| Standard Poodle Nutrition written by Shiela Thomas Coplar Creek beliefs on Feeding Kibble vs. Raw, Feeding puppies, Bloat, and Supplements Choosing your kibble: We take pride in feeding high quality kibble to our Standard Poodles. We choose to feed kibble that score A+ on the grade system below. We recommend whichever kibble you chose to feed you use the grade system below and feed only kibble rating A or B. We do not use food that has corn as wheat as one of the first ingredients. Choosing a low quality food may cause allergies and ear infections, create a dull and unhealthy skin & coat, increase likelihood of health issues as well as weaken bones etc.. Unlike many dog owners we do not feel that the most expensive kibble is always the best. There are new studies showing there are some dangers to heart health when feeding a grain free diet. Our veterinarian feels if you are feeding your normal healthy dog a high quality kibble you do not have to supplement your dogs diet with vitamins and minerals (please talk to your veterinarian regarding this issue.) If you are having health issues or have concerns with your pets condition or your dog is frequently stressed you may want to consider using a supplement like NuvetPlus. You might consider adding probiotics, Prozyme, fish oil and Vitamin E to your dogs diet to improve health. What to Feed your puppy: If you plan to change the dog food you will be feeding your puppy please do it gradually to relieve stomach upset. There is some controversy about feeding Puppy food to large breed dogs. Some feel puppy food causes large breed dogs to grow so rapidly that their bones cannot support the growth. Many breeders choose to feed an adult food vs. puppy food for this reason. I recommend you research this issue and discuss it with your Vet. Many high quality Kibble brands do not distinguish between adult or puppy food and offer an all-stages formula. Here are a few tips on how to find the best puppy kibble for your new dog! 1. Always feed a puppy kibble that has a good quality protein source. Is it animal or vegetable protein? Animal protein is by far the best. Dogs metabolize animal protein much better. 2. Find a puppy kibble food with limited "by products" Have you ever wondered why they call it by-products? By products are all the left overs like chicken feet, wings, intestines...well you get the picture. This is a very inferior protein and can cause problems for your puppy although I'm not opposed to kibble containing by products, I just feel it should not be the main source of protein. 3. Stay away from a food that has corn gluten, wheat gluten, corn or soy in it. These can be very difficult for a puppy to digest. They can also lead to allergies in your puppy. I'm not sure what I feel about Sorghum but I personally try to avoid it being one of the first ingredients. Pea protein is suspected to cause infertility in dogs so I personally try to avoid it. 4. Look for health promoting ingredients like bacteria cultures, antioxidants, and probiotics. These will help to give your puppy a healthy GI tract. Puppies with a healthy GI tract will develop a strong immune system that will help keep them resistant to future health issues. 5. Look at the ingredient list and see what the first 5 ingredients are. They will be the indicator as to whether you have a good quality puppy kibble or not. A good food should not have more than 2 grains listed in the first 5 ingredients. Protein should be the main ingredient. Did you know that dogs fed a high quality food live almost 5 years longer than dogs fed a lesser quality food? Bloat: Some Standard Poodles have had problems with Bloat. There is some evidence to show that free feeding your poodle may help to avoid bloat by keeping your dog from overeating then drinking causing the kibble to swell in the stomach and possibly cause bloat. Please talk to your veterinarian regarding this issue! There are other preventative measures for bloat ie. stomach tacking that may also be something to discuss with your Vet. Most Standard Poodles are not prone to obesity so free feeding may not be a bad option (although free feeding may be best after the potty training stage for obvious reasons.) Bloat can occur during stressful times when your poodles is not eating normally. Please watch your poodle closely during times of