Good Kibble for a Border Collie/Red Heeler Pup

[Leann1990]

Hi,

I am going to be getting a Border Collie/Red Heeler puppy in the near future (she turned 3 weeks this past Sunday), I have been doing a lot of research on dog foods and I know that what the parents have been fed is pretty low quality.

I want to feed my puppy good quality food and so far I've just ended up utterly confused. With all of the ingredients you DON'T want in your food and the stuff that you DO want and where you want it to be in the ingredient list my head is about to explode.

So I decided to make an account so I can connect with other people who own active breeds (my puppy will be my jogging partner as well as a working dog on a farm).

My question is this: What are some good brands that will provide the nutrition my puppy will need as she is growing?

I look forward to hearing from the community, so far the list I've compiled includes:
Orijen (though I can't find it ANYWHERE locally), Kirkland (the Costco brand??), Blue Buffalo, and Nutro (My local feed stores carry this but I'm not sure if it's good or not)

[kevin bradley]

I would scratch Nutro off your list IMMEDIATELY.

No way no how no chance.

Your other options listed range from stellar(Orjien) to so so(Kirkland) in my opinion.

I'd add Acana to your list if you want to save a few dollars.

[ghostrunner]

Orijen, of course, is an excellent food, although the price makes some folks hesitate. But given that you dog appears to have a very active life ahead of it (jogging + working), a dense, high-energy, grain-free food like Orijen would be a great choice.

If it is too pricey, there are other excellent grain-free foods available. Taste of the Wild is cheaper, and some of the concers regarding its use of certain preservatives may not be as relevant now, as it appears that they're moving away from that.

Blue Buffalo is a decent food, although the same manufacturer makes a grain-free version called Blue Wilderness. If you want to go cheaper, I there is a food called Nature's Domain that may be available at your Costco. It is also grain-free.

[MollyWoppy]

Now, that is one pup who's going to keep you on your toes!
I also have a 3-1/2yo blue heeler x who's constantly on the go. She started out on Nutro puppy food (before I knew any better) but chucked it out when I found it on the 2007 petfood recall list. That recall scared me enough to start exploring the ingredients in dog food and discovered that it was a pretty lousy food anyway. We immediately swopped over to Orijen/EVO/Wellness kibble, all grain free, each meal with a different protein source and supplemented with their canned foods.
Do enjoy her puppyhood, both ACD's & BC's are just the cutest pup's out there.

[Leann1990]

Thank you all for the suggestions. I will start looking around for some of these brands and see if I can find them anywhere locally.

I've heard that with active puppies like her you want a diet with high protein, mid-low fat, low calcium and low carbs but that doesn't sound right to me. Carbs are energy, or that's what I was told in nutrition class in high school, so wouldn't I want to find a diet with higher carbs? And higher calcium should be better for her bones... right?

[kevin bradley]

Leann,

I wouldn't listen to much of what you hear. I'm not going to go so far as to say that Dogs don't need carbs. They can use carbs for energy.

However, when Iams tells you they fill their food w/ Corn....for the necessary carbs that dogs need...it's pretty much BS.

Dogs certainly lean towards being carnivores(yes, they can and do consume carbs in the wild)...

You want meat/protein in a good quality food....and I'll let others chime in because I believe Puppies do have some special needs. Suffice to say though...you are going to get pointed to a good high meat/high protein diet from 99% of the members out here.

[luvMyBRT]

One thing that I looked into when looking for Orijen was online. I know several people here order their kibbles on line and love the service. I have to watch for the "free shipping" specials because the regular shipping costs way too much for me ($20+ PER bag!).

I would check into:
heartypet.com
k9cusine.com
petfooddirect.com

You can join their mailing list and receive offers via email.

I personally think that the Orijen Puppy kibble would be awesome for your pup if you can find/get it!

[JayJayisme]

Carbs are energy, or that's what I was told in nutrition class in high school, so wouldn't I want to find a diet with higher carbs?

Was your high school nutrition class on canine nutrition or human nutrition? Rabbits are herbivores, humans are omnivores, and dogs are carnivores. The diets for each species are very different from one-another. You wouldn't feed a steak to a rabbit, right? Why would you feed corn to a dog?

Dogs obtain much of their energy from fat, ideally animal fat. They have no need for carbohydrates and, in fact, the highly processed carbs on most commercial dog food is actually very bad for them. There is a canine obesity and diabetes epidemic upon us now. Could the fact that it coincides with the "recent" (meaning within the last 60 or so years) use of carb-loaded fillers in commercial pet food merely be a coincidence? Do the math and it's pretty hard to conclude anything other than a link between these diseases in dogs and common modern food (i.e. commercial dog food).

[Leann1990]

You've all made very good points... I hadn't thought about the protein and fat being converted to energy for dogs, just as muscle builder/maintainer and something to contribute to taste/weight. I think I may look into raw feeding if I can't find Orijen locally (shipping is really expensive x.x)

[buddy97]

Orijen locally (shipping is really expensive x.x)

try here:

Bellingham

Clark Feed & Seed
1326 - Railroad Avenue
Bellingham, WA 98225
Phone: (360) 733-8330