Need tasty and nutritious dry puppy food, help!
 

Hi, my 11 week old Yorkie, Emma, was raised on IAMS dry puppy food, but I've bought two different types and she doesn't seem to like them. At first she'd take one piece at a time, run proudly through the house, eat it, and then repeat. However, she got into the dry cat food (I am fixing that tonight by buying a baby gate the cats can get over but she can't). Since she got a taste of the flavored dry cat food, she won't even try her IAMS.

Can anyone recommend a healthy puppy food that has some extra flavoring that might entice her to eat it? I looked at the link someone left in an earlier post of the quality levels of food, but honestly I have never heard of any of them. It's my guess that something like Purina is probably NOT at the top of the list.

I don't want to start her on soft food, so if anyone has any ideas of a healthy, yet tasty dry puppy food, please, please let me know.

This forum has been a lifesaver so far!

Thank you,
Sammer :confused:

My vet said that an all life stages food is fine for puppies as long as they grow while eating it. You might try Timberwolf Wild and Natural. It has super tiny kibble. Both of my girls love it. You could also try putting a bit of cottage cheese, shredded cheese, scrambled egg, white meat chicken or home made chicken broth (no onions) or even baby food chicken in with it to entice baby to eat. My Gracie would not touch dry food without some people food added until she was probably 6-8 months old. I think in part it had to do with her not liking the food, but in part the kibble was too big for her to handle. Both of my girls think that kitty kibble is the most awesome treat on earth, second only to Yorkie Yummies! Good luck!

Gracie...what do you mean by this? I am feeding my 4-month old puppy Nature's Variety INSTINCT Duck Meal and Turkey Meal for All life stages. And how she grew taller in just a week!!!:D

What I mean is, it is ok to feed an all-life-stages food instead of puppy food if a puppy is thriving. If the puppy is not growing, then it should eat puppy food.

I see, thanks :)

I thought you are suppose to feed puppy food when they are little because many of the adult dog foods are way too high in protein. This can cause poteniel probelms down the road. Esp. in A yorkie , who may be prone to Liver shunts. :aimeeyork

we feed The Honest Kitchen (thehonestkitchen.com) and will also feed some of the Nature's Variety canned and the Nature's Variety RAW Medallions.. but our main food is The Honest Kitchen! it is a GREAT food.. you should request a couple samples and see how your baby likes it.. BOTH my girls LOVE it.. i have a 1.5 year old and a 5 month old! ;)

we will leave dry kibble down all the time.. so they can eat that if they get hungry.. and we are currently feeding them EVO small bites. they really like that, as well! ;)

we also give the girls.. cottage cheese & yogurt(almost daily). and also will feed them some fruit and veggies randomly.. along with a couple treats, as well! :)

Er, actually I have read the opposite :confused:
I read that puppy food have higher protein, which helps growth, which is why you shouldn't feed it to adult dogs cos it might be fattening for them.

I am SO confused.

means143,

I was also very confused about the protein thing until a few days ago. Now I think the whole "dogs eat only protein and a little vegetables when they live in the wild anyways" makes a very convincing argument. Just think about it.

Right now I'm giving my dogs (yorkie and a shihtzu) Orijen puppy, and so far so good. No grains, great ingredients, if their list is to be believed. No watery poop, nothing to worry me. Mocha eats it even with no added appeal (carrots, bits of pear). I just add water as I've read that kibbles soak up water even in their stomach, and dogs does not know how much water they're supposed to take. Sometimes I wet it with broth (give the broth before you add any flavoring to it). Some complains Orijen puppy's chunks is too big, but so far no choking, no difficulty swallowing. Of course, that might come down to the water I add to it.

Also, that "particularly in the large breed" explanation is because large breed puppies needs more "even" growth, so to speak. But so many people here in Jakarta feed their dogs Orijen, both small and large breeds, and I haven't heard any problems whatsoever. In fact, all of the people I know of who feed their dogs Orijen have said their dogs are doing great. Healthier coats, good, er, poop, pee doesn't smell etc etc. Many have said that their dogs doing very well on Acana too. :)

Puppy food is higher in protein than adult food. All life stages food is not adult food nor puppy food, it's All Life Stages food meaning that it's appropriate for dogs at all stages of life whether it be puppy or senior.

:thumbup:

As Gracie2006 said, it is fine if the dog is doing well on it.
All Life Stages food should meet the AAFCO requirements for both pup and adult food, so you can give it to either.

Depending on the brand a lot of puppy foods are actually higher in protein than the adult food is. I try to stick with a food around 28%, but I would go with less protein before I would go with more

Many of the brands will send free samples which is a good way to find out if she is interested in the food or not, we feed Wellness and our dogs are doing great.

I feed Suzi An Organic Dry Kibble . It Is By Nature. She also enjoys the Canned oragnic food too. I only give her the can once A day, and leave the Dry Kibble out for her. :thumbup: