What to feed my new pup...Hills? Castor & Pollux? Fromm? I have a new puppy coming home next month & I'm considering feeding her: Hill's Ideal Balance - I was wondering if anyone feeds this brand? Hill's seems like a good, solid company to me. Their Ideal Balance line looks really good. Castor & Pollux Organix or Ultramix - I was searching their website trying to figure out if they are their own company. Are they owned by anyone? I'm just really worried about recalls & would prefer to go with a solid company. Fromm Puppy Gold - Not sure about this one? Royal Canin - I'm just confused about the corn & wheat. So many Yorkies thrive on RC. Is the corn & wheat THAT bad? I'd prefer to feed a "puppy" food vs. all life stages. I just want to make sure she gets her necessary puppy nutrients. She's currently eating 4Health. But I can't get 4Health near me. Any input or other suggestions would be REALLY appreciated :) |
I home cook but have Hills Science Diet as snacks for my girls. Many on here hate Hills but a vet nutritionist told me they were one of the best companies for quality control. Not trying to start the SD debate here. Just stating what I was told. I used RC before. Rosie was itching like crazy on it so I stopped. The others I'm not sure about. Recalls are a huge thing. I would check to make sure they are not involved in any f the recent recalls. |
I feed Blue Buffalo Back to Basics..we tried Canine Caviar but Foxy lost interest..... |
I think they are all fine brands, Castor & Pollux being my least favorite since they are now owned by Merrick (QC issues in the past). SD's new Ideal Balance looks like a pretty good food - the grainfree is a bit pea-heavy for my liking (as are a lot of 'new' grainfree foods coming out). But looks like a solid food. :) Plus, I really like the bags, LOL .. I saw them the other day in Petco. Fromm is a great brand. Been around over 100yrs, no recalls, family owned, etc. I think some of their formulas can be a bit 'busy' so may not work for every dog but lots do very well on them. I fed Fromm for the past 7 months or so, rotating different formulas, but his poop was never where I 'liked' it. Nothing dire, I just prefer his poops smaller, harder, and easier to pick up ... Fromm tended to give him a bit larger poos, that were sometimes softer when picked up (with poop bag, lol). I really wanted Fromm to work. I prefer their Classic and Gold line over their 4-star actually. He gained a tad bit of weight on it too, that I noticed, I just wasn't super thrilled with his body condition. I think Royal Canin is a great trustworthy company who puts forth a lot of research and effort into their foods. Their smaller bags are highly over-priced, IMO, but their 5-6lb bags are no more than most other foods, so they're a better bargain. Jackson's always had this thing where he poops a lot on really long walks and it can be runny sometimes (3-4+ mile walks) so I wanted to try something less 'holistic' than what we've always fed to see if there was a difference so I got a bag of RC Medium Active Special 25 for around $17 for 5.5lbs and it's been about a week, and he's still pooping a lot on walks, so I'm thinking it might be a 'him' issue. But he's obsessed with the taste of RC. I'll keep giving it more of a chance, and feed the whole bag, but at the moment, I'm not super impressed poop-wise. I'll know more about energy, coat, etc, by the end of the bag I am sure. He honestly always did best on Acana - ate it for over 2 years but they changed formulas, and I'm a little miffed with the company lately, so I hesitate to go back to Champion. I like Petcurean foods too (Go! and NOW Fresh). |
I would not feed any food with corn or wheat. |
Castor is now owner by Merrick. Would never feed it. SD and RC are what I would choose. Both highly respected companies. Corn and wheat are fine unless the pup does not tolerate. If you are set on going with a smaller company, between Castor and Fromm I'd pick Fromm. I'd have no reason to choose it ocer SD or RC though. |
