# Food for Pit Bull puppy? Merrick vs Blue Buffalo?



## Odin45 (Oct 23, 2015)

I recently got a 5 week old blue nose puppy (I understand thats extremely young to be away from his mom and liter but he was in a shelter) and have a couple of questions. As of now he is 6 weeks old and for the last week I have been feeding him Merrick Grain Free Puppy food soaked in water - 1/3 cup three times a day. He absolutely loves the food but he deficates literally every time I take him outside which is about once every 1.5 - 2 hours and its not diarrhea just soft and formed...is it normal for him to be pooping that often? Would I be better off feeding him Blue Buffalo puppy food or some other brand of grain free food seeing as how Merrick was bought out by Purina? Also, he was 5 pounds when I had him weighed at the vet last week, is that about an average weight for his age? Sorry for all the questions, my 8 year old red nose passed away last month from bladder cancer so its been awhile since I've had a Pit puppy in the house. So far he is doing great and is extremely goofy! I just want to make sure he's getting the right nutrients and gains the proper weight in the correct manner so that he's a happy and healthy pup!!

Thanks in advance for any advice or comments!


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## InkedMarie (Mar 11, 2009)

I'm not fond of either food. Blue has had it's share of issues & Merrick just got sold. Why are those the only foods you're considering?


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## Odin45 (Oct 23, 2015)

Mainly because they're grain free and were recommended on a few different Pit Bull forums but I'm definitely open to suggestions. I was also looking at Orijen but didn't know if it was worth the hefty price tag?


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## notgaga (Oct 25, 2014)

I feed this brand called Nutrisource. It was recommended to me when my dog was having some mysterious stomach issues over the summer. It's been amazing - she has had zero problems with it, and it's relatively inexpensive for how much I like it (like $50 for a 30lb bag on Chewy). They have puppy food as well as all life stages. I wound up going grain free kind of inadvertently, but the higher protein/calorie levels have been really good for her.


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

I sm not a fan of Blue Buffalo and i have never tried Merrick. I don't see any reason to stick with grain free unless you have determined a dog has a grain allergy/insensitivity.

Since pittie are medium / medium large dogs, then you can use most any good puppy or all-life-stages food, no need for a large breed puppy food at least.

5 lbs sounds roughly normal, I am only estimating from holding the wee ones from some pit type rescue litters at 6 or 7 weeks roughly.

Not a fancy brand, but I am a fan of Pro Pac regular grain inclusive foods, I have fed them to several pit types who sometimes have sensitive skin and tummies. Earthborn holistic is a slightly more expensive but grain free option from the same company which I also think is a good choice if you want a grain free. Fromm is also a good affordable option. Orijen IMO is not worth the price. Once the pup is older, you can seek out high calorie foods for an active dog or grain free if its needed etc.


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## Zilla (May 11, 2013)

As others said I'm not a fan of blue buffalo either. I call them the snakes on the holistic side of things. Anyway. At the moment since he's so young the carbs from the foods with a little grain my actually help keep weight on him but that's your choice.. My favorites are Dr Tims, Canidae, Acana, Orijen, Farmina, and Nulo.


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## InkedMarie (Mar 11, 2009)

there are tons of grainfree foods. Some of my favorites are Annamaet, Dr. Tim's, Farmina, Natures Logic (technically not grainfree, only has millet).....other good ones are Acana, NutriSource...


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## Hiraeth (Aug 4, 2015)

I'm currently feeding my puppy Earthborn. It's an all life stages food, so suitable for a growing puppy, it's a family-owned company and it's grain free. My dogs are doing very well on it.


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## taquitos (Oct 18, 2012)

I like Orijen and Acana. My bully mix fosters did great on both  One that was particularly prone to skin issues did great on Orijen but not so much on Acana.

It really just comes down to what your dog does great on  Bullies tend to be prone to yeast infections/grain allergies from my experience though.


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## CrzyGIRL (Oct 12, 2015)

Our pit bull is 11 yrs old and does great on Earthborn Large Breed. Our younger dogs get Earthborn Primitive. Both are grain free. We have fed Blue Buffalo on occasion, when we find a good sale. We got our pit bull at a young age, too. 5 lbs sounds right.


