New dog owner with some questions about food

[anomaly13]

We just picked up an 8 month old pit bull/jack russel mix from the shelter on Sunday. Unfortunatly I didn't do any research prior to getting the dog, partly because we didn't know what kind we were going to get, so now I am kind of in a hurry to figure it all out.

My biggest concern is food. Right now he is eatting, well sort of, Science Diet because that is what the shelter was giving him and they sent us home with a bag. He has had runny poop which could be stress related or maybe we are giving him too much food? Anyway I want him off the food ASAP but I am feeling overwhelmed on what to feed him, there are so many links in the sticky that I can't bring myself to even start looking at them all. I know corn is out as well as soy and high protein is best. How do I know what is best for my dog in terms of nutritional content, how much protein does he need? I want something natural, you know where I can read all the ingredients on the label and know what they are. I also don't want to spend a fortune. We would like him to get pretty thick and strong/muscular. Is costco brand, kirkland, ok? I would imagine they are the most economical. What about trader joe's? Part of me would like to find a good deal on food from the stores we already shop at but maybe the best deal on pet food will be at the pet store, go figure.

Also how often/much should I be feeding him, he is about 30 pounds and 8 months?
What about treats, store bought or homemade? I am open to make my own treats, but would rather buy food as making it seems like it would be too much work for me right now.

Any book recommendations or websites, I think I should read up/research what NOT to feed your dog, all I can remember is no chocolate and none of those red plants everyone gets at Christmas time.

Sorry for the question jumble but I am new to all of this and didn't really prepare for it. On the other hand he fits right in with our family so far, he loves to be outside and loves walking/hiking and playing just like the rest of us. He is super sweet with our kiddos, 15 moths and 3 years, and he listens and does what he is told the first time you tell him 95% of the time.

[blessedwithboys]

commercial kibble, ime, is just inferior stuff. i much prefer (and so does my dog!) raw food. you can make your own or buy it prepared.

for treats i like to give raw rib bones, tho i occasionally stuff a kong with cheddar cubes held in my a smear of peanut butter

[Oubliette8]

The Kirkland Brand kibble is very good quality for the price. Certainly better than the Science Diet. It would be a great food to start with- you can always change as you get more educated, or if his food issues persist. I'm picky about kibble, and I think the Kirkland brand is pretty good. I'd say its on par with brands like Chicken Soup or Canidae.

As far as the poop, be sure to bring him to the vet for a thorough check up. Disease runs rampant through our local animal control, internal parasites and other issues are fairly common in rescue dogs, and that could be part of his poop issue.

Treats, read the labels. Of course, homemade is fine too. You want to look for- no by-products, no artificial colors, you can read most of the ingredients, and try to avoid the preservatives BHA/BHT and ethoxyquin. Propylene Glycol is also a little less than desirable. I don't mind wheat in my dog treats so much, unless my dog has allergy issues. Thankfully, dog treat labels are generally shorter and simpler to read than dog food labels, so would be a good place to start.

For dog food how-to, I like http://dogfoodanalysis.com/ I don't agree with EVERYTHING on the site, but its a good place to get started and has accurate info. If you look at the reviews, generally anything that has 3 stars or higher is a good quality food.

You might also check out the Whole Dog Journal, which publishes a popular dog food recommendation issue every year. It also offers great advice on natural dog care year round.

[miss_sonja]

I'm not a dog owner, but our cats do very well on the EVO brand. It's available in canned and dry/kibble and has minimal ingredients and processing.

If I had a dog, I'd seriously look into raw feeding. There are some great web sites and I think there's a sticky on it here?

congrats on the new guy.

[SquishyKitty]

We feed our 3 dogs Nutro and Newmans Own. I did a lot of research, and the one ingredient I strive to avoid is corn and corn-based products in their food. It makes them smelly and they poop a lot more (meaning, not as much good stuff for them to absorb, higher quality food means they won't poop as much because there's not as much junk).

I am not really interested in doing the raw food thing, I know others have had good luck with it but our dogs are thriving on high-quality kibble and the extras we give them.

We also add soft cooked veggies or chicken/beef broth to their food. Sometimes we mix in brown or white rice as well.

For treats, when we're in training class I use plain boiled chicken breast. It's smelly to entice them, but healthy enough that I don't mind if they snack on it throughout the 2-3 hours of training. We also do carrot chunks (boiled for just a few minutes to make them sweet), apple chunks, or potato chunks. Cheese is good, but only in small amounts.

To be honest, I also keep a big box of milk bones around too, because they love their cookies.

I would wean him off of the science diet slowly though, with the stress of moving to a new home and having new people around, he's going to have a wonky tummy for a few days.

Mix some white or brown rice in with his food if it gets too bad. If it's really ugly, plain rice and boiled chicken ought to help a bit, too. Just give it to him in small portions throughout the day, and it should help with the runny poo.

[Ola_]

I agree that the Kirkland brand is very good for the price. If you have a membership you could start there and see how your pup does on it. Another bonus is that Costco has very good return policies, so even though you have to buy a big bag of the food, in case it doesn't go well you'll be able to get your money back.

We feed raw also like the PP and while I agree that it's the best diet IMO, you don't need to jump into it if you're not ready. We started off feeding Science Diet also (vet told us it was the best - this was before I realized how little vets know about nutrition!). Then we tried Nutro, but it made the dogs vomit daily (a later web search told me that it's not uncommon with that food). Then we switched to Canidae and fed that for quite a while before finally going to raw. I think Canidae is very economical for a food that has such good ingredients. We also didn't need to feed very much of it at all (about half of what we fed on Science Diet).

His weight sounds very similar to one of my dogs (she's now between 35-40 lbs). He will fill out a bit as he matures, but I wouldn't want to put weight on him at this point. The runny poo is very common for newly adopted dogs - all the change is stressful for them, and even good stress still takes a toll. If it's not better after a couple of weeks of calm time (either on this food or another) then I'd start looking into it.

Treats - up to you. As I said we feed a raw diet, but I do give a cookie once or twice a day. We use either store-bought or home made ones (I have a nice simple recipe for PB cookies if you'd like). For store-bought I just stay away from anything with BHA/BHT, ethoxyquin (these are pretty awful preservatives), and things like "animal fat" (i.e. where they don't specify what animal).

What not to feed your dog:
- chocolate
- caffeine
- alcohol
- any onions or large quantities of garlic
- cooked bones of any type
- xylitol (artificial sweetener)
- grapes and raisins
- macademia nuts
- raw yeast dough

[mistymama]

I feed raw and can't tell you enough how wonderful it has been for our dog. He's got tummy issues and nearly every commercial kibble gave him trouble. With raw he's so very healthy.

When we board him I feed Wellness CORE and he does very well on that. For treats I usually feed one of the Wellness soft treats, or freeze dried liver treats. I also sometimes give veggie scraps as treats.

Congrats on your new pup!

[cuddlebugger]

We have been feeding out 10 month old pit/lab/hound mix Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul since she was about 6 months old. We recently switched her to the adult version and she loves it. We haven't had any problem with the food and we have seen improvement in her poo and her coat. Hope this helps and congrats on the new pup!