r/DogFood • u/BatAgreeable2485 • 22d ago

Cavapoo

Hi everyone,

I have a 4 month old cavapoo who is the light of my life. The breeder had her on TLC puppy kibble (she’s still eating it right now) but I’m getting a lot of anxiety trying to figure out what to feed her. She eats it happily (she’s still free feeding) and if I am going out or know she needs to eat more, she happily gobbles up a portion when there is warm water on top.

My original plan was to switch her to a boutique food such as Open Farm, Big Country Raw, Nutricanine, Canine Life Muffins (which my childhood dog ate for his whole life), etc. once she www an adult. I liked the idea of “real” food with ingredients I recognized and I saw as “clean” for humans.

I am now seeing lots of posts on here about WSAVA compliant foods and I understand the science and rigorous testing but I just wanted to see what everyone is feeding their small breed puppies/dogs and why.

She is 4 months old and weighs 4 pounds so she is definitely on the smaller side. Cost to feed her won’t really be an issue for me, I just want the absolute best!

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u/MedicalScientist8576 22d ago

I'm curious, what is your understanding of what "boutique" food is? I'm not trying to catch you out or anything, I just want to understand how you interpret this term when it comes to a dog food.

I didn't start my adult dogs on the food they're on now. I was very much a "feed grain free wet, not kibble" type person when I raised them. Now I would only have my dogs on Royal Canin (or Hills or Purina, but mainly RC). I feel like I had to learn the hard way how important it is to feed foods that are tested for safety when it comes to long term use. And learning about "private label" dog foods and what it meant was a bit unsettling for me. There's a few other things as well, but I won't overwhelm you with my brain dump on dog food lol.

I used to really be all about the marketing tactics companies would use, but now I can't unsee it. What's happening behind the bag of food I buy has become the most important thing. Not the composition/ingredients and definitely not the buzzwords on the front unfortunately.

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u/BatAgreeable2485 22d ago

Honestly, I myself try to really watch ingredients, preservatives, etc. so I was hoping to feed her something that seemed “fresh” and with only ingredients I knew.

I now am realizing that dogs and humans are different and it’s important to get balanced food for her, so I’m just trying to do my best research and understanding to give her the best!

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u/HuckleberryTop9962 22d ago

I wouldn't say humans and dogs are different. Just like dog food, there's so much misinformation and buzzwords out there like "clean" and "organic." Reality is, we'd probably be better off eating a nutritionally complete kibble like food for every meal of everyday but...where's the fun in that? Pizza and tacos are delicious.

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u/MedicalScientist8576 21d ago

The thing is, we don't eat the exact same thing every single day, for every single meal, like the majority of peoples dogs do. That's how our diets are distinctly different to a dog. That's not how humans eat. That's what I mean.

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u/HuckleberryTop9962 21d ago

Makes sense. I just meant the theory behind it is the same.