What is the best brand of puppy food?

I am getting a new puppy soon and am planning ahead to purchase all the necessary things to keep him comfortable. I have all the basic things, except food. I am worried about this one. I have always trusted the Pedigree and Purina brands, yet because of the recent dog food recalls of 2008, I have my suspicions on the legitimacy of the claims of various leading dog food brands. I am not only looking for healthy foods, but for brands which foods's primary ingredient is real meat or chicken products. I would really appreciate the help here!





By the way, my puppy is a boxer.|||Well I don't know about the BEST dog food. But I hear that Kirkland brand dry dogfood is a solid brand, affordable, and findable (if you have a costco card).



I think Orijen is one of the top of the line (I hear it alot at least), but I would have no idea where to find that (no specialty dogfood places around here at least). But I've never used Kirkland personally.



Here are a couple dogfood rating websites:



http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-r鈥?/a>



http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_鈥?/a>



Just keep in mind that if you don't exercise your dog enough that too much protein can cause kidney failure (the same that a cheap brand of dogfood will cause from using euthanized animals in their product). Good Luck!



P.S. I think this is the puppy version for the second one (The first one lumps them all together under the small dog rating)



http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_鈥?/a>|||You could ask the breeder or shelter what type of food the puppy has been on. If he's doing well on that food, you could just keep him on that. If you switch foods, remember that you will need to make the switch little by little. Mix 1/4 of new food in with the old kind, then 1/2 to 1/2 and so on. Otherwise he could get an upset stomach and have unfortunate accidents. Also when you get the puppy - when you take him to the vet for his well-check - ask the vet for his recommendations.


Good Luck!|||Innova is a great food made with human grade products in the USA. Real meat is the number one ingredient in all their foods. All of my dogs have done well on Innova and enjoyed it very much. They have not been involved in any recalls. Visit their website for a pet food comparison and information on the details of ingredients found in all major brands. Even if you don't choose this brand, that is a great tool to know what you are buying for your pup. Enjoy your boxer! :)|||well, for my dogs we use 4health. we always have, well, as far as i know!





by the way, if you want a little muscle on the boxer, try feeding him(or her) frozen chicken!





hope this helps!|||I feed my dog Iams. By the way, this is a useless question to ask a vet because they will probably have to promote the product their office stocks.|||Either nutro or royal canine|||First and foremost, do not ever ever feed your dog Purina or Pedigree. Not only because of recalls and what not, but because they are absolutely crap.





Go to www.dogfoodadvisor.com and pick a 4-5 star dog food that you can afford. There is no such thing as one "best" dog food as each dog is different and has unique needs. For example, unless you plan on making sure your is getting a lot of exercise you do not want a food with high protein (such as Orijen, Evo, etc). Take the time to look at the reviews for all the top quality foods.





When I was changing my dogs food a few months ago I made a chart with all the 5 star foods I knew I could get at my local pet stores. Then I noted the amount of protein, fat and carbs in each food. I have 2 pugs and with too much protein they will be gassy and gain weight. As well, too much fat and carbs will also make them gain weight. I also noted if the foods had any byproducts or fillers in them. I finally narrowed my choice down to Before Grain - which is also fairly inexpensive.