The American Beagler Forum

I have always been a follower of Purina Puppy chow. I've got two 7 month old puppies I have been feeding puppy chow since they were 5 weeks old. I have always like the results, and the puppies always seem to be healthy shiney coats and show lots of healhty growth. I free feed puppies until they leave my place. These two 7 month old puppies have always been free fed, and they seem to moderate themselves well, and don't put on any extra weight, and their coats are looking top noth great silky feel, and they really shine...any body ever had any complaints about this food or any sucess with anything else ? Just curious. When do you usualy stop feeding puppy food. Lol they are looking so good that I'm almost reluctant to take them off of it. I just stopped free feeding them 3 days ago and put them both on one cup once a day like the rest of my dogs. really did'nt have any reason to stop free feeding except that eventualy they have to become big dogs and start eating like them including a different food. How do you usualy do this? I'll post a pic of one of the pups just to give you an example of what I consider a good coat. She was not brushed or fooled with in any way just brought out of the kennel for this picture...

http://noluckkennels.webs.com/youngdogs.htm

I leave my pups on puppy chow until 6months, I like puppy chow and usually mix it in with my adults food once a week just to give them some extra nutrients. Anyone who has seen my dogs will tell you that they always look good and healthy.

I have fed puppy chow for years now and I free feed untill about 9 months old.

TnHoss wrote:I have fed puppy chow for years now and I free feed untill about 9 months old.

I have been thinking about feeding my pups with puppy chow until they are one, so this thread will give me some insight to what everyone else does. I know a lot of people who also feed a lot of raw meat to pups early. Whats the pro's and con's with raw meat to a pup?

if it aint broke dont fix it I raise beagles and labs at least 1 litter a year off of the two different breeds,purina puppy chow until 6 months old then slowly change over to my black diamond 26/18.

IMO purina puppy has too much corn , generally see loose & lots of soft runny stool , I used it for yrs until I tried IAMS puppy , nice firm stool not a bunch either , I think they digest more of it so less stool & easy clean up. I feed it till around 3 to 4 mths old then switch over slowly to what I feed my run'n hounds which is a good premium feed , always worked out well for us . I use a feeder for pups as I want them to have all they want , IMO feeding what they want aint going to make them bigger than they are going to be , to me the size comes from genitics . just be sure to worm them regularly with a good wormer .

Im with LR Patch.....too much corn. With all the toxic problems dog food companies have had with the grains, I prefer a grain free food. They are becoming more popular. I raised two pups this year on Diamond naturals Puppy. Was pretty pleased with that, always firm dark stools that didnt make you wonder if they were wormy. When I switched to Taste of the Wild for my adult dogs, I raised a pup on it as well. I think its actually better, and will use if for future pups. Seems to me the pups formed better muscle mass with the better digestable protien. Not so much bloated stomach.

Mybeagles

mybeagles wrote:Im with LR Patch.....too much corn. With all the toxic problems dog food companies have had with the grains, I prefer a grain free food. They are becoming more popular. I raised two pups this year on Diamond naturals Puppy. Was pretty pleased with that, always firm dark stools that didnt make you wonder if they were wormy. When I switched to Taste of the Wild for my adult dogs, I raised a pup on it as well. I think its actually better, and will use if for future pups. Seems to me the pups formed better muscle mass with the better digestable protien. Not so much bloated stomach.

Mybeagles

I looked into diamond naturals, and it still has grain filler, Rice or wheat i believe but it is lower on hte list of indgredients than alot of other foods ? I assumed since it said naturals it was grain free...not the case with the bags i looked at. Kind of disappointed. S.R Patch Another breeder I have alot of respect for also told me Purina Puppy chow does'nt compare to Iams puppy chow! I took that with alot of consideration, but the two 7 month old pups i have right now look great on purina so i've stuck with it...may possibly try iams at some point though.

ohlinger wrote:

mybeagles wrote:Im with LR Patch.....too much corn. With all the toxic problems dog food companies have had with the grains, I prefer a grain free food. They are becoming more popular. I raised two pups this year on Diamond naturals Puppy. Was pretty pleased with that, always firm dark stools that didnt make you wonder if they were wormy. When I switched to Taste of the Wild for my adult dogs, I raised a pup on it as well. I think its actually better, and will use if for future pups. Seems to me the pups formed better muscle mass with the better digestable protien. Not so much bloated stomach.

