What To Feed Puppy?

[harlosmummy]

hello dog lovers

my puppy is an 11 week old bull terrier x boxer and we have been feeding her EVO dry food which was recommended at the pet shop. we heard that if they eat dry food you should just keep them on that forever but we wanted to do half dry and half can. or is it better to just do dry?

at the moment we are mixing pedigree puppy can food with the evo and she seems to be ok with that, but im worried because ive heard pedigree puppy is not that good for them and can make them sick.

what should i feed her? and should i vary with different foods?

thanks for your help

[poodlefan]

Canned food is 80% water. It's very expensive for what you get.

The general views here are to feed a good quality dry food (not usually available in Supermarkets), a carefully researched raw diet, of a mixture of both. Preferred brands here include Artemis, Royal Canin and Eagle Pack. A lot of people also like Advance Puppy. Some raw meaty bones like chicken wings are a good addition to a pup's diet and give them much needed chewing practice.

There is no reason why a dog's diet can't be changed but it should be done gradually.

A Bull Terrier/Boxer is a lot of dog.. I hope you'll be heading off to puppy classes and obedience training!

[harlosmummy]

im worried that she might choke on chicken wings and necks :S or that her teeth are not strong enough

yes we want her to have a good temperment and are taking her to her first puppy class tomorrow very exciting

so we should just feed dry food morning, lunch and dinner and then chicken wings etc as snacks?

[Stitch]

Your puppy is very cute and I can understand you want to feed her the right food.

Have a look at this very informative website - www.dogfoodproject.com

Sorry I can't provide an automatic link but it is a very good site and on it you can see there are many and varied foods that can be fed to dogs.

Of course the pet shop that you bought your pup from will want you to continue to buy their brand of dogfood from them but you really need to feed what is BEST for your new pup.

As Poodlefan said, you can do better than canned dogfood and don't be frightened of feeding raw, meaty bones.

Edited May 1, 2009 by STITCH

[Di*]

im worried that she might choke on chicken wings and necks :S or that her teeth are not strong enough

yes we want her to have a good temperment and are taking her to her first puppy class tomorrow very exciting

so we should just feed dry food morning, lunch and dinner and then chicken wings etc as snacks?

My pup is very close to the same age (she was born on 3 Feb) but is a much smaller breed (mini foxy cross). She weighs 1.8 Kg. At the moment I can't get her to eat much besides chicken wings--believe me there's no problem with the strength of their teeth! Always wise to check how that they chew them rather that gulp them whole, though.

Good luck with puppy school

Di

[laffi]

EVO is an excellent dry food. Whereas Pedigree Pal is probably one of the worst lol. Interesting combination

[Paganman]

EVO is an excellent dry food. Whereas Pedigree Pal is probably one of the worst lol. Interesting combination

Yeah its a pity you can only get Evo at PP Id like to try it but no way am I buying anything from them

[harlosmummy]

thank you for all your information,

yer we did buy EVO from pp and i knew that they were only selling it to me because they profit from it. after joining DOL i have turned quite against pet shops after reading some of the posts, they are not a good idea and do promote impulse buying, which is what my partner and myself did, but oh well we love her so much now and want whats best for her!

[luvsdogs]

She is very cute.

Tilba has been on a number of foods since I got her. The breeder had her on Pedigree dry puppy which I soon changed over. She was on Innova puppy for a while but I found that pp never had a regular supply & it quite often would be nearly out of date or actually out of date. I mentioned it to them & they had a lot of reasons why, it was hard to get new shipments, it would be ok to feed we give it to the pups in the shop.

I got fed up & looked for another food. Especially when Orijin was taken off the market I was dubious of the food being imported into Aus & she's currently on Advance adult.

As well as dry she gets a variety of things that the breeder suggested I add to her food. Raw eggs once or twice a week. The same with sardines, yoghurt, cottage cheese & raw meat & bones.

And of course the best way to feed dogs is the way nature intended & that's raw meaty bones & offal.

If she's going to be a large dog I would also grow her slowly to prevent joint problems.

[Jen21]

I agree that most people that post here seem to be raw or dry food feeders, but you need to find what's right for your pup and you. :cool:

Not all canned food is bad. There are many dogs (like mine) that won't eat enough dry food to gain weight, whereas they love good quality canned stuff.

I tried my pup on chicken necks, wings and meaty bones, and he would chew them, bury them, and then make himself sick later chewing on them again when the meat was off.

Many of the Premium dog food brands like Hills and Advance are now making specific puppy canned food, and according to the vet, it is just as good for dogs as their dried version (they even have identical ingredients).

I would recommend Advance Puppy canned and dried food, which is what I use. I did a lot of research and worked out that Advance were the only ones which made a specific puppy brand of food available at my local store (where you can get pretty much anything) and had true meat sources as the first 4 ingredients, not meals, grains, or other scary sounding ingredients. My pup is happier and healthier on a mixture of Advance dry and canned food than anything else, so that works for us.

Your puppy is very cute

Edited May 1, 2009 by Jen21

[Sam&Saki]

Well you'll probably find quite a variety of opinion on this here on DOL - personally I'd get the best quality dry food you can afford - perhaps Royal Canin - but obviously the puppy food version appropriate for pup's breed.

