Kibble... *SIGH*

[MNpresa]

UNFORTUNATELY.. after doing some research I'll be feeding my puppy kibble. I would of loved to feed raw, but it just isn't for my family at the current time. I am now looking into feeding the most "natural" kibble possible... I've fed previous dogs Blue Buffalo, but am steering away from them due to the grain in formula. I've not narrowed my choices down between Earthborn Holisitic and Taste of Wild for my puppy.. Anybody have any personal expirience with these brands? Or any input at all..? I guess I would be open into going back to Blue Buffalo, but just was looking to avoid grain if possible. I have heard that Orijen is the best that money can buy, but it's not as readily available in my area. Would be happy to make the price jump and to start ordering online if it is really that much better... Any opinions or suggestions?

 

[Kujo]

Blue Buffalo has grain free kibble...

 

[Smart_Family]

I prefer Earthborn since totw is made by Diamond. Price wise it's very similar to totw and ingredient wise as well. We've been feeding it for almost two years and love it.

 

[cookiedough39]

I just switched from Innova over to Orijen. Carma loves Orijen and so do I. Her body is a lot fuller now and she doesn't leave any leftovers in her bowl. They sale it in 2 local pet stores here. I think I am going to start ordering online though just for convenience. I Co-sign for Orijen. I do know a couple people who feed Blue Buffalo and TOW and they are very good foods also.

 

[Smokeycat]

I feed Orijen to my guys. It is the first food that Jiggers actually wants to eat without a topper. I fed BB to Jiggers when he was a puppy but it didn't work for him.

 

[Iymala]

I can get Orijen delivered to my door for 77.49 from Amazon.

I've fed Taste of the Wild in the past but chose Orijen this time around and am happier with the results. I would feed Taste of the Wild again and feel good about it. When I fed it previously to a Great Dane puppy I had no issues ans growth was slow and steady. It is a very good grain free kibble.

I have no personal experience with Earthborne Holistic. I know a lot here feed it and are happy with it.

Blue Buffalo makes the wilderness line that is grain free and all life stages. For the price there are better options in my opinion.

 

[MNpresa]

@kujo I dont believe they have grain-free puppy formula I can double check though.

I'm going to look a little further into Orijen, @iymala do you get the large 28 or 30 lbs bags from amazon?

 

[Kujo]

ah, sorry, I didn't see the puppy formula part. We use the Blue Buffalo Wilderness formula and it's grain free. My bad!

 

[ruthcatrin]

fyi, you don't need to feed a puppy formula, as long as the numbers are within the correct ranges adult or all life stages is fine, and probly cheaper.

 

[Iymala]

Yep, the 28lb bags. Wish they came larger to be honest. They put it in a box and get it to you in about 3 days.

 

[Crystalanya]

Gummy Bear has been through just about every food possible. He did all right on the Earthborn HOlistic. I believe they only had one that had low enough protein for him as a puppy (now that he's close to 18 months I've been uping his protein). My lab is on it as well and does fantastic. But my lab is on the high protein one. Taste of the Wild fish he also did really well on but he had to eat way too much of it (almost 14 cups a day) so we went off that. Pure Vita's Bison is low protein and Gummy has done really well (it's a bit pricey). If i remember correctly Oreijin's protein level is too high for a mastiff puppy if yours is still under 18 months. Recently I started gummy on Canine Caviar lamb and millet and he's doing really well on it. But it is pricey. I think Earthborn is the best deal for your money with the quality. The solid gold grain free with lower protein is also good (but Gummy's allergic to chicken so I can't speak to how). Just be certain you keep the protein to under 26 per cent. You want to really go for 21-23 pc because if they grow too fast it can lead to pano.

 

[ruthcatrin]

Protein's not the cause of growth problems. Its the calcium/phosphate thats the real cause of growth problems. They're what controls bone growth.

 

[Smart_Family]

It's calcium to be concerned with and the ratio of calcium to phosphorus that can affect growth. There are three grain free Earthborn's that are appropriate for mastiff pups under 2.

 

[MNpresa]

@kujo No worries!

@ruth Really? What do you mean by ranges specifically? What are the most important numbers or areas other than protein are most important to watch?

@Crystal, would you rate Earthborn above Blue Buffalo?

 

[Smart_Family]

There are many threads about the appropriate levels of calcium but in general you want a level of no less than 1.0% and no more than 1.8% but ideally between 1.4-1.6%. As far as the ratio you want as close to 1.2:1 as possible with the lower end being 1.0:1 and higher 1.4:1.

 

[ruthcatrin]

Calcium and phos ate the big too, see SF's post for those numbers. From there it actually depends on what works for the individual dog.

 

[MNpresa]

Okay, looked at the analysis of the Earthborn Holistic formulas, and they all appear to have over the amount of protein that crystal reccommended.

@Smart, should i be focused more on the calcium - phos ratio instead? Also noticed that the puppy formula contains grain. So should I be looking to just feed the adult formulas? And which do you reccomend?

 

[Smart_Family]

Protein is irrelevant. You want the grain free all life stages formulas. Coastal Catch, Great Plains Feast and Meadow Feast are all perfectly fine.

 

[Lkirkland]

I fed a grain-free blue buffalo formula for a while..andI did taste of the wild. My EM didn't do well on any kibble and didn't realy start gaining weight and eating properly until I switched to raw. I think most people would choose TOTW over Blue Buffalo

 

[Gregory5]

Vader has been eating Earthborn and has done awesome! I have a store here that carries it and pay about 49.00 for a 28 pound bag.