Puppy food help...

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Mike da Carpenter
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Puppy food help...

Post by Mike da Carpenter » Fri Mar 09, 2018 4:42 pm

Hello all, our GSP turns 4 months old tomorrow, and it’s time to buy another bag of food. Currently, I’m feeding him Purina Pro Plan focus with the Golden retriever puppy on the front, and I’m considering switching to the Purina Pro Plan focus with the GSP puppy on on the front. The only difference I see is that there is Glucosamine in the GSP formula. Is there really any difference besides that in the two types? If he is doing fine on the one he is on, is it worth switching just to get the Glucosamine? Heck, I don’t even know what Glucosamine is.

Also was considering whether or not to switch over to performance All ages food just for the size of the food. Currently, he eats a cup of food as fast as it takes me to get a coffee cup out and filled up. My thoughts are that the larger pieces in “all stages” might slow him down a bit.

What are your thoughts?

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deseeker
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Re: Puppy food help...

Post by deseeker » Fri Mar 09, 2018 7:12 pm

I'm going to stay away from the food part of it and make a suggestion on the fast eating---they make bowls with big knobs in them that they can't get big mouthfuls at a time(they have to eat around the knobs. What I do if I want to slow the dog down eating is use a big pizza pan or a large cookie sheet and spread the food in a thin layer all over the surface. Unless they are like a vacuum cleaner with suction :lol:, it will slow them down eating a liitle bit because they can't get large mouthfuls at a time.
Good luck in the food fight that will probably start on whose food is best :lol:
I just feed my dogs food they like, that keeps them in good shape, with a good coat, min. poop, & that is reasonably priced. Just because it is the highest priced food doesn't mean it's the best food for your dog. JMO
:roll:

Mike da Carpenter
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Re: Puppy food help...

Post by Mike da Carpenter » Fri Mar 09, 2018 7:23 pm

To slow him down, we tried putting river rocks in the food bowl, and that lasted a little over a week till he learned to pick them up and set them outside the bowl, then turn into a vacuum again. I’ll probably stick with PPP puppy, but switch over to the one with the GSP on the front, and with hope, his voracious eating habits will subside with time.

Simply amazed how smart the GSP breed is. Wondering why I never had one before, but sure am glad I have one now.

KahlessDg
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Puppy food help...

Post by KahlessDg » Fri Mar 09, 2018 9:09 pm

Mike da Carpenter wrote:Hello all, our GSP turns 4 months old tomorrow, and it’s time to buy another bag of food. Currently, I’m feeding him Purina Pro Plan focus with the Golden retriever puppy on the front, and I’m considering switching to the Purina Pro Plan focus with the GSP puppy on on the front. The only difference I see is that there is Glucosamine in the GSP formula. Is there really any difference besides that in the two types? If he is doing fine on the one he is on, is it worth switching just to get the Glucosamine? Heck, I don’t even know what Glucosamine is.

Also was considering whether or not to switch over to performance All ages food just for the size of the food. Currently, he eats a cup of food as fast as it takes me to get a coffee cup out and filled up. My thoughts are that the larger pieces in “all stages” might slow him down a bit.

What are your thoughts?
Glucosamine is a supplement that basically protects and lubricates you dogs (and your) joints. I've been giving my 14 month old GSP a glucosamine supplement ever since he was about 6 months old. You mostly hear about giving it as an arthritis supplement, but since my pup is so active when training, and will be an endurance running buddy too, I thought I'd be proactive. Sorry I can't comment on the dog food, I feed a raw diet so don't know much about kibble.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

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Dakotazeb
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Re: Puppy food help...

Post by Dakotazeb » Sat Mar 10, 2018 12:05 pm

Take a look at some of these bowls on Chewy.com. They should solve your fast eating problem.

https://www.chewy.com/s?rh=c%3A288%2Cc% ... rge+Breeds
Janee's August Breeze - Bree
http://gundogcentral.com/view_pedigree. ... erations=5

NSTRA Champion Godfather's Dakota Elle 2008-2016
https://gundogcentral.com/view_pedigree ... erations=5

Steve007
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Re: Puppy food help...

Post by Steve007 » Sat Mar 10, 2018 3:11 pm

Dakotazeb wrote:Take a look at some of these bowls on Chewy.com. They should solve your fast eating problem.

https://www.chewy.com/s?rh=c%3A288%2Cc% ... rge+Breeds
I'll be darned. I didn't know that bowls like this existed. Good idea. The reason for them is that many people believe that food gulping increases the possibility of gastric torsion. Hard to say for sure, but a bowl like this does make sense where indicated.

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steingre
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Re: Puppy food help...

Post by steingre » Sat Mar 10, 2018 3:46 pm

Just a recommendation...from experience with my GSPs- spend a little more for a stainless steel bowl...or you'll end up with a chewed up plastic mess....and then buy a steel one anyway!!

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Re: Puppy food help

Post by birddogger2 » Wed May 08, 2019 6:00 am

gaptede wrote:
Sun May 05, 2019 2:47 am
hi i have 2 chow chows n i have been feeding them Diamond puppy dry dog food for a week . and i was wondering were there any body out there ever use that source of dog food. and is it a good source of dog food it has 31 protein and 20 fat... if have any info could you PLEASE HELP me out...
There are a bunch of dog foods out there. You could go nuts trying to figure out which feed is "the best". The thing to ask yourself is: " Are the dogs doing well on it?" Energy levels OK? Health OK? If so, you are probably fine.

Diamond is a major player, so I would assume that they have the right things in their feed on a continuing basis. Any of the national brands that feature performance type feeds(30/20) are probably very similar in terms of quality and ingredients.

If you start messing with some of the boutique brands, that is where the differences in ingredients will start to show up , and I think in terms of quality and consistency as well.

RayG

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mtlhdr
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Re: Puppy food help...

Post by mtlhdr » Thu May 09, 2019 5:26 pm

Check out the kong wobbler if you have a suitable surface to feed the dog on. Takes my gsp about 10 minutes to eat two cups and adds a little mental stimulation to dinnertime.

(https://www.amazon.com/KONG-PW1-Wobbler ... way&sr=8-3)

Mackenzie
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Re: Puppy food help...

Post by Mackenzie » Mon May 27, 2019 5:40 am

Hi. I’m kind of getting close to being in the same boat as yourself. My GSP is a little over 10 weeks now and I have her on the same exact food as you are feeding yours. My breeder said give that to her for a year. I took her yesterday to her first training session yesterday at the local NAVHDA chapter and he said put her on the All Life Stages formula after this bag. I originally bought two of the 37.5 lbs bags so I’m going use up these two bags which will last a good bit so I don’t waste them them I’ll probably start mixing in the All Life Stages. I’ve read on here where a lot of people feed the All Life Stages from the get go. If I remember correctly some people mentioned that with the All Life Stages the puppies might grow to fast on this formula. Don’t quote me on that, but it was something to that extent that’s why some others suggested keeping on the puppy formula longer. Hopefully someone with more knowledge then myself will weigh in on this.

You are correct GSP are very smart and excellent dogs. This is our second our first lived to be almost 15 then sadly we had to put her down out of nowhere from Mega Esophagus. She was and unbelievable dog. I hope I didn’t get over my head on the new puppy. When I told the people at NAVHDA yesterday where we got her from they said I’ll have my hands full. They said she’ll be a cross between a Ferrari and a Mack truck. Oh boy
Good luck with your dog you’ll have a lot of great time together

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DonF
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Re: Puppy food help...

Post by DonF » Fri May 31, 2019 12:59 pm

Something I've noticed about every dog and puppy I've ever had is that normally they do well on what ever I feed them. I've got Sis on Purina puppy chow,,,sometimes! It was what she'd been on when I picked her up and what I kept her on. Something I've noticed about all my pup's and even adult dog's is the puppy's steal adult food if they have the chance and adult dog's do the same with puppy food. Neither show any bad effect's from it. But if you made different brands of food and wanted people to buy your puppy formula, Wouldn't you advertise it as needed for puppy's growth? Of course you would otherwise no one would buy the stuff. I'm caught in the same trap. I've always started pup's out on puppy food, it's better for them, manufacturer say so! And first chance they get they steal mom's food and she simply trades with them. Ever wonder what a coyote pup eats?

So from the labs of manufacturer's come's the just right food for your pup, people trained to develop it have said so! Who are we to dispute their advice?

BTW, the next bag of food I get for Sis will also be puppy food. Squirt and Stormy love it and Sis like's it and their food as well! She's doing fine! The puppy food is better for her, Purina's technician's told me so!
I pity the man that has never been loved by a dog!

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Re: Puppy food help...

