Puppy chow, good or bad?....
 

Before I got my Daisy I went out and got a bag of Purina Puppy Chow. But I read somewhere that you should not feed a Yorkie any kind of puppy food that has corn in the first 5 ingredients. Is that true and if so why?
Is Puppy chow bad for her?

I would like to know also because I just bought a bag for my 3 babies. :eek:
:aimeeyork COCO :aimeeyork PEBBLES :aimeeyork TRIXIE

Purina makes horrible dog food. PLEASE dont feed this to your puppy. I am sorry - I don't mean to sound rude!!! I am incredibly passionate about canine nutrition.

Corn is the first ingredient. Many dogs have allergies to corn. More important, it is of little nutritional value. The second ingredient is chicken by-product.

By-products are the grossest, least nutritional things ever!!!!! Beaks, feathers, the parts unsuitable for human consumption.

Here is the complete list of ingredients for puppy chow, from Purina's website:

Whole grain corn, chicken by-product meal, corn gluten meal, brewers rice, soybean meal, animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols (form of Vitamin E), barley, animal digest, calcium phosphate, calcium carbonate, fish oil, salt, potassium chloride, L-Lysine monohydrochloride, choline chloride, zinc sulfate, Vitamin E supplement, zinc proteinate, DL-Methionine, ferrous sulfate, manganese sulfate, brewers dried yeast, manganese proteinate, added color (Red 40, Yellow 5, Blue 2), niacin, Vitamin A supplement, copper sulfate, copper proteinate, calcium pantothenate, garlic oil, pyridoxine hydrochloride, Vitamin B-12 supplement, thiamine mononitrate, Vitamin D-3 supplement, riboflavin supplement, calcium iodate, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), folic acid, biotin, sodium selenite.

There is no real meat. There is no 'food' in this food! Its basically corn, junk and chemicals...The reason they are able to market it as nutritious is that Purina meets the all too loose standards of the American Association of Feed Control Officers standards for canine nutrition. This doesn't make it healthy.

Think about what makes a people diet healthy, whole fruits, whole vegetables, meat, fish, ect.

There are a lot of easy, healthy options. Many people here on YT homecook. Some of us feed raw diets (Google BARF diet). Some people feed holistic dog kibble like Orijen brand or Life's Abundance (there are plenty more brands like these).

You need to be honest about how much time and money you can spend and then you can decide what works for you. The most important thing is finding a healthy option that is comfortable for you...and your dog will do great! I hope this helps some and please message me if you want more suggestions. I am so happy you looked at the label and recognized the corn as bad! :thumbup::thumbup:

I agree- Puppy chow is horrible food. Bi products are parts of animals that are not fit for human consumption. It can be hard to find a good food and you will never find it at wal mart or petsmart.

Some ingredients to stay away from - corn, bi products, gluten, chicken (MANY dogs are allergic to chicken) and beet pulp.

Some brands I really like are Wellness, Orijen and Natural Balance (This is my favorite)

Those are great brands! and Wellness is even now available at Petsmart or Petco (I can't remember which), because of the increased demand for high quality pet foods.

I think chicken CAN be an OK ingredient, if your dog isn't allergic. My two babies aren't, but the prevalence of chicken allergies is important to be aware of, in case your dog begins to show signs of allergies.

The best way to prevent health issues is through diet. We are what we eat ;)

Another important thing to note - vets know NOTHING about dog nutrition (unless they specialize) and often recommend the worst dog foods and wonder why they are treating things like organ failure, cancer and allergies at higher rates then ever before.

You are going to learn far more about what is good to feed by doing your own research online and in some books then you will from your vet.

:bravo:: ::good job:

If you decide to go with kibble here is a great site for looking at different dog food Dog Food Reviews - Main Index - Powered by ReviewPost
I like grain free. IMO any thing less than 4 stars on that site isn't worth feeding, but there are a lot of options!

