Purina?

Since everyone was raving about it, and Marsh is trashed on kibble anyway, I picked up a small bag today. We'll see how it goes!

I had a coupon, but it sure is nice to get a 4# bag for $5 XD

I actually really like Beyond. I fed it for a few small bags until I started feeding Farmina but I honestly might go back - it's more convenient to buy & cheaper. I kind of want to try Pro Plan Sensitive Stomach & Skin too because he tends to do best on 'simple' formulas and has "somewhat" of a sensitive stomach. But he looked and did great on it *shrugs*

I was just really happy to get my dad feeing Pro Plan instead of the cheapest possible brand with no meat in it. Mojo still gets 3-4 cups of food per day but he's not as itchy so that's an improvement. Dad's cat is on one of the weight loss foods but of course, is overfed soooo that's not working out

My boy Pap was on ProPlan kibble and cans before we got him but switched to 4-Health kibble. The ProPlan diet was giving him tear stains and the 4-Health is better for that. Now we mix in a bit of canned 4-Health just because we think they like it but it isn't all that critical. There just isnt much nutritional value in the canned foods.

Somewhat unrelated - He had some digestive issues with loose stools as a young pup but we started adding a tablespoon of pure pumpkin puree (not pie filling) to his food and he firmed up nicely. He does not need it anymore - no problems since.

-Mark.

On the subject of purina...

Has anyone tried their puppy formulas? I'm always hesitant to feed stuff with corn in it, but my puppy is used to corn already in his diet and I'm having a hard time figuring out what I'm going to feed him. He was on a mix of Blue Seal Pork & Barley mixed with California Natural Lamb & Rice. He did well on that, but I think the breeder has him mainly eating the blue seal now. Blue seal makes me a little hesitant because I know nothing about the food and because it's not easy for me to find. TSC is listed as a distributor, but when I called them they said they don't normally carry it, but could order it for me. I don't want to feed something that is going to be difficult for me to find if I'm running low and really need to run out and get food asap.

I also need to keep costs down a little with feeding dogs now. My adult dogs are on Fromm lamb & lentil which I get for about $55 for a 26lb bag or so through my work. When I bought a bag at another local store I paid about $70 for the same bag. I'm going to be looking for something for the adult dogs to eat and may switch them to pro plan as well? Only thing is Cricket has food allergies I have to watch for and Bamm has to be on grain free because surprisingly switching him to completely grain free has made a difference in his behavior. I'm planning to quit my job so I wont be able to get the fromm discounted anymore.

I'm hesitant because people have always been so negative about Purina and corn has always been so shunned. But if dogs are doing well on it....

This is the specific puppy food I'm curious about
http://www.chewy.com/dog/purina-pro-plan-focus-puppy-lamb/dp/52419

I've fed it with great success.

Ok I think I'm going to pick up a bag and try it. If he doesn't do well on it I can always get him something else and just mix the remainder of the bag in with Joey's food.

Kim was on Purina Puppy when I got her and she was a gastrointestinal mess. But she's sensitive.

I haven't tried it since.

We fed Sadie Pro Plan puppy (and then the Chicken and Rice as an adult) and she did very well on it. She had a bit of a dry coat, but otherwise she looked and felt good.

I've only ever had three puppies. Sadie was through a guide dog program, so they determined what to feed her. When I brought Chloe home, I tried to feed her the "best" food, and she had horrible diarrhea. I then jumped between "quality" foods and battled diarrhea the entire time. It wasn't until I switched to a grain inclusive formula (4Health Salmon and Potato) that she actually became happy to eat and the diarrhea stopped. (Well, I lie. She did well on TOTW Wetlands.) Abrams, same kind of story. He was being fed Eukanuba large breed puppy by the breeder. I wanted him on something "better". Can't really remember what food I started off with him (I was very concerned about his growth so was trying to find a suitable food) and his poops were never actually good until we switched to Pro Plan Sensitive Stomach (although he, too, did well on the 4Health Salmon and Potato). We're now transitioning over to the Sport formula (it's cheaper) and so far so good.

I guess my point being...If your dog does well on a food, don't write it off as being bad just because it has grains (or corn). Look at how the ingredients work together, look at the nutrient panel, look at the research behind the food. There are some foods I wouldn't touch with a 20 foot pole, including some made by Purina. But I've come to think that it is silly to rule out a food simply because it doesn't have a popular ingredient list. I never would have tried Abrams on the Sensitive formula otherwise, and I'd still have a horribly gassy dog who pooped giant piles at least 5x a day.

One thing I've been very consciously doing with Pilot is making sure he eats lots of different kinds of food early. Kibbled, canned, rehydrated, raw, frozen. Different meats - lamb, chicken, beef, turkey, duck, salmon (rabbit is my reserve novelty protein) - and different starches. I want him to accept anything I put down in front of him as "food" without blowing up.

This, totally.

Well we've tried purina sport for a couple weeks almost and I am not sure if it is coincidence but both my dogs have been chewing their feet now and their allergies are acting up worse. Mia is really having an increase in coughing and other breathing issues.

So I am going to switch them back to annamaet I think. I may do one bag of Acana since I have to order the annamaet online.

I will tell you that around here the last 2-3 weeks have been the absolute worst allergy season I have ever seen even for dogs who have never had allergies in their lives, so it could be a coincidence. Might be worth it to try again in the winter when it's easier to see what's what.

Yeah I am not convinced it's the food either. My allergies are acting up terribly right now too. It's hard to tell though for now I am going to switch them back to something they've traditionally done well on and see. I may try again during winter.

Here too. Poor Webby and Kim. Keeping it in check with very very stringent diet and frequent gentle baths to wash off environmental allergens but holy smokes.

The allergies have been really bad here too actually. Cricket has been ridiculously itchy, sneezy and keeps getting bad eye goop. Even the boys have been itchy and sneezy.

Allergies are bad here as well. Emma and Zara are getting tear stains, Rylie's eyes are watery, and Rory is itching. Ugh.

Haven't been here for a while- but thought I would chime in. I have tried about every high end food on the market over the past 10 yrs, but always end up going back to Pro Plan. I use Pro Plan Performance (30/20) and Pro Plan Sensitive as my go to foods.

Joey (red fawn) is a 2 yr old high energy Greyhound- he eats PPP and River (black) is a 8 month old Greyhound who also eats PPP.

She is recovering from a broken leg, just has the pins taken out a little over a month ago so she is just starting to build muscle in her back legs

Jack 5 yr old Boston also eats Pro Plan Performance

More update: Yeah definitely not liking the Purina. I am currently mixing in wellness to get rid of the bag. I'm not 100% it is the purina but Mia's getting red feet, brittle coat, that kind of thing.

That's the first food they've ever eaten with corn in it so I can't help but be suspicious. Could be environmental allergies but at this point I don't want to risk it.

They do fine on One Beyond though but it is corn free. (Do they even make One Beyond anymore? I don't see it for sale at the store that used to carry it) Mia and Summer haven't ever had food problems whether grain free or grain inclusive.

Yea, even if it's not the corn it's not like there aren't enough foods without corn out there to choose from instead.