[puppy girl]

Hello! I have a puppy, and she is a mix of a bichon and poodle. She is so cute. I feed her Kibbles and Mini Chunks, a cool kind of dog food. I have been feeding it to her for 3 months now, and yesterday she threw up and I saw dog food in her puke!! Of course, we are changing dog food, but which dog food and why did she puke all the sudden? please please reply.

[puppy girl]

Originally Posted by puppy girl

Hello! I have a puppy, and she is a mix of a bichon and poodle. She is so cute. I feed her Kibbles and Mini Chunks, a cool kind of dog food. I have been feeding it to her for 3 months now, and yesterday she threw up and I saw dog food in her puke!! Of course, we are changing dog food, but which dog food and why did she puke all the sudden? please please reply.

Take time. Spoil your pup. have fun.
***** All for the dogs*****

[blackrose]

She may have just thrown up because she had an upset tummy. It may or may not have had anything to do with the food she is on. Our Lab puppy, Sadie, will occasionally throw up when she eats her food too fast. You pup might have just eating something else that she shouldn't have, and that caused her to throw up. I wouldn't be too concerned, unless her throwing up persists. If it does, take her to the vet.

I would also say that the food you are feeding her isn't a very good quality food. It may be "popular" and from a "high rated" brand, but many foods from Purina, Iams, and the like aren't good food. If corn or meat-by-products is in the top ten ingredients, change her food! We used to feed our dogs a store brand and corn and meat-by-products were the first two ingredients. Then I wised up and saw that that food was BAD for them, so I switched them to Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul. It is a very good brand that uses all natural food. They didn't eat as much dog food, their coat was shinier, and their poop was much less stinky!

I would look for a dog food that has all natural ingredients. Look for the ingredients to have pure chicken and other meats, potatoes, and stuff like that. If there is any kind of by-product or corn in it, don't get the food!

Remember, when you are switching the food, do it gradually. Don't just change the food all at once or your pup will probably be throwing up and having loose poop.

If your pup is under six months, feed her puppy food, but if she is over six months, you could start feeding her adult food. It won't hurt her to keep feeding her the puppy food, but definitally get her on adult food by one year of age.

Hope that helped!

[Dulce]

She didn't throw up because of teh food. Dogs throw up. It happens.

I wouldn't change the food. If you do, get something natural, and corn free. Wellness, Science Diet, Eukanuba, Innova, Innova EVO

[all4thedogs]

I would change your food, not because she vomited, simply because it is a very poor quality food.

Sciene Diet, Eukanuba, Pedigree, Purnia, Kibbles n Bites, Iams (and other foods that can be found in a grocery store) are all very popular, simply because they advertise. These are very low quailty, full of corn, fillers and by-products. Dogs can not digest corn, so corn=poop.

I suggest switching your pup to a high quality food (Canidae, Innova, Wellness, Pinnacle, Solid Gold, Natural Balance). If these are not an option, Nutro and Blue Buffalo are good too and can be found at Petsmart.

Innova Evo is a wonderful food, but is not good for growing puppies. It is much to high in protein and can cause growth problems. I would advice feeding this ONLY after your dog is grown. This food is top of the line, no grains, fillers or by products, so its worth looking into for when your dog is grown.

When looking for a food, check the ingredients, the first 5 are the most important. There should be no corn, and grains should not repeat (rice, rice flour etc are the same grain). Meats should be specified (no meat meal, should be chicken meal, lamb meal etc). Meats should preferably be in meal form. Stay away from foods that only have 1 meat listed in the top 5 ingredients (chicken, chicken meal is fine, but you dont want 4 grains as you top ingredients).

Good luck with your pup!

[puppy girl]

thank you dog lovers!!! I will choose a very good dog food now. Thanks!!

[puppy girl]

Thanks again! we changed dog food to Beneful, please tell me if thats good for my 4 year old doggy.

[all4thedogs]

I do NOT recommend Beneful. It is not a quality dog food at all!!

