Good food for a small breed puppy?

[Dolly]

Does anyone have any suggestions for a good food for a small mix breed puppy? The breeder feeds Royal Canin (small breed puppy formula), which I've heard is good but could be better. She gave me some of it so I don't need to buy food yet, but I'm not sure if I want to switch him or not.

I was thinking of trying Chicken Soup for the Puppy Lover's Soul, but the breeder said they have more/messier poop on it so I don't think I'll try it. I really want to try Canidae, but I only see an "all life stages" food and I'm not sure if that's good for small breed puppies? And what about Wellness brand?

I would love to feed Eagle Pack, but there aren't any places that sell it around here and I don't want to be stuck with a big bag from buying it online.

Sorry for all the questions! I know small breed puppies and large breed puppies have different requirements, but am a little unclear on that so I thought I'd ask. I'd appreciate any advice.

 

[showpug]

The foods I have had really great luck with for small breed puppies are:

Innova EVO http://www.naturapet.com/display.php?d=product-detail&pxsl=//product[@id='1246']

Eagle Pack Holistic Select Chicken & Rice (you can buy a small bag online too ) http://www.eaglepack.com/Pages/HS_Chicken.html

Canidae ALS http://www.canidae.com/dogs/all_life_stages/dry.html

Solid Gold Just A Wee Bit http://www.solidgoldhealth.com/products/showproduct.php?id=68&code=140

That has been my experience anyway...

Good luck

 

[Herschel]

We started our small, mixed-breed puppy out on Wellness. He had horrible diarrhea problems, which I later found out are fairly common with their new formulation.

Then, we switched to Canidae. He loves it, his coat is really glossy, and he has tons of energy. We switched him to Innova for a while to give him variety but he very quickly (not even one small bag) stopped liking the taste, his coat lost its luster, his stool was inconsistent (sometimes he was constipated, sometimes it was runny), and he lost his drive.

We switched back to Canidae and things have been so great. He eats every meal immediately, doesn't look around for more food, and is in great shape. I think their feeding guidelines on the bag are a little bit high, so follow them until your puppy reaches 6 months, then adjust accordingly.

Good luck!

 

[deb27]

With mine I have had good luck with Eagle Pack and Innova (evo and reg) They seem to eat those easily and do great on them!

 

[Cheetah]

I've fed my corgi Canidae ALS from 12 weeks old on, and he does wonderful on it. I'm not sure if you could consider him a "small" breed though...

 

[girlbuffalo1]

Wrigley as a pup ate eagle pack puppy formula dry with a bit of the puppy formula wet mixed in.

 

[Dolly]

Thanks so much for the imput, guys! I'm glad to hear that Canidae ALS is ok for smaller pups, I will definitely try switching him to that when I can. He's so tiny though that I think he needs that itty bitty Royal Canin kibble size for now! He's only 7 weeks (eep!), and was just getting started on the Royal Canin so I don't want to switch him too soon.

And if the Canidae doesn't agree with him, I'll probably just risk it and order some Eagle Pack online since it seems to be highly recommended too. Its a lil cheaper than the Wellness anyway! Thanks for the warning about that, Herschel.

 

[Herschel]

Good luck! You might want to try adding some warm water to the kibble to soften it for him. It also helps dogs get enough water.

Canidae's kibble size is pretty small so I don't think a 7-week puppy would have too much of a problem with the size. However, Herschel likes to chew each piece and it does sound kind of hard. Wait until 9 or 10 weeks and then switch, but keep adding warm water.

 

[Dolly]

Thanks, Herschel! And that's a good idea adding warm water, for some reason I hadn't even thought of that, lol. Its good to hear that Canidae's kibble size isn't too big -- and hopefully he'll have grown a lot more by the time he's 9-10 weeks!

 

[~Jessie~]

I have 3 chihuahuas, and they are all on Timberwolf Organics. It is for all life stages

 

[deb27]

Mine wouldn't touch Canidae, (and my pug with eat pretty much anything!)I know the special pet stores around here that carry the good brands have tons of samples, maybe you can get a sample of a few different ones.