Nutrician Help For My 9 Week Old Staffy Pup

[BigBlueTyson]

hey guys, i have 9 week old staffy pup and was wondering if some people who have had an english staffy as a family pet or show dog could help me out. he is a purebred full papered dog and am looking to get into shows when he is a bit older. He is currently weighing in at 5.6kg(is this a good weight). i have been feeding him royal cainine (junior) dog biscuits and giving him a few slices of this ham stuff called tucker time of a night. ill probably be switching his food soon to (supercoat junior) as the royal canine is very expensive.

I will also be taking him to puppy school in a weeks time what are peoples thoughts on healthy treats etc that i can take?

any suggestions would be great!

cheers guys

Dan

[Gretel]

Hi Dan. You usually get what you pay for with food

[Paganman]

If your going to be showing him keep him on the Royal Canin its a much better food than supercoat

[Nekhbet]

supercoat is nothing more then grain laden junk food. He doesnt need tuckertime at all, why dont you get him some nice chicken wings to chew on instead. Also you dont have to feed a lot of royal canin, especially if you add some raw meaty bones to the mix.

Gretel is right you get what you pay for with foods. Your breeder probably would have told you that :D Oh it's better just to buy one big bag it will last you quite a long time and is better value but shop around for it there can be up to $10 difference between stores.

good treats for puppy preschool is cold cooked pork sausage or hotdogs, some tiny bits of cheese etc. Something really tasty and you only use teeny fingernail sized treats when training otherwise you end up with a bloated tired puppy (or one who then runs around a throws up all that rich food )

[BigBlueTyson]

thanks for the comments guys, looks like royal canin seems to be the go?

cheers

[Nekhbet]

diet wise, especially when growing, it's worth paying more. You get the best out of your dog with the best nutrition (and you dont just find the dog doing massive cheap dog food poos everywhere) You move across the board with quality, not down Dog food labels are quite easy - if it says meat by product, wheat, mixed cereals etc or real meat is not first on the list then dont bother with it.

[~SL~]

I feed our dogs, pups included, chicken wings, chicken necks, roo tails, lamb flaps, sardines, tuna, raw veges, beef bones and for dry food Eagle Pack, the best diet you can give your dog will be the best show preparation coat wise.

[BigBlueTyson]

cool cool, is 5.5kg big for a 9week staffy pup? is it an sign that he might be big boy when hes older

Edited April 16, 2010 by BigBlueTyson

[SBT101]

I feed my lot all raw. No biscuits allowed i this house as no matter which biscuits i use, at least 1 of the staffords will get allergies. And since I have been feeding raw, they have never looked healthier. They get, donkey, little bit of goat, raw vegies, offal mix, minced chicken carcusses, lamb off cuts, chicken wings and necks, roo bones, any bones really except for ones that splinter.

[SBT101]

As long as your puppy looks and acts healthy, not fat or not skinny, then he is at an ideal weight

[Clyde]

cool cool, is 5.5kg big for a 9week staffy pup? is it an sign that he might be big boy when hes older

You don't want him to be too big, they aren't meant to be bulky and over sized. Go to the DOL breed pages and look at the Joden dogs , yes I am totally biased as my boy is partly Joden but to me that is what they should be. Nice and compact without being 'meat head' looking.

Stick to the Royal Canin plus raw chicken wings/necks. Enjoy him! :D

[Teebs]

I feed supercoat and have no problems with it

I can not afford to pay the price on some of the 'good' dog food and my dogs both do well on the cheaper stuff :D

The best food is the food your dog does best on

[gareth]

diet wise, especially when growing, it's worth paying more. You get the best out of your dog with the best nutrition

Exactly. I can't understand why people would encourage others to feed a growing pup crap dry food. You want a healthy dog? Feed a healthy diet, and that includes raw bones.

[Elsha_UK_AU]

That sounds like a good weight for a Staffy. My Cavalier King Charles Pup who is nearly 15 weeks weighed 3.2kg last time he was at the vet which was 3 weeks ago.... So a Staffy being a larger breed seems to be a good weight to be 5.5 at 9 weeks :D Just my personal opinion though.

Susan

[poodlefan]

If you plan to show your pup, the best source of advice on a lot of issues is his breeder, if they have experience in the show ring.

Do they show their dogs?

[Esky the husky]

On a puppy that young I wouldn't be feeding supercoat junior. I'd go with the puppy variety if you decide to go the supercoat route.

My families staffy cross does great on Supercoat.

As a couple of people mentioned feeding raw food is also a viable option. It doesn't cost as much as you'd think either. Chicken wings and the like are only a couple of dollars a kilo. Not like the whopping $50 you'll pay for a bag of supercoat around these parts.