skip puppy feeding completely?

jboboxer · #1 10-23-2009, 09:16 PM

I was reading this that was posted from boxerworld that says we should probably even skip feeding puppy formula. I find it harder to find good quality puppy kibble compared to adult kibble, so it suprised me when i read this article

Choosing a good kibble (dry dog food)

I was recently reading a book that indicated most dogs would even be better off using any senior formula instead of the regular adult kibble. Mostly because the senior kibble generally has less protein and the book indicated that a lot of our kibble is too high in protein and indicated that people tend to think that when dogs were wild that they ate a lot of protein, but the book said people don't understand that when a rabbit for instance is used for food source in the wild, the animal is going to get carats or anything else that's in the rabit, as well as bones and other parts besides just the meat of the rabbit.
The holistic book was basically indicating that most kibble's are too high in protein and that if you want to use dry food kibble that senior formula is actually better.

BxrMommieNAZ · #2 10-24-2009, 03:50 AM

Personally I never fed a puppy food and I do not feed a senior food to my senior, I feed the same food to both of my Boxers, it's an All Life Stages food. Got my pup when he was almost 8 weeks old and he ate the same food my then 6-7 year old Boxer female age, just a different amount obviously. Now he's a little over 2 years and she's 8-9 years and they now eat a different brand of food but they are both on the same food and formula. I used to feed Canidae (before the formula change) and it was an all life stages food, I now feed Natural Balance limited ingredient line and it's also an all life stages food. So no, a puppy formula is not necessary, and neither is a senior formula.

jboboxer · #3 10-27-2009, 05:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BxrMommieNAZ

Personally I never fed a puppy food and I do not feed a senior food to my senior, I feed the same food to both of my Boxers, it's an All Life Stages food. Got my pup when he was almost 8 weeks old and he ate the same food my then 6-7 year old Boxer female age, just a different amount obviously. Now he's a little over 2 years and she's 8-9 years and they now eat a different brand of food but they are both on the same food and formula. I used to feed Canidae (before the formula change) and it was an all life stages food, I now feed Natural Balance limited ingredient line and it's also an all life stages food. So no, a puppy formula is not necessary, and neither is a senior formula.

I was thinking about feeding her the wellness core, which I know the wellness for puppies have grain, but the wellness core is grain free and dogfoodanalysis.com gave their core a 6 star, while the puppy formula didn't do as well. I've seen some food that says all stages, but the wellness core doesn't say anything about all stages, so I think the intent is for adults.

jboboxer · #4 10-27-2009, 05:21 AM

As I was looking at wellness core's review, it says:
For dogs over 1 year of age

BxrMommieNAZ · #5 10-27-2009, 08:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jboboxer

As I was looking at wellness core's review, it says:
For dogs over 1 year of age

Yeah it specifically states on the bag not for dogs under 12 months old. But there are plenty of other grain free foods that are fine for puppies, Natural Balance has a grain free line that is all life stages as does Canidae, Orijen has a puppy grain free, Taste of the Wild is grain free and all life stages as well. Plenty of other options if that's what you're looking for.

jboboxer · #6 10-27-2009, 05:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BxrMommieNAZ

Yeah it specifically states on the bag not for dogs under 12 months old. But there are plenty of other grain free foods that are fine for puppies, Natural Balance has a grain free line that is all life stages as does Canidae, Orijen has a puppy grain free, Taste of the Wild is grain free and all life stages as well. Plenty of other options if that's what you're looking for.

I researched for awhile and couldn't find one good reason why not to get the core, except for the calcium contents. The core is about 2%, while puppy origen is 1.6% and dogs that are prone to HD they say the calcium level should be low.

I ended up getting wellness core ocean, but I'll probably go back every bag or two back to Orijen large breed puppy.
One thing is Orijen's prices are just unbelievably high. I tried Natural Balance before and Roxy liked it. Evo Roxy couldn't stand eating it.