Grain free is a wonderful option. Grains are not really a part of a dog's nutritional requirements and are mostly fillers. Foods that are grain-free tend to be healthier, higher quality and cause fewer allergic reactions.

Oh - and to krisknr - thanks for the support! I am SOOO into canine nutrition! LOL!!!!:p

I agree that purina puppy chow is horrible. It also makes them poop ALL of the time and it smells terrible. I've never fed it to Roxie but my son and daughter use it with their big dogs and I swear you'd think they had cattle roaming the yard. I have always used Royal Canine for Roxie and she's never had a problem with it. My cats even want to eat her food. I had her on the puppy version for almost the first year and then switched to the Yorkshire version. She always has good bm's and she can hide an accident well because it doesn't smell. ;)

Daisy and I thank you very much!!!:) When I was reading the ingredients I just knew I couldnt feed that to my little girl! I wanted to ask to make sure I wasnt making a mistake seeing as Im new at all of this! :D

GOOD MOMMY INSTINCT!! Lol...thats how I learned all this - my pupper came to me on Royal Canin and the ingredients looked, well, not like food!!! So I started researching and learning...and now I am happy with their diets.

No Puppy Chow isn't one of the better foods. Just check ingedients, read labels. Try samples.
Whats works for one persons Yorkie, may not work for yours so you'll just need to find the right choice for your babies :)

Good luck!

Maximus was weaned on Purina Puppy Chow. We changed to Canidae this week and so far he is doing well with it. It is 5 stars on that dog review site, although, I have read posts about their change in their recipe making some dogs sick? My baby is doing fine on it. Ultimately, I would like to start cooking for him, but for now, this is what we are doing.

:thumbup::thumbup:

i agree..

innova/evo. nature's varitey. ziwi peak! ;) we use a rotation diet... free feed kibble (we leave it out all day, in case they get hungry... especially with gemma being so little i don't want her to become hypoglycemic if she gets hungry..) the kibble we feed is innova/evo/nature's variety. but there are other kibbles mentioned, that are good kibble! ;)

like i said before, the kibble is just out in case they get hungry. we mainly feed NV RAW, nature's variety instinct canned, ziwi peak canned and air dried! (along with sometimes feeding the honest kitchen ;))


do a search on here.. you will find TONS of info on food.. kibble, RAW diets, home cooking, etc etc. ;)

good luck! :heart to

wow... i am a blabber mouth!! haha. sorry, one more post!!
 

:thumbup:
also, i just want to say.. we had the girls on a GREAT food (imo) but we were feeding a lot of the chicken kind.. & Avie started to form crystals in her urine..
the vet and people i talked with said that a diet that consisted mainly of chicken can be one of the factors to cause this.. (we were feeding RAW medallions-chicken and NV canned-chicken) (the main reason is the fat %) so we now feed, mainly, venison (while rotating a few others sometimes, as well! ;))

ME TOO, GIRL! :thumbup: great job, giving her that info! ;)
and i don't know if it was you, or someone else who said: each person is different, each dog is different.. i agree, i think there are smart options for everyone! (no matter what they decide.. RAW, home cooking, canned, kibble, etc.) it's all about research and choosing what works best for you, your lifestyle, & your baby!! :)

also.. i wish there were more vets around that really dedicated themselves to bettering their knowledge of food & the healthiest options available..... :rolleyes: me personally, would not choose to feed a food that my vet reccomended or sold.. i would take their info and the reasons why they wanted me to feed that food and find one with the ingredients that were needed or not needed for my baby;) (sorry a little off topic:rolleyes:)



one more thing for people to think about, as well.. even if your lil one is doing fine on the food they are on now (but you know it is maybe consdidered a not-so-good one, by many..) ..things could come out later on - it could effect the lifespan of you baby, cause effects/health issues down the line, God forbid end up on the recall list, etc. :(
to each their own... i just say, do your research - so you know for sure! :hug: