Purina Beneful?????????????????

[timlewis]

I Bought Some Purina Beneful Today, Just Wondering Your All Thoughts On It How Good It Is For Her? I Know Its Not As Good As Nutro And Some Others But Where I Live They R Real Hard To Find. The Web Site Says A Dealer Is Like 28 Miles From Me Thats A Straight Shot But Reality Is I Have To Cross A Mountain And Its Bout An Hour Or More Drive.

[sanford8916]

I thought the same thing, I live about 45 minutes from any of the pet store that sell dog food. But when I went to the Nutro web site and entered my zip code, I found a feed store that sell it and it's only 10 miles away. I didn't have a clue that place was even there. They also sell a limited selection at the Tractor Supply Store and some kennels around here too. I read in one of the post that you are suppose to look for a food that has meat listed in the first 4 ingrediance. Is there a grain mill close to you? The one near me sells a few of the brands that everyone talks about too! Good Luck!

[timlewis]

whats the name of the website?

[Lady's Human]

There are also places on the internet who do web-order shipments.

Judging by the pics you posted, the pup needs somthing other than puppy show, she's waaaaayy too thin.

[Vela]

Do what the above poster did, go to the respective websites for nutro, canidae, chicken soup, and any other names you have heard as good food and do a search. You may find a feed store close by that sells at least some of those brands, or who will order it for you. Really, nothing you can give as a supplement will make up for the amount of fillers in puppy chow/dog chow. It amounts to a whole lot of poop and not a lot of nutrition, which is probably why your girl is a little too thin, not drastic for a boxer puppy, just a tad, you just don't want it to ge to be any more. If you can't find anything, try adding a raw egg, cottage cheese, tuna fish, etc, to her kibble to help with the nutritional value.

[Lady's Human]

If you go to the nutro web site, and do a search by zip code, there's a pet store 26 miles away from you that carries Nutro.

Terry's Pets & Supplies
170 Parkway Plaza Loop
Whitesburg, KY 41858

I'm used to looking at lab pups, they tend to be a little on the chunkier side than boxers. (One of my co-workers brought in their choc. lab puppy last week.........he was Tooo cute)

[sanford8916]

www.naturalbalanceinc.com
www.solidgoldhealth.com
www.chickensoupforthepetloverssoul.com
www.canidae.com
These are the web sites that other PT's gave to me to check out. I hope that helps! Nutro also has a program that you buy 10 bags and get the 11th free.

[dragondawg]

i have a boxer pup Daisy, i am feeding her puppy chow and everyone tells me its not that good for her. Or atleast not as good as other foods r, but i live in a very very small area and i cant find any of the brands they tell me. So what kind of vitamins can i give her or what can i feed her to make up the difference?

Your puppy appears to be in excellent shape, and there is no need to switch from what you are currently feeding. The usual problem with a puppy formula is that due to the high protein and fat content as the dog becomes a young adult it may gain weight- or again it may be just fine. My 3 yr olds are on a Large Puppy formula 27% protein 15% fat. You may wish to consult with your Vet as to any particular problems a high protein/fat diet might cause in a boxer.

[dragonfly]

Your puppy appears to be in excellent shape, and there is no need to switch from what you are currently feeding. The usual problem with a puppy formula is that due to the high protein and fat content as the dog becomes a young adult it may gain weight- or again it may be just fine. My 3 yr olds are on a Large Puppy formula 27% protein 15% fat. You may wish to consult with your Vet as to any particular problems a high protein/fat diet might cause in a boxer.

The puppy is 9 weeks old and is a high energy breed, I doubt she's going to get too fat on puppy food not for quite some time at least. I do not think feeding puppy chow is fine, it's like a person eating corn, wheat and lard as their only source of nurishment. Yep you could probably survive on it but obviously you won't be very healthy.

timlewis, I think that Nutro Natural Choice large breed puppy would be a great choice for your dog. It's a fairly good quality food and it's not terribly expensive. I think you'll notice a difference in your dogs condition if you make the switch. By the way, I'm not sure if I said it before, but she is absolutely adorable.

