new member

[Undomiel]

I am new here but have a few questions, one how do puppy's get overbites? Two, I am giving my pup Beneful but I am not sure that its the right food for her. People have told me Eukanuba Puppy food is good for them, can someone please give me a few suggestions. She is 7 months weighing 10 pounds at the moment, she has been spayed but how can you tell that they are really in good shape? She's always rather active and she likes walking and playing in the water a lot. This place seems like a nice one to join and i love dogs and cats both.

[Karen]

I am new here but have a few questions, one how do puppy's get overbites?

Like people, it's something they can inherit. Had braces for mine - it was actually about the least of my problems ...

Two, I am giving my pup Beneful but I am not sure that its the right food for her. People have told me Eukanuba Puppy food is good for them, can someone please give me a few suggestions. She is 7 months weighing 10 pounds at the moment, she has been spayed but how can you tell that they are really in good shape? She's always rather active and she likes walking and playing in the water a lot. This place seems like a nice one to join and i love dogs and cats both.

Thank you, and welcome to Pet Talk. What kind of pup do you have? You can ask the vet what food s/he recommends, anything that gives good nutrition.

[sammy101]

Welcome to PT!
Beneful is a low quality food,and so is Eukanuba.I would recommend looking at foods with better ingredients.Mine are on Nutro Natural Choice,which is around the same price as Eukanuba but with much better ingredients,no by-products or fillers. Like Karen said,your best off talking to your vet.

[Undomiel]

My vet always tells me that is Science diet they sell there but thats kind of high priced but I just wondered, if Eukanuba Puppy food was actually good for them and made their coat fuller. She does tend to get flakes every now and then, she's a doxie mix if I said it right lol I am new to the short hand meanings for dog mixes.

[Giselle]

I wouldn't necessarily recommend Beneful or Eukanuba. Most vets don't have comprehensive nutritional training, and the little bits of training they DO have regarding nutrition is usually provided by the Hill's company. Thus, the information they receive is often tilted towards favoring Science Diet and Hill's RX.

Your ideal dog food should NOT include:
- any grain product as the first ingredient. As a matter of fact, I would prefer not to see any grains as the first or second or third ingredient.
- corn/wheat gluten, brewer's rice, etc. These are low-grade fillers.
- BHT/BHA/propylene glycol/ethoxyquin (possibly carcinogenic preservatives)
- food coloring
- added sugar/molasses/similar products
- generic labels for protein/fat sources: animal fat, poultry fat, meat meal, poultry meal, etc.
- artificial flavors
- by-products
- salt

You DO want:
- some type of protein as the VERY first (and preferably 2nd and 3rd) ingredient
- specific labels for protein/fat sources: chicken meal, chicken, turkey meal, venison, etc.
- natural antioxidants like blueberries

There is more to the list, but I can't remember it off the top of my head, so here are a few brands to get you going:

Wellness
Canidae
Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul
Solid Gold
Innova/EVO
California Natural
Karma
Fromm
Pinnacle
Azmiras
Natural Balance
Blue Buffalo

...the list goes on. Hope that gives you a starting point!

[Kfamr]

As others have said, the two food you listed aren't exactly what I'd call high quality. If you can afford better, I'd certainly recommend it. I don't think I'd EVER ask my vet for food recommendations unless it was for a medical disease, which in that case, Science Diet can be very helpful. I've been told Vet's often sell/promote Science Diet because that's who put them thru college, whether or not that's true, I dunno!

The foods on Gisselle's list are very nice. I feed my three dogs TimberWolf Organics (www.timberwolforganics.com)

If I weren't feeding them TimberWolf Organics, I'd feed them a Sold Gold formula.

Here is one of my favorite dog food sites. It was made by a lady on another forum I am a member of. You can learn a lot about the right and wrong ingredients in dog food.


http://www.mordanna.com/dogfood/


Welcome to Pet Talk, by the way!

[EastJenn]

A lot of vets like to push foods like Science Diet because they get a comission off of it. There are a lot of foods out there that are better for your dog, for around the same price as Beneful or Iams. You have to remember that with a better food, your dog will be eating less (b/c there are less fillers) so even if the bag costs more per pound, it will last longer.

Someone on another group I belong to posted a list of high quality foods from the Whole Dog Journal. ALL of these are excellent kibble!!!

