What food is the best for my new puppy

[Diego Canelos]

Hello! My new puppy Rocky just arrived 4 days ago to my new home. He was getting fed a local dry kibble by the breeder. When I took Rocky to the vet, she told me that the brand of Kibble he was being fed by the breeder was of poor quality. She recommended me (I bought it from her) Sportsman pride limited ingredient formula. Guys is this a good kibble for husky puppies? There is another formula by sportsman price called chicken formula for puppies, I wondered why the vet recommended me the limited ingredient formula instead of the puppy formula. The limited ingredient says its also allowed for puppies. which one do you guys think is better for a puppy?

So I´ve been feeding Rocky the formula for 4 days now, but he is having diarreah I believe. Is this normal considering he has to get used to the new kibble? I do have to mention that I didnt bought (because i couldnt find it anywhere) the kibble the breeder was feeding Rocky so I had to abruptly change it to the sportsmans pride one. Thanks guys! Ill really appreciate if you can help me with some suggestions on whats the best kibble for husky puppies.

[wolfpup]

I am unfamiliar with this product  so I had to look it up:-     The following is not an attack on the product (per se) - it is intended to inform you of what is in the bag  -  and you did ask what we thought of it.

TURKEY MEAL (SOURCE OF GLUCOSAMINE AND CHONDROITIN SULFATE), BROWN RICE, GROUND OATS, DRIED PEAS, CHICKEN FAT (PRESERVED WITH MIXED TOCOPHEROLS), DRIED BEET PULP, NATURAL CHICKEN FLAVOR, SALT, FISH OIL, VITAMINS (CHOLINE CHLORIDE, VITAMIN E SUPPLEMENT, VITAMIN A SUPPLEMENT, VITAMIN D3 SUPPLEMENT, NIACIN, D-CALCIUM PANTOTHENATE, THIAMINE MONONITRATE (SOURCE OF VITAMIN B1), PYRIDOXINE HYDROCHLORIDE (SOURCE OF VITAMIN B6), RIBOFLAVIN SUPPLEMENT, FOLIC ACID, VITAMIN B12 SUPPLEMENT), MINERALS (ZINC SULFATE, FERROUS SULFATE, COPPER SULFATE, MANGANESE SULFATE, CALCIUM IODATE, SODIUM SELENITE).

The word  MEAL  rather than meat  tells you the meat has been processed at extremely high temperatures.   This can include the meat, skin, feathers, and bones  (not necessarily a bad thing if served fresh), -  but it is MEAL  and not  MEAT  (your dog is a carnivore) - but the extremely high temperatures kills all the enzymes in the food which help your dog digest his dinner.  Totally denatures the meat.    It also destroys all the amino acids, vitamins,  etc  so they have to add chemical ones in its place.    Unfortunately these are mirror images of the natural vitamins and the body may not recognise these as well or digest them as easily.   The next product is BROWN RICE  - basically this is  92%  starch  - which a dog has no dietary requirement for, - nor can they digest it.  the next product is ground oats,  again 11% fibre and 85% starch, next is PEAS  - again carbohydrate and starch.    The peas and rice are included so the manufacturers can say it is 'grain free'  -  hoping the public will not realize that mostly it is  starch that  the dog cannot digest.  (saying that one of my dogs is allergic to grains) The starch is absolutely vital to the dog food manufacturers  - not only is it the cheapest ingredient  - it is the ONLY thing that stops the kibble breaking down into a rough powder   - it holds it together.

Overall this product is 26% protein and 18% fat and the rest is starch  (around 65%)   the protein level is ok  - but the fat level is a little on the high side  (should aim for double the protein to fat).  Plus they use chicken fat  - the poor chicken is one of the most nutritionally unbalanced  animals on the planet  - and that is because of the way we feed them.    They add chicken flavouring because the meal otherwise would be devoid of all flavour and smell and your dog would not eat it.   They have added fish oil to pass AAFCO minimum standards for Omega 3 and 6,  ALA, AA,   EPA, DHA.  (vital for health).   However fish oil starts to go rancid the second you open the bag  -  which is why the Vitamin E is added to slow this process.    If you continue to feed kibble  please get the smallest bag you can  - not the largest, so that hopefully more of it will be eaten before the oil turns the meal rancid  - causing inflammation in your new puppy's body.

