# President's Choice Puppy Food?



## FaZePuG (May 24, 2015)

Hello All,


I am currently feeding my puppy President's choice puppy food. I have heard many great reviews on it. I wanted to have your opinions on it :rockon:. If you dont know what this is, just google it or look it up on dog food advisor. I switched recently because before I was feeding her Royal Canin MINI Puppy, which is WAY worse than PC :flypig:.


Thanks! :wave:


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## BostonBullMama (Apr 20, 2013)

PC is a grocery store brand pet food that I *personally** wouldn't feed my animals. It doesn't look terrible as far as the ingredients list goes, but it doesn't meet *my** standards.


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## LittleFr0g (Jun 11, 2007)

BostonBullMama said:


> PC is a grocery store brand pet food that I *personally** wouldn't feed my animals. It doesn't look terrible as far as the ingredients list goes, but it doesn't meet *my** standards.


Depends on the food. They actually have a grain free food now that's actually comparable ingredient wise to most grain free foods from the pet stores, and I feed it quite often. It's one of Kuma's favourites actually.


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## BostonBullMama (Apr 20, 2013)

Kuma'sMom said:


> Depends on the food. They actually have a grain free food now that's actually comparable ingredient wise to most grain free foods from the pet stores, and I feed it quite often. It's one of Kuma's favourites actually.


Like I said, it just doesn't meet my own personal standards.


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## CptJack (Jun 3, 2012)

The only reviews, opinions, or standards that matter are ultimately ones set by your dog. Does the dog enjoy eating it/eat it well? Does the dog have good coat, skin, eyes, ears and poop? Does the dog smell decent? Is the dog a decent weight? If yes then you're gold. It doesn't matter what you're feeding to achieve that, or how much you pay for it, or what review sites say. 

I used to feed seriously high end food. I stopped when I had to switch for one bag and my dogs looked BETTER, and had more energy and less issues on the cheap, not great quality, mediocre reviews than the 'five star stuff everyone raves about that cost 10X as much' stuff.

I fell into the trap of believing that if I spent a ton of money on my pet's food to get the stuff everyone said was the best that I was loving them, somehow, more than if I just fed them what worked - if what worked wasn't expensive. It doesn't work that way.


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## LittleFr0g (Jun 11, 2007)

BostonBullMama said:


> Like I said, it just doesn't meet my own personal standards.


Have you actually LOOKED at the ingredients of the grain free food? It's identical to any of the foods sold in pet stores. If that doesn't meet your standards, you must be feeding raw. Or are you allowing the fact that it's sold out of a grocery store to prejudice you against it?


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## LittleFr0g (Jun 11, 2007)

CptJack said:


> The only reviews, opinions, or standards that matter are ultimately ones set by your dog. Does the dog enjoy eating it/eat it well? Does the dog have good coat, skin, eyes, ears and poop? Does the dog smell decent? Is the dog a decent weight? If yes then you're gold. It doesn't matter what you're feeding to achieve that, or how much you pay for it, or what review sites say.
> 
> I used to feed seriously high end food. I stopped when I had to switch for one bag and my dogs looked BETTER, and had more energy and less issues on the cheap, not great quality, mediocre reviews than the 'five star stuff everyone raves about that cost 10X as much' stuff.
> 
> I fell into the trap of believing that if I spent a ton of money on my pet's food to get the stuff everyone said was the best that I was loving them, somehow, more than if I just fed them what worked - if what worked wasn't expensive. It doesn't work that way.


Agreed. To be honest, the PC grain free food isn't much cheaper than the pet store versions, it's maybe a couple of dollars cheaper than the most expensive brands like Evo, and the same price as Go, or Now. I feed it because Kuma likes it and does well on it, and it is convenient.


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## luv mi pets (Feb 5, 2012)

Agreed it your own dog that is the best judge to say what is a good food. I have bought some really expensive food only to sweep it up because the dogs did not like it. also, if I am going to be forking over the big bucks I want my dogs to look and smell great. Luckily for me, I have only one dog that I have to be super careful of what goes in his dish.


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## CptJack (Jun 3, 2012)

Kuma'sMom said:


> Agreed. To be honest, the PC grain free food isn't much cheaper than the pet store versions, it's maybe a couple of dollars cheaper than the most expensive brands like Evo, and the same price as Go, or Now. I feed it because Kuma likes it and does well on it, and it is convenient.


