Feeding

[anniejac]

Hi everyone, My Daughter has just got two Staffy Pups, they are now 9 weeks old.

The problem is that they don't seem to be eating much.

I have two adult Staffies and they used to eat a lot when they were puppies.

She has tried lots of different foods, she first gave them what the breeder was feeding which was Eukanuba for puppies, then she tried chicken mince, beef mince, some tinned puppy food, a few vegetables, and they just don't seem to be really interested in much of it.

They are eating very small amounts when they do eat. She is giving them three meals a day, but there is usually a lot left over from each meal.

Does anyone have any ideas about what else she can try.

They seem healthy and happy, sleeping and playing a lot of the time.

[puggy_puggy]

How much exaclty is she feeding?

If the pups are being a fed a proper BARF diet then each should be 10% of their weight a day over three meals.

I do hope the chicken mince is actually minced chicken carcusses otherwise if the pups are being fed meat without consumable bone they will have growth deformities.

[poodlefan]

If the pups ribs are well covered, they are getting enough. Pups don't eat that much.

2 staffy pups... gusty play. Just out of nnterest, did she buy them from a registered breeder?

[Danois]

if the pups are being fed meat without consumable bone they will have growth deformities.

Can you explain this comment? How will a diet lacking consumable bone cause growth deformities?

[poodlefan]

if the pups are being fed meat without consumable bone they will have growth deformities.

Can you explain this comment? How will a diet lacking consumable bone cause growth deformities?

For pups to grow strong bone, they need the correct balance of calcium and phosphorus. Meat alone would produce an abundance of phosphorus but very little calcium.

All meat (calcium deficient) diets were once a common cause of rickets in pups.

[puggy_puggy]

if the pups are being fed meat without consumable bone they will have growth deformities.

Can you explain this comment? How will a diet lacking consumable bone cause growth deformities?

If you feed meat (phosphorus) without the correct amount of bone (calcium) you will end up with 'knuckling over' deformities.

Some examples of Knuckling

[Dogsfevr]

So i gather she has had them a week & it looks like she has tried something new every day.

Some puppies take time to against.She needs to go back to what they had & start setting a eating routine.

If they dont eat it in 10 mins it gets taken away.

She needs to stop pandering to them & stick with a diet .

As for not eating much depends what you are expecting them to eat.

Feed them less & see what happens.Your daughter maybe over feeding & i gather if there not eating whats in the bowl there getting treats??

[Danois]

if the pups are being fed meat without consumable bone they will have growth deformities.

Can you explain this comment? How will a diet lacking consumable bone cause growth deformities?

If you feed meat (phosphorus) without the correct amount of bone (calcium) you will end up with 'knuckling over' deformities.

Some examples of Knuckling

Thanks!

Explains why it is a good idea to feed a super premium dry food to a puppy so as to maintain the correct ratios and then introduce a raw diet when a bit older.

[puggy_puggy]

if the pups are being fed meat without consumable bone they will have growth deformities.

Can you explain this comment? How will a diet lacking consumable bone cause growth deformities?

If you feed meat (phosphorus) without the correct amount of bone (calcium) you will end up with 'knuckling over' deformities.

Some examples of Knuckling

Thanks!

Explains why it is a good idea to feed a super premium dry food to a puppy so as to maintain the correct ratios and then introduce a raw diet when a bit older.

If you do it correctly then you can feed raw from the time pups are weaned. It's not that hard really.

[Danois]

if the pups are being fed meat without consumable bone they will have growth deformities.

Can you explain this comment? How will a diet lacking consumable bone cause growth deformities?

If you feed meat (phosphorus) without the correct amount of bone (calcium) you will end up with 'knuckling over' deformities.

Some examples of Knuckling

Thanks!

Explains why it is a good idea to feed a super premium dry food to a puppy so as to maintain the correct ratios and then introduce a raw diet when a bit older.

If you do it correctly then you can feed raw from the time pups are weaned. It's not that hard really.

The key word there is correctly - I doubt many would know what correctly meant and while for a smaller breed, there might be a larger margin of error - with a large/ giant breed who you need to grow slowly and with the correct ratio then there is real chance of not getting it right.

[nickojoy]

Remember they are only babies, and at 9 weeks they only have little bellies.

My bitch is 13 weeks and she eats 2 meals a day, 1 cup of dried food each meal, and sometimes 3 chicken necks instead of the dried food. If she is feeding them a cup of food a meal, that is alot for the little ones.

As Puggy Puggy said, how much are you feeding them a meal?