What brand of food? (also: ID tag?)

[keegan]

Ok, so Buzz Lightyear is arriving next week. The breeder has him on Bil Jac food. I've also heard good things about Science Diet, Iams and Eukanuba.

I'm sure it doesn't make a whole lot of difference, but what do you feed your cairn puppy, and adult? Any big price differences?

I'd like to support a good "mom and pop" company with good values rather than the giant company. Any recommendations?

One last question: where do I get a tag with for him with my phone number on it? Any good internet places I could order one?

keegan

[maggie]

Kai-lee was on Royal Canin when we got her at 15 weeks, we switched her to Nutro Ultra Puppy in order to avoid corn products [she was constantly itching her paws] She did good on that and at about 10 months we gradually swithched to Canidae. She is still on Canidae and doing really good.

We will also be bringing home a new puppy next week, he is currently on ProPlan Selects Puppy food, I plan on keeping him on that since he's doing good on it and then when its time for adult food switching him to Canidae.

As far as the ID Tags go I get mine at Petsmart, you make them on the spot, I'm sure you can order online too, I just haven't done that.

By the way our new puppy's name is "Keegan"

[Lisad]

Harry started on Canidea but didn't seem to like it very much so we later switched him to Artemis (also Holistic) and he seems to like the flavor more. The cost for us here is $13 for a 4 pound bag. It's kind of expensive but he likes it.

I went to Pet Quarters for the tag. It was $2.00.

Congratulations on you little Buzz Lightyear. I love his name!!

[Tracy A.]

Welcome! & can't wait to see puppy photos!

I've purchased tags from the tag machine at Walmart, but since my little gremlins like to chew on their tags, the name and numbers became unreadable.... I recently order new sets through hartz.com (click on special offers) they were 2.99 each with free shipping- They are deeply inprinted, so I don't have to worry about it wearing off / chewed off!

My breeder started them out on Eukanuba small breed puppy, but at around 6 months old switched them to Canidae. I didn't want to change their food too soon... I realized for me, the price break down was the same (I buy it on sale w/ a coupon) and they liked it eating.

One thing I did do, was email all Premium dog food companies and ask for samples and I would toss in a handful of x brand and see what they liked-

can't wait to see photos!

[ckthomas00]

Buzz Lightyear - Love the name!!! We food Bruski "Nature Choice - Lamb And Rice". I think it is good for their puppy's digestive system because it is wheat free... if I remember correctly. It's not the cheapest food on the market and can't buy at the grocery store, but wek took the advice of the breeder...

As for an ID tag, my husband had one made at PetSmart - you do it on the spot and its super cheap.

Good Luck and please post pictures!

[wheezie23]

I was feeding my guys Canidae but can't find it in my area. They are all on Premium Edge. In my opinion, I would really look closely at the content of the food you are considering. Just because your vet recommends a particular brand of food doesn't necessarily make it a "quality" food. Stay away from corn, wheat, and foods that list their protein as "poultry". Good luck!

Thela

[Barney's Mom]

I always had heard that the first four ingredients in a good pet food should be "meat". I am not sure with Eukanuba dog food, but their cat food met the requirements. I did however switch my cat to Science Diet later on and she seems fine with it.

Maggie

[keegan]

These are some of my questions too. All the major brands seem to use chicken in their food. Growing up my dogs all had eukanuba or science diet, and they turned out ok.

I looked on the Hartz.com website and didn't find any pet tags there, if someone can point me to a good place that would be great.

I'm thinking of sticking with Bil Jac because that's what the breeder was feeding him.

Can't wait till he gets here.

keegan (the person, not the puppy)

[brin145]

Barney's Mom,

Crunch had problems with itching paws and chewed much of the hair off his front legs. He was eating Science Diet, but I switched him to Nature's Recipe lamb puppy and some canned Nature's Recipe. His itching hasn't returned. I researched foods online and Nature's Recipe is one of the few carried in the big pet stores that passed my "good ingredients" criteria. I am about to switch and try mix in some Canidae. You'll hear a lot of good testimonials on this site about Canidae.

[kayharley]

I got my tags at Petco.

I've had good results with the Canidae. Elliott's breeder suggested it and I use both the regular dry and the Platinum.

Food is a complicated issue in my house because all three need different requirements and I make myself dizzy trying to find the perfect food.

Madison has to have a low-fat diet because she had a bout of pancreatitis last year...the platinum Canidae works for her.

Elliott gets the regular Canidae although he is getting a tad budgy so I may slip a bit of the Platinum in his dish from time to time.

Winnie is more of a challenge since she had bladder stones. I just HATED that prescription diet that is full of fat and other nasty ingredients but she can't have too much calcium in her diet. I am in the process of trying Dr. Foster and Smith's Senior forumula because the nutrional info seems to be in the right percentage range. I also am giving her potassium citrate supplements to keep her urine alkaline.

Bottom line is that what works for one dog may not work for another. Sometimes it's a case of trial and error. I try and look at the ingredients and stay away from by-products, wheat, corn and additives. Also, the protein content should be specific (chicken or chicken meal instead of poulty meal)

[Brody'sMom]

In reality, I'm sure most dogs will live long lives on just about any type of food, but it seems most people on this forum feed a super-premium food. We actually rotate among 4 foods, Canidae, Chicken Soup, Newman's Own and Solid Gold. My dogs like all four and they've never had any digestive issues with the rotation.

Of the 4 that we feed, my two favorites are Canidae and Newman's Own. I don't eat any of them, but I like the size of Canidae, it seems just right for a small Cairn mouth, and Newman's Own has the freshest smell.

I was told that you should avoid food with beet pulp as an ingredient. Suppposedly, beet pulp is a stool hardener and the cause of digestive problems with switching foods.

Wheezie, regarding avoiding "poultry" do you mean avoid foods that contain that specific word or avoid any foods that list poulty ingredients such as chicken and chicken meal?

Just in case Wheezie takes a while to get back to us, I believe she is referring to the specific word poultry as she said she used to feed Canidae and it contains chicken meal and turkey meal.

BTW, I've also heard that chicken meal, is better than just plain old chicken, because chicken meal has less (no?) water than chicken and results in more protein in the final dry product.

Sorry for the long post!

[Dawnya]

We use Nutro puppy - less corn product.

[Eliz222]

Both of my Cairns eat Canidae. Finch's breeder used Bil Jack too, but we switched her over to Canidae right away.

I bought our tags at Petsmart. Finch has two (don't know why, lol) but it helps locate her in the house since she "jingles" as she walks!

[maggie]

I've been told that itchy paws is a sign of allergies, Kai-lee had pretty much pulled or bit off the hair on her back paw to where it was bare, the vet suggested Benadryl which took care of the itch but just wiped her out, I had read about cairn and corn/wheat allergies so I started avoiding products with them in it. She's done great since. Canidae can be hard to find but if you check out their website you might find a dealer in your area. I normally order it from Pet Food Direct or Carealotpets.com. Even with shipping cost it's not a bad deal.

[tena]

I'm almost embarrassed to admit this but Sophie eats Kennel Ration Burger/cheese flavor. She likes it, 3/4 pack is down all times, if she finishes it, she can have the other 1/4.

I don't recomend feeding your dog like this, but bottom line is she eats it and is healthy. She also has some healthly snacks likes apples, or cheese or real meat and a mouthful or two of catfood.

[curlyantillysmom]

We Fed our 2 Blue Buffalo but now have switched to Royal Canine. We are thinking of going back to Blue buffalo must compare ingret and see which is better.

Jane