A Follow On Thread For Those Who Now Have Their Puppy

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Oh how exciting! I just showed Bea the pictures and she called you the fish shop girl, she is also jumping around yelling POTTS POTTS POTTS puppy so I can see how meeting Nala is going to turn out :D.

Nala looks gorgeous, so does Cleo :D

--Lhok

Oh she's just as excited as we were! I think I'm going to have to walk around with a teething toy handy to shove in her mouth, she's a bit bitey!

Damn her cuteness, i'm going to run out of memory on my computer with all the photos i'm taking!

[Guest hankodie]

Oh my WORD DDD, your new pup is precious! AH I just want to kiss her and smell her puppy breath. I'm weird but I miss the puppy breath! Hank has stinky ham breath. He decided it would be appropriate to stick his tongue up my nose to wake me up this morning lol not pleasant!!

Huski I would love to switch over to completely raw but I'd be too afraid of getting the nutrition all wrong with a growing puppy. My vet is a fan of raw feeding but recommended a good kibble and switch over completely after a year. I'm still undecided, it's definitely something I'm interested in! Is it very time consuming?

Steph, Gus and the cat are hilarious. Lisa's right, it might be a retriever thing! Hank found a dead one last night and carried it to bed. WEIRDO. Hahaha.

In other unrelated news, I finally got my red P's! I'm so happy. First thing I did was take the dogs down to the oval for a run :laugh:

[Dory the Doted One]

Huski I would love to switch over to completely raw but I'd be too afraid of getting the nutrition all wrong with a growing puppy. My vet is a fan of raw feeding but recommended a good kibble and switch over completely after a year. I'm still undecided, it's definitely something I'm interested in! Is it very time consuming?

In other unrelated news, I finally got my red P's! I'm so happy. First thing I did was take the dogs down to the oval for a run :laugh:

Hank...Raw is seriously easy. I give Willow vegies too, and that is probably the most time consuming element of the whole deal because I juice them. And if your vet is a raw fan...wow...that makes the job a lot easier.

Congrats on the P's!!

[huski]

I don't find it hard at all but it can be a bit more time consuming.

If you are worried about getting it wrong, you can buy pre made BARF patties but honestly I think a lot of the way dried food is marketed to us makes us believe getting our dogs diet right is difficult or something you need to be a scientist to do. It really doesn't have to be that way.

There are a lot of good supplements available now as well that work really well alongside raw feeding and help you feel you are getting the balance right. I know a few people who use VAN, I use Animal Naturals (so for a pup would feed Puppy Gold) but there are a few options out there.

I started out feeding a BARF style diet but a few years ago moved towards prey model and that's more in line with what I feed now (80/20 meat to bones and other things like raw egg, sardines, offal, supps etc).

It is definitely worth looking in to and once you get the hang of it it's so easy. Like I said it is a little bit more time consuming than dumping dried in a bowl, but especially in NSW we have so many great places to buy raw here.

Edited November 26, 2013 by huski

[Esky the husky]

Has it worked for you with pup's before Huski?

Only asking because I'm looking at getting a pup, and raised Esky on raw.

I spend a lot of time being neurotic and trying to get the balance right.

But the problem is it doesn't seem like she developed properly.

She still has a lot of 'knuckle' in her front legs.

Not sure whether my feeding is to blame for that or very early desexing?

[huski]

Has it worked for you with pup's before Huski?

Only asking because I'm looking at getting a pup, and raised Esky on raw.

I spend a lot of time being neurotic and trying to get the balance right.

But the problem is it doesn't seem like she developed properly.

She still has a lot of 'knuckle' in her front legs.

Not sure whether my feeding is to blame for that or very early desexing?

Both our Mals were raised exclusively on raw from day one and the babies will be weaned onto a raw diet. Daisy was a bit older (around 1 I think) when I changed her exclusively to raw.

[Steph M]

My real worry point is the quantities, I always think am I feeding enough, not enough, too much… that’s the trouble with dogs who I suspect would eat their way out of a meat-filled swimming pool.

We did the VAN for a while but the smell of it was foul! Plus the advance prep is a PITA for someone so disorganised as me.

I’ve been considering raw for a while but they seem to be balanced well at the moment so I have a bit of time to do some reading.

[littleduck]

I am feeding raw as per my breeders recommendations. She gave me a "menu" if you like of what should be in this concoction, its working well for us right now... But I know what yo mean about a meat filled swimming pool.... Dalmatians are very good at acting as if they are starved!