Mybeagles

I looked into diamond naturals, and it still has grain filler, Rice or wheat i believe but it is lower on hte list of indgredients than alot of other foods ? I assumed since it said naturals it was grain free...not the case with the bags i looked at. Kind of disappointed. S.R Patch Another breeder I have alot of respect for also told me Purina Puppy chow does'nt compare to Iams puppy chow! I took that with alot of consideration, but the two 7 month old pups i have right now look great on purina so i've stuck with it...may possibly try iams at some point though.

If i was going to switch I would go to IAM'S. I really liked it when i had my adults on it.

Here At Moore Beagles We feed Purina Puppy Chow ! Thats our Beagle Puppy on the Front and Back of The Bag ! LOL !

I looked into diamond naturals, and it still has grain filler, Rice or wheat i believe but it is lower on hte list of indgredients than alot of other foods

Ohlinger,

Diamond naturals doesnt have any corn, wheat, or soy. Rice is considered a pretty good starch and is digestable. Thats why you see Lamb and rice formula's that work well on dogs with food alergies. Some of the better foods use sweet potatoes. You need some starches in the food. I was more impressed with the Taste of the Wild for the pups. Ive never used the Iams, but have heard that is good.

If you are satisfied with Purina Puppy Chow, then keep using it. I like a few others have seen the loose yellow stools and the stomach bloat. I just report the experience I have had with the different foods but I have only ever fed a couple foods in 27 years. Purina before I knew better, Diamond Professional 30/20, Diamond Naturals, and now Taste of the Wild. Taste of the Wild seems far superior to anything Ive fed.

I find these food topics interesting. The dog food analysis site they had on hear a couple years ago was best post I have read on here in the years Ive been reading. Nearly all the foods mentioned on here as being the best are rated very poorly by the "experts". Maybe its all a conspiracy to get us to buy more expensive foods, but I bought into it.....

Mybeagles

I kind of like the if it ain't broke don't fix it philosphy as far as purina puppy chow goes..I've really liked the results with my last two litters of pups the 2nd litter being 9 weeks old right now. I have'nt seen any yellow or loose stool, and bit softer, but not exactly loose. I may try iams in the future just to see if there is a difference, but for right now I'm going to raise this 2nd litter i have (9weeks old) on it, and free feed them until about 8 or 9 months on it, and see if they do as well as the first litter has if so I'm sold.

The biggest issue with pups when it comes to bellys and stool problems deals with the fact that "we" are not properly worming pups or using the wrong wormers. Are the foods we use getting the blame for improper care? This by no means says we are doing it on purpose, but this is something that everyone may feel like they are doing right and never thought twice about it when its acceptable to point fingers at the food.


Whats the PERFECT food / wormer combination that delivers consistancy????

sanfordssj let me know your formula. i have pups on the way.

lee broadley wrote:sanfordssj let me know your formula. i have pups on the way.

I start things off a few weeks before the dam comes in heat by making sure she is wormed. Once she is bred she goes on PUPPY CHOW until she is back to NORMAL weight (a few weeks after pups are weaned).

At 3 1/2 weeks i worm both mom and pups with Hartz Ultra Guard Plus wormer, and again at 6 and 9 weeks. I leave my pups on mom as long as possible (i watch her weight, size, etc...), but start to feed them water downed Puppy Chow at 5 weeks (have started at 4 weeks before if mom was having issues, but if they are big and fat leave them on her). I never give their 6 week shot and wormer close together either. Any pup I keep stays on PUPPY CHOW until they are 6 months old. I never to ANYTHING to mom or pups during the first 11 days! I have seen a lot of bad things happen with guys trying to do stupid stuff.

Thats pretty much everythig i do! Hope it helps. Remember that I'm on this thread trying to improve on what i do

The most important thing with all of this is MOM. What she takes in is what she is going to put out.
Steve