Which food is best??

Ok, so Ruby has been on Science Diet Puppies Small Bites pretty much from the start, and she seems to like it. Her stools are for the most part pretty normal, but she'll occasionally have a soft stool (like this morning). She also seems like she's itching a lot and that it's increasing more as the days go by. I'm just afraid that she's allergic to something in the kibble, and I've been reading on here that Science Diet isn't that great anyway. So, my question is, between Royal Canin, Natural Choice, Wellness, Innova, and Nature's Variety, which one do you guys think is the most nutritious for her?? And which kind would be best for a 12 week old puppy?? She's pretty small for her age....she was only 4 lb. 9 oz. at her 11 wk. shots, but the vet said her weight is proportionate to her size and that she's just a petite little girl. I want to make sure not to give her anything that will cause too much weight gain and make my little girl a chub. I'd like to mix it up some with wet and dry food to give her some variety, too.

My pup started out on Bill Jac and was doing great but I switched her over because it wasn't great food. I switched her over to Wellness Puppy and she seems to like it. We've been having some issues with soft stools. Went and saw the vet about it and she put her on an antibiotic thinking it could be a parasite. But she still has it (2 weeks later) and all we're feeding her is Wellness and a few green beans.

I'm wondering if I should switch her to one of the other brands to try to firm her stools up.

I think all the foods you've mentioned are all great foods and one isn't any better than the other. & she won't get chubby unless you over feed her. Our vet told us to feed as much as she'll eat at one feeding. She only eats 2x a day now and eats what she needs.

My breeder (and now me,) is a fan of Canidae dog food. What I like is that is an "all stage" dog food. We prefer the chicken and rice variety and the girls really seem to love it. Often times puppies will have problems with the "puppy" food because it is too rich in fat and protein and can cause them to gain too much weight and have tummy issues - even if you feed the recommended amounts.One of the things that has further sold me on the brand is the difference I see in my foster dogs. Within a couple of weeks their coats seem glossier and healthier. Another bonus is that their stomachs/poops seem to be better as well.

You also may want to try introducing a few vegies to Ruby. Ice cold or frozen carrots are wonderful for teething puppies. Green beans make a great treat as do green peas. It's amazing how much dogs love vegetables.

You might want to check out www.wholedog.com as they have a complete list of foods that they recommend. (I know most of those you are thinking about are on the list!)

JaneB

I use Canidae but also appreciate so many others: Innova, Merricks, Timberwolf, Solid Gold, Ultra Balance, Nature Variety - I used this site to evaluate which ones were top rated and then knocked it down further by which ingredients agreed with my dog. http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/index.php/cat/1

If you scroll down on this page it shows you how to rate a dog food. http://shibainu.meetup.com/4/pages/USEFUL_TIPS_ON_MEETUP,_SHIBA_HEALTH,_FOOD,_ETC.../

Results using this formula are:
Dog Food scores:
Authority Harvest Baked / Score 116 A+
Bil-Jac Select / Score 68 F
Canidae / Score 112 A+
Chicken Soup Senior / Score 115 A+
Diamond Maintenance / Score 64 F
Diamond Lamb Meal & Rice / Score 92 B
Diamond Large Breed 60+ Formula / Score 99 A
Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance Ultra Premium / Score 122 A+
Dick Van Patten's Duck and Potato / Score 106 A+
Foundations / Score 106 A+
Hund-n-Flocken Adult Dog (lamb) by Solid Gold / Score 93 B
Iams Lamb Meal & Rice Formula Premium / Score 73 D
Innova Dog / Score 114 A+
Innova Evo / Score 114 A+
Kirkland Signature Chicken, Rice, and Vegetables / Score 110 A+
Nutrisource Lamb and Rice / Score 87 B
Nutro Natural Choice Large Breed Puppy / Score 87 B
Pet Gold Adult with Lamb & Rice / Score 23 F
ProPlan Natural Turkey & Barley / Score 103 A+
Purina Beneful / Score 17 F
Purina Dog / Score 62 F
Purina Come-n-Get It / Score 16 F
Royal Canin Bulldog / Score 100 A+
Royal Canin Natural Blend Adult / Score 106 A+
Sensible Choice Chicken and Rice / Score 97 A
Science Diet Advanced Protein Senior 7+ / Score 63 F
Science Diet for Large Breed Puppies / Score 69 F
Wellness Super5 Mix Chicken / Score 110 A+
Wolfking Adult Dog (bison) by Solid Gold / Score 97 A

