German Wirehaired Pointer Club of America

[blueblood]

I am not to pleased with the promises that PCK has made for their food being great for pups. It is an adult formula that I feel has to much protein and the little guy doesnt like it to much. He eats it alright, but not like he should. What do you folks recommend.

bb

[cheerio]

The best puppy food is any premium food your dog does well on. What is the best for one dog is not necessarily the best for yours, so often, you have to resort to trial and error.
Have you tried Authority Chicken and Rice made by Petsmart? It was rated #3 in term of quality, ahead of Iams, Eukanuba, Nutro and Nutrience.
It is very reasonable in term of price and most dogs do very well on it. They have various formulas among which a Lamb and Rice as well. Strangely enough, their "superior" food was rated way lower.

In any case, whatever you choose, it is highly suggested to put your pup on adult food past 6 months in order to reduce the protein and thus allows the dog to grow slower and forms stronger articulation. We have now find a very strong corrolation between hip and elbow dysplasia and high protein diet between the age of 6 months and 18 months.

[maverickdvm]

Where were those "ratings"?

[dualgwp]

I've fed Eukanuba and Iams for over 20 yrs and have been happy with it. I think (and it's just my experience) that Wires need a pretty high fat content food to maintain weight and coat.

I've switched to almost all of the "in" foods, and have always gone back. Maybe I'm just lazy..... but it works for me

[blueblood]

My biggest hang up right now is the fact the little bugger doesn't seem to each much. His coat looks great, his stool looks great and he doesn't look gaunt at all. He just doesn't eat like some of the other pups I have had in the past. He also has the conformation to be a big muscley dog, but doesn't eat like one. I feed the PKC 26/18. All my other dogs love it and do very well on it. I use to feed purina puppy food before to the pups but they don't get enough out of it. This seems to be an adult formula but clearly states on the bag it works great for pups.

bb

[dualgwp]

what is PKC???? I'm racking my brain and for the life of me.......

How much is he eating? Maybe he just doesn't need as much as you think he needs. My motto... if it ain't broke, stop trying to fix it. If he looks ok, coat is good, weight seems fine..... why worry? We worry too much sometimes about the wrong thing.

Advertising has made us think we need to feed them more than we probably need to feed them.

[blueblood]

I totally agree. I stoped feeding him for one serving to see how much he really ate. The little guy simply doesn't eat much. But he certainlty isn't starving. He will get his shot and worms again this week. He definately doesn't have worms or any health problems.

What gets me is how many dang foods there are out there. Some times it getts a little confusing.

PKC is a brand of food used heavily in the hound arena. I really like the ingrediants. Seems to be a very good solid food.

bb

[blueblood]

The PKC stands for Professional kennels choice.