[Douglas L]

Ok I have a small breed puppy(chihuahua/mix) that is 9 weeks old and 7lbs. He was weened with purina puppy chow, and I’m almost done with the bag. I know the puppy chow is not very good so I’m looking for something better, however I’m not looking to spend $30 bucks on a 6lb bag of dry food.

I have read about puppy and adult food and it seems that the large breed puppies are the ones that need the puppy formulas. So can I switch to adult small breed food now or do I need to keep giving him puppy formula food and for how long?

I’m looking at a couple brands I can get local, pure balance, purina smartblend, Innova, iams naturals, natural choice. Just to give y’all an idea where I’m at, I would like to be around $20-$30 a 10-15lb bag. What do y’all recommend, I’m trying to stay away from cheap corn food, but not wanting to make the jump to overpriced organic food. My dog I had when I was a kid lived 15 years on pedigree and was healthy until the last 6 months, and I know many other dogs that eat the same without problems but I figure for less than $10 a month I can give my dog a better diet.

Thanks for any answers.

[pugmomsandy]

You can pick a food that is rated for “all life stages” or “growth” for him since he is just several weeks old. I wouldn’t recommend feeding a food that is just for “adult maintence” at this time. He is too young. Wait till at least around 8 months. Puppy formulas tend to have more DHA and other ingredients needed for a developing body.

[Naturella]

Nutro Natural Choice Small Breed Puppy is what I’d recommend for now. I fed this to my small terrier mix, he did well on it, and it is rated 4.5 stars. You can also check out the “Coupons” thread that has great advice on scouting deals on dog food.
If you would shop online, websites like: http://www.chewy.com , http://www.petflow.com , http://www.wag.com , http://www.sportdogfood.com have great deals on foods. Brands I would look into are Earthborn Holistic, Victor (small kibble size too), NutriSource (affordable in most areas, but not in the Atlanta, GA area apparently), and other brands.
If you shop at Walmart, Pure Balance would be my go-to.
Also, often, stores like PetCo and PetSmart have great deals with their pet rewards points/perks, whatever they are called, and PetCo has this calendar thing, with a TON of coupons for money off of foods, treats, etc.
Rotating the flavors within a brand and switching brands (over time) is also good for your dog AND it allows you to take advantage of all kinds of deals than sticking with one food only.

But yes, I’d also keep him on puppy/all-life-stages/growth foods for now.

Let us know if you have any more questions!

[lovemypuppy]

Amicus Puppy, Small Breed … grain free, low glycemic, non-gmo, includes probiotics, all sourced from Canada, except vitamin pack sourced and manufactured in the US (California). It’s oven baked at low temp, veggies and fruits are raw. It runs about $28 for a 11 pound bag. I can get it locally in the states, and it can be bought online. It was my #1 pick for my puppy, but unfortunately she is finicky and doesn’t want to eat it. I’ve read many other’s gobble it up no problem, even finicky ones, so I think it just depends on the dog. It’s a quality food no doubt, and the price is less than many others.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 10 months ago by lovemypuppy.

[Edward L]

I have been searching all over the internet for other people who have had negative effects from Pedigree Puppy Food. Is there anyone on this forum that has had a similar experience?

I had a litter of puppies and when we weaned them off of mon, we used Pedigree Puppy Food and within a week’s time, one little boy died of massive seizures followed by a little girl puppy. The other three puppies started to also show symptoms and we took them off the Pedigree Puppy Food and gave them only homemade boiled chicken and rice and they made a full recovery.

Any information folks have out there would be greatly appreciated!

[InkedMarie]

Edward,
Up above, in the red line, click “reviews” then click the reviews by name til you get to Pedigree. It’s a poor quality food but you can read the review yourself.

[Author]

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