[Jessika]

Also keep in mind that while vets are a wealth of information on the HEALTH of your pet, vets are NOT canine nutritionalists. Vet clinics are usually sponsored by a company (Hills, Purina, etc) and are required to promote and sell that food to their customers. So just because a vet recommends a food does not mean that it is the best out there. I urge you to do your own research. I recommend Nutro, and as previously stated there is a store nearby you (well, from where you put your location as anyway). So I at least recommend checking it out or getting a sample and see how it goes from there.

[Vela]

I agree with Jessika about the vets and their knowledge of canine nutrition. SOME vets do research and recommend high quality diets, but many are sponsored or have deals with companies and promote their food for the benefits they get from the companies. Nutrition is not something vets are taught much about in vet school, if they know much of anything about it it's because they studied it on their own. I was todl by one of my vets that Dog Chow was fine, even though my dog's health was crappy on it. I changed foods and their health improved so I KNOW what you feed them matters. Really do try to find the best food in your area you can and her healthy WILL be better. Sometimes you ahve to try a few different foods to find the best one that works for you ad your dog but always try to make it a quality food with good ingredients, not junk and fillers.

[LilacDragon]

Your puppy appears to be in excellent shape, and there is no need to switch from what you are currently feeding. The usual problem with a puppy formula is that due to the high protein and fat content as the dog becomes a young adult it may gain weight- or again it may be just fine. My 3 yr olds are on a Large Puppy formula 27% protein 15% fat. You may wish to consult with your Vet as to any particular problems a high protein/fat diet might cause in a boxer.

Here is the ingredients list for puppy chow as listed on their website:

Ground yellow corn, chicken by-product meal, corn gluten meal, brewers rice, soybean meal, beef tallow preserved with mixed-tocopherols (source of Vitamin E), pearled barley, dicalcium phosphate, calcium carbonate, animal digest, salt, egg product, potassium chloride, L-Lysine monohydrochloride, zinc proteinate, choline chloride, DL-Methionine, vitamin supplements (E, A, B 12, D 3), manganese proteinate, ferrous sulfate, copper proteinate, added color (Red 40, Yellow 5, Blue 2), niacin, brewers dried yeast, calcium pantothenate, garlic oil, pyridoxine hydrochloride, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin supplement, calcium iodate, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), folic acid, biotin, sodium selenite.
0-4001


Four of the first five ingredients are fillers - corn, corn gluten meal, and soy go in your pups mouth and come right out the other end! On the way through - you get gas. Anyone who knows Boxers knows that they sure don't need help creating gas!

Chicken by product meal is garbage. Literally. The parts of a chicken that can't be used for anything else.

Here is the ingredients list for Canidae:

Chicken Meal, Turkey Meal, Brown Rice, White Rice, Lamb Meal, Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols), Herring Meal, Flax Seed, Sun Cured Alfalfa Meal, Sunflower Oil, Chicken, Lecithin, Monocalcium Phosphate, Potassium Chloride, Choline Chloride, Linoleic Acid, Rosemary Extract, Sage Extract, Dried Enterococcus Faecium, Dried Lactobacillus Acidophilus Fermentation Product, Dried Aspergillus Oryzae Fermentation Extract, Dried Bacillus Subtilis Fermentation Extract, Inulin (from Chicory root), Saccharomyces Cerevisiae Fermentation Solubles, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Mixed Tocopherols (source of Vitamin E), Zinc Amino Acid Chelate, Manganese Amino Acid Chelate, Iron Amino Acid Chelate, Copper Amino Acid Chelate, Cobalt Amino Acid Chelate, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Ascorbic Acid (source of Vitamin C), Niacin, Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Riboflavin (source of B2), Beta Carotene, Calcium Pantothenate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Calcium Iodate, Folic Acid, D-Biotin, Sodium Selenite, Papaya, Vitamin B12 Supplement.





