Nutro Large breed puppy?

The lamb meal and rice formula does not contain wheat or corn, but does have soybean oil.  The normal large breed formula contains wheat (and I think corn gluten meal) and the aforementioned soybean oil; it's also chicken-based, with a trace amount of lamb meal in the ingredient listing. 

If I had to choose between the two (and I did a few months ago), it would be the lamb meal and rice formula.  It's in a light green bag.  There are better foods, of course, but if he has been doing well, I don't see a reason to switch.  You may not want to fix what isn't broken, you know ...

I like the Nutro Natural Choice line of food, soybean oil is a good source of both Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids. 

ORIGINAL: abbysdad

I like the Nutro Natural Choice line of food, soybean oil is a good source of both Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids. 

And I didn't say a good or bad thing about it.  Some people are touchy about ingredients, so I mentioned it.

I understand, I recall when they actually added the soybean oil, some people were up in arms about it, I personally like to see it, since it added some Omega 3's to the formula.

soybean oil is a good source of both Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids.

But how digestable is it? Does anyone know? Maybe it's been inprinted in to me,but whenever i see "soy" in an ingredient list it sends up red flags. It's not the best source of omega's.... is it?

Dawn Nutro is a midgrade food,i wouldnt feed it if i didnt have to,especially not when there are so many better foods available. I've always started with the top grade foods and worked my way down if i had to,which has never happened yet.

Loads of dogs seem to do well on Nutro,so if it keeps your dogs in A1 condition,no niggly little problems,then you could do alot worse []

I agree to the idea of "don't fix was is not broken" but if you are thinking to do it, I suggest Eagle Pack since you have a large dog.     Linda Arndt is a canine nutritioinalist and has raised several generations of large/giant dogs (amongst other breeds) and says:

I choose Eagle because all products are made with human grade/organic ingredients,a multi-protein source, not grain based, yogurt cultures (probiotics) digestive enzymes, prebiotics, glucosamine HCL for joint support, high quality sequestered minerals which are critical for proper growth and no bone diseases, no ethoxiquin, no BHA,BHT, only naturally preservative, vitamin C and yucca and balanced Omega 6:3 fatty acids. This is the ONLY dog foods ever tested on giant breeds and it was done on several litters before it became available to the public. It has the longest track record for giant breeds of any food on the market. I directed the feed trials on this food 18 years ago as well as the Large and Giant Puppy food feed trials in 2002 so I know these foods work.

    this is from this link: 
[linkhttp://www.greatdanelady.com/articles/puppy_feed_program_2006_htm.htm]http://www.greatdanelady.com/articles/puppy_feed_program_2006_htm.htm[/link]The ONLY food trial tested and done on several litters before it became available to the public. That means everything to me.Good luck with your new puppy!  You will have SO MUCH FUN!!!  

But how digestable is it? Does anyone know? Maybe it's been inprinted in to me,but whenever i see "soy" in an ingredient list it sends up red flags. It's not the best source of omega's.... is it?

What is the best source is debateable, several studies show, fish, some show flax some show soy.  Also, the decision as which to put in the food, may not be as simple as which is the best, for instance fish oil can affect smell and palatability of the food.  I know some dogs that absolutely won't touch any food with a fish smell. I have also read where owners have stopped feeding products because the dog had a fishy oder or fishy breath and the owners did not like that, so there are many things to consider when making a change in a food, what might please one person or one dog, may upset several others.  I'm sure Nutro considered all of these things and decided soy oil was the best for them and there customers, the reason they made this change was to add omega 3 to there feed, there was no need or requirement to do so, but they must have felt it was enough of a benefit for the dogs to do it, I don't see that as Nutro doing a bad thing, but I know others will disagree. 
 
Here is an excerpt from one study, but I have also seen studies that state the opposite:
 
Soybean-oil more healthful than fish-oil capsules
 
Soybean-Oil More Healthful Than Fish-Oil Capsules
A few tablespoons of a soybean-oil-based salad dressing confer the same health benefits as fish oil capsules, a new preliminary study suggests. Omega-3 fatty acids in fish oil have become popular with consumers lately, but the health claims remain controversial.
Linolenic acid, found largely in soybean oil, is also an omega-3 type fatty acid, but its molecular structure differs from that of omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oil. For the study, conducted in Peoria, Ill., by chemist Edward A. Emken and colleagues from the United States Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service, two men were fed milk shakes containing a small amount of chemically labeled linolenic acid and two were fed shakes without the acid.
Analysis of blood samples taken periodically from the four men over three days showed that within a couple of hours, the two who had ingested the linolenic acid had begun to convert it to the same type of omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oil. The researchers found that one of the two men who drank a shake with linolenic acid converted only a trace of it to omega-3 fatty acids, possibly because he had satisfied his dietary need for omega-3 fatty acids with foods he had eaten the previous week, they said.
 
According to Emken, salad dressings containing soybean oil have about 7 to 8 percent linolenic acid. Soybean oil in shortening and hard margarine contains about 3 per cent linolenic acid. About two tablespoons of non-hydrogenated soybean-oil-based salad dressing provides about the same amount of linolenic acid as most fish oil capsules, according to Emken, who cautioned that "people shouldn't go overboard and consume so much soybean oil that they increase their total fat intake." Research News (a publication of the U.S. Department of Agriculture).

Me and a few other owners I know with large breed hunting dogs use Nutro with great results.