Yep. There's nothing wrong with more expensive stuff either, of course. I just hit on a class of food that really. works. for my dogs. Why? Dunno. I just know that after some of the struggling around I did with it that finding something that they *all* look incredibly good on? Is freaking nice and you will pry those sports foods out of my cold dead hands. And they're really NOT EVEN CLOSE to on par with that sort of ingredient list.


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## Sunak (Jul 3, 2014)

CptJack, what specific food(s) do you use?


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## CptJack (Jun 3, 2012)

SportMix Wholesomes and Pro-Plan Sport. Neither one are really bad, but are a long way away from things like Wellness Core which is the type of food I was feeding before. I've also used Sportmix Energy Plus, where the second ingredient is corn and the first is undefined meat meal with *danged* good results. I would feel weird about feeding that one all the time, but I don't have any issue picking it up when the store is out of the other two and feeding it for a week or two.

Bottom line? My dogs seem to do better *with* grain, by a large enough margin that it's unmistakeable. Weird to me, still, but obvious.


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## CptJack (Jun 3, 2012)

I COULD edit, but I'm not going to.

Basically, with the Wellness Core/Other '5-star' dog foods, the girls did okay-ish, Jack was emaciated all the time and Thud was skirting the line of being too thin, even by my standards (which like some visible rib). Switching to the grain inclusive stuff got weight back on Jack and Thud (full disclosure, Jack was neutered shortly after and that helped, too) and *everyone's* poop and coat quality improved dramatically. Why? Dunno. Extra fat, maybe? But if I can pay less and get that level of result, I'm going to. 

Also full disclosure/disclaimer: none of my dogs is allergic to anything food related, and it definitely also promoted weight gain in the one dog I have who absolutely does not need it. She mostly eats raw or canned at this stage just because otherwise she's fat AND hungry.


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## BostonBullMama (Apr 20, 2013)

Kuma'sMom said:


> Have you actually LOOKED at the ingredients of the grain free food? It's identical to any of the foods sold in pet stores. If that doesn't meet your standards, you must be feeding raw. Or are you allowing the fact that it's sold out of a grocery store to prejudice you against it?


Yes, I have looked. It says so in my very first response:


> PC is a grocery store brand pet food that I personally* wouldn't feed my animals.* It doesn't look terrible as far as the ingredients list goes,* but it doesn't meet my* standards.


Literally, for me it's down to personal preference. I'm not telling her NOT to feed her dogs that, just that *I* wouldn't. I can't find the grain free food, but I found their grain free biscuits on their website:

PC Nutrition First Grain-Free Dog Biscuits - Chicken & Cranberry (Promotes Dental Hygiene)
Ingredients

*Chicken, chicken meal,* tapioca flour, white fish, potato flour, *chicken fat *(preserved with mixed tocopherols and citric acid), pea fibre, cranberry seeds, dried cranberries, spinach, l-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), green tea extract, rosemary extract. *Manufactured in a facility that processes peanuts.*


In bold - Ingredients that would/could kill my dog.

Here's their grain-free cat food:
PC Nutrition First Grain-Free Salmon & Potato Premium Adult Dry Cat Food
Ingredients

Fresh Salmon, Salmon Meal, Potato Meal, Menhaden Fish Meal, Potato Protein, Potato Starch, *Canola Oil *(preserved with mixed tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Natural Flavours, Dehydrated Alfalfa, Dried Beet Pulp, Salmon Oil, Olive Oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Vitamin E Supplement, Choline Chloride, Calcium Sulphate, Flaxseed, Potassium Chloride, Chicory Root Extract, Calcium Carbonate, Ferrous Sulphate, Dried Kelp, Taurine, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Zinc Sulphate, Niacin, Probiotic Bacteria and Digestive Enzymes (Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus licheniformis, Lactobacillus acidophillus, Lactobacillus casei, Bifidobacterium bifidum, Enterococcus faecium bacteria, Aspergillus oryzae fermentation product, Papin and Bromelain), Copper Sulphate, Tomato, Aniseed, Cassia, Thyme, DL-Methionine, Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C), Beta Carotene, L-Carnitine, Manganese Sulphate, Rosemary Extract, Chamomile, Zinc Proteinate, Vitamin A Supplement, Iron Proteinate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Manganese Proteinate, Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin K Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Biotin, Copper Proteinate, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Sodium Selenite, Vitamin D Supplement, Folic Acid, Calcium Iodate

Bolded bit would give my guys the runs. Everything else looks fine.