Post by cjhills » Fri May 31, 2019 7:26 pm

A coyote pup eats whatever momma Coyote regurgitates for him. My females do the same thing when the pups get about six weeks old. The puppies go crazy over it. I do prefer PPPP small breed puppy. I like the small kibbles because I start them on solid food as soon as they get teeth at about for weeks I just toss them a handful when the mother is out. in a few days they are eating good. But Momma dog quits doing the clean up then. I don't like that very good.
One other thing. I have only fed about four different brands of dog food. All were performance and all pretty much the same.
I have never had a dog that would not eat any of the foods I have used.…..Cj

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DonF
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Post by DonF » Tue Jun 11, 2019 9:18 am

Steve007 wrote:
Sat Mar 10, 2018 3:11 pm
Dakotazeb wrote:Take a look at some of these bowls on Chewy.com. They should solve your fast eating problem.

https://www.chewy.com/s?rh=c%3A288%2Cc% ... rge+Breeds
I'll be darned. I didn't know that bowls like this existed. Good idea. The reason for them is that many people believe that food gulping increases the possibility of gastric torsion. Hard to say for sure, but a bowl like this does make sense where indicated.
It's like everything else. If there's a market or they think they can create one, it will exist! My old GSP, Drifter, was a vacuum cleaner. Suck the whole bowl so fast you wouldn't believe it then vomit it back up and eat much slower. He only lived to 14 yrs, must have killed him! Oh, the ex ran him as an all age and he placed every time he was run, probably the fault of that da*n food and gulping it down to quick. I'm pretty sure I know where it came from. I used to teach the dog's to eat. I put down their food and about ten minutes later picked it up and that was it till next feeding. Only picked up on Lefty a couple time's and ever since he turned into a vacuum. It's funny what we go through feeding our dog's. Shoot tell me it's the best for what ever reason and I'll probably buy it! I am actually clueless though. The best food's are first the food the dog will eat and then one they can maintain energy on at a normal pace. People suggest if the vet sell's it, it's good! First off if the vet sell's it, it's expensive. Next Having seen dog's do well on food my vet would throw away, I wonder what a vet really knows. Funny thing, when I found out I had diabetes, rather than outline what I should eat to fight it, the doctor sent me to a nutritionist! I though doctor's knew all about that, must have been wrong! Same thing for vet's. Nutrition is what it is and what one dog thrive's on another may not! Doesn't mean one food is better than another but rather simply one dog does well on one food and then next something different. In the process of trying to do right by our dog's we become something e re not, nutritionist! Ya know, with all the claim's different companies make for their dog food, I have to wonder if their nutritionist really went to school for that! Some of us remember Gaines dog food. They had a huge testing facility full of dog's and I'm sure their food was very good. Small kibble's and every one looked the same, I never fed it. Probably didn't look like dog food to my experienced eye! Best food I ever fed was Biscuit, can't get it anymore. Had to order a ton at a time from the factory as couldn't get it around here. It was a money saving idea I had at the time and every dog I had here thrived on it and ate it well. In fact when I turned them over to it, they picked out the food I had been feeding and spit it on the ground uneaten! They chose the Biscuit, every one of them. Something I was told years ago is that dog food is sprayed with oil as a flavor enhancer. Stick your hand into and bag of dog food and you can feel the stuff on your hands. Biscuit didn't do that, the food was baked. never saw a dog not eat it well. I have tried different little sample bags different company's put out and my good eater's always ate them. The suspect eater's turned their nose up to some of them. Make's me think that the best food for your dog is something they will eat! Even better if you can afford it. Friend of mine feed's a premium food found only in feed store's. 30# bag cost $42! Her dog's do very well on it. She think's it's the only food they will eat! I feed Old Roy High Pro. 50# bag is about $22! My dog's do very well on it! Which is better? The one the dog's will eat normally!

Over the years I have tried a few premium feeds. First venture there was Nutro Max. Dog's did well on it. Then a couple other's and the dog's did well on them. Draw back was the dog's weren't doing any better than they were on the "junk" from the grocery store I was feeding. Also if I was away from home and ran out of food for any reason, the grocery store had what I was feeding back then and the premium food's were mostly in feed store's somewhere, maybe! I recall a lab pro many years ago near Portland, Ore. I was out there and he had a huge amount of inexpensive Fred Meyer brand dog food. I ask him why and he said it's a lot cheaper and the dog's do fine on it! WOW!

I'm sorry. Mention dog food and I do get carried away!
I pity the man that has never been loved by a dog!

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