[Natalie O]

Hi everyone!

I’m new to this site & need some advice. I am bringing home a Boston Terrier puppy in 2 weeks and am trying to figure out the best food to begin feeding him. The breeder currently has him on Purina Pro Plan but I plan on transitioning him slowly to a new food. I’ve heard wonderful things about Orijen and Acana – but I was hoping to find a food with the same quality as those, but a little less pricey.
I’ve heard Boston Terriers are prone to being gassy, so something to help with that would be great. I’d like to stick to a grain free food because of that as well. Right now I am between Wellness CORE, Nature’s Valley Instinct Raw Boost, Blue Wilderness, and Merrick Grain Free.

Can anyone offer any suggestions of which of those foods you would recommend?
Also, please feel free to suggest any other foods!!
I want the best for my pup 🙂 Thanks in advance!

[aquariangt]

Welcome to DFA! First and very foremost, I want to see puppy pictures ASAP

Wellness and Nature’s Variety are personally the only foods that you listed that I would feed. As far as price goes, the Nature’s Variety Instinct will be cheaper than the raw boost as well, but still all are less than Orijen. Acana is more reasonable.

Where are you shopping? From the list you posted, I’d guess PetSmart or PetCo? Wellness CORE and NVI are the two best brands there probably, though at Petsmart they also have Nulo which is nice, and Simply Nourish Source-which I’ve used but I’ve heard a few things about some of their storage issues lately, its been a while since i’ve used that at all. There is also Freshet and Nature’s Variety Raw there if you were interested in going that direction however, Champion foods would probably be cheaper.

Now, on to other stores:

Fromm Gold Puppy i like a lot, and they just came out with Fromm Gold Grain Free. Fromm 4Star Grain Free is also suitable for all life stages-my most recommended and favorite brand.

Earthborn’s Grain Free line is all life stages and I like that a lot as well.

Go! Has a nice puppy food as well. Victor as well. There are many others that are great, just a few i like.

I would start with getting a bag of pro plan, whichever the breeder is on. Feed at least a week if not two of just that, don’t mix anything. Let the puppy get acclimated to your house and you. After a few weeks, start mixing in something new. After that, transition to yet another brand/protein. With puppies, if you start them on a rotational diet, they will be able to transition cold turkey in not too long, which is great, as a rotational diet is the best way to go.

[WhimsicalChaos]

The best dry food we have found is Acana ‘Grasslands’. Depending on your location it may be difficult to find, as it is more of a specialty pet shoppe product. But, all of our pups have loved it, and we have had no problems with Acana. Label wise is a very healthy, organic food. But, having issues of my own with ‘Blue’ canned food, so can’t help you with a can selection.

After using Blue Canned food, I am having to find another food today as the Blue has begun to give my dog serious ‘Gassy’ issues. We tried changing him over to Merrick last week because it seemed he had become bored with the Blue (even though we get him various flavors), but the Merrick Canned food gave him serious diarrhea and more gas. We could actually hear his tummy twisting noises. I felt so guilty…so we went back to Blue. Although he is eating the Blue, his ‘Gassy’ issue seems to have gotten worse. So, going to go find a different organic canned food. If you research, you will find a lot of people having gas issues that are using Blue. So, if you choose to try Blue, you’ll know rather quickly if your pups cannot tolerate it – for sure your nose will tell you.

He also began pacing all night, last night and the night before. My husband and I took him out 6-8 times both night, but he didn’t have to poop, and obviously no diarrhea – he would just urinate. But when being back inside, would continue the pacing. I hear no tummy noises, but there is definitely gas…no doubt about that! I just do not want him having any pains. I have a feeling his stomach has become intolerant to the ‘rich’ foods such as Merrick and Blue. Or possibly has acquired an allergic reaction to one of the main ingredients. So, gonna try yet another type of food.

