What brands of dog food would you recommend?

I'm not sure what food I would recommend for a puppy (never had one), but, I just want to say you can add some 100% Salmon oil to his food to make his skin and fur look great (it has more benefits, too). I add it to Apollo's food and his jet black coat looks fabulous- no flakes, super shiny.

ETA: Currently, Apollo is on Holistic Select Anchovy, Sardine, and Salmon meal w/ Oatmean. Patty is on Innova, and Molson is on Canidae Grain Free Salmon meal and Potato. Yup, all 3 on 3 different foods, but it works out; all 3 look amazing, none have poop issues, and they all are excieted and eat all their food when it's put out. We tried Orijen, Blue Buffalo, Wellness, Wellness CORE, Canidae ALS Regular Formula, um, what else, Purina, Eukanuba, TOTW....I'm sure there are more....and we finally found 3 foods that work for 3 dogs, lol.

 I should add, that we do add proderma to his food. Has anyone else used that?

 I haven't had a puppy for 5 years, but Tootsie gets EP Holistic.

I don't have any puppy food suggestions since River is an exlarge dog his Vet did not recommend he get puppy food - we had to keep his growning and weight in check.  I think he started on Blue Buffalo but that didn't sit well with him.  He only tolerates Flint River Ranch which is decent but only can be ordered on line.

The only thing I can reccomend is a BARF diet, because thats all what Ive been feeding Bailey for years now (except for Purina  when I first got him and didnt know anything about dogs )

BUT, I know my dads dog Jack has been doing well on Taste Of the wild. He is an adult dog though, so Im not sure if TOTW is good for a puppy.

 I've heard good and bad things about the BARF diet. 

Innova, Solid Gold, Blue Buffalo.  Honestly compared to the price of SD and the junk that's in that stuff, these are all a bargain....remember YOU WILL FEED LESS and start at the very lowest end of the feeding recommendations.

Raw can be good, if done properly. Make sure you achieve some balance. Just meat alone will result in imbalances.

As for commercial food, Shadow has been doing good in Eagle Pack Natural.

Before, I had him on Eagle Pack Lamb and Rice. Then got laid off and went broke. And had to buy him really cheap stuff. Then, Nutro, which I used to feed before, came back out with his Lamb Meal and Rice formula that he did so well on. This time, not so well. He seemed to have problems with dry fur and hide. So, I was adding Missing Link to it. Finally, I could afford Eagle Pack, again. And the found the new formula, Natural. Which seems to be working. He likes it and will eat a few cups. Maybe it's his age, too, at 6.5. I'm sure some dogs have changes in metabolism with age. But commercial foods do change their formulas, too. When Nutro came out with the Large Breed Adult Lamb Meal and Rice, it may not be exactly the same formula as before, even with the same ingredients. Shadow did great on it when the company was family-owned. Now, it is owned by Mars.

 Ena Bean and Jewel eat Precise. Usually, I get the Foundation formula, but last time, there was a torn bag of the Plus lamb meal and sweet potato, and my boss gave it to me, so they're eating that, now. I am happier with it than I have been with any other commercial food (premade raw included). The results are fabulous. They have their own plant, in TX, and make the food from US sourced ingredients, and that makes me even happier.

punkchica321

 I've heard good and bad things about the BARF diet. 

BARF diet is great if you do it right, but bad if you do it wrong.

I personally believe its better than any kibble brand out there, and I will never go back to feeding kibble again (unless the dog has health issues that prevent it from eating raw, of course)
Both my ferrets are on a natural diet as well, and are doing great on it.

If you are going to feed kibble, I'd go with something better than Science diet... its pretty crappy from all the things Ive heard about it. 
My dads dog Jack has been on Pinnacle, TOTW, and Wellness, and seemed to do the best on Pinnacle and TOTW.

 What is the 'right' way to go about the BARF diet? Any tips/advice you could give would be great! :D

 Personally, I would NOT start raw for the first time with a large breed puppy, unless you can either buy already balanced raw, or get a consult with a nutritionist. Large breed puppies have very specific needs, and can be ruined with over or under nutrition.

jennie_c_d

 Personally, I would NOT start raw for the first time with a large breed puppy, unless you can either buy already balanced raw, or get a consult with a nutritionist. Large breed puppies have very specific needs, and can be ruined with over or under nutrition.

So you're saying like until he's older, it'd be best to keep him on a good brand of kibble? 

punkchica321

 

jennie_c_d

 Personally, I would NOT start raw for the first time with a large breed puppy, unless you can either buy already balanced raw, or get a consult with a nutritionist. Large breed puppies have very specific needs, and can be ruined with over or under nutrition.

So you're saying like until he's older, it'd be best to keep him on a good brand of kibble? 

Personally, I would. Unless I knew 110% of what there is to know about the BARF diet with a growing large breed puppy, I'd keep him on a good quality dry food.