Never once did I say "OMG DON'T FEED THIS BRAND!!!", I literally just said *I* wouldn't.


ETA: Found a dog food

Salmon & Potato Premium Adult Dry Dog Food
Ingredients

Fresh Salmon, Salmon Meal, Menhaden Fish Meal, Potato Meal, Potato Starch, Whitefish meal, Canola Oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Dehydrated Alfalfa, Dried Beet Pulp, Fresh Fruits & Vegetables (Pumpkin, Carrots, Apples, Tomatoes, Peas, Cranberries, Spinach, Blueberries, Raspberries, Pomegranate), Natural Flavours, Vitamin E Supplement, Olive Oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols, a source of Vitamin E), Salmon Oil, Flaxseed, Garlic, Dried Kelp, Chicory Root Extract, Mannanoligosaccharides, Calcium Carbonate, Choline Chloride, Zinc Sulphate, Ferrous Sulphate, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Copper Sulphate, Probiotic Bacteria and Digestive Enzymes (Bacillus subtilis, Bacillus licheniformis, Lactobacillus acidophillus, Lactobacillus casei, Bifidobacterium bifidum, Enterococcus faecium bacteria, Aspergillus oryzae fermentation product, Papin and Bromelain), Ascorbic Acid (source of Vitamin C), Beta Carotene, Taurine, Zinc Proteinate, Manganese Sulphate, Niacin, Aniseed, Cassia, Thyme, Rosemary Extract, Chamomile, Calcium Pantothenate, Iron Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Vitamin A Supplement, Riboflavin, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Copper Proteinate, Sodium Selenite, Calcium Iodate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Vitamin D Supplement, Folic Acid


This one has the potential to flare up Toby's skin issues, but otherwise - again - looks fine ingredients wise. I just wouldn't feed it myself.


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## CptJack (Jun 3, 2012)

I am just going to say that 'my dog has allergies to ingredients in the food' is a bit different than saying it doesn't meet your standards. It does come across as a quality issue in the absence of allergy information, even though you obviously didn't intend it to (ie: I understand why Kuma's mom reacted that way) . You couldn't feed your dog 5 star, grain free, super expensive poultry dog food, either. That's not a standard issue, IMO, it's just a matter of using good sense and not killing your dog.


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## Sunak (Jul 3, 2014)

CptJack said:


> SportMix Wholesomes and Pro-Plan Sport. Neither one are really bad, but are a long way away from things like Wellness Core which is the type of food I was feeding before. I've also used Sportmix Energy Plus, where the second ingredient is corn and the first is undefined meat meal with *danged* good results. I would feel weird about feeding that one all the time, but I don't have any issue picking it up when the store is out of the other two and feeding it for a week or two.
> 
> Bottom line? My dogs seem to do better *with* grain, by a large enough margin that it's unmistakeable. Weird to me, still, but obvious.


Thank you.


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## CptJack (Jun 3, 2012)

Sunak said:


> Thank you.


You're welcome! Thank you for not minding my wordy answer. I had stuff to say!


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## InkedMarie (Mar 11, 2009)

Presidents Choice? I don't see it on the Dog Food Advisor


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## Remaru (Mar 16, 2014)

CptJack said:


> SportMix Wholesomes and Pro-Plan Sport. Neither one are really bad, but are a long way away from things like Wellness Core which is the type of food I was feeding before. I've also used Sportmix Energy Plus, where the second ingredient is corn and the first is undefined meat meal with *danged* good results. I would feel weird about feeding that one all the time, but I don't have any issue picking it up when the store is out of the other two and feeding it for a week or two.
> 
> *Bottom line? My dogs seem to do better *with* grain, by a large enough margin that it's unmistakeable. Weird to me, still, but obvious.*


This has been true for most of my dogs as well. As in all of my dogs but Duke who was allergic to all sorts of random things and could eat only one or two foods with out being terribly ill. Sportmix Wholesomes has been excellent for my dogs.


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