Finding Quality Puppy Food without Fillers, Corn, Wheat, or Soy

[amileegirl]

I put together some information for a friend and her new puppy.  

The brand you buy isn't so important as the ingredients. Your goal in buying a bagged or canned food is to get as close to Raw as you possibly can. First, you want to avoid ANY pet food that has words like: meat-by-product, by-product meal, chicken by-product, etc. By products have no nutritional value and are just fillers. Also always avoid corn, soy and wheat. They put those in because they are cheap and it can upset a dog's stomach. A lot of pet foods do this. It's a waste of money because they practically use no meat and "fill in" with "other" bits of substitute protein like by-products, corn, wheat, or soy and then they have to add "flavor" to make it palatable to the dog. Also avoid semi-moist foods as they generally require additives to keep them soft. If you do look for a soft food, avoid anything that has -glycol anywhere in the ingredient list or any questionable additives.     


DO:
Look for human grade ingredients.
Look for a high percentage of protein from meat
Look for indentifiable words like chicken, turkey, lamb, etc. and make sure they are the first things listed.
Some grains are okay, but should be a minimal amount of non-corn, non-wheat, non-soy elements such a some rice or potato (these are needed to hold kibble together). But grain should never be the base ingredient. I think it is best to buy both grain free and minimal grain products for variety.

If its canned it shouldn't have grain it it at all, but a little of rice or barley is okay. All of the above also hold true for treats and biscuits. You'll spend more initially, but you will end up feeding less so the expense evens itself out.

It's also a good idea to supplement a main brand with others of good quality to maintain variety and reduce pickiness and fussyness. Eating the same food is like a person eating chicken and nothing but chicken, three meals a day, 365 days a year, for the duration of life. For my cats, my main brand is Wellness (grain free as well as minimal grain) and I have 3 supplemental brands (the same quality) to round out their diet--both canned and dry. Some people say to finish a bag before switching brands, but I don't find that I need to do that. The cats prefer weekly variety. If you prefer to finish a bag of dry rather than having two open at the same time, I recommend just buing a smaller bags.  Cans are easy to switch off.

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An example of a Grain Free Product:

DRY:
Ingredients: Deboned Turkey, Deboned Chicken, Turkey Meal, Chicken Meal, Potatoes, Dried Ground Potato, Tomato Pomace, Natural Chicken Flavor, Canola Oil, Chicken Liver, Salmon Oil, Flaxseed, Carrots, Sweet Potatoes, Kale, Broccoli, Spinach, Parsley, Apples, Blueberries, Vitamins & Minerals, Chicory Root Extract, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Glucosamine Hydrochloride, Chondroitin Sulfate, Dried Lactobacillus plantarum, Enterococcus faecium, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus acidophilus Fermentation Products, Rosemary Extract.

CANNED:
Chicken, Water Sufficient for Processing, Natural Flavors, [Thickeners] Cassia Gum, Carrageenan.

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An example of a Non-Corn/Wheat/Soy Minimal Grain Product:

DRY:
Deboned Chicken, Chicken Meal, Oatmeal, Ground Barley, Salmon Meal (a natural source of DHA - Docosahexaenoic Acid), Canola Oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols, a natural source of Vitamin E), Ground Brown Rice, Tomato Pomace, Rice Bran, Tomatoes, Natural Chicken Flavor, Rye Flour, Carrots, Spinach, Sweet Potatoes, Apples, Blueberries, Ground Millet, Ground Flaxseed,
[Supplements and Vitamins] Potassium Chloride, Minerals [Zinc Sulfate, Zinc Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Ferrous Sulfate, Copper Proteinate, Copper Sulfate, Manganese Proteinate, Manganese Sulfate, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite], Vitamins [Beta-Carotene, Vitamin E Supplement, Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C), Vitamin A Supplement, Niacin, Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin, Vitamin D-3 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, Folic Acid, Biotin, Vitamin B-12 Supplement], Choline Chloride, Calcium Carbonate, Dicalcium Phosphate, Taurine, Mixed Tocopherols (a natural preservative), Chicory Root Extract, Garlic, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Green Tea Extract, Dried Lactobacillus plantarum, Enterococcus faecium, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation products.

 

CANNED:
Duck, Duck Broth, Turkey, Chicken Liver, Ground Barley, Sweet Potatoes, Carrots, Carrageenan, Ground Flaxseed, Potassium Chloride, Ocean Whitefish, Guar Gum, Salt, Canola Oil, [Supplements and Vitamins] Iron Proteinate (Source Of Chelated Iron), Zinc Proteinate (Source Of Chelated Zinc), Choline Chloride, Vitamins A, E And D3 Supplements, Manganese Proteinate (Source Of Chelated Manganese), Riboflavin Supplement, Sodium Selenite, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin B-12 Supplement, Potassium Iodide, D-Biotin.

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Brands to Look Into (You won't find them in a regular grocery store)

WELLNESS:
www.wellnesspetfood.com/
My favorite brand. They have both grain-free (Wellnes CORE) and minimal-grain and have a LOT of variety for puppies and adults. They also have a very nice ingredients dictionary.

NATURE'S VARIETY
www.naturesvariety.com
Has canned, dry, AND raw. A very, very good brand. Highly recommended.

CANIDAE
www.canidae.com
(A good brand, I don't use it because it has cheese and our cats don't do well with cheese. My friend does use it and loves it.)

INNOVA
www.innovapet.com
(A good brand, I don't use it only because it has cottage cheese and our cats don't do well with dairy. My friend does use it and loves it.)

MERRICK
www.merrickpetcare.com

SOLID GOLD
www.solidgoldhealth.com

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[ProfessorEpona]

Apr. 14, 2009 at 11:26 PM

Taste of the Wild is an excellent food as well.  Only comes in dry formula at this time. I have used it and my dog loved it.

Innova as well. 

I found Wellness changed their ingredients too often.  Which caused problems for my dog.