puppy food?

[lemoniee]

i dont know if this topic should be in the puppy section? but we are nearly finished the pedigree kibble we put her on when we brought her home, weve jus been looking around on the 'net and found some james wellbeloved which ive heard good things about, but ive also heard good things about purina beta food, also i got a free sample through from a company called "laughing dog food" which make their own food and have free p&p, does anyone know what to look for when shopping for dog food? the compositions of it etc....weve seen a change in her since she had just pedigree kibble, not good, very hyper!

thanks

[bracken]

I have always used James Wellbeloved kibble and Pro Plan  If you do a search you will find lots of advice on good kibble as it is often a keen subject on here 
My pup is on Pro Plan and she is thriving  with a fantastic glossy coat too, I highly recommend it, I have used Royal Canin too another good food.

[jessandme]

If you search on here for 'beta puppy' you'll find some useful information - I don't know where you've heard good things about it, but it won't have been on here. 

[Danni and Freya]

Beta is not highly recommended. Harvey was on it when he came from the breeders and he had terrible dry skin and a dull coat. He was swapped onto Burns and the change was almost instant, beautiful glossy coat and skin problem resolved. As it happens hes not on Burns anymore as it didn't suit his digestion. James Wellbeloved is highlhy recommended by many COLers

[Nicola]

Have a look though some of the threads on this board, this question comes up all the time and you'll get the same recommendations.

[Sharon]

We always use Royal Canin or Pro Plan

[mooching]

Here are the ingredients for Beta Puppy Chicken and Rice:

Ingredients
Cereals (min 4% wholegrain, min. 4% rice), Meat and animal derivatives (min. 14% meats, min. 4% chicken), Vegetables protein extracts, Oils and fats, Derivatives of vegetable origin (min. 0.5% beet pulp), Vegetables (min. 0.5% chicory), Minerals. With antioxidants and preserved with EC additives.

The things that concern me here are:

- cereals are the largest ingredients; they are also likely to be cereal by-products, ie waste

- the meat content is not specified, apart from a minimum of 4% chicken; it could be any animal and any part of any animal -
  derivatives means derived from a meat source but might not be generally considered to be meat

- the vegetable content is barely specified, and derivatives means it's likely to be vegetable waste

- antioxidants means chemical antioxidants, and these have been found to be possibly carcinogenic in humans, and also linked in some
  cases to allergies

- preserved with EC additives means artificial preservatives, colours etc which have been linked in some cases to allergies and digestive
  upsets


Based on all of that, I personally would not recommend Beta.

What I would consider good brands are Skinners, Royal Canin, Barking Heads, Arden Grange (this is what Alfie is on) and CSJ's Command Performance range. Arden Grange are especially generous when sending samples!

[grracee]

When I brought Charlie home at 8 weeks he was on ProPlan puppy food but I changed him over to Royal Canin and he has been on that ever since

[lemoniee]

Thanks for the info on beta, I will definitley not be getting that stuff for delta!
Purely as coincidence I went into my local P@H and they had a JWB stand giving out freebies; samples, keyring, Pen and leaflets and a £2 off voucher, they sales person was very informative and told me to get looking at the ingredients of foods and told me how they make JWB food and I was pretty impressed, think I I will be trying to introduce her to the 5samples they gave us and see how she goes through the week

[MarkSpark]

Another Royal Canin user here, Esox loves it.

[Helen]

I would make your own choice based on your own research - some of the brands highly recommended have beet pulp in the which *personally* I choose to avoid for my dog.   Each dog is an individual and can do better on some kibbles than others, and some do exceptionally well on cheaper brands.

Have a read and make your own mind up and I wouldn't personally be swayed by the strong views of others 

[Geordietyke]

Odie was on Proplan puppy for the first 4 months but it didn't really suit him (sloppy poos and he didn't eat it with gusto).  After doing my research and weighing up pros and cons, I eventually changed him onto his current (adult) food at 6 months (CSJ Champ!).  It 'firmed him up' which was my main priority and he enjoys it! 

[burnysbird]

We are using a new food by The Canine Cook...

http://www.dogfood.uk.net
Super Premium Puppy + Verm-X ® Ingredients: Chicken Meal (min 32%), Brown Rice (min 26%), Maize, Chicken Fat, Oats, Beet Pulp, Brewers Yeast, Fish Oil, Sunflower Oil, Dried Egg, Vitamins, Monosodium Phosphate, Linseeds, Verm-X ® (min 0.16%), Yucca Extract, Apple, Carrot, Tomato Pomace, Seaweed, Cranberries, Green Tea Extract, Nucleotides, Garlic, Minerals, DL-Methionine, Prebiotics (MOS and FOS), Natural Antioxidant, L-Carnitine, Beta Carotene

It contains Verm-X which is meant to be good for their tummy and can help prevent worms. She started out on Beta from the Breeder, moved to Science Plan which was too rich for her tummy and now onto this. She doesn't seem that keen on it, although she has not been keen on any of her food. Hoping that when it comes to moving to the adult food, she will enjoy it more.

[henryjack1dogs]

James Wellbeloved fan here - Reasonable priced - quality ingredients But different dogs thrive on different things

Do your own research re: costs and availability, dogs are all different and some do well on the cheaper products.