Is it worth it switch foods?

[dozers mama]

I have a 10 week old valley bulldog (1/2 boxer, 1/2 english bull) and right now we are feeding him nutro ultra. I would like to possibly switch to a better food and I am thinking about switching to Wellness. I was just wondering if it will be worth switching over the foods after he's adjusted to the Nutro and his poops are regular. I am also wondering because they are both premium foods but is the Wellness better? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

 

[boxer]

Nutro Ultra actually is already a premium food (the other nutro formulas aren't, but that one is). So there isn't a need to switch to Wellness or anything else for quality reasons.

But quality isn't the main reason for switching between foods. Dogs, just like people, benefit from eating a wide variety of foods. No one single kibble has it all and rotating between different premium kibbles, especially between the main protein sources, is beneficial. No dog was made to eat "only chicken" or "only lamb" for it's entire life, and unless there's a medical reason (like allergies to most protein sources) for doing so, then it is better to give them a change every so often. It can't be too nice for the dog if every single meal is always the same and they do appreciate variety. There is also some evidence (as is the case for people too) to suggest that feeding a wide range of foods can help to prevent the development of allergies.

 

[Jan]

Wellness may be a little better, but the Nutro Ultra really isn't bad. I would finish feeding the Ultra and see how he does on it.

 

[dozers mama]

Thanks for the info. With switching between foods, is it okay to stay with the same brand, but just get different meat based foods? Like maybe lamb one time and then chicken the next? And if that is ok, should you still switch over slowly so that it's easier on his system?

 

[ARCHANGLBXRS]

Remeber no food is right for every dog but From someone who has tried Several top quality foods (Nutro Natural, Nutro Ultra, Pro-Plan, Solid Gold Wolf King) I have come to find THE BEST is Exclusive! You can get it at various feed stores. IT IS WONDERFUL and I just can't tell you how much my dogs love it. It cleared up their tear stains ! (male always had female got from solid gold) and it's half the prive of the wolf king with better ingredients IMO. It has helped my babies in so many ways. It is the only food I will ever feed my boxers and my fosters as well. Their coat is like silk and best of all THEY DONT STINK! =)

 

[kit02]

Thanks for the info. With switching between foods, is it okay to stay with the same brand, but just get different meat based foods? Like maybe lamb one time and then chicken the next? And if that is ok, should you still switch over slowly so that it's easier on his system?

It can’t hurt but I don’t think you get the same benefit as switching between different companies. Each company uses slightly different ingredients aside from the protein sources.

Remeber no food is right for every dog but From someone who has tried Several top quality foods (Nutro Natural, Nutro Ultra, Pro-Plan, Solid Gold Wolf King)

Pro-Plan is a pretty poor quality food – I would definitely not call that one top quality.

and it's half the prive of the wolf king with better ingredients IMO

I am basing this on the Exclusive Chicken and Rice formula but Solid Gold has better quality ingredients than this imo. Also Exclusive is not on the WDJ list but I’ve seen worse foods.

 

[dozers mama]

Thanks for all the replies. After much research and consideration, we have decided to switch him over to Canidae. It costs the same as the Nutro Ultra and as far as i can tell, is a better quality food. I am going to switch him over VERY slowly though, because he has been doing really good with housebreakng and we do have a routine worked out that I don't want to mess up. Thanks again for all the advice!