© 2006 CANIDAE Corporation

Three of the first 5 ingredients are a meat - not a by product but actual MEAT. No corn, no soy = less gas.

[dragondawg]

Four of the first five ingredients are fillers - corn, corn gluten meal, and soy go in your pups mouth and come right out the other end!

You really need to define what you consider a filler to be??? Apparently you believe corn and soy just transit the digestive system providing little if any nutritional value- except for gas. If so then you are wrong.

Shall we start with Corn?

Nutritional value of yellow corn

Shall we do the math per 100gms: Fat 5 gms, Carbohydrates 74 gms (mostly starch), Protein 5 gms. That accounts for 84 out of the 100 gms as being utiliizable.

The digestibility of the protein content of corn is approximately: 66.4% for the essential amino acids, 62.4% for non-essential aimno acids, and 64.0% for the total amino acid content of the corn protein(s).

One scientific study of the digestibility of corn protein

But clearly the value of corn is in the carbohydrates, where sugars are a part of this nutritional categoy. Corn is not an inert filler in foods.

I'm not here to defend any dog food that has no meat listed as the first ingredient. But I'm not going to assume the puppy chow is Purina until the original poster makes that claim.

BTW- the Canidae seems to have excellent ingredients per their order. My Propet Large Puppy has in order: Lamb meal, brewers rice, ground yellow corn, chicken, corn gluten meal, chicken fat (etc etc), ground wheat, dried beet pulp, chicken meal, dried egg product, natural flavors (whatever that is), fish meal, brewers dried yeast etc. The point there are some foods that have corn right up there as a main ingredient, and yet my 3 yr olds (as my prior dog of 10 yrs did) thrive on it.

What might be of value would be for the dog food makers to put in percentages for each ingredient. For example is the Propet 90% lamb meal (doubtful), and 10% everything else. Is the Canidae 10% Chicken meal, 9.9% Turkey meal, 9.8% brown rice, 9.79%white rice, with the remaining 4% and below for each. All we get to know is the order, but not the exact amount. It might be surprising.

The puppy is 9 weeks old and is a high energy breed, I doubt she's going to get too fat on puppy food not for quite some time at least.

And neither did I state a 9 week old puppy that is actively growing is likely to become fat. But once that puppy reaches 1 yr of age a change in volume diet may be needed. My prior dog which was 1/2 Lab lived up to her Lab reputation and at 1 yr on free choice was 90 lbs. She pigged out on her food. I quickly got her down with scheduled feedings to her ideal weight of 72-74 in the summer, and 80 in the winter. No, never had any arthritis problems. My current two I regulated the amount once they got to about 6 months of age and avoided all weight problems.

Also keep in mind that while vets are a wealth of information on the HEALTH of your pet, vets are NOT canine nutritionalists.

I wonder where one can find the courses and the colleges that offer a degree as a Canine Nutritionalist? I did come across some canine nutrition classes taught by Vets. Now getting a Vet to talk about dog food and nutrition without fast shufflling you out the door might be a trick. But a Vet DOES know food nutrition, else they would be at a loss in treating metabolic disease.

[LilacDragon]

Dogs can thrive on Ole' Roy, but that doesn't mean that it is good for them. Heck, I fed my dogs Purina for years before doing my research and learning about what was going in my dog. Since I didn't go to medical school and am not a scientist - I am sorry to say I didn't understand a word of your link to a "scientific study of the digestibility of corn protien (and I am talking about the nutritional value of corn as applies to dogs so the E-Look link for nutritional value in humans is pointless as far as I am concerned.)

I can tell you from experience, when I removed all corn and soy products from my older rottweiler's diet it was easier to manager her weight, she had more energy, her coat looked better, she farted much less and pooped less.

And yes, I do believe (though of course, can not prove) that the food she ate before I put her on a premium food was in some way, if slight, the reason that I lost her to cancer instead of old age.

[timlewis]

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