Artemis: www.artemispetfood.com
Azmira: www.azmira.com
Back to Basics: www.beowulfs.com
Bench & Field Holistic Natural Canine: www.benchandfield.com
Blue Buffalo: www.bluebuff.com
Burns: www.bpn4u.com
by Nature BrightLife: s.com" target="_blank">www.bynaturepetfood s.com
California Natural: www.naturapet.com
Canidae: www.canidae.com
Canine Caviar: www.caninecaviar.com
Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul: hepetloverssoul .com" target="_blank">www.chickensoupfort hepetloverssoul .com
Cloud Star Kibble: www.cloudstar.com
Drs. Foster & Smith: www.drsfostersmith.com
Eagle Pack Holistic Select: www.eaglepack.com
Evolve: www.evolvepet.com
Firstmate Dog Food: www.firstmate.com
Flint River Ranch: www.flintriver-pet-food.com
Foundations: www.petcurean.com
Fromm Four Star Nutritionals: s.com" target="_blank">www.frommfamilyfood s.com
Go! Natural: www.petcurean.com
Hund-N-Flocken: .com" target="_blank">www.solidgoldhealth .com
Innova: www.naturapet.com
Innova Evo: www.naturapet.com
Karma Organic: www.karmaorganic.com
Lick Your Chops: inc.com" target="_blank">www.healthypetfoods inc.com
Lifespan: www.petguard.com
Limited Diets: www.royalcanin.us
Merrick Pet Foods: www.merrickpetcare.com
Mmillennia: .com" target="_blank">www.solidgoldhealth .com
Natural Balance Ultra Premium: nc.com" target="_blank">www.naturalbalancei nc.com
Natural Choice Ultra: www.nutroproducts.com
Newman's Own Organics: ics.com" target="_blank">www.newmansownorgan ics.com
NutriSource: ood.com" target="_blank">www.nutrisourcedogf ood.com
Organix: .com" target="_blank">www.castorpolluxpet .com
Performatrin Ultra: ra.com" target="_blank">www.performatrinult ra.com
PHD Viand: www.phdproducts.com
Pinnacle: www.breeders-choice.com
Prairie: www.naturesvariety.com
Premium Edge: ood.com" target="_blank">www.premiumedgepetf ood.com
Prime Life: www.ompetproducts.com
Royal Canin Natural Blend: www.royalcanin.us
Timberwolf Organics: timberwolforgan ics.com
VeRUS: www.veruspetfoods.com
Wellness: d.com" target="_blank">www.oldmotherhubbar d.com
Wellness Simple Food Solutions: d.com" target="_blank">www.oldmotherhubbar d.com
Wenawe: www.wenawe.com.uy
Wysong: www.wysong.net
Zinpro: www.lincolnbiotech.com

[zoomer]

Welcome! I have three dogs who you can see in my av and signature. My name is Makayla, I hope you love it here!

A lot of vets like to push foods like Science Diet because they get a comission off of it. There are a lot of foods out there that are better for your dog, for around the same price as Beneful or Iams. You have to remember that with a better food, your dog will be eating less (b/c there are less fillers) so even if the bag costs more per pound, it will last longer.

Someone on another group I belong to posted a list of high quality foods from the Whole Dog Journal. ALL of these are excellent kibble!!!

Artemis: www.artemispetfood.com
Azmira: www.azmira.com
Back to Basics: www.beowulfs.com
Bench & Field Holistic Natural Canine: www.benchandfield.com
Blue Buffalo: www.bluebuff.com
Burns: www.bpn4u.com
by Nature BrightLife: s.com" target="_blank">www.bynaturepetfood s.com
California Natural: www.naturapet.com
Canidae: www.canidae.com
Canine Caviar: www.caninecaviar.com
Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul: hepetloverssoul .com" target="_blank">www.chickensoupfort hepetloverssoul .com
Cloud Star Kibble: www.cloudstar.com
Drs. Foster & Smith: www.drsfostersmith.com
Eagle Pack Holistic Select: www.eaglepack.com
Evolve: www.evolvepet.com
Firstmate Dog Food: www.firstmate.com
Flint River Ranch: www.flintriver-pet-food.com
Foundations: www.petcurean.com
Fromm Four Star Nutritionals: s.com" target="_blank">www.frommfamilyfood s.com
Go! Natural: www.petcurean.com
Hund-N-Flocken: .com" target="_blank">www.solidgoldhealth .com
Innova: www.naturapet.com
Innova Evo: www.naturapet.com
Karma Organic: www.karmaorganic.com
Lick Your Chops: inc.com" target="_blank">www.healthypetfoods inc.com
Lifespan: www.petguard.com
Limited Diets: www.royalcanin.us
Merrick Pet Foods: www.merrickpetcare.com
Mmillennia: .com" target="_blank">www.solidgoldhealth .com
Natural Balance Ultra Premium: nc.com" target="_blank">www.naturalbalancei nc.com
Natural Choice Ultra: www.nutroproducts.com
Newman's Own Organics: ics.com" target="_blank">www.newmansownorgan ics.com
NutriSource: ood.com" target="_blank">www.nutrisourcedogf ood.com
Organix: .com" target="_blank">www.castorpolluxpet .com
Performatrin Ultra: ra.com" target="_blank">www.performatrinult ra.com
PHD Viand: www.phdproducts.com
Pinnacle: www.breeders-choice.com
Prairie: www.naturesvariety.com
Premium Edge: ood.com" target="_blank">www.premiumedgepetf ood.com
Prime Life: www.ompetproducts.com
Royal Canin Natural Blend: www.royalcanin.us
Timberwolf Organics: timberwolforgan ics.com
VeRUS: www.veruspetfoods.com
Wellness: d.com" target="_blank">www.oldmotherhubbar d.com
Wellness Simple Food Solutions: d.com" target="_blank">www.oldmotherhubbar d.com
Wenawe: www.wenawe.com.uy
Wysong: www.wysong.net
Zinpro: www.lincolnbiotech.com

Wow, that will certanily be a help