What To Feed My Newfoundland Puppy

[Azreal]

Hi all,

I am new to this forum & this is my first post.

I have a 9 week old Newfoundland puppy & I want to ensure I am feeding her correctly.

We want to give her amore natural diet & the breeder has recommended the following;

Proplan with a combo of different items such as yoghurt, cottage cheese, sardines, chicken mince, egg yolks, vitamin c & e

i am hoping someone here can help me.

Firstly do you just use human vitamins & how do you give them to the dog?

Secondly can I give the chicken mince raw or do I have to cook it & that goes for all meat, should be coking it?

Thirdly, where do I get kelp from & in what form?

I would really really appreciate any advice you can offer me as I am noticing she is not eating as well as I would like so I really to get her diet right.

Thanks for any advice you might offer.

Edited September 18, 2010 by Azreal

[persephone]

Hi, and welcome!

Perhaps ask the breeder to send the diet sheet to in print form, with quantities? That way you BOTH know what is being done in case of problems

meat does not get cooked.

Might be an idea to ask the Breeder what form of vitamins they have been using

If you explain to the breeder that you are new to this sort of feeding, and would be able to do it better if you had it printed, surely they will oblige?

I have not ever fed a large breed like this, so am not much help - I'm sure others will be along to put you on the right track though

[Remarkabull]

You can get kelp from a health food store. It comes in granules or powder, either is fine.

Don't cook the meat, it's better raw.

I agree with persephone - ask the breeder to email you the list of ingredients and the quantities to use.

Good luck and feel free to post pics of your puppy, I would love to see it.

[mish13]

I would have to agree with persephone i would be asking the breeder these questions, its best to try and keep them on the same food they have been on.

I would so love to have a newfoundland but hubby doesn't like the drool.

I need some photos please

[Danois]

If you are new to giant breeds then for the first 12 months I would be just feeding her a kibble diet specifically for giant breeds - Proplan, Eagle Pack, Royal Canin or Euk.

I would supplement the puppies with a small amount of chicken mince and would use yoghurt only a couple of times a week.

You do not want to be throwing out the protein/ fat and phosphorous/ calcium ratios as I am sure your breeder has stressed the importance of slow and steady growth to ensure that the dog is set up well for the rest of its life.

There is lots of time after the critical growth phase to feed a raw/ natural diet.

[Nekhbet]

you never use human vitamins for dogs. If she's on a premium dog food then she doesnt need supplementation either you could create more problems then you solve.

meats are better raw, especially if you buy pet mince that tends to have fine bones through it.

[perfect partners]

Hi all,

I am new to this forum & this is my first post.

I have a 9 week old Newfoundland puppy & I want to ensure I am feeding her correctly.

We want to give her amore natural diet & the breeder has recommended the following;

Proplan with a combo of different items such as yoghurt, cottage cheese, sardines, chicken mince, egg yolks, vitamin c & e

i am hoping someone here can help me.

Firstly do you just use human vitamins & how do you give them to the dog?

Secondly can I give the chicken mince raw or do I have to cook it & that goes for all meat, should be coking it?

Thirdly, where do I get kelp from & in what form?

I would really really appreciate any advice you can offer me as I am noticing she is not eating as well as I would like so I really to get her diet right.

Thanks for any advice you might offer.

Congratulations on your Newfie puppy. I'm sure you'll have a lot of fun with her. My third Newfie is now two and a half. They are great dogs!

For the first 12 months I fed her Nutrience kibble for medium breed puppies as her breeder said not to use the one for giant breed puppies. It's very important that they stay lean during their growing period. I also added some sardines/mackerel/tuna, raw chicken, egg, etc. I was feeding my other dogs totally raw but was a bit worried about mucking up the ratios with a giant breed puppy. She is now fed all raw food and if I had another pup would bring it up on raw food as I found Kymythy Schultz's book 'Natural Nutrition for Dogs and Cats'. She is a nutritionist and Newfoundland breeder and has been feeding them a raw diet for years, pupppies included. I think I got it from 'Dogwise'. The B.A.R.F. books are good too.

I add kelp powder, and calcium ascorbate powder (gentler on the stomach than ascorbic acid), salmon oil capsules (Swisse, which also contain vitamin E), cod liver oil and alfalfa powder. I puree vegetables and fruit and mix the additives into it and then add raw mince. That is her tea. For breakfast she has some sort of meaty bone.

Are you able to post a photo - would love to see your pup. Only problem is, puppy pics make me want an other one!

Edited September 18, 2010 by perfect partners

[Danois]

Re use of calcium ascorbate powder - this is also a source of caclium and I would never give a calcium supplement to a growing giant breed and I know dane breeders certainly don't recommend it.

You can give Vit C to dogs - the Ester C is the best option. Dogs excrete out (through urine) any excess. Vit C does not need to be given regularly but is good when the dog goes down in the pasterns when growing.

Edited September 18, 2010 by Danois

[Azreal]

thank you so much everyone - i will take it all on board & have a better chat with a vet that specialises in the breed.

On that note does anyone know of any vets that specialise in newfoundlands or giant breeds in the western sydney region?

I have posted a picture of my little baby below - i will put some more up soon.

Edited September 18, 2010 by Azreal

[sas]

Hi all,

I am new to this forum & this is my first post.

I have a 9 week old Newfoundland puppy & I want to ensure I am feeding her correctly.

We want to give her amore natural diet & the breeder has recommended the following;

Proplan with a combo of different items such as yoghurt, cottage cheese, sardines, chicken mince, egg yolks, vitamin c & e

i am hoping someone here can help me.

Firstly do you just use human vitamins & how do you give them to the dog?

Secondly can I give the chicken mince raw or do I have to cook it & that goes for all meat, should be coking it?

Thirdly, where do I get kelp from & in what form?