stress and consider having safe gas medicine for your poodle. Supplements: If you are already a pet owner and find your aren't pleased with the health or condition of your pet we recommend you use a supplement called Nuvet. We recommend it for people that are having a hard time keeping weight on their pets, for common health ailments & during breeding. Others have told us it is helping tremendously with eye stains and ear problems. If you would like to order from Nuvet please use the following website: www.nuvet.com/83821. Bringing home your new puppy usually causes the puppy to get stressed. We recommend all our puppy buyers use the NuvetPlus to help strengthen the immune system (recommended but not required.) You may want to consider checking out the following website that sells natural products that keep your puppy from getting ill under stressful times: http://wolfcreekranchorganics.com Raw Feeding We respect and support breeders who choose to feed raw although we do not feed raw at this time. Please let us know if you would like more information about raw feeding y our poodle and we can provide you with other resources and contacts. I notice a big improvement on the tartar build up on poodle teeth when they are given eating raw raw bones. Raw feeding does not have to be more expensive than feeding some brands of kibble. For example, you can find bags of frozen Chicken Wing and Thigh at Walmart for around $7.00 for 10 lbs.. Warning: You will really need to educate yourself before choosing a raw diet for your dog! There are food handling issues as well as safety and nutrition issues to consider when feeding raw. If you aren't willing to follow safety protocol with raw feeding you should feed kibble. Human grade dog food (DIY or purchased) I feed my Momma dogs home cooked meals when they are nursing but haven't really tried this for my other dogs. Recently an experienced breeder told me they feed their pack on 1/4-1/2 half dry kibble and the rest home cooked human grade food like meat, pasta, and vegetables. Please share your experiences and recipes if you try this. I do feel that kibble may be the cause of many dog illnesses and this may help improve the health of our dogs if you are careful and educated on how to do this. http://thebark.com/content/save-money-homemade-dog-food ****The above information is based on experience and beliefs of CCSP and we are not Professional Healthcare Providers. Please do not copy this information without permission.*** Dog Food Grade chart posted below is compliments of www.smithpoodles.com GRADE YOUR DOG'S FOOD Look at the ingredients information of your dog food. Find the ingredient listed on the table below. Starting with 100 points, add or subtract the points given for each ingredient and total the points. Print this sheet to total your points for each item & then the grade scale is listed at the end of the table. We've listed at the bottom of this page the Grading Results for some Popular dog foods by Brand and then by Score. INGREDIENT Points (Add or Subtract) New Score For every listing of "By-Product" -10 For every Non-Specific Animal Source ("Meat" or "Poultry", Meat, Meal or Fat) reference -10 For every Grain "Mill Run" or Non-Specific Grain Source - 5 Same Grain ingredient used 2 or more times in the first 5 ingredients. (example: ground brown rice, brewer's rice, and rice flour are all the same grain) - 5 Corn listed in the top 5 ingredients -2 Protein Sources are not meat meal and there are less than 2 meats in the top 3 ingredients - 3 If Lamb is the only animal protein source (unless your dog is allergic to other protein sources) - 2 Food is Baked NOT Extruded + 5 Food is endorsed by any major breed group or nutritionist + 5 Animal sources are hormone-free and antibiotic-free + 2 Vegetables have been tested for pesticides and ARE Pesticide-Free + 1 Any of the meat sources are Organic + 5 For every different specific animal protein source, other than the 1st one. (example: Count "chicken" & "chicken meal" as only 1 protein source, BUT count "chicken" & "fish" as 2 different sources) + 1 IF THE FOOD CONTAINS THE FOLLOWING: BHA, BHT, or Ethoxyquin - 10 Any Artificial Colorants - 3 Ground Corn or Whole Grain Corn - 3 Any Animal Fat (other than Fish Oil) - 2 Soy or Soybeans - 2 Salt - 1 Wheat (unless you know that your dog isn't allergic