You can buy good quality dog foods from places like Petstock, MegaPet Warehouse, All4Pets, etc - none of these are pet stores that sell animals, they are pet supplies store so good to support. :cool:

Rather than supplement with tinned food, I supplement with puppy milk, raw eggs, tinned sardines and then all sorts of dog treats, personally.

But it's really up to whatever your pup thrives on x

[Gayle.]

If you like the convenience of canned food, give Natures Gift a go. It's not expensive, it's readily available and is all natural. It doesn't smell revolting like a lot of canned dog foods either.

My son has a young kelpie x pup, he was feeding her Pedigree kibble because he'd been told it was good, plus it was cheap and he couldn't afford much. I bought him a bag of Uncle Albers kibble ($30 for 22kg) and some cans of Natures Gift. He changed the pups diet over the course of a week and is now thrilled with her coat, her weight and the lesser amount that's coming out the back end.

[all that glitters]

My breeder has been feeding my 8wk old GSD Eagle Pack Hollistic Large Puppy, and as this is a super high standard food, I will be continuing with it :rolleyes: But of course it depends on what people can afford and what works for your dog

[Gayle.]

My dogs have a mostly raw diet and have done since they were puppies, but they also had super premium quality kibble as a supplement (2-3 meals per week). Benson's coat was harsh, his skin was flaky and itchy and I was never 100% happy with the way he looked. I tried Eagle Pack Holistic, Pro Plan and Pro Plan Selects (which they absolutely loved) and a couple of others I can't think of right now who's price tag was over the $120 mark for a large bag.

I decided to try Uncle Albers and within weeks, his skin was clear, his coat was soft and shiny and I was thrilled with the way he looked. Now Dusty has just done a big coat drop and her new coat is coming through thick, lustrous and looks absolutely fabulous. With the results I've had with both super premium and a cheaper (but Australian Made) kibble, I'm keeping an open mind and am less inclined to recommend something just because it's manufacturers tell us it's fabulous.

[SmoothieGirl]

Harlosmummy, your pup is very pretty. Great blue eyes.

I've had my pup just a week and today I have started to slowly change her diet from what the breeder had her on to Royal Canin Junior with added chicken wings and lamb flaps.

She got her first chicken wing last night and if she could talk she would have said, 'Whooooooo weeeeeeeeee its Christmas'. She was so chuffed with it, watching her was a delight. She also had a small lamb flap today. She's a Collie so not a massive dog and her little jaws have managed both of them well.

Little off topic - Shellectra, I take it you have chosen the long coat pup. Love your signature pics, she's gorgeous.

[crazynia]

i'm feeding my pup EVO and mixing it with chicken baked from petbarn...which is quite affordable. it also comes in beef and roo meat so you might just wanna check it out...

occasionally i feed him raw chicken wings and lamb bones....watch out for the chicken wings though..then tend to gulp it down... =)

Edited May 2, 2009 by crazynia

[Kyra]

We feed our lot Eagle Pack Dry food, chicken pet mince, chicken frames, lamb flaps, chicken wings and occasionally beef mince.

[all that glitters]

Little off topic - Shellectra, I take it you have chosen the long coat pup. Love your signature pics, she's gorgeous.

Yes indeed!!

[kiahzen]

Your puppy is very cute and I can understand you want to feed her the right food.

Have a look at this very informative website - www.dogfoodproject.com

Sorry I can't provide an automatic link but it is a very good site and on it you can see there are many and varied foods that can be fed to dogs.

Of course the pet shop that you bought your pup from will want you to continue to buy their brand of dogfood from them but you really need to feed what is BEST for your new pup.

As Poodlefan said, you can do better than canned dogfood and don't be frightened of feeding raw, meaty bones.

That is a great site thanks for sharing, plenty of great information

I feed a mixture of Artemis Grain Free and Artemis Power Formula and find it fantastic..

Mixed with fresh meat and a few other things i find my dogs look fantastic.

My puppy has no issues with chicken wings, turkey wings, lamb flaps, beef tail etc

[dunnwarren]

My dogs have a mostly raw diet and have done since they were puppies, but they also had super premium quality kibble as a supplement (2-3 meals per week). Benson's coat was harsh, his skin was flaky and itchy and I was never 100% happy with the way he looked. I tried Eagle Pack Holistic, Pro Plan and Pro Plan Selects (which they absolutely loved) and a couple of others I can't think of right now who's price tag was over the $120 mark for a large bag.

I decided to try Uncle Albers and within weeks, his skin was clear, his coat was soft and shiny and I was thrilled with the way he looked. Now Dusty has just done a big coat drop and her new coat is coming through thick, lustrous and looks absolutely fabulous. With the results I've had with both super premium and a cheaper (but Australian Made) kibble, I'm keeping an open mind and am less inclined to recommend something just because it's manufacturers tell us it's fabulous.

GayleK I tried Uncle Albers on my silkys, did you notice any change in their drinking habits? Mine seemed to drink a lot more while on it. I did ring the company and asked about salt content but they said that it was no more then the usual dry food I fed.