I decided to go with the wellness core ocean after reading a lot of reviews and how much people said it made a difference with their dogs skin/coat and Roxy has red mange

BxrMommieNAZ · #7 10-27-2009, 05:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jboboxer

I researched for awhile and couldn't find one good reason why not to get the core, except for the calcium contents. The core is about 2%, while puppy origen is 1.6% and dogs that are prone to HD they say the calcium level should be low.

I ended up getting wellness core ocean, but I'll probably go back every bag or two back to Orijen large breed puppy.
One thing is Orijen's prices are just unbelievably high. I tried Natural Balance before and Roxy liked it. Evo Roxy couldn't stand eating it.

I decided to go with the wellness core ocean after reading a lot of reviews and how much people said it made a difference with their dogs skin/coat and Roxy has red mange

Well research is fine but if you really think hard about that, why would a company voluntarily steer millions of people with puppies away from their food? If it was formulated and okay for puppies they would say it was all life stages or simply say adult it wouldn't have a label on it stating that it isn't for dogs under 12 months old. A company isn't voluntarily going to turn down billions of dollars in profit by excluding an entire age group unless it has good reason.

Obviously she's your dog, you can do what you want, but it specifically states on the bag it is NOT for dogs under 12 months old, personally it wouldn't be something I would do or recommend, especially when there are many other grain free alternatives out there that ARE formulated and okay for puppies. JMHO.

jboboxer · #8 10-27-2009, 06:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BxrMommieNAZ

Well research is fine but if you really think hard about that, why would a company voluntarily steer millions of people with puppies away from their food? If it was formulated and okay for puppies they would say it was all life stages or simply say adult it wouldn't have a label on it stating that it isn't for dogs under 12 months old. A company isn't voluntarily going to turn down billions of dollars in profit by excluding an entire age group unless it has good reason.

Obviously she's your dog, you can do what you want, but it specifically states on the bag it is NOT for dogs under 12 months old, personally it wouldn't be something I would do or recommend, especially when there are many other grain free alternatives out there that ARE formulated and okay for puppies. JMHO.

See I think it's the opposite. A company will say this is for fat dogs, this is for dogs that have trouble walking, this is for puppies, this is for adults, this is for seniors, does your dog have allergies, does your dog have this have that, fit this category, weight too much, weight not enogh..........you have a problem or a need, we'll fill it. I don't see them turning billions of dollars away, I see them making billions. Company A has puppy formula.............Company B does not. Hum............ if I'm company B I'm creating puppy formula faster than you can go to the store to buy anything.

I mean even the worst dog food out there like maybe science diet has puppy formula, which it's back to my point about them having every single type of dog food that will some how some way fit your needs.

The link coming directly from boxerworld that I posted earlier is actually saying the opposite about puppy food isn't really needed, this is what was on the link

"Has anyone spotted the biggest flaw yet? Puppy growth problems are at least partially attributable to over-nutrition, and excess amounts of protein and calcium commonly found in puppy formulas. In some cases, puppy foods can have protein levels up to around 44% (versus around 22-25% for adults). So why would you feed a puppy formula in the first place? There is no reason to suspect puppies need different food from adults – and post-weaning, they certainly wouldn’t have got different food in a natural environment. Humans and other mammals don’t feed their children different food either…"

**Jan** · #9 10-28-2009, 07:28 AM

The reason that Origen doesn't recommend it's food for puppies is that there just hasn't been the testing done to show that the high protein doesn't cause a problem.

Both Tara and Moto have eaten a raw natural diet all their lives, consisting of raw meat, bones and offal and that's it. It strikes me that it must be fairly high in protein, but it doesn't seemed to have harmed then any.

BxrMommieNAZ · #10 10-28-2009, 08:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jan

The reason that Origen doesn't recommend it's food for puppies is that there just hasn't been the testing done to show that the high protein doesn't cause a problem.

Both Tara and Moto have eaten a raw natural diet all their lives, consisting of raw meat, bones and offal and that's it. It strikes me that it must be fairly high in protein, but it doesn't seemed to have harmed then any.

I agree, but I also don't think one can compare the two. One is fresh food and one isn't. Just seems like comparing the two in terms of that would be difficult. Plus not all proteins are considered equal.