Here are the first 5 ingredients in the puppy version (Ground yellow corn, chicken by-product meal, corn gluten meal, whole wheat flour, animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols). Corn is the first ingredient, meaning this is what most of the food contains. Dogs can not digest corn, so this is a waste. Chicken by-products are just that, by-products, its the left over parts. Corn again (meaning there is WAY more corn then meat), wheat flour (filler, and a common allergen in dogs), animal fat (doesnt say what animal, could be anything).

The adult version has the same first 4 ingredients.

This food IMO is terrible. And a waste. Most of the food will pass through (more poop). If you feed a high quality food, your dog will digest more of the food, making her healthier and she will produce much smaller stools

[Dulce]

Originally Posted by all4thedogs

I do NOT recommend Beneful. It is not a quality dog food at all!!

Here are the first 5 ingredients in the puppy version (Ground yellow corn, chicken by-product meal, corn gluten meal, whole wheat flour, animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols). Corn is the first ingredient, meaning this is what most of the food contains. Dogs can not digest corn, so this is a waste. Chicken by-products are just that, by-products, its the left over parts. Corn again (meaning there is WAY more corn then meat), wheat flour (filler, and a common allergen in dogs), animal fat (doesnt say what animal, could be anything).

The adult version has the same first 4 ingredients.

This food IMO is terrible. And a waste. Most of the food will pass through (more poop). If you feed a high quality food, your dog will digest more of the food, making her healthier and she will produce much smaller stools

Agreed It's cheap food. It's not the quality I'd recommend...

[Cheetah]

The Dog Food Project - How does your Dog Food Brand compare? <--- this is a very informative website about the ingredients in dog food. It might help you make a decision. >^^;<

[puppy girl]

Hmm... I will have to keep looking for a better dog food... I will tell you if I see something that might be a good dog food.

Have to keep looking!!!

Thanks Chettah! That might help...

[all4thedogs]

Do you have a Petsmart near by? If so, Blue Buffalo is a good food that they carry.

Other good foods, but can sometimes be harder to find, here are their websites, most have a store locator.

Canidae All Natural, Human Grade, Holistic Pet Foods. Dog Food, Cat Food, Kitten Food, Dog Biscuits, & Canidae Platinum Diet
Solid Gold Solid Gold Health Food for Pets
Innova www.naturapet.com
California Natural www.naturapet.com
Chicken Soup Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul : Home

These are just a handful of good foods. Just be sure to read the ingredients in what ever you choose. A rule of thumb is you dont find high quality food at the grocery store (or Walmart etc). You will have to go to a pet store or farm store.

__________________________
This is a dog food rating system created to help people find a quality food. This is not concrete but to be used as a guide. This was created by Fredalina of the GDR.


Giving Dry Dog Food a Grade:
Start with a grade of 100:

For every listing of "by-product", subtract 10 points


For every non-specific animal source ("meat" or "poultry", meat, meal or fat) reference, subtract 10 points

If the food contains BHA, BHT, or ethoxyquin, subtract 10 points

For every grain "mill run" or non-specific grain source, subtract 5 points

If the same grain ingredient is used 2 or more times in the first five ingredients (i.e. "ground brown rice", "brewer’s rice", "rice flour" are all the same grain), subtract 5 points


If the protein sources are not meat meal and there are less than 2 meats in the top 3 ingredients, subtract 3 points

If it contains any artificial colorants, subtract 3 points

If it contains ground corn or whole grain corn, subtract 3 points

If corn is listed in the top 5 ingredients, subtract 2 more points

If the food contains any animal fat other than fish oil, subtract 2 points

If lamb is the only animal protein source (unless your dog is allergic to other protein sources), subtract 2 points

If it contains soy or soybeans, subtract 2 points

If it contains wheat (unless you know that your dog isn’t allergic to wheat), subtract 2 points

If it contains beef (unless you know that your dog isn’t allergic to beef), subtract 1 point

If it contains salt, subtract 1 point

Extra Credit:

If any of the meat sources are organic, add 5 points


If the food is endorsed by any major breed group or nutritionist, add 5 points

If the food is baked not extruded, add 5 points

If the food contains probiotics, add 3 points

If the food contains fruit, add 3 points

If the food contains vegetables (NOT corn or other grains), add 3 points

If the animal sources are hormone-free and antibiotic-free, add 2 points

If the food contains barley, add 2 points

If the food contains flax seed oil (not just the seeds), add 2 points

If the food contains oats or oatmeal, add 1 point

If the food contains sunflower oil, add 1 point

For every different specific animal protein source (other than the first one; count "chicken" and "chicken meal" as only one protein source, but "chicken" and "turkey" as 2 different sources), add 1 point


