OK, what SHOULD I be feeding my dog??????

Check out thedogfoodproject.com and learn about reading labels, ingredients to avoid, etc. There's a LOT of info out there, and it's conflicting, so you just have to read a lot and do the best that you can[]

Some of the foods that are popular around here are Natural Balance, Innova, Canidae, Timberwolf Organics, and Nature's Variety.

My vet recommended Innova.

I'll put in a good word for California Natural.

Read the Orijen thread. It it is available to you, sounds like a great food to try.

Hey there and welcome to the nerve-racking world of dog food! [8D]

I too recommend the Dog Food Project for more information (www.dogfoodproject.com).  If you are having trouble understanding that site (it is great, it just may be more understandable after you have researched for awhile), I recommend looking at this article: [linkhttp://www.api4animals.org/facts?p=359&more=1cat=286]http://www.api4animals.org/facts?p=359&more=1cat=286[/link]   It does a great job of putting everything in easier-to-read terms. 

One thing you have to understand about finding the "best" dog food is that one food is not considered the best for every dog.  Each food effects dogs differently, so it may take some trial and error before you find the best food for YOUR dog. 

A note on small breeds (especially small breed puppies) is that they have a higher protein requirement than larger dogs.  This helps support their very fast metabolism.

Some dog foods I would recommend:

Royal Canin Mini varieties ( [linkhttp://www.royalcanin.us]www.royalcanin.us[/link] )
Innova puppy ( [linkhttp://www.naturapet.com]www.naturapet.com[/link] )
California Natural puppy ( [linkhttp://www.naturapet.com]www.naturapet.com[/link] )
Healthwise puppy ( [linkhttp://www.naturapet.com]www.naturapet.com[/link] )
Natural Balance Ultra Premium ( [linkhttp://www.naturalbalanceinc.com]www.naturalbalanceinc.com[/link] )
Sensible Choice puppy ( [linkhttp://www.sensiblechoice.com]www.sensiblechoice.com[/link] ) ? I think that's the sight
Nature's Variety ( [linkhttp://www.naturesvariety.com]www.naturesvariety.com[/link] )
Solid Gold "Just a Wee Bit" ( [linkhttp://www.solidgoldhealth.com]www.solidgoldhealth.com[/link] )
Artemis Fresh Mix Small Breed puppy ( [linkhttp://www.artemiscompany.com]www.artemiscompany.com[/link] )

These are some good one's to try.  Each site will  have a store locator so you can see if there are any places near you that sells them.  Good luck! []

From my personal feeding experience....
 
Innova, CA Natural, Canidae
 
From the experience of others......
 
Timberwolf Organics, Fromms, Solid Gold, Eagle Pak Holistique and others I've likely forgotten

Blue Buffalo is another one, and easy to get at your local Petsmart.

I urge everyone to research feeding a RAW natural diet to their dogs.  It may seem a little complicated at first, but when you break it all down it's pretty simple.  A good book to start out with is Raw Dog Food by Carina Beth MacDonald.  There are plenty of good websites devoted to feeding raw as well.     

Royal Canin mini saved my butt when I was trying to put weight on my papillon and he wasn't eating. The food reeks to high heaven but (so Rascal tells me) is quite delicious. However, he had some bad dandruff and runny eyes on it, so I decided to switch to Timberwolf Organics which he's doing quite nicely on. I tried Canidae, but he wouldn't eat it. He also really enjoyed the Solid Gold canned varieties, and I like their ingredients.

The dog food project website is really a great resource.

Royal Canin mini saved my butt when I was trying to put weight on my papillon and he wasn't eating.

Same here

royal canin rocks. i've never seen such a universally palatable food

was it a standard poodle and a yorkie? Or a teacup poodle. Poodles (standard) are very large dogs. Not fat but tall. I think that no one can actually tell you how big a Mix will get, so someone telling you how big your dog would get is not realistic. It a crap shoot with mixture dogs. I think you should just get high quality food. I dont trust big breed food unless you know your dog will be a big breed. I have always been a "foodie" inside. I like whole natural foods. Once I smelled dog food, I knew it was awful. I could not eat it, and I would not give it to them. I feed my dogs a home-made recipie and then Solid Gold dry (hund-en-flocken tiny bites because they are toy dogs). My recipie is about 1/2 "meat" I've done chicken thighs, liver& gizzards, any "meat." In a pinch feed them eggs. Dogs love eggs. Then about 1/4 potatoes/sweet potatoes, and some oatmeal. Then a mash of various vegetables/fruits (1/4-- I have thrown blueberries, apples, carrots, pumpkin, all sorts of veggies and fruit, but remember certain veggies and fruit are posion to dogs, no grapes, rasins, onions or other vegetables known to be toxic to pets). I can get extravigant and expensive, or I can go cheap and sometimes I do. I feed them about 1/2 less than I do when I gave them wet (no more). I usually throw in some garlic and some vegetarian brewers yeast. The food I make looks odd but it is human quality and actually very tasty. They totally love this food. There is never any waste. Their poop might reflect a change in diet. Be aware of this. 

ORIGINAL: Gizmo83036

royal canin rocks. i've never seen such a universally palatable food

My dog didn't like it, I tried it because I heard it was palatable.... Of course, he's never been excited about ANY kibble. It's just as well because I think there are a lot of foods out there with better ingredients.

ORIGINAL: Maggies mom

I did a search on Science Diet, which I thought was supposed to be a very good food and better than the IAMS, which we fed our Cocker Spaniel years ago. I haven't read ALL the posts that came up on the search, but it sounds like some of you think Science Diet isn't the best either. I know a lot of you are very knowledgeable about dogs, so please tell me what we should be feeding our puppy!
Maggie is a 7 month old Yorkie/poodle mix. She weighs between 12 and 13 pounds(was SUPPOSED to only be 5-8 pounds!). She isn't fat, just growing!!!!! I really want to do what is best for her, so what do you recommend we feed her???
I would appreciate your help!

Is she doing well on her current diet?  If so, then there's no need to change, just because someone in an internet forum doesn't like your choices. Whether Science Diet or Iams (or somethng else) is "better" all depends on how your dog handles them.  There's no one best food for all dogs.