[LabsRawesome]

Hi Natalie, welcome to DFA. 😀 My favorite kibble is Victor. It’s a 5 star grain free food, without the usual 5 star price. I buy it locally, it’s just under $45 for 30lbs. The food is available in small bags too. Here’s Victor’s site. Click on their “Find a dealer” for stores in your area. http://www.victordogfood.com/ I recommend a rotational diet. Pick several different foods to try, different foods/manufacturers. Then rotate through different proteins- Chicken, Beef, Salmon, Turkey, Lamb, ect. Explore other options as well. Since you only have 1 small breed dog, you might want to feed canned food. Canned is more species appropriate then kibble. Because canned food is moisture rich and the food is closer to it’s original state, it’s much less processed than kibble, and uses no preservatives. Also, with just 1 small dog you could feed a human grade canned food. 😀 My 3 love Merrick canned once in a while for a treat. It smells and looks so good, I’m tempted to try it myself. lol. 🙂 Unfortunately I cannot feed Merrick exclusively as I have 3 dogs so I have to go with more budget friendly canned foods. If you’re interested Merrick is sold at Petco. I hope your puppy does well on the foods you try. Good luck! 😀

[Zanes Mom]

I too love the Acana products. I have a local pet boutique that carries it but I order from Chewy.com when traveling and their customer service and delivery times are outstanding and prices as good or better than local. I just like to support local business when I can.
For canned food my personal favorite is Hound & Gatos. I use it as a topper and it is for all life stages. I have a 150 lb Bullmastiff and we went through plenty of room clearing gas before finding the right combination for him. And it really is about finding a good quality that works best for your pup. As you mentioned Acana is a little pricey but I feed four cups a day as compared to the six plus cups I would be feeding of some of the others so things tend to balance out. Good luck, I love puppy breath!!!

[Natalie O]

I just looked up the Victor food and there actually is a hardware store near me that sells it so I will have to look into that! The main stores around me I was planning on buying food were either Pet Supplies Plus or Petsmart, and there is also a Pet Depot in my area as well. Thank you so much everyone for all the input it has really helped! I get him in one week so I’m trying to decide very soon what to buy! I didn’t realize that feeding a rotational diet was the best thing… how often do you rotate? and do you just rotate types of the same brand, or do you rotate brands of food as well? And I also thought dry food was the best type to feed.. I’m learning so much here already!

[Natalie O]

Also another food I remember hearing good things about was Dogswell Livefree… anyone had any luck with that brand?? Thanks in advance 🙂

[tammy h]

Hello y’all I’m new to the site…I just brought home a rescued bullboxer pit he is approx. 10 weeks old. I would love suggestions on a good quality puppy food? I want to do right by him and see that he grows into healthy adult…

[Bobby dog]

Hi Tammy:
Large and giant breed dogs have special nutritional needs. Keep your puppy lean and avoid over exercising because his bones and joints are still developing. Check out this article:
/best-dog-foods/best-large-breed-puppy-food/

Here’s a link to the large and giant breed puppy forum. Read at least the first three or four pages (it’s a huge thread now) and the links to the articles posted on the first page.
/forums/topic/large-and-giant-breed-puppy-nutrition/

On this page you will find a link to a document of recommended foods. If you choose a food from this list I suggest calling the manufacturer to confirm the calcium % is still within the recommended parameters; the list has not been updated recently. Look for a post dated July 23, 2013 at 1:51 pm:
/forums/topic/large-and-giant-breed-puppy-nutrition/page/15/

For a current list of approved foods for large and giant breed puppies you can also join the Dog Food Advisors Editors Choice.

Good luck with your lucky puppy!

[puppypiles]

I’m a big fan of Merrick. Their grain free line is excellent and if you’re going to do canned as well as dry, their cans are great.

[tammy h]

Thank you so much for the info I greatly appreciate it!

[tammy h]

I have another question… 🙂 what about treats for my sweet bullboxer pup any suggestions?

[Bobby dog]

Hi Tammy:
For Bobby’s extras I like to make treats so I know what’s in them. If you want some recipes let me know, I realize not everyone is into making treats. lol I do feed freeze dried treats because they have minimal ingredients and are low fat. He likes Stella & Chewy’s Carnivore Kisses or Stewart’s treats. Other treats are kefir, blueberries (or other dog appropriate fruits) and organic virgin coconut oil. Once a week he gets a beef tendon to chew. I have been buying Merrick’s lately. Several posters recommend The Honest Kitchen Beams, I haven’t tried them but plan to in the future.
http://www.merrickpetcare.com/consumer/products/product.jsp?categorySort=3&id=67&page=1&view=list&sort=cpjc.level_3_category_id&order=asc&name=Doggie_Wishbone_Tendon_Treats&cat1=6&cat2=9&categories=–&age=All_Life_Stages
http://www.stellaandchewys.com/products/dog-treats/
http://stewartpet.com/our-products/pro-treat-freeze-dried-treats/

Check out this thread for some more suggestions:
/forums/topic/your-most-recommended-dog-treats/

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