Hope the links help you choose.

I have heard a lot of people say that the Wellness puppy is too rich, and I agree from my own experience. It gave Zoey the most horrible runs, even when I gave her the food that came from the breeder and gave one or two bits of the wellness kibble as a treat.

I switched her to Innova Evo and she is doing great on that. I was supplementing pumpkin because I heard EVO made their stools too hard, but I ran out a week ago and she hasn't had any trouble. She had gas before, which could clear a room, but that also has disapeared since I stopped the pumpkin. Go figure.

My older boys eat Wellness Fish and Potato. It is excellent quality, but the puppy formula just didn't agree with Zoey.

I went through the soft stools thing with Bentley, some of the dog food just didn't seem to agree with him. Innova didn't work for us, and he didn't seem to like Wellness.... So, I tried the chicken meal and rice, and the lamb and rice made by California Natural, and, bingo, it worked. He liked it and best of all, his poo is more firm now. I think if a dog has allergies the best would be to feed something like a chicken and rice food or a lamb and rice food. A friend of mine does that with her Boxer that has severe allergies. Another good dog food is Eagle Pack, and they also make a chicken meal and rice one, all human grade ingredients.

I feed my Cavs Pro Plan Small Breed dry food (puppy until 12 mos, then adult) and it has been good for both dogs thus far. Normal stools, etc. No problems.

Have you spoken to your vet about the scratching? In puppies this can be due to rabbit mites, fleas, dry skin... a lot of things. Food allergies are far more uncommon than those other possibilities. You should have your vet check for those things and do a skin scrape before worrying about foods.

That said I prefer, on many breeder recommendations, to feed adult foods, not puppy foods, to puppies. Puppy foods are extra high in protein and loaded with vitamins and minerals -- not a normal diet a puppy would naturally get but something we've concocted for them. Some feel they can cause too fast growth and cause joints to develop too quickly.

For recommendations on foods and feeding I recommend reading fully through:

http://roycroftcavaliers.com/manualfeeding.htm

I prefer and respect the recommendations on foods from the Whole Dog Journal which I believe are more vigorously and accurately assessed than in many other places. The Whole Dog Journal is well established and well respected. It is also worth subscribing to if only for their annual assessment of canned and dry foods.

That said: this is worth reading by everyone who cares about what they feed their dogs because it is very good at busting a few feeding myths and leaving YOU to figure out and weigh up all the hype you will encounter about dog foods.

http://www.woodhavenlabs.com/dogfoods.html

I am inclined increasingly to agree with his point about 'human grade' food for example -- I mean we are judging 'human' by very western 1st world standards as many cultures eat many of the the (quite nutritious!) things we complain might be in dog food -- chicken feet, inner organs, heads (sheesh, they still sell whole pig heads for cooking here in some butchers in Ireland as well as pig's trotters! :lol. So yes it can all be very confusing. I think a mid-range food is more than adequate -- wouldn't go for the supermarket options but at the same time our pyrenees thrived into very old age for a pyr on supermarket canned food back in the days when it was legal to add road kill and euthenised animals. :yuk:

I actually like making my own home stews as then I control the ingredients and as I freeze it right away for storage I know I cannot feed my dogs a dog food that ends up being recalled -- but I enjoy making a weekly or biweekly stew which would be a pain for many folks.