[Patch]

My Staffy is only 11 weeks old.
We bought him the premium dry food from the pet store when we bought him... and at AUS$35 for 2.5kg, it's a little expensive.
I still give him the dry food, topped with some Pedigree puppy food. The tinned food from the pet store is AUS$5 a tin for a small tin...
I have been hearing that supermarket food is really bad for dogs, but the ingredients don't really have anything bad in it... Chicken, Lamb, Turkey, Rice, Gelatine and that's about it.
Am I a bad mother for giving him this stuff?
Should i stick to the expensive premium stuff??? or make my own?

 

[Tara<3Boss]

It's really up to you, it's your dog. Pedigree and Eukanuba and etc are all pretty bad dog foods. I feed my dog Innova Puppy food. Yes, it is expensive, but you end up feeding the pup a lot less than you would have to with crap food. Also, the dog will be much healthier, which to me, means less vet visits! So it's worth it to me to feed my dog high quality food.

 

[i love remy]

Yes, it is expensive, but you end up feeding the pup a lot less than you would have to with crap food. Also, the dog will be much healthier, which to me, means less vet visits!

Exactly!! Some dogs do fine on a poor diet of grocery store brand kibble, but bully breeds are prone to allergies, skin conditions, digestive problems, etc., so a good diet is a must if you want to stay out of the vet's office! Even if you think your dog is doing "fine" on a marinally nutritious food, you will notice a HUGE different in skin and coat condition (among other things) by switching to a high-quality kibble or raw diet.

 

[Patch]

Thanks guys. My husband seems to think there's nothing wrong with the Pedigree stuff as Patch is lapping it up much faster than the High quality stuff. But i am going to have to switch... i'm going to start making him food, and mixing that with premium stuff.
Do you suggest I buy chicken mince and cook it with rice and vegies etc?
I calculated that if i were to buy high quality stuff, it would cost me about AUS$80 a month, as opposed to about $20 a month for supermarket stuff...
but i have to put his health first!...

 

[Miakoda]

Thanks guys. My husband seems to think there's nothing wrong with the Pedigree stuff as Patch is lapping it up much faster than the High quality stuff. But i am going to have to switch... i'm going to start making him food, and mixing that with premium stuff.
Do you suggest I buy chicken mince and cook it with rice and vegies etc?
I calculated that if i were to buy high quality stuff, it would cost me about AUS$80 a month, as opposed to about $20 a month for supermarket stuff...
but i have to put his health first!...

Also, just want to add that your dog doesn't need any canned food (if I understood completely). Canned foods are much more expense & are mostly water & fillers & usually give dogs extremely soft stools. He should be fine with a good quality kibble. And since your husband & mine sound alike :wink: , just tell him it's cheaper in the long run to feed a quality food that to pay vet bills for the dog having allergies, skin problems, ear infections, etc. all which are associated with poor nutrition & of course you would then have to pay for all the lovely medications your doggie would be on to help control all the issues.

Good luck!!

 

[Bremner53]

Thanks guys. My husband seems to think there's nothing wrong with the Pedigree stuff as Patch is lapping it up much faster than the High quality stuff.

I agree with everyone else. Of course your dog will lap up the pedigree faster then the good stuff. Its like feeding a child Candy or Carrots, most are going to eat the candy alot faster

 

[halo]

I gree

Everyone here has good advise on this. you feed way more of the cheap stuff and its chock full of fillers. The better food are less in the long run cause they eat less and get more of what they need. My dog food bill is about 200.00 per month for 4 dogs but with the cheap stuff believe or not it was much higher cause they ate a lot more.

 

[nanniesrock]

Just a quick example of why the cheap stuff is bad: When I brought Harley home, I didn't know much about her nutritional needs. I bought Purina Beneful, thinking, hey, this is way better than Gravy Train. Not only did her stools get soft and green, but she started loosing LOTS of fur. Witin 2 weeks, we were at the vet b/c her chest was almost completely bare, and she was getting scabs everywhere. After testing for mange, and just about everything else, I switched her to a high quality kibble. Her fur is back and looking better than ever. Her coat shines, and she's happier. And yes, she eats less of it. (Alot less)

 

[Patch]

Thanks

Thanks guys
i think ive made the decision to feed him the good dry stuff, and occasionally some home cooked soft stuff like mince and rice and vegies, etc.
i'm not interested in taking him to the vets in the future for illnesses which could've been prevented if given a good diet!

 

[kogeki]

Here's a good article to read: http://www.healthyplanetrx.com/articles.asp?id=137