Me and a few other owners I know with large breed hunting dogs use Nutro with great results.

 
Ron, Ron, Ron,
 
Have you not learned anything by reading the dog forums, it is impossible to get great results using a food like Nutro.  You and your acquaintances may think your getting great results, but you just have very low standards, and you and your friends don't really know anything about what a healthy dog is.  Oh and all of the vets, that tell you guys your dogs are really healthy and thriving, they don't know what they are talking about either, they don't get very much nutrition training, so they have no idea what a healthy dog is supposed to look or act like.  I can't believe you guys would put the trust of your dogs food in a company that has been around for 75 years and owns there own manufacturing facility, there old, what do they know about making dog food.
 
You should try one of these new companies that is really high quality, you know they are high quality because they tell us that.  They may not own there own plant, or even manufacture there own food, but as we all know these things don't affect quality at all.  There is one really good company Solid Gold, that has even created a supplement that cures cancer in dogs, now thats a company you should put your trust in. Oh if that food doesn't work, and your dog has diarrhea for months and it starts losing weight, and it's hair starts falling out,  you must be doing something wrong.  So just starting adding things to that $50 bag of kibble, and if that doesn't work, keep trying others, but whatever you do, don't go back to Nutro cause as we all know not one dog has thrived on that kibble in 75 years, and we know that just by looking at the ingredients list.

in a company that has been around for 75 years

[sm=rotfl.gif]
 
I enjoyed that. I have one minor correction. Nutro has been in business since 1926, with their own plant. It wasn't until much later that they could get a national distribution deal. Until then, they were only able to sell in California, where they are based. So, it's actually closer to 80 years. Like I said, only a minor correction.
 
Purina has them beat on that. Purina started in 1920 and by 1926, had their own testing center for feeding trials.
 
Iams has their own center and Mic Foster lives right across from it and has several friends who work there.
 
The king of the premium holistics claims that they, unlike major food brands, have their own feeding trial testing center. I found that statement to be misleading, at best, and labelled it as advertising. And I caught some heat for that.

Oh if that food doesn't work, and your dog has diarrhea for months and it starts losing weight, and it's hair starts falling out, you must be doing something wrong. So just starting adding things to that $50 bag of kibble, and if that doesn't work, keep trying others

 
I have learned you are not doing something wrong , you are doing something right.  that is called detox and it is getting rid of all the toxic waste built up in your dog for all the years it has eaten purina, SD, Nutro, whatever.
 
I have probably seen to many of those night creepy movies about toxic waste doing all kinds of strang things to humans/animals because try as i might, I can not see my dogs glowing in the dark from the purina toxins in their bodies.  I tried it again last night with Buck, who has been on Purina for 11 3/4 years--thought if he glowed i could use him for a night light, but it didnt work.  I guess he never read the list of ingredients on the back of his food and doesn't know he is suppose to glow in the dark.  Maybe i better read them to him!

I glow in the dark but that's from being shocked a number of times in the past 20-something years. Think of me as Uncle Fester where I can put a light bulb in my mouth and make it glow. Only, I don't need the light bulb.
 

Pros: It's easy to find.  Most pet specialty stores carry Nutro.  It's healthier than anything you'd buy at a grocery store.  From my own experience, my dog did pretty good on Nutro.  Coat looked better on the Nutro Natural Choice formula than on the regular Nutro Max (which is Nutro's economical line and is not as good as Nutro Natural Choice)

Con's: From my own experience, it's really grainy.  I mean, your dog will pooh alot on this food, which makes house training harder.

All foods have their pros and cons.  I like Nutro Natural Choice.  There are technically better foods out there, but there are alot worse (anything you'd buy at a grocery store).  Try it, if it works great!  If it doesn't get back to us and tell us what's happening and we'll try to help you find something that will work.

Con's: From my own experience, it's really grainy. I mean, your dog will pooh alot on this food, which makes house training harder

 
Actually i have never had a problem at all house breaking any of my dogs.  And one, my Irish Setter, Boots, NEVER ONCE PEED NOR POOPED IN THE HOUSE, and i acutally consider that a miracle and beyond my understanding.  He was just shy of 9 weeks when i got him.  I had lost my Irish, Red, and was just crushed.  my older son's girlfriend "ordered" Boots from a kennel in Missouri and had him flown to Austin, Tex.  he arrived that afternoon and they gave him to me tha night.  Not long after he got there, he squatted, i picked him up and took him outside.  Later he ate and drank and then a little after that, went to the back door.  We all thought it a total fluke.  it wan'st.  I contacted the kennel to let them know he had arrived and was in my heart as soon as he was in my arms and i asked if they had house trained and they said no, all dogs were kept outdoors in  kennels.  And you know, i have never head of another dog that was trained so darn fast.
 
KayCee and Hunter never pooped in the house, peed a few times, but never pooped.Buck was broken when we got him at 6 months.  Scooter did poop a couple of times and pee a few time, but was trained very easy and in a short time.  So i can't see what eating grain has to do with making a dog hard to house train no matter how often he has to poop.  Trained means they go to the door and once they know they are to do their business out doors, they will go to the door be it 4 times a day or 40.    And eating grain doesn't make them brain dead so they can't learn to go to the door.  Of course if you don't let them out, they will poop in the house eventually.  This doesn't mean they are not house broken...it means you are not "dog broken."  LOL