen here.

[Fancy_Pants]

I just ordered Nature's Abundance. I have yet to try it but if you clink on Breny's website in her signature it will give you a link. I ordered it through her, she is my rep now! If you read everything on the site it sounds like a great choice, IMO.

[Pup-e-Love]

Thank you everyone! You have all been so nice to respond!

[107barney]

Hi, I've used lots of pet foods over the years. My 10 month old puppy has pretty much eaten regular adult food his whole life in combination with home prepared meals. My favorite commercial foods are:

Wellness Superfive Mix (chicken) for adults
Wellness Puppy
Merrick CANNED Foods --> not a fan of their dry

Good luck! I'm sure you'll have lots of good foods to select from!