Puppy Food Recommendations

[Flash30Aus]

Hi Folks,

My new pup Dash has been on a diet of boiled chicken mince and rice for the last 2 weeks due to a runny butt when arriving. He has been producing healthy stools just fine after a couple of days, and the vet cleared him of any issues.

He LOVES the cooked chicken and rice, but I'm worried he isn't getting all the right nutrients. We have Euk puppy kibble which he eats if I wet it down with boiling water, but turns his nose up if I feed it dry. I'm starting to add the Euk to his cooked mince/rice concoction, which he eats :D I'm worried that it might be a little rich for his system if I feed it straight again? Could it have caused the problem?

He is growing well, and in the last 2 weeks has gone from 3.5kgs to 5kgs. He is solid and healthy and active. I've also reduced the rice in the mix from 1 cup to 1/2 cup to 500 grams mince.

If he can scavange some of our old BC girls supercoat breakfast he will! I do feed them seperately and I don't know if its the thrill of the "find" or the actual taste he loves.

So I'm wondering, what do people recommend for working dog breeds? I'm anticipating he's going to grow to be a big boy, he has large paws, but I don't want to do the wrong thing.

Any recommendations would be great.

I'm also after the verdict on raw bones. My vet said I can't feed him any bones until he's at least 6 months. That seems a long time? He loves his chew toys and being a BC any distractions are a blessing! So I'm interested to know what other people do?

Thanks in advance,

Christie

Lucy & Dash

PS: For the puppy lovers, here is the latest piccy of Dash

[JulesP]

The tummy problems on arriving could just have been stress from leaving his litter. What was the breeder feeding? It is best to feed the same thing at first and then slowly change over.

If I feed kibble I pick a premium kibble - Eagle Pack, Pro Plan, Artemis, Nutro are a couple.

With bones and pups I start on chicken necks and wings. You can even give the wing/neck a bit of a bash first to soften it up if needed. Make sure you supervise.

[whiskedaway]

Our pup tends to have a sensitive gut, so anything that she eats that's a little out of the ordinary tends to go through her. We had her on Supercoat for quite a while and have recently switched to Pro Plan. She has done really well on both and neither upset her belly.

[piper]

Some breeders raise whole litters on raw diets and the pups will be chewing on bones appropriate to their size before leaving for their new homes.

When Jazz arriced at 8 weeks she was fed a diet of about 2/3 raw and 1/3 quality kibble. Her raw food included chicken wings and she got these down without any problems at all. By 12 weeks she was having small pieces of lamb flap, a section of chicken carcass or a small beef brisket bone.

I haven't heard of having to leave it untiil 6 months, and border collies are not excatly petite, gentle little things so should manage without any hassles. I will say that in my experience the pups who get a reasonable number of raw meaty bones seem to have less inappropriate chewing.\ as they get an appropriate outlet to exercise and strenghten their jaw and wear down those needle sharp puppy teeth as well as assist with teething.

As he has had some upset tummy problems make sure you only introduce 1 new thing at a time so you can work out if anything is setting him off. Also you could start putting a little of the rice and mince mix in with his dry and see if he eats it that way. All of mine get too excited about their food to start picking through for the bits they like so I can usually get them to eat something they wouldn't normally just by puttin g something they link in there with it

[Flash30Aus]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the reply. I got him from the RSPCA and the vet there recommended the Eukanuba. I've no idea what he would have eaten before.

The vet I saw was concerned about /bacteria in the bones I think. Also about small sections breaking off and causing obstruction. Told me a nice horror story of surgery on a puppy... hence I haven't fed anything bone like. I'm seeing my normal vet tomorrow, so I'll ask him then.

Having said that he is a robust little pup with VERY sharp teeth who could do with an outlet. Lucy our old girl gets chicken wings/necks or lamb/beef bones every couple of days, and I figured if I made sure they were extra fresh I could probably try him on one about his size.