If it contains glucosamine and chondroitin, add 1 point

If the vegetables have been tested for pesticides and are pesticide-free, add 1 point



94-100+ = A
86-93 = B
78-85 = C
70-77 = D
<70 = F

Some foods that have all ready been rated:
A's Score
A+ Chicken Soup for the pet lovers soul 113
A+ Eagle Pack Holistic chicken 114
A+ Eagle Pack Holistic LG and Giant Breed Adlt 113
A+ Eagle Pack Natural 104
A+ Timberwolf Organics Lamb and Venison 136
A+ Solid Gold Bison 123
A+ Solid Gold Wolf King 109
A+ Solid Gold Hund N flocken 105
A+ Solid Gold Mmillennia 111
A+ Innova 117
A+ Natural Balance Duck and Potato 114
A+ Canidae 119
A+ Foundations Chicken and Vegetable 109
A+ Flint River Ranch Fish and Chips 109
A+ Wysong Synorgon 110
A+ Flint River Ranch Lamb, Millet and Rice 117
A+ Back to Basics 107

B's
B Eukanuba Natural Lamb and Rice 87

C's
C Nutro Lamb and Rice 85

D's
D Iams Lamb and Rice 74

F's
F Pedigree Adult Complete 14
F Ol'Roy 9
F Science Diet Chicken Adult Maintainance 45
F Purina Beniful original 23
All Purina and Pro Plan foods rate as a F
F Pro Plan Giant Breed Adult 41
F Pro Plan Performance 53
F Pro Plan Chicken and Rice
F Purina Dog chow
F Purina Large Breed 40
F Diamond Lamb and Rice 61
F Diamond Performance (formerly professional)
F Diamond Large Breed 55

[Alpha]

I feed Eagle Pack. I do NOT RECOMMEND WELLNESS.

It's notorious for causing chronic, SEVERE diarrhea.

A lot of other good brands have been mentioned: Eagle Pack, Canidae, Fromm, Solid Gold, Innova... those are a few of the highest quality brands that I know of.

The dog food project website IS AMAZING! Her e-mail is on the website, and Mordy is more than willing to respond to e-mails. Compose a list of brands available in your area, and she'll help you make the best choice!

[alundy]

The puking is nothing abnormal, sometimes it just happens. You saw dog food in it, because the dog eats dog food!

I would still change foods because I think kibble & mini chunks is a pretty low-quality food. Alot of filler and not a lot of nutrients. You will see less poop from giving better quality food too.

I like:

California Natural
Canidae
Nutro
Innova

...for starters.

[midnightbluemamma]

i have two pups jack russel, and a pit, they get fed purina dry and wet mix, they love it.

[Dulce]

Originally Posted by midnightbluemamma

i have two pups jack russel, and a pit, they get fed purina dry and wet mix, they love it.

Purina is an extremely low quality food. So is anything you can find at a grocery store.

Again, Timber Wolf, Innova, SD, Wellness, etc are great foods. Anything with fish in it is GREAT for their coats and skin.

If your dog doesn't eat, he doesn't eat. He'll eat when he's hungry. Don't worry about the cat. It's a good learning experience for the dog. For me, if my dog refuses to eat, and the cat gets in her dish, she doesn't like when the cat does that, so she eats it! Your doggie will learn

[LabLady101]

Wow! I cannot believe all the hate I'm feeling in this conversation...Purina and Iams have been around for a long time. And do you know why they have been around for as long as they have? No, it's not because of advertising. No, it's not because many vets recommend their foods. It's because those companies have put in decades of research into animal nutrition and, therefore, MANY dogs have benefitted and done very well on their products.

Now, don't get me wrong, I don't necessarily recommend their lower quality products such as Beneful, but Purina One and Pro Plan are decent quality foods and I'm not about the slam the results top quality breeders have gotten from these foods. Eukanuba and Iams are also not the worst foods on the market and are of decent quality.

