years ago, when I was growing up, purina was one of the only foods out...we had our chihuahua on purina until the day he died, at 19 years...My Mom always fed purina puppy food and then purina adult food..My golden retriever that died(was put to sleep at 18, as she had cancer), was on kibbles and bits most of her life...Now, I did put mine on a food thats out, called Taste of the Wild, it's supposed to be good for them, I had 4 very sick dogs, diarrhea and throwing up, so, I had to make a quick trip in to town yesterday, and got them back on nutro ultra..find a food that works and that they like, and then stick to it..everyone has their own opinions on food..a lot of breeders feed purina and pedigree..My sister has had her dogs on pedigree for a long time, and they all do fantastic on it..Her one yorkie is 12 and still going strong..

hi there,
I just got back from the vets with Odie and he has gained another 4ozs.. so he is now a whopping 1 lb 4 ozs.. I am so happy that he is doing so well :D

I don't think Petsmart sells them but if you go the Wellness site they have a store locator where you can type in your city and state and they tell you local stores that sell them... I got wellness at Pet Supermarket, a chain store down here by me.. I guess like Petland for those up north in NY

Hi and Welcome!

I understand the confusion and turmoil over foods. Just when I thought I had found the BEST for my babies, I realized they were loaded with things that could be not so good for them.

I went to the dog food analysis site linked to above and it REALLY enlightened me.

Research the foods, then make a decision you can feel comfortable with.

Everyone has their own idea of what is 'best' and we need to just make up our own minds and find something and stick to it.

It really is best to not make sudden changes in the diets and vary the snacks/supplements more than the base foods.

There is so much information I went to websites and looked up the food posted and now more undecisive than ever. I was thinking ok I'll just prepare the food here at home then I found why not to do that. I just know I have a few more weeks to see what to do. I think this is the most important thing I have been so excited about our little guy comming home looking at clothes, piddle pads, books, toys, baby gates, beds, bowls, leads, bows ect... but I need to find the food to keep him healthy and happy and i don't want to make a mistake. T was really going to choose EUK, or CR but now I am looking to the others now. Thanks again I will still be looking and reading here.

Is anyone using Lifes abundance It looks good to me just don't want to have a veil over my head is it truly the food sent from HEAVN?

Why shouldn't you prepare food at home? I do.

I don't think it is as good as the company wants you to believe (as with any dog food). I don't see any preservatives in it and kibble without preservatives is a concern. Flax seed is an allergen and beet pulp is also and it is a stool hardener. I don't really like this food but some people do.

Awe Nancy, don't feel bad, you do what you think is best for your furbaby, only you know what you've tried and what you haven't, what works and what doesn't. Take me for instance, I KNOW Purina isn't a good dog food, but I feed it to my Boxer boy Isaiah. He has very bad allergies and I went through many foods until I found one he could tolerate and not have horrible reactions to. I even tried him on all the holistic foods, Wellness being one, and Royal Canine being one as well, but, he ultimately reacted very badly to it, so much so that I could give it to him anymore. The ONLY food I've found that he can eat that he doesn't react to is Purina Dog Chow:( Like I said, I know it's not a great dog food, but I had to do what was best for Isaiah, and he does tolerate it without having to be rushed to the vet covered in hives and beat red all over. Go figure, cause it's got corn in it! On the up side though, it doesn't have BHA, BHT or Ethoxyquin in it, so, I do what I have to do. I don't think anyone here posts things to make others feel bad, I think they just want to inform people and then let them make their own choice, at least that's what I try to do anyhow.

I forgot to answer your question, I'm sorry. I purchase Wellness at a feed supply store near me, but I know that Ritzman Pharmacy also sells it. If you go to their site, you can do a search on where you can purchase it in your area.

How nicely put. Thanks.

You're most welcome;)

I have no idea but on the pet channel they were saying that when you fix home cooked meals that most of the time they are to high in fat and don't have enough of the total vitamines needed for your pet but I really haven't researched that yet. I did look at a few recipes and they looked wonderful to me but I am no dietitian. I really do like the idea though because after looking at what is really put into petfood I am really scared to feed that to my baby. I would like knowing what they are eating and supplements I'm sure would be fine and a little extra walking or just playing fetch would be fine.

You can have an animal nutritionist formulate a recipe for you and tell you which supplements to give and it will be balanced. It costs between $90 and $225.