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## Odin45 (Oct 23, 2015)

Alright, I'll have to check into the ones mentioned above!! Did any of you notice an increase or decrease in bowl movements with the food you used? It just seems like 8-10 bowl movements a day is a lot for a puppy?


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## CrzyGIRL (Oct 12, 2015)

Odin45 said:


> Alright, I'll have to check into the ones mentioned above!! Did any of you notice an increase or decrease in bowl movements with the food you used? It just seems like 8-10 bowl movements a day is a lot for a puppy?


 That kinda seems like a lot, but with water added to his food, that may account for some of it. You might notice a difference when he goes to completely dry kibble. We've had some very "poopy" puppies...lol.


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

Zilla said:


> As others said I'm not a fan of blue buffalo either. I call them the snakes on the holistic side of things. Anyway. At the moment since he's so young the carbs from the foods with a little grain my actually help keep weight on him but that's your choice.. My favorites are Dr Tims, Canidae, Acana, Orijen, Farmina, and Nulo.


There are basically the same percentage of carbs in a grain free food as a grain inclusive. Different sources sure so some dogs might process the carbs differently, but the amount isn't much different. Rice, barley, oats, corn vs potatoes, sweet potatoes, tapioca usually. I haven't personally noticed a difference in calorie processing from grains to no-grain carb sources, my observation is that if no grain intolerance, than protein and fat percentage matters most. Especially fat percent since even some decent protein food have lowish fat which means high carbs (of whatever source) and that hasn't been as good for coats and skin


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## Spicy1_VV (Jun 1, 2007)

Merrick did the same thing to mine. Nutrisource super performance would be my first recommendation. I'd also say Eagle Pack power formula.


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## Laurelin (Nov 2, 2006)

I've been feeding Merrick (though not exclusively- I don't feed anything exclusively but it is the 'staple' of my dogs' diets). They look fantastic on it. Way better than anything else we've tried. But it depends on the individual. And yes, they did recently get sold.


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## OwnedbyACDs (Jun 22, 2013)

Well I uses to feed merrick and my dogs did well on it but since it got sold to evil purina, I can't be behind it anymore.

I feed a food called holistic select, and it is a bit pricy (at least down here it is) at about $60 after tax, but you don't have to feed any other supplements with it, as it has probiodic added to it AFTER cooking, most add it before and some of it gets killed off by the cooking process. 

Below are some other foods I would feel comfortable feeding, first group is the cheapest:
4health
Kirkland
Pro pac
Holistic select
Earthborn
Zignature (though it is a bit heavy on the pea protein )
Victor

This list the foods are good bug a bit pricy 
Orijin 
Acana 
Nature's variety 

This list are foods that are OK but I wouldn't feed them unless I was basically in dire straits
Taste of the wild
Merrick
Honest kitchen
Halo


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## ireth0 (Feb 11, 2013)

Price varies with location. 

For example, Acana is $10-20 cheaper here than Taste of the Wild.


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## ireth0 (Feb 11, 2013)

A more specific example (since I just happened to go buy dog food a few mins ago) a large bag of Acana light n fit (so like 26lbs or 28lbs or whatever) was about $65 before tax. I've seen TOTW for $80+


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## OwnedbyACDs (Jun 22, 2013)

ireth0 said:


> A more specific example (since I just happened to go buy dog food a few mins ago) a large bag of Acana light n fit (so like 26lbs or 28lbs or whatever) was about $65 before tax. I've seen TOTW for $80+


Here it is opposite lol.


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## sclevenger (Nov 11, 2012)

OwnedbyACDs said:


> Here it is opposite lol.


Ya wow. I feed TOTW and I pay, tax and all $52 from a 30lb bag.


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## doodlebug124 (Oct 31, 2015)

Acana is manufactured in Canada so it makes sense that it would be cheaper in Canada than the US. Reverse for Taste of the Wild. It will be interesting to see what happens to Orijen/Acana pricing when the US plant comes online next year.


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## OwnedbyACDs (Jun 22, 2013)

Yes, I forget that different regions means different prices lol. .. like, victor, which is made here in texas, would be the same price for Canadians that Orijin, or Acana are for us, because or the money it takes to ship it.


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