Did anyone besides me notice that the list that was posted favored high priced foods? Well, I did and, to tell you the truth, I could not truthfully recommend any of those top foods as I don't know of any top quality breeder who has gotten decent results out of their dogs from them. In fact, I have heard just the opposite. Now how great are those "top rated", high priced foods? Not worth a cent in my book! Besides, that website is based purely on one person's opinion and it's never good to choose a food for your dog based solely off of another's opinion.

My dogs, like typical Labradors, do best with what most of those here would call a "low" quality food (although I would say it's middle of the road and decent- much like Pro Plan). I have already heard too many horror stories (from top quality breeders) about those "higher" quality foods and how they destroyed their dogs' proper Labrador coats (Labradors are not supposed to have shiny, slick coats. A proper Labrador coat should be somewhat dull, short, coarse, and thick). It took them at least a year or two to get their dogs back into showring condition!

My motto is feed what works best for your dog regardless of how others feel about it. If you do that, you're doing pretty good by your dog.

Darcy

[Pitbull]

Originally Posted by LabLady101

Wow! I cannot believe all the hate I'm feeling in this conversation...Purina and Iams have been around for a long time. And do you know why they have been around for as long as they have? No, it's not because of advertising. No, it's not because many vets recommend their foods. It's because those companies have put in decades of research into animal nutrition and, therefore, MANY dogs have benefitted and done very well on their products.

Now, don't get me wrong, I don't necessarily recommend their lower quality products such as Beneful, but Purina One and Pro Plan are decent quality foods and I'm not about the slam the results top quality breeders have gotten from these foods. Eukanuba and Iams are also not the worst foods on the market and are of decent quality.

Did anyone besides me notice that the list that was posted favored high priced foods? Well, I did and, to tell you the truth, I could not truthfully recommend any of those top foods as I don't know of any top quality breeder who has gotten decent results out of their dogs from them. In fact, I have heard just the opposite. Now how great are those "top rated", high priced foods? Not worth a cent in my book! Besides, that website is based purely on one person's opinion and it's never good to choose a food for your dog based solely off of another's opinion.

My dogs, like typical Labradors, do best with what most of those here would call a "low" quality food (although I would say it's middle of the road and decent- much like Pro Plan). I have already heard too many horror stories (from top quality breeders) about those "higher" quality foods and how they destroyed their dogs' proper Labrador coats (Labradors are not supposed to have shiny, slick coats. A proper Labrador coat should be somewhat dull, short, coarse, and thick). It took them at least a year or two to get their dogs back into showring condition!

My motto is feed what works best for your dog regardless of how others feel about it. If you do that, you're doing pretty good by your dog.

Darcy

Decades of research? These companies you mentioned are ****...their main ingredients include corn and byproducts for crying out loud...how is that possibly beneficial or even slightly healthy to your dog? Just because they have been around does not mean that they know what they are making....they are a multi billion dollar company BECAUSE of their advertising (including through vets)...more and more people are realizing how low quality their food really is and ARE SWITCHING...Eukanuba and Iams are also not the worst foods on the market and are of decent quality? According to who and what research? Its scientifically proven that many of the ingredients listed in IAMS foods are hazardous/not beneficial to your pets health...

Normally if I saw a post like yours, I wouldn't say anything..but the fact that you are giving people false information about low vs high quality foods is unfair and I had to step in and say something...

The dog food project website is not based on one person's opinion...its actually based on ALOT of research done by this person...I have spoken with her on many occassions...

You need to do your research on the difference between the foods mentioned as high quality, and the foods that you obviously support as being just fine for our pets....see the JUNK ingredients..see the CHEMICALS and loads of crap being put into foods such as IAMS or EUKANEUBA or PEDIGREE or (tons of others I can list).

Your so called experience with breeders who supposedly don't deal with high quality foods doesn't say much...I know tons of great breeders that feed high quality kibble or a raw diet and would completely disagree with you...so your statement isn't very viable...

[all4thedogs]

Also about price. Have you priced Eukanuba or Iams, they arent cheap, ESPECIALLY for the ingredient list.

