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Ok. The pup is a 3/4 Corgi and 1/4 Border Collie. He is eighteen weeks old right now. I am an animal services professional, but only somewhat knowledgeable about the specifics of nutrition for dogs- horses I am much better with. I know enough not to feed corn or wheat, to rotate proteins to prevent development of skin allergies (on the advice of a canine nutritionist after I found out that my mother's dog had become allergic to his food), and I certainly know that anything made by grocery store brands is junk. I can read a label and tell the difference between great, good, and no good, but between the brands that seem good I could use a little guidance on an ideal diet for my puppy.
When my puppy was weaned, he started on Nutro Max Puppy. I switched him to Nutro Natural Choice because it was a better quality at about ten weeks, and then up to Ultra at about twelve weeks because I wanted the salmon for his skin and coat. I briefly tried a sensitive stomach formula from Nutro Natural Choice, but it didn't agree with him. He is eighteen weeks now (as I believe I mentioned) and I have switched him over to Natural Balance Venison and Rice. I would like to keep him on the Natural Balance brand because it offers several different formulas so I can switch his protein sources each bag. I tried a sample of Innova EVO, but it is not only too expensive :yikes: for someone still in college and working a job that's more for love than money, it also didn't really agree with him. I feed Natural Balance canned and occasionally Canidae, California Naturals, Addiction, or Merrick's canned. I do give him Natural Balance Eatables sometimes because he likes it so much, but I know that is lower in protein.
I am willing to do some home cooking to supplement his dry food, but raw and the more super-premium boutique brands are out of my price range right now. I probably need to stick with a Petco brand because I'm able to get the associate discount there because I work part time as a CEI (teach training classes) for them for a little steady income to help support me as I try to start my own business. My boy has always had excellent skin and coat, passed his vet checkup with flying colors except a late blooming testicle that the vet is giving some more time to make an appearance before neutering. His fur is very soft and shiny except where he wears his coat down sleeping in his water dish (???? weird dog ????). I would like to stick mostly with dry and canned, but could supplement with home cooking.
So for the experts out there- if this was your puppy, with those restrictions, what would you feed him, what would you cook for him (I do brown rice and ground beef once in a while already), etc.?
When my puppy was weaned, he started on Nutro Max Puppy. I switched him to Nutro Natural Choice because it was a better quality at about ten weeks, and then up to Ultra at about twelve weeks because I wanted the salmon for his skin and coat. I briefly tried a sensitive stomach formula from Nutro Natural Choice, but it didn't agree with him. He is eighteen weeks now (as I believe I mentioned) and I have switched him over to Natural Balance Venison and Rice. I would like to keep him on the Natural Balance brand because it offers several different formulas so I can switch his protein sources each bag. I tried a sample of Innova EVO, but it is not only too expensive :yikes: for someone still in college and working a job that's more for love than money, it also didn't really agree with him. I feed Natural Balance canned and occasionally Canidae, California Naturals, Addiction, or Merrick's canned. I do give him Natural Balance Eatables sometimes because he likes it so much, but I know that is lower in protein.
I am willing to do some home cooking to supplement his dry food, but raw and the more super-premium boutique brands are out of my price range right now. I probably need to stick with a Petco brand because I'm able to get the associate discount there because I work part time as a CEI (teach training classes) for them for a little steady income to help support me as I try to start my own business. My boy has always had excellent skin and coat, passed his vet checkup with flying colors except a late blooming testicle that the vet is giving some more time to make an appearance before neutering. His fur is very soft and shiny except where he wears his coat down sleeping in his water dish (???? weird dog ????). I would like to stick mostly with dry and canned, but could supplement with home cooking.
So for the experts out there- if this was your puppy, with those restrictions, what would you feed him, what would you cook for him (I do brown rice and ground beef once in a while already), etc.?