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Dog Food Reviews - Main Index - Powered by ReviewPost I love this site for getting info- picking a food is such a hard decision! I love Fromm. I trust the company and love that they've had no recalls ever. My yorkies love it too, but they get really bad black eye boogies on it. My local holistic pet food guru thinks it could be the chicken fat in their formulas that are causing the black eye boogies, but we have yet to really test out that theory. It's a shame, too, because I feel really comfortable feeding Fromm. Their Beef Frittata flavor looks like the only variety that doesn't contain chicken fat, so we are about to try that one. My lab puppy is currently on the Fromm Puppy Gold, though, and she loves it! No complaints, firm poop, and she gobbles it up. :) |
My boys eat Fromm and I am happy with it. We don't have experience with their puppy food. Although Fromm is smaller than the makers of SD and RC, the company has over 100 years experience in animal feed and health. Here is the marketing version of their history: History - Fromm Family Foods |
I also totally overanazlyze the whole food thing :( My pups are just pets & inside most of the time. So I don't need a "great" food. But I want them to get what they need. True about the pea protein in the Hill's. Potato protein is high up on the ingredient list too. The puppy version isn't grain-free. As far as I can tell, they don't have a grain-free puppy food. Even their Small Breed Adult food isn't grain free. She isn't eating grain-free now, so I doubt she has allergies. I would prefer grain-free, but it isn't a deal breaker. I don't think Hill's has had a recall. That's important to me. Castor & Pollux is out. I didn't know they were owned by Merrick. I might go with Royal Canin. I guess I'm a sucker for marketing & I really like the idea of a food made specifically for my Yorkie puppy. And no recalls! I tried a sample of the Now with my other pups. One of mine is super duper finicky. He wouldn't eat it. But I'll keep that on my list. I like the shape of the puppy kibble. Lol. I REALLY like the Fromm company. Glad to hear good things about the Gold line. Most feed the Four Star. So Fromm is a definite option. I've heard that some dogs get eye boogies from Fromm. I guess I'll just have to figure that out on my own. I'd like to rotate the different Fromm varieties. Are all life stages foods really okay for puppies? I worry about that. Since one of mine is crazy picky, I feed raw (PMR). It's the only thing he enjoys eating! But I don't want to feed my puppy raw because I'm really concerned about her getting the proper puppy nutrients. I weigh all of my pup's meat, bone & organ by the ounce...but like I said, I overanalyze. So I'm not 100% positive that they really are getting what they need. I can't second guess with a puppy. Plus, my new one is tiny. I want to free feed for a while & I can't do that with raw. Whoever would have thought that food could be such a dilemma?? |
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I'd be interested to see how Jackson does on the RC. Would you mind updating when he's done with the bag? Or maybe PM me? |
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Im a royal canin feeder... |
Since I've had Sam, I have tried: Wellness Super5 Puppy - wouldn't eat it. Simply Nourish Puppy - ate it for about a week, then lost interest. He'll eat it if he's at my mom's for a playdate with his sister. Fromm Game Bird formula - he'll eat it out of the Twist n Treat, but won't touch it in his bowl. Fromm Salmon Tunalini - no way no how. He even took his nose and pushed it out of my hand. Hill's S/D Small Breed Puppy - This is what I've been giving him for the last 5-6 weeks or so. He'll eat a little bit if it's mixed with the Ideal Balance canned puppy stew or Simply Nourish Chicken & Rice puppy stew. Usually I wind up throwing out anywhere from 1/4 to 1/3 of what I give him. I'm lucky if he eats 1/3 cup a day. I broke down and bought a bag of Royal Canin YT 29 tonight. When I got home, there was still some Hill's on his dish and Simply Nourish in his bowl. I tossed the SN and put just a handful of the Royal Canin in his bowl dry. The routine has always been that he would sniff a new food and walk away until he got hungry enough to eat it. He plowed his little nose into that bowl and didn't come up until every last kibble was gone. So I gave him another handful, so probably about 1/8 cup total. He wolfed that down too and whined for more!!! I don't know whether to give him more or make him wait. I don't think I'll be able to transition him slowly. I just hope he doesn't lose interest in it. |
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