2nd vaccination tomorrow, its a little milestone

Thanks,

Christie

Lucy & Dash

[JulesP]

Some vets don't like raw feeding. That saying there are dogs that have had problems with bones (getting stuck, splintering and salmonella). I think it is up to the owner to research.

I wonder why Dash ended up at the RSPCA? He looks like a nice puppy.

[piper]

I wonder if his funny tummy was a bug picked up at the shelter?

It might be worth getting him some probiotics as he has had a reasonable length of time with an upset tummy. I think you can just use the kids inner health tablets from the chemist/health food store. They help restore the good bacteria to the gut. Many years ago we had a boy who needed large doses of antibiotics and then had lots of bowel trouble until we saw a different vet who suggested probiotics for him.

As for choking - I am sure it can happen but haven't seen or heard directly of it happening. Supervision and appropriate bone choices are the key.

[Tapferhund]

I wouldn't be putting boiling water on the Eukanuba as it could destroy nutients within the food, Why don't you put some of the cooled chicken juice on it instead from the boiled chicken you do?

There is another excellent dry food on the market.....Artemis dry foods and their puppy dry is a terrific one if you like dry foods.

The other thing is you can feed fresh raw meaty bones to pups ! Bones such as brisket bones, veal bones or beef and even pork bones such as hocks with the meat as well. Chicken necks are good or thighs with the meat on them. You can also ask your butcher to mince the chicken necks if you are worried about him chewing on bones.......although...chewing is good for his teeth and gums...his whole body actually.

To the RAW minced chicken necks you can add Vets All Natural complete mix which you have to soak down before adding to the meaty minced bones or whole bones. Other things you can feed are a little offal such as liver, hearts and kidneys once a week....or sardines once a week. Egg once or twice a week and other things such as yoghurt.

Its up to you...but there are a lot of good nourishing foods out there but just remember if you feed natural.......it must be fresh and raw and not cooked as cooked is not natural for dogs and its not good as the cooking destroys a lot of nutrients.

Do some research on natural feeding and look up Artemis Australia as well as Vets All Natural.

[Flash30Aus]

Hi All,

Thanks again for the advise. I thought the no raw feeding message was a little odd for a dog like Dash. I can understand being cautious - but will speak with my vet about it today as well, and definitely supervise if he gives the go-ahead.

Piper - sorry if I wasn't clear, but he only had a runny bum for about 3 days, and has been doing nice solid poos since then. I just can't convince him the kibble is as nice as the chicken, and being a baby I need him to eat.

Jules - I've no idea how he ended up there, but his sister was there too. She was a pretty thing with more white than Dash and abit smaller. I'm sure she would have found a nice home.

Christie

Lucy & Dash

[piper]

Well if his poos are now nice and firm and he is no longer unwell, if eukanuba is what you want to feed him stop offering the chicken and rice. Put his food down and take it away after 10 or 15 minutes then give nothing until his next meal. They usually stop being fussy after a few meals and eat what is oferred

[Flash30Aus]

Thanks Piper... tough love it is. Well, kind of. I saw the vet, she is happy with him, vaccinated and wormed again so all good.

She told me to continue mixing in the euk, increasing each time,with the mince/rice concoction as she said another radical change might throw him out.

So I'll keep doing that. She did give me some sensible suggestions for the bone situation and said to give him another few weeks and try him on some super fresh chicken necks or something similar. For big bones not to let him finish it, just to let him have a chew till all the meat is off and throw it out.

Otherwise I'm gonna take out shares in pigs ears

Thanks all,

Christie

[Tapferhund]

Christie, always use human consumption foods (meat) such as the chicken necks etc. Minced bone (necks) should be okay to feed....but as with anything you feed......add a little at a time to the diet until the pups system is used to it. (Usually takes a couple of days)

Also, just a little tip about Vets. Most like to recommend the foods they sell...its all about the 'bottom line' and profits.

Look up Dr. Ian Billinghurst on the internet. He has written many books and has a book out called "Grow your Pup With Bones"