Ask Bill: Food for Breeding Dogs

Q: I am a puppy breeder and I am having problems with bloody stool and weak puppies. Because I have so many dogs I have to buy the cheapest food I can, so I buy it at Sam's.

A: Nutrition! Nutrition! Nutrition! If a daughter or wife was to become a mother would you advise her to buy the cheapest, poorest quality ntrition she can buy? NO you would not. You know she needs to feed herself and her unborn child quality, well-balanced nutrition. Member's Mark Performance Dog Food from SAMS $20.96 for a 50lb bag. Ingredients: Meat and Bone Meal, (typically 35% ash and 50% protein) ground yellow corn, ground wheat, corn gluten meal, animal fat (preserved with BHA and citric acid), wheat middlings, soybean meal, animal digest. Does this sound like something that would nourish healthy puppies? Compare to Diamond Naturals Beef & Rice, $20.98 for 40lb. Ingredients: beef meal, cracked pearled barley, ground rice, peas, egg product, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols). And better still Premium Edge Chicken and Rice, $30 in quantity of 10 for a 35lb bag. Ingredients: Chicken, chicken meal, ocean fish meal, whole grain brown rice, cracked pearled barley, white rice, oatmeal, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols), prebiotics and enhanced with DHA (critical for the development of puppy's brains and vision). The higher the quality of what you put into your dog, the greater the chances of healthy puppies and less complications. And it costs less per feeding. Cheap is cheap. I want the most for my hard earned money.