EVERYTHING that comes after fish oil  - is chemicals  - not natural  - (see above)   -  however I notice that they are using  ZINC SULFATE  -  this form of zinc comes in at number 6 in a list of 7 types of zinc included in various dog foods  (number 7 being the absolute worst).   This form of zinc is very hard on the stomach.   This form of zinc is included because it is cheaper than the better types of zinc.   This brand of food uses the SULFATE form of nearly all minerals (literally profit before quality).    The reason I pick out zinc specifically is that huskies have a  higher requirement for zinc than other breeds of dog.

During my training I was informed that the AAFCO  rules for guidelines is that  a company start a 26 week food test with 6 dogs  -  2 dogs can drop out for any reason  (even death).  If 4 dogs complete the whole 26 weeks on the food  without losing too much weight, or becoming seriously ill  - then it passes their criteria.   In other words AAFCO basically gives the MINIMUM amounts of nutrition you can give a dog and not kill it.

I am a dog food nutritionist  -  and I freely admit I HATE all kibble  - it was made for the convenience of the owner (and profit for the manufacturer) - not the health of the dog.     There are some good quality kibble-type foods out there  - freeze dried raw comes to mind,  if you really want the convenience of kibble.       The easiest way to check on the quality of a dog food is to learn what nutrition your dog actually needs,  (and what it cannot digest) - then look on the back of the bag and see how many ingredients there are  -  the more ingredients they have added  - the less nutrition is actually in the food.    Another tip when looking for the quality of a commercially made food is to find the SALT  -  (in any of its names)  -  anything listed after it is 1% or less of the contents of the bag.  This is another way manufacturers get around being able to put pictures of fresh fruits, meat and fresh vegetables on the front  -  the bag only needs to contain just under 1% in order for them to say their product is really good because it contains 'this'.

 

[Diego Canelos]

Thank you so much for the info wolfpup! Can you recommend me some brands and products of the good quality kibble- freeze dried raw that i could feed my puppy? Thanks!

[BingBlaze n Skyla]

Whatever you change it to needs to be done over time 

[wolfpup]

16 hours ago, Diego Canelos said:

Thank you so much for the info wolfpup! Can you recommend me some brands and products of the good quality kibble- freeze dried raw that i could feed my puppy? Thanks!

I am in the UK  and I don't know what country you are in  - or what is available in your country.   Do an online search for  freeze dried raw  -  read up about it, what you have to do before feeding  (i.e. does it require water and leaving for 15 mins before feeding etc).   Some members here do feed freeze dried raw - hopefully they will be able to give you some brand names to help you if they spot this post  - but again I say that the less added ingredients on the back of the bag  - the better quality of the food that is inside the bag.   Obviously the more nutritious the food - the more expensive it will be  - and the better for your new puppy it will be.       Personally I feed raw food  - it is what your puppy's  ancestors have eaten for approximately the last 4 million years  - and for the last 4 million years they have done quite well on it obviously.

A lot will depend on your circumstances, the necessity of convenience  against affordability to purchase a high quality freeze dried food as against the time it would take to learn the basics of feeding raw food  from scratch,  - or, if available, to purchase commercially produced frozen raw food for your puppy, i.e. do you have the freezer space to store say a weeks frozen raw food?    We all do what we think is best for our dogs, within our financial means and capabilities.   The cheapest way to feed your dog the best food is to feed him raw food from scratch (but takes the most effort in researching), second best is commercially produced frozen raw food   - coming in a very close third is  freeze dried raw  'kibble'.    Use any of the three above and you can feel happy that you are doing your best by your dog within your financial means and capability  - its all any of us can realistically do.