My large pitbull puppy won't eat his Blue Buffalo. What food should I try?

This is a great question, especially because there are so many food options out there for puppies! Several brands of food including Hill's Science Diet, Royal Canin, and Purina One are often preferred. These companies do a lot of research and quality control to ensure their foods meet strict nutritional standards so I would recommend one of these brands for Sixx. These companies also make canned puppy food which may entice Sixx to eat more enthusiastically. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

Hello, and thank you for your question. Blue sure is a handsome boy! If you keep him unneutered until at least 1 year old, this will let him grow to his fullest potential. I would also make sure to feed him a puppy-specific diet until he is at least 1 year old, and seek out a large-breed puppy formula, which helps to prevent hip problems as he grows. I wouldn't worry as much about meat - the most important nutrients for growth at his stage are fat and calories (which are found in puppy formulas). Look for an AAFCO statement on the food you buy, that says the diet is formulated for growth stages. I hope this helps, and that Blue is happy and healthy!

You can ask 3 different vets and probably get 3 different answers when it comes to food recommendation; however, I personally am not a fan of Blue Buffalo because of their high protein content and also their unwillingness to list their complete ingredient list to AAFCO. I trust a couple of brands including Royal Canin (by far my favorite), Hills Science Diet, and California Natural (Innova). I would recommend either of those and it has to be puppy large breed until Timmy turns 1 year of age, at which point he can be switched to the adult food. Purina puppy is ok and is a little lower on the list of high quality brands to choose from. Iams is a step above the Purina in my personal opinion.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Lila. There is a lot of confusion regarding pet food and it can seem difficult to make a good choice. You need to keep in mind that every pet is different and what works for your dog may not work for someone else's. I recommend a food that is certified by AAFCO to start as this means that is meets minimum standards. Next, the puppy need to like it and eat it willingly. There needs to be no vomiting and diarrhea on the diet nor an excessive amount of bowel movements. A dog should defecate 2-3 times per day. More than this is abnormal. Finally, her haircut should be glossy and healthy. If she is meeting all of these requirements on her diet, then there is no reason to change. My only warning is to avoid grain free diets as there is recent research linking them to heart disease. I hope this information helps!

Grain-free foods aren't really necessary unless Apollo has an allergy to a specific ingredient and needs to eat a grain-free diet. Any balanced food should be fine to give, but brands such as Nutro, Science Diet, and Eukanuba all offer a great variety of foods including grain-free, specific health issues, large breed, etc that Apollo may enjoy eating. They also all carry wet-food varieties of their dry foods so you can easily mix and match without upsetting Apollo's stomach. If you do switch foods be sure to do so over a period of 7-9 days, gradually adding in more of the new food over time to help Apollo's GI tract adjust and minimize digestive upset.

I'm sorry Hulk has been having problems with soft stool! It could be that his diet was causing the diarrhea, but it could also be that he had a GI illness or ate something rotten. It's good that the bland diet has helped clear it up, and I would find another food to feed him besides Blue Buffalo. I am not a fan at all of it, there are many cases of dogs having GI issues on it. It also have very poor quality control over how it is made, and they have had a number of recalls. Brands of food I recommend include Royal Canin, Hill's Science Diet, Purina ProPlan, and Iams. You can get his used to one of these new brands by slowly adding it to the bland diet, and over time, increasing the amount of the new food and decreasing the bland diet until he is eating the bland diet only. Good luck, I hope this helps!

Hi there and thank you for using pet coach! The food I mostly recommend is Science Diet. I have used their food for over 20 years in my own pets and have never had a problem with their food. My own dog was on their food for 20 years and did very well. He maintained an excellent body condition, hair coat was amazing and he loved very long. I contribute his longevity to a good diet and good care as well. If you are opposed to Science Diet, I also recommend Royal Canin, Natural Balance and Purina One. There are so many foods out there and it is easy to get caught up in the marketing game of "natural", "organic" and "grain free". As long as your dog is on a well balanced and complete diet is what matters the most. I typically recommend feeding a puppy food for the first 12 months and then switching to an adult food from 12 months to 7 years of age. Beyond 7 years I recommend a senior formula. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns.