Is Purina Puppy Chow REALLY good for 4 month old?

serryjw

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Thu May-05-05 07:22 PM
Original message

Is Purina Puppy Chow REALLY good for 4 month old?

A co-worker adopted a sicky/undernourished/abuse German Shepard. The VET said to feed her PPC?? Is this the best choice? I thought all this stuff had animal by products in it??

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prozacnation

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Thu May-05-05 07:40 PM
Response to Original message

1. Does he get a kick back?

I think that's one of the worst possible things you can feed a dog. She should definitely be feeding one of the more organic or natural foods. Other people on DU are far more knowledgeable on pet foods then I am but even I know that's crap.

I feel my dogs Pinnacle which is a great food. It is human grade and it helps to keep them healthy. It is also makes their poop smell less which works out well for me.

I'm sure you'll get some great advice for your friend. Good luck.

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Lorien

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Thu May-05-05 09:13 PM
Response to Original message

2. Pinnacle is a good brand, as is Wellness

Innova, California Natural, Artemis Fresh Mix, Karma, Newman's Own, Organix, Merrick, Solid Gold, etc. Check your local health food store, or go to www.artemiscompany.com for a retailer search.

Your vet probably gets kickbacks for recommending Purina. Pet food companies lobby vets like drug companies lobby doctors.

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China_cat

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Fri May-06-05 07:46 AM
Response to Original message

3. My vet threatened to drop us

if we ever fed Purina anything to our dogs (or cats). Or Science Diet or even Iam's. And that was YEARS before all these reports about what's in pet food.

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serryjw

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Fri May-06-05 03:14 PM
Response to Reply #3

5. Why don't you like Science Diet or Iams?

n/t

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China_cat

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Fri May-06-05 09:21 PM
Response to Reply #5

9. First ingredient...ground yellow corn.

Then corn in 2 more places, for a total by weight of more than 50% corn.

Plus the fact that my original vet, who we were with for 27 years until she retired, absolutely refused to recommend them and let us know that we would be doing our dogs a big disservice if we fed it to them.

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flvegan

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Fri May-06-05 10:40 AM
Response to Original message

4. Best choice? No.

And depending upon HOW undernourished, your co-worker shouldn't go overboard trying to put weight on him. Puppy Chow is crap, sorry to say. That dog needs quality food. There have been some good suggestions here. Some folks are turned off by holistic or healthy dog food, though. Nutro makes a good, quality food that you can easily find for a decent price.

Good on your co-worker for taking in a tough case. They might consider looking for another vet, though.

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Lorien

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Fri May-06-05 03:51 PM
Response to Reply #4

6. Nutro is a huge GOP contributor

they also do not use human grade ingredients, which means that the product could contain contaminated, spoiled meats and animal waste (there are strict USDA guidelines for what can be considered "human grade-all else is "pet grade"; what is allowable in "pet grade" meats would turn your stomach)!

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calico1

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Fri May-06-05 05:56 PM
Response to Reply #6

7. I agree about Nutro.

I won't buy it anymore. I have an article floating around about best food for dogs. Its from "The Whole Dog"--- a newsletter I subscribe to. I will try and post it tomorrow. From what I remember though, Iams, Science Diet and ANYTHING you can buy at a supermarket or pet food chain is no good. Good, wholesome brands include Newman's Own, Chicken Soup for the Pet's Soul, Wellness. There are also some ingredients you should look for and some to stay away from. I will look for it and post tomorrow.

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flvegan

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Fri May-06-05 08:12 PM
Response to Reply #6

8. Well, as much as it may pain some

I put animals before political contributions. I suggested Nutro as an alternative possibility. When one starts talking specialty food, oftentimes they glaze over, and Ole Roy becomes "just as good" because it's dog food.

I understand pet grade v. human grade. I will look into Nutro's ingredients in regards to that.

All our dogs and rescues are vegetarian, so recommendations such as this can be tough (nobody thinks a dog should be vegetarian).

Thanks for the feedback, info, and things to think about.

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Lorien

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Fri May-06-05 09:22 PM
Response to Reply #8

10. The oldest living dog in Guinness is a life long

vegetarian (a 27 year old border collie) dogs are not obligate carnivores. Wysong makes a great vegetarian dog food. Go to www.waggintails.com for a list of other human grade pet foods.

I started my kittens on Nutro, until another DUer who did both cat shows and rescues told me that Nutro was well known by professionals for contributing to kidney disease.By getting your dog off Nutro, you are putting both your pets and your politics at the forefront, IMO.

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flvegan

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Fri May-06-05 09:31 PM
Response to Reply #10

12. I don't personally use Nutro

just offered as an alternative.

Dogs, being omnivores like people, thrive (like people) on a veg diet. I could tell you some stories...

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China_cat

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Fri May-06-05 09:23 PM
Response to Reply #8

11. Dogs can go vegetarian and thrive

but too many people think that if dogs can, so can cats. And the cats end up blind and/or dead because of it.

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flvegan

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Fri May-06-05 09:32 PM
Response to Reply #11

13. Cats are very tough.

Which is why, regardless of my thoughts and beliefs, our stray cats all eat a carnivorous diet.

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China_cat

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Fri May-06-05 11:38 PM
Response to Reply #13

14. They're tough

but they get no nutrition from anything but meat. Yes, they eat other things as fillers and because of taste but they are obligate carnivores and cannot live without meat.

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American Tragedy

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Sat May-07-05 05:37 PM
Response to Reply #14

15. I don't consider carnivorous activity to be morally wrong...

which is why both I and my dog are munching on some very, very good free-range chicken right now. :)

I do think it's one of the difficult 'facts of life' along with sexuality, and probably should be treated with similar delicacy, especially around children. My brother was really traumatized when he saw a cow slaughtered in our neighbors' backyard. Similarly, my grandmother had a terrible time explaining why their cat would lay dead birds and rodents neatly in a row on the doorstep, throats slit with almost razor precision.

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BrklynLiberal

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Sat May-07-05 05:47 PM
Response to Reply #8

16. Dogs are opportunistic omnivores which means they can eat whatever is

Edited on Sat May-07-05 05:52 PM by BrklynLiberal

is available..so they can certainly survive as vegetarians. My German Shepherd lived his last 5 years as a vegetarian.
The taurine that cats need is found in meat.

EDIT: One rule of thumb I use is that any pet food that you can find in a super market is not a food that you should feed your pet.

If you can possibly manage it, use holistic food. The extra money you spend on food you will save on vet bills, and you will have your pet around for a longer time and in healthier condition.

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RaRa

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Mon May-16-05 01:47 PM
Response to Original message

17. My vet says to stay away from anything you can get at a standard grocer

She's a German Shepard owner (as am I) and we use Royal Canin. She also says that good nutrition is especially important while they are puppies. Even Eukanuba is better than PPC.

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mopinko

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Tue May-17-05 09:31 AM
Response to Original message

18. i'm feeding my rescue

abady. wow, instant dog. within a few days she had gained weight and lost her dandruff. don't know if they have a puppy formula, but it is all human grade, meat, etc, no corn, no filler. expensive shit, tho.

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