# New pup



## teemak (Feb 25, 2011)

Hi! We're bringing home our new aussie pup next Saturday. The breeder currently have the pups on Purina Puppy Chow and we would like to switch her off of that pretty quick once we have her at home. Problem is, I have no idea what to switch her to! There are so many good options out there and the more I read, the more confused I get lol Grain free vs grain inclusive. Puppy vs ALS. I think we'd like to do a rotation through foods eventually, but right just want to get started! Would our standard size aussie need puppy food? We're getting a female so she'll likely be at or just under 50lbs full grown. We're interested in Acana (will consider grain inclusive), Orijen, TOTW, Go!/Now! and Blue Buffalo. I realize that it really depends on the individual pup and any of these choices would be good, but I guess what I'm really confused about is whether to go grain free and if we should stick with puppy food or all life stages. Anyway, would appreciate any thoughts. Thanks!


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## Boxers&Pom's Mom (Jan 17, 2011)

Congratulations with your new puppy! To change your puppy to a new food you need to do it slowly. So, for the next 10 days you need to feed her with Purina and start adding the new food very slowly until you feed her the new food completely.
Did u ever considering feeding her RAW? 
I just got a Baby Pomeranian 3 weeks ago and I had the same dilemma that you have of how to switch her to a better quality food until I decide just to go straight RAW Prey Model. I am so glad I did it! Her Carnivorous Instinct came back so fast, faster than my 6 and 7 years old Boxer. She ates like a champion and I was able to switch her the first day that I got her.
Good Luck with your new puppy.
I am sure you are going to get a lot of recommendations for all the great peoples in this forum.


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## Jackielyn (May 27, 2009)

I would recommend keeping your new baby on her current food for at least a couple of weeks. There will be lots of new changes going on and changing her food will just add to the stress. Let her get settled before you change the food. I'm not sure about puppy vs adult food...i always feed mine an ALS food or adult...never puppy. Usually the formulas are about the same but you pay more for a puppy label...


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## teemak (Feb 25, 2011)

Thanks! I did a little more researching and finally decided what we're going to start with. I have considered feeding RAW, but don't think it's for us at this point in time. I'd love to try it later down the road though. We're going to keep our pup on the Purina for 2 weeks while she gets settled in with our family, then we've decided to transition her onto Acana Prairie to start. If she does well on the Acana, we'd like to rotate her food through the 3 protein sources (soon to be 4 I believe). I'm learning so much from this site already!


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## BoxerMommie (Jun 26, 2008)

Keep in mind it's not just protein that dogs can develop allergies to so it's really best to choose 3 different brands entirely and switch through 3 completely different brands (that contain different protein sources, but then will also contain different overall ingredients too). 

Personally I feed Taste of the Wild and Kirkland's Chicken and Rice, and Pelican Bay and bounce between those 3. So if you like Acana that's great, but I'd encourage you to choose at least 1 other food if not 2 to rotate through as well and not just bounce between the Acana formulas.

Good luck!


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## teemak (Feb 25, 2011)

Thanks! That's good to know. I've heard great things about Go! Endurance, so I'd love to throw that into the mix as well. I think we'll figure out which Acana formula works best for her and keep that in the rotation and try some of the other brands as well. Thanks again


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## KittyKat (Feb 11, 2011)

Good idea. Just remember to do a slow transition, otherwise you might get some stomach upset. 

Also, you'll be feeding less with Acana then you would with the Puppy Chow. It will feel odd at first, when I moved my dog off Royal Canine I was baffled at how much less it seemed I was feeding her. But she looks great. =)


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## schtuffy (May 17, 2010)

I really liked Champion when my puppy was on kibble. I feed raw now, but he did great on Orijen and I highly recommend it. I had considered Acana as well, but stopped feeding kibble before I could give it a try. Just remember to switch slowly like others have said (I switched over a month) and to feed less than the label tells you to (I fed about 1/3 of what the label suggested). Congrats on the new pup! I am excited for you :smile:


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## Mia (Oct 4, 2010)

Congrats on the new pup! Enjoy!! They grow so fast.


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## cast71 (Sep 16, 2010)

Your pup is a border line large breed. I would feed a large breed puppy food or one of these grainfree's. http://dogfoodchat.com/forum/dry-canned-dog-food/5794-grain-free-formulas-lbp.html Don't go by the feeding schedule on the bag. You want to keep your puppy lean while growing. Also keep the calcium/phosphorous levels at around 1.5%/1% or lower. You want to feed them a large breed formula until there around 1 years old. It's also a good idea to rotate the carbohydrate sources as well as protein and manufacture.


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## Canadian In Texas (Feb 16, 2011)

I began feeding my new golden Acana Pacifica. I was going to do Orijen LBP but when I compared labels the Calcium/Phosphorus was almost identical in the 2. I was a little more comfortable with Acana's protein level vs. Orijens.

I am extremely hyper about finding the right dog food the more I read the more confused I get. My puppy seems very itchy on this food. He is now on 100% pacifica. I am not sure if I should give it more time or not.


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