Best food for puppy

Question
Hi,
We just adopted a 6 month old female retriever/spaniel mix from the SPCA.
She was spayed 1 week ago and is an inside dog. In the
past we had a golden retriever with SEVERE skin allergies where nothing we
did helped, so we are extremely sensitive to a dog's diet and are in search of
the best possible food available. I don't know anything about the raw food
diet and I'm not sure we would have the time to take on such a commitment
at this time. We have been feeding a mix of Innova Puppy dry with a small
amount of Canidae canned for flavor and moisture. We also had been rotating
the Innova with Natural Balance but are now mixing it with Chicken Soup for
the.... I'm reading it's not best to mix foods together but rather to rotate
between 3 or 4 for maximum effect and resistance to possible allergies. I've
read your lengthy description of recommended food and what to avoid, etc.
and that has been very enlightening. I've also looked up some of your brand
recommendations such as the new one Taste of the Wild but I don't see a
specific puppy formula.  Is it best to stick with puppy formulas at this time or
are the all stages formulas (such as Canidae) okay at this age? Until what age
do I feed puppy formulas? Since she is a retriever/spaniel mix do I feed her
large breed formulas or not? I also don't know any recommendations on
treats. I found only one so far for puppies by Wellness. Please give me your
opinion as to the best for our dog. We already are giving her antibiotics for a
rash she has developed in the last two days possibly related to the bandage
she go this week to keep her from licking her spay incision. I'm having
flashbacks from our golden retriever!

Answer
All Life Stages foods are fine, Ivette. I have >never< fed puppy food, and to be honest, many puppy foods, and large breed formulas as well, contain things like corn, that the adult formulas of the same brand do not have in them. Why feed your dog a lower quality food simply because it says it's for puppies or large breeds? Now, having said that, I want to point out that Innova puppy and Chicken Soup for puppies are high quality foods, and there's nothing wrong with feeding those formulas. You are right in that it's better to rotate foods than mix them, for the reasons you've read online.

With large breed puppies, it's usually a good idea to put them on adult food at around 6-7 months of age, so you could stop feeding her puppy food now if you wanted - finish out the bags that you have and then don't buy any more.


My opinion on treats is that they are treats. Chocolate isn't exactly good for us, but there's nothing wrong with having a candy bar or a piece of chocolate cake for dessert. Moderation is key. I feed all kinds of treats, but sparingly. Even a dog that has allergies to corn or wheat can usually have a treat that contains corn or wheat without showing any adverse effects.

Depending on what you're using the treats for, anything is pretty much fine. I do try to avoid store brands, though. For >training<, I like to use treats that are a little better for the dog, since they are getting more of them than other types of treats. Natural Balance rolls cut into cubes works well for training purposes, and it is actually considered to be a >food<, so it's nutritionally balanced.