Six words you really don't want to hear when someone is talking about food for a new puppy!

But let me back up. I just returned from a whirlwind shopping tour. I'm in line at Walmart with my padded envelopes and the man ahead of me is checking out with two basted dog bones and two large bags of Old Roy cookies, one basted and one variety pack. He looked like a decent kind of guy, probably thinking he was being really good to his dog(s). I held my tongue, but if we were in the dog food aisle, I wouldn't have!

Moving right along.... my next stop was PetSmart just to look at how much they were asking for Blue Buffalo, since I saw it listed in the latest WDJ report. So as I approach the food, I see a woman pushing a cart with a small child and talking to an employee about needing EVERYTHING for a puppy....collar, leash, bowls, food. So I'm easedropping over the rows of food to hear what the employee recommends.

Seems her BIL is a vet and he suggested either Science Diet or some ultra-Nutro, whatever that might be. All she wanted was small bites and "I really don't care what kind." Now that my hackles are up, I wait for them to come into my row and as they approach I hear the employee ask her how old the puppy is and what it's been fed so far. Puppy is 9 weeks and to someone's credit, I have to assume the puppy hasn't been released to this woman yet! She didn't know what food it was on.

So as they approach my aisle, I catch the employee's eye and point at the Blue Buffalo, telling him that this is probably the best that THIS store sells! To my amazement, he actually agreed and the woman said, "you mean it's better than Science Diet or Nutro? The employee nodded and said either the Blue Buffalo or Nutro Wild somethingorother and that as she walks "in this direction" the food gets better (I can't make this stuff up!) and it just depends on her budget.

Then they walk off to look at collars, etc.

So what food to YOU think this puppy is going to be eating?
Wanna make a bet the vet wins?

*sigh* The vet wins because he has a "medical" degree and as a culture we're so in awe of those letters after a name that we don't dare question them.

word. and that drives me CRAZY, with humans and with dogs.

i was at the pet store the other day, the couple ahead of me bought 2 ginormous bags of science diet. i just shake my head to myself, keep my head down & my mouth shut. it does drive me crazy, though.

Poor puppy.

On a related note, in my opinion Blue Buffalo is not a particularly trustworthy company, and their food is vastly overpriced for what it offers.

I think the don't care what kind sometimes comes from vets that say "any commercial dog food will do as they all have to meet aafco guidlines" I've been told that right along side with " NO TABLESCRAPS. Human food is NOT for dogs.They will amke him overweight" *rolls eyes out of my head*

oh and the no, no canned food will rot their teeth. what you need is KIBBLE. Kibble will keep their teeth cleaner because of all the chewing

Sometimes there is nothing a person can say to get owners to listen. I know exactly how you feel claire. The one thing that bothers me most is so many people feed their dogs crappy food and they seem to be in bad health but live for years. Here I fed my dogs the best and did all I could and they died young Not that the food could have saved them but sometimes I don't feel "I" have the right to advise others how to feed their dogs. I've had a few people that I was helping them make better choices and now they look at me as if I'm a fraud with my beloved Athena and Beau dying so young.

But, I can totally relate. It's sad what some feed their dogs. You wouldn't believe what Petey (our new Brittany) breeder told my Sister. She told her that she only recommends pedigree puppy food and honey to mix with is as honey is a "real" food. Heather just told her she was not comfortable with that food and advised we are feeding him Holistic Blend currently but changing to Innova. She said she could not guarantee her pups on anything but Pedigree, then she said she would also accept Eagle pack so that is what Petey is now on. He will go on home prepared when he is an adult, but we don't feel that we have the knowledge to feed a puppy home prepared and there was no time/funds for a consultation with Sabine.

Collen, I know what you mean when you talk about feeding our dogs high quality food and preaching that to others and then losing our own dog young. Sam never ate anything lower quality than Chicken Soup For Dogs, canned and dry. But he went from that to Canidae and then Evo. I preached to my brother and my sisters who were feeding Science Diet and Iams. Then at the tender age of 3, Sam got pancreatitis, went into kidney failure and died. I also got regular checkups and blood work for Sam. Although, he was overdue for blood work when he died, which haunts me still, because I think we may have caught the pancreatitis in time.

But anyway, then my son had the chow who ate Ole Roy and lived to be 17. So sometimes I must admit, I get a little dubious about whether it is worth all the trouble and expense. We had a poodle who lived to 16 and back then, I was just feeding him pretty much whatever was cheap. Then my Fred (another poodle) lived to age 11 before getting cancer and dying. He was fed Purina Moist and Meaty and Little Ceasar's - I know I know - but I didn't know better. But then we got Sam and I was determined to do everything right and he died at age 3, so.......... But I really know that their chances are better with good food, it just makes it hard to convince others sometimes.

I always bring couple extra little pamphlets I printed out a while back from Sabine's Dog Food Project when going to Petco or similar chain-store. When I see that someone who seems approachable looks puzzled and can't decide which bag of crap-kibble to choose, I always stop and ever so nonchalantly ask them if they've tried Wellness or California Natural. If they show even just a little interest (most do!) and I have few minutes to spare, I show them the comparison of ingredients in Wellness CORE and Science Diet or similar (unfortunately can’t do the comparison-thing in PetSmart though, as they don’t even carry any half-way decent foods! ) I tell them about the recalls, “Foods That Pets Die For” - and offer them Sabine’s booklet to take and keep. I have handed out quite a few of those to random dog-owners, and I don’t know if people here are just really polite or what, but everyone I’ve “rescued” at the kibble aisle has actually seemed sincerely appreciative. Just about everyone has said that they had no idea (I so wish someone had enlightened me when I was lovingly feeding my late Golden Retriever “Science Diet” few years ago because it’s “#1 Veterinarian Recommended!”, and I only wanted the very best for my dog...). The higher price of better-quality foods is often mentioned as an issue – but when the long-term benefits, less waste and better nutritional value is explained, many do seem to “get it”. I make sure not to appear like I’m bullying or pestering them, and I don’t linger around to “police” anyone (and I’m sure it helps that I have at least one of my two gorgeous poodles with me when at a pet store) but I have seen several people I’ve just talked to at the check-out with a bag of Wellness instead of whatever they were originally looking at.

Mordanna, thanks for your take on Blue Buffalo. I did notice it was very pricey and the canned food was more than Wellness!

Colleen, how can Petey's breeder REALLY know what people are feeding her dogs to say she can't guarantee them on anything but Pedigree? Is that in the sales contact? She has great trust in people, don't you think? Pedigree and honey.... breakfast of champions! ????

I pack Meals on Wheels with a woman who says her dog "can't tolerate" any food but Iams. I keep my mouth shut because as many questions as she asks me, I know she won't change one thing. This is the same woman who casually told me a few months ago that her dog was limping and if it was anything bad, she'd have to give it up because she couldn't afford to care for it. I guess she and her husband would actually have to eat at home for once instead of going to restaurants every nite! Oh.. sorry ... that's for another topic!