[Amir H]

Hi all,
I have a standard Poodle puppy (7 months old). She’s about 32 pounds know. I’m not sure if she’s gonna be above 50 lbs. To be safe I’m feeding her large breed puppy food. She’s been on Fromm Gold Large Breed Puppy for a few months now and she’s doing good (I have to add some freeze dried toppers to her food to keep her interested).

I’m thinking of rotating her food to something else just to make sure she’s getting all the necessary the necessary nutrition. I’m thinking of switching her to Stella and Chewy Raw Coated Kibble for Puppies: https://www.stellaandchewys.com/dog-food/raw-coated-kibble/puppy-chicken-recipe
I know that Stella and Chewy kibble is higher price, but it’s within my budget.

I wanted to know if this is a good decision or not? Should I just stay on Fromm or for the next 3 months switch her to something else for the sake of rotation.

[Patricia A]

Kind of at a loss to advise. My dogs were on Fromm for years until they just stopped eating it. I was relieved to find this site at that time because I was getting overwhelmed with choices at my pet supply store. So I used advisor reviews and ratings as a starting point which led me to Stella’s baked kibble. I was already using some Stella’s meal toppers on the Fromm.
I looked at ratings for Fromm Gold large breed adult and he only gives it 3.5 stars. Stella’s gets full 5. Of course a monkey wrench has been thrown in to add worry. I finally found a diet for my two that I felt good about feeding and that they BOTH ate enthusiastically and had no tummy troubles with.
Stella’s kibble has a lot of legumes high up on ingredients list. Don’t know if your aware of the controversy concerning grain free kibble and heart disease (DCM).I’ve written to them and they assure me and others who are concerned on their f/b page that they’re kibble is safe. I really like their ingredients and that it is baked at lower temperatures for better nutrition. Also high protein and low carbs. I stopped feeding the kibble but went back recently and only get the chicken recipe. Beliefs are that the cause, among many other possibilities might be exotic proteins WITH the legumes. Anyway the kibble is only a very small portion of their diet. I use Primal freeze dried and the Stella’s freeze dried also. I have Chihuahuas and not really one of the breeds most susceptible to the DCM but still concerned. Hope this helps.
Just want to add that since Stella’s kibble is so expensive possibly it’s mostly only being fed to small breeds. Most of the cases I believe are Goldens and larger breeds who are fed the grain free diets with high legumes.

• This reply was modified 6 years ago by Patricia A.
• This reply was modified 6 years ago by Patricia A.

[Amir H]

Thanks for the reply.

I do know about the DCM issue and grain-free. That’s why i chose Fromm large breed puppy (it has 4 stars on dogfood advisor). I am worried about switching to a grain-free diet a bit as well but most high quality kibbles are grain free these days (Fromm is really an exception). Here are some other thoughts I had:

1- Orijen is great in terms of ingredients but their last lawsuit is keeping me away from Orijen and Acana. I totally know that the lawsuit could be baseless but I want to be safe.

2- I’m adding Primal nuggets and stella & chewy freeze dried to Fromm kibble as topper every day. So that’s a route I can continue. My dog eats 3 cups of Fromm food and the toppers I put are about 0.4 cups. So, at least I know I’m getting some freeze dried food and some other nutritions to her.

3- I’ve also considered going completely freeze dried (buy Stella & Chewy). It’d be expensive but it still fits my budget. I just don’t want to make the transition while she’s still a puppy. I’ll do that when I’m transitioning her to adult food.

It’s kind of sad that all good quality foods are grain-free these days.

[Patricia A]

Sounds like a good plan to me Amir. I agree with staying away from Orijen/Acana. I know about the lawsuit but it’s really because Acana was mentioned so many times as being fed when their dogs were diagnosed with low taurine or DCM. Lamb and rice frequently.
Mine get home cooked also. Just some boiled chicken, lean steak if they’re and I’m lucky that day. lol
I do like to switch around the freeze dried though. Primal turkey/sardine and duck. They get Bixbi Rawbble as treats only. Really expensive.
Don’t think kibble will ever be the perfect food for dogs . Grain free or not. Just man made for convenience for pet owners. Not natural for our pets to be eating day in and day out for life.
You have about the same feeding regime as me. I wish us luck. Geesh..I didn’t worry so much about what I was feeding my kids when growing as much I do about these two fur babies. lol

• This reply was modified 6 years ago by Patricia A.

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