Canidae (VERY high quality) is $32 for 40lbs, Chicken Soup $26/35lbs. Both foods have NO by-products, or CORN.

Just because you feed junk, doesnt mean you have to post false information. Yes, many breeders feed Purina, Iams etc, but many feed Ol'Roy too (please tell me you dont consider Ol' Roy a good food). My vet pushes Science Diet, why? Because he gets major kick backs from them, as do many other vets in this country. Do you know, your vet only took 1-2 food related classes? And that was YEARS ago.

You can NOT say that the big companies dont get most of their customers from advertising. Thats why they do it! If they werent getting their $ worth, they wouldnt bother, and advertising isnt cheap.

Notice that the higher quality foods dont have to advertise and still sell the food? Its because of the performance of the food. Dogs are healthier.

[LabLady101]

Originally Posted by Pitbull

Decades of research? These companies you mentioned are S H I T...their main ingredients include corn and byproducts for crying out loud...how is that possibly beneficial or even slightly healthy to your dog? Just because they have been around does not mean that they know what they are making....they are a multi billion dollar company BECAUSE of their advertising (including through vets)...more and more people are realizing how low quality their food really is and ARE SWITCHING...Eukanuba and Iams are also not the worst foods on the market and are of decent quality? According to who and what research? Its scientifically proven that many of the ingredients listed in IAMS foods are hazardous/not beneficial to your pets health...

Normally if I saw a post like yours, I wouldn't say anything..but the fact that you are giving people false information about low vs high quality foods is unfair and I had to step in and say something...

The dog food project website is not based on one person's opinion...its actually based on ALOT of research done by this person...I have spoken with her on many occassions...

You need to do your research on the difference between the foods mentioned as high quality, and the foods that you obviously support as being just fine for our pets....see the JUNK ingredients..see the CHEMICALS and loads of crap being put into foods such as IAMS or EUKANEUBA or PEDIGREE or (tons of others I can list).

Your so called experience with breeders who supposedly don't deal with high quality foods doesn't say much...I know tons of great breeders that feed high quality kibble or a raw diet and would completely disagree with you...so your statement isn't very viable...

Excuse me???? How long have you been doing research in animal nutrition? From your post above, my guess would be not very long!

You know little to nothing if all you can say is by-products and corn are junk. By-Products are actually the parts that would be eaten first by your dog if the prey were real, and they are, in fact, very nutritious. The ill feelings for by-products is just a stigma placed on them by humans who do not consume those products themselves and so then place those feelings on their dogs.

Corn, in fact, can also be nutritious if used correctly. Your dog does actually require a certain amount of carbohydrates in their diet- whether you choose to believe that or not. Corn, if finely ground, can be an excellent source of omega-6 fatty acids- the stuff that helps keep your dogs coat and skin healthy.

I did not say that I support Iams/Eukanuba and Purina. I said that they have been doing extensive research in animal nutrition for decades- which they have! Therefore, they do deserve a little of your respect. You may even owe Iams or Purina your dog's life someday if they ever become extremely ill. Iams and Purina have also been doing extensive health studies for decades. Can you name any other company that has dedicated so much to animal health and nutrition? My guess is not. So, before you go off on a tangent saying that Iams and Purina products are junk and outright hazardous, maybe it is you who has to put in more hours of research- and then certainly you will never be able to match the number of hours, days, weeks, months, and years that Iams and Purina has.

How long has your dog food company being doing extensive research in these areas? Or did they just steal their research studies from Iams and Purina? Do you honestly think that your dog food company did all of its own research to come up with their formula? Even I have to be honest with myself (because I do not feed an Iams or Purina product- despite what you may think) and say no.

Also, you may have talked to the owner of that website, but it still does not change the fact that the website is still based on one's opinion. So she can paste and copy ingredients, is that supposed to make the whole website factual? I don't think so. Actually, I could do the same thing. Would that make my website factual? No. It would be my opinion and I would not expect anyone to doing anything more than take it with a grain of salt.

One last thing, there was nothing in my post that constituted false information. I would never intentionally do that. However, there obviously was plenty in yours (for the reasons stated above). A few words for the wise, before you go trying to clean off someone else's front porch, perhaps you should clean off your own.

Darcy