I would really really appreciate any advice you can offer me as I am noticing she is not eating as well as I would like so I really to get her diet right.

Thanks for any advice you might offer.

It's really important to follow what your Breeder does, did they provide you with a feeding & care guide?

Are you in Sydney?

[sas]

thank you so much everyone - i will take it all on board & have a better chat with a vet that specialises in the breed.

On that note does anyone know of any vets that specialise in newfoundlands or giant breeds in the western sydney region?

I have posted a picture of my little baby below - i will put some more up soon.

Pennant Hills Vet Clinic is great for the Giants and they own a Newfy themselves. I take my Danes there.

http://www.pennanthillsvet.com.au/

[perfect partners]

Danois - Ester C is calcium ascorbate.

Azreal - your puppy is gorgeous! Definitely makes me want another one!

Not a lot of vets have specialised knowledge about nutrition. There are a lot of Newfoundland breeders in the US that have been feeding raw food to their dogs and pups for generations and they give detailed information on their web sites. Some of them are - Bearscamp, Denali Farm, Moonribbon, Springhaven, Pipeline. If you google Newfoundlands raw feeding, you will find more of them.

[siks3]

Feed it cats, My old one use to sit a prize on the rear step once and a while might as well get him use to the taste.

[Danois]

thank you so much everyone - i will take it all on board & have a better chat with a vet that specialises in the breed.

On that note does anyone know of any vets that specialise in newfoundlands or giant breeds in the western sydney region?

I have posted a picture of my little baby below - i will put some more up soon.

Pennant Hills Vet Clinic is great for the Giants and they own a Newfy themselves. I take my Danes there.

http://www.pennanthillsvet.com.au/

I second this recommendation. I take my dane there too and Ian (the vet) has a great knowledge of giants and Shannon (vet nurse and a member here) has a terrific knowledge of diet.

Otherwise I'd have to say avoid vets on the issue of diet. Many will promote Science Diet and you'll still get some saying to use calcium supplements.

[Azreal]

thank you so much everyone - i will take it all on board & have a better chat with a vet that specialises in the breed.

On that note does anyone know of any vets that specialise in newfoundlands or giant breeds in the western sydney region?

I have posted a picture of my little baby below - i will put some more up soon.

Pennant Hills Vet Clinic is great for the Giants and they own a Newfy themselves. I take my Danes there.

http://www.pennanthillsvet.com.au/

thanks for this i will look into this vet - i appreciate the info as i want to make sure we have a vet who understands her breed well.

[Azreal]

Danois - Ester C is calcium ascorbate.

Azreal - your puppy is gorgeous! Definitely makes me want another one!

Not a lot of vets have specialised knowledge about nutrition. There are a lot of Newfoundland breeders in the US that have been feeding raw food to their dogs and pups for generations and they give detailed information on their web sites. Some of them are - Bearscamp, Denali Farm, Moonribbon, Springhaven, Pipeline. If you google Newfoundlands raw feeding, you will find more of them.

thanks for these sites - i will have a read over them. This is the first time i have had a pure breed & so i am still getting my head around the right thing to feed her & there sure is alot of information out there but it's hard to know which to go with so hopefully i can learn a bit more from these sites. It seems as if the two options are either the complete dog food from pet shops or go raw - the pet shops advised against mixing vitamins or the like (such as kelp) with a complete dog food as it can throw the balance of their diet out? They even said that i shouldnt mix yoghurt because of lactose intolerance & not to add to many additional things like raw meat, eggs etc as the proplan has everything in it - not sure wether to believe that or not as the breeder suggested adding vitamin c & e & kelp. As another poster mentioned its hard to trust what some professionals recommend because they could be promoting a product etc.

At least I have a better idea of what others are doing & where to get some of the items from etc - thanks for the info everyone.

[Danois]

It seems as if the two options are either the complete dog food from pet shops or go raw - the pet shops advised against mixing vitamins or the like (such as kelp) with a complete dog food as it can throw the balance of their diet out? They even said that i shouldnt mix yoghurt because of lactose intolerance & not to add to many additional things like raw meat, eggs etc as the proplan has everything in it - not sure wether to believe that or not as the breeder suggested adding vitamin c & e & kelp.

Dogs tolerate yoghurt very well - its (cow's) milk that they do not tolerate. Pro-biotic yoghurt helps the gut flora. I always give a bottle of yakult a day when my dog is on anti-biotics. I know others who give inner health plus or use goat's milk.

I agree with the advice from the pet shop - if you are feeding a super premium food which is a complete diet then I would supplement in moderation. What I did was give sardines in tomato sauce one night (mixed into kibble), an egg on another night, yoghurt another time and then a couple of tablespoons of mince mixed to a gravy with water and mixed with kibble another couple of nights. I was careful not to do it every night as I did not want a dog that would not eat its kibble plain.

Some of the super premium foods do have a note on the bag as to how much you can add meat wise to the diet before you start throwing ratios out.

You can also give chicken wings for their teeth. I was cautious about these if the dog was a gulper and once they were past about 20 weeks - then moving to a carcass instead.

[Aso]

thank you so much everyone - i will take it all on board & have a better chat with a vet that specialises in the breed.

On that note does anyone know of any vets that specialise in newfoundlands or giant breeds in the western sydney region?

I have posted a picture of my little baby below - i will put some more up soon.

Your puppy is gorgeous !!! We have a giant puppy too, a Dogue de Bordeaux named Tonka and he's 5 months old now weighing in at a very healthy 29kgs. What diet did you finally decide on?

We are feeding Tonka a raw meaty bone diet based on Tom Lonsdale's recommendations and we started him on this diet the day we got him, at 9 weeks. He loves it!

The problem with having a giant breed puppy is that they grow so quickly! Enjoy!