to wheat) - 2 Beef (unless you know that your dog isn't allergic to beef) - 1 Fruit + 3 Barley + 2 Probiotics + 3 Vegetables (NOT Corn or Other Grains) + 3 Flax Seed Oil (not just the seeds) + 2 Oats or Oatmeal + 1 Sunflower Oil + 1 Glucosamine & Chondroitin + 1 TOTAL POINTS HERE 100 +/- = _______ Grade Scale 100+ = A+ 94-100 = A 86-93 = B 78-85 = C 70-77 = D 69-below = F SEE THE DOG FOODS THAT HAVE ALREADY BEEN SCORED. For convenience we have listed the dog foods Alphabetically by Brand & then by Numerically by Alphabetically by Brand Brand Score Grade Authority Harvest Baked 116 A+ Bil-Jac Select 68 F Canidae 112 A+ Chicken Soup Senior 115 A+ Diamond Maintenance 64 F Diamond Lamb Meal & Rice 92 B Diamond Large Breed 60+ Formula 99 A Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance Ultra Premium 122 A+ Dick Van Patten's Duck and Potato 106 A+ Eagle Pack Holistic 119 A+ Eagle Pack Holistic Chicken 114 A+ Eagle Pack Large and Giant Breed Puppy 94 A Eagle Pack Natural 94 A Eukanuba Large Breed Adult 83 C Eukanuba Natural Lamb and Rice 87 B Flint River Ranch (non-specific fat source) 92 B Foundations 106 A+ Hund-n-Flocken Adult Dog (lamb) by Solid Gold 93 A Iams Lamb Meal & Rice Formula Premium 73 D Iams Large Breed 83 C Innova Dog 114 A+ Innova Evo 114 A+ Kirkland Signature Chicken, Rice, and Vegetables 110 A+ Kirkland Signature Puppy Chicken, Rice and Vegetable 108 A+ Natural Balance Duck and Potato 114 A+ Nutrisource Lamb and Rice 87 B Nutro Chicken, Rice, & Oatmeal (non-specific fat source) 85 C Nutro Natural Choice Large Breed Puppy 87 B Nutro Natural choice Lamb and Rice 85 C Ol Roy 9 F Pedigree Complete Nutrition 42 F Pedigree Adult Complete 14 F Pet Gold Adult with Lamb & Rice 23 F Pro Plan All Breed 68 F Pro Plan Natural Turkey & Barley 103 A+ Purina Beneful 17 F Purina Dog 62 F Purina Come-n-Get It 16 F Royal Canin Bulldog 100 A+ Royal Canin Dachshund 28 Formula 97 A Royal Canin Natural Blend Adult 106 A+ Sensible Choice Chicken and Rice 97 A Science Diet Advanced Protein Senior 7+ 63 F Science Diet chicken adult maintenance 45 F Science Diet for Large Breed Puppies 69 F Taste of the Wild 121 A+ Timberwolf Organics Lamb and Venison 136 A+ Wellness Just for Puppy 117 A+ Wellness Super5 Mix Chicken 110 A+ Solid Gold Wolfking Adult Dog (Bison) 97 A Numerical by Score Brand Score Grade Timberwolf Organics Lamb and Venison 136 A+ Solid Gold Bison 123 A+ Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance Ultra Premium Score 122 A+ Eagle Pack Holistic Score 119 A+ Wellness Just for Puppy Score 117 A+ Authority Harvest Baked Score 116 A+ Chicken Soup Senior Score 115 A+ Eagle Pack Holistic Chicken Score 114 A+ Innova Dog Score 114 A+ Innova Evo Score 114 A+ Natural Balance Duck and Potato Score 114 A+ Canidae Score 112 A+ Kirkland Signature Chicken, Rice, and Vegetables Score 110 A+ Wellness Super5 Mix Chicken Score 110 A+ Kirkland Signature Puppy Chicken, Rice and Vegetable Score 108 A+ Dick Van Patten's Duck and Potato Score 106 A+ Royal Canin Natural Blend Adult 106 A+ Foundations 106 A+ ProPlan Natural Turkey & Barley 103 A+ Royal Canin Bulldog 100 A+ Diamond Large Breed 60+ Formula 99 A Royal Canin Dachshund 28 Formula 97 A Sensible Choice Chicken and Rice 97 A Solid Gold Wolfking Adult Dog (Bison) 97 A Eagle Pack Large and Giant Breed Puppy 94 A Eagle Pack Natural 94 A Solid Gold Hund-n-Flocken Adult Dog (lamb) 93 A Diamond Lamb Meal & Rice 92 B Flint River Ranch (non-specific fat source) 92 B Eukanuba Natural Lamb and Rice 87 B Nutrisource Lamb and Rice 87 B Nutro Natural Choice Large Breed Puppy 87 B Nutro Chicken, Rice, & Oatmeal (non-specific fat source) 85 C Nutro Natural choice Lamb and Rice 85 C Eukanuba Large Breed Adult 83 C Iams Large Breed 83 C Iams Lamb Meal & Rice Formula Premium 73 D Science Diet for Large Breed Puppies 69 F Bil-Jac Select 68 F Pro Plan All Breed 68 F Diamond Maintenance 64 F Science Diet Advanced Protein Senior 7+ 63 F Purina Dog 62 F Science Diet chicken adult maintenance 45 F Pedigree Complete Nu 42 F Pet Gold Adult with Lamb & Rice 23 F Purina Beneful 17 F Purina Come-n-Get It 16 F Pedigree Adult Complete 14 F Ol Roy 9 F -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The "Grade for your dog's food" rating system from this page is compliments of www.smithpoodles.com |
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