[huski]

My real worry point is the quantities, I always think am I feeding enough, not enough, too much… that’s the trouble with dogs who I suspect would eat their way out of a meat-filled swimming pool.

We did the VAN for a while but the smell of it was foul! Plus the advance prep is a PITA for someone so disorganised as me.

I’ve been considering raw for a while but they seem to be balanced well at the moment so I have a bit of time to do some reading.

I just go by their weight and how they are looking. If they are putting on a bit much I reduce the quantities. Wisdom eats about 1.5kg of raw a day, so I can feed a 'complete' meal each day. Daisy eats less than a third of that so I feed a complete meal over the course of the week. So for D one day I might feed her a turkey wing, the next day some meat/sardines/egg, the next day a piece of brisket etc.

[Steph M]

My real worry point is the quantities, I always think am I feeding enough, not enough, too much… that’s the trouble with dogs who I suspect would eat their way out of a meat-filled swimming pool.

We did the VAN for a while but the smell of it was foul! Plus the advance prep is a PITA for someone so disorganised as me.

I’ve been considering raw for a while but they seem to be balanced well at the moment so I have a bit of time to do some reading.

I just go by their weight and how they are looking. If they are putting on a bit much I reduce the quantities. Wisdom eats about 1.5kg of raw a day, so I can feed a 'complete' meal each day. Daisy eats less than a third of that so I feed a complete meal over the course of the week. So for D one day I might feed her a turkey wing, the next day some meat/sardines/egg, the next day a piece of brisket etc.

Very good point, but a starting point is where I struggle. Having one almost 30kg clunking retriever and one slender, but muscly, barely 11kg whippet x I wouldn't know where to start as a base! I wish there was a really good chart that said X amount per KG of bodyweight. If anyone has one I'd be your best friend! Haha.

I have looked and found nada!

[dotdashdot]

Man I forgot how full on puppies were lol. Cleo was SO easy, we just got her home started putting her out with the other dog after a few days and happily ever after. Having a 3rd dog in the mix though is a bit harder, I don't trust Izzy (the other dog, belongs to my in laws whom we live with) so Nala is staying inside, in her crate + puppy pen and having lots of play sessions inside and out when we just gate Izzy out of the section we're in. We did introduce all three dogs yesterday but Cleo was protective, Izzy got a bit rough and I was worried, Nala is SO little! (Izzy is a staffy x lab). Might limit interaction until Nala is 12 weeks and a bit stockier. In the mean time, my parents have 3 dogs I can "use" to socialize :)

Nala is doing really well with "alone time", trying to teach her how to cope without us next to her constantly. We just pop her in the puppy pen + crate with a few things to entertain her and leave her and she sooks but quickly settles and dozes off. So far we haven't had any sustained crying in the crate YAY!

She's a cheeky miss though, when I gave her lunch earlier she stuck her head in the food bin and was eating out of the food scoop! Might up her food a bit, she's a bit thinner than Cleo was when I got her and she seemed a bit ravenous.

[huski]

Very good point, but a starting point is where I struggle. Having one almost 30kg clunking retriever and one slender, but muscly, barely 11kg whippet x I wouldn't know where to start as a base! I wish there was a really good chart that said X amount per KG of bodyweight. If anyone has one I'd be your best friend! Haha.

I have looked and found nada!

We go by approx 2% of the dogs body weight to start with, so for a 30kg dog I would feed about 600g of raw for the day and go from there. If you know your Whippet x tends to have a faster metabolism (i.e. you need to feed her more than the recommended amount of dried food for her body weight) I would start her off on a bit more.

Edited November 27, 2013 by huski

[Steph M]

Very good point, but a starting point is where I struggle. Having one almost 30kg clunking retriever and one slender, but muscly, barely 11kg whippet x I wouldn't know where to start as a base! I wish there was a really good chart that said X amount per KG of bodyweight. If anyone has one I'd be your best friend! Haha.

I have looked and found nada!

We go by approx 2% of the dogs body weight to start with, so for a 30kg dog I would feed about 600g of raw for the day and go from there. If you know your Whippet x tends to have a faster metabolism (i.e. you need to feed her more than the recommended amount of dried food for her body weight) I would start her off on a bit more.

Genius! That's exactly what I needed. Haha.

[Esky the husky]

Huski, do you or will you recommend continuing the puppy gold with older pups. Or is that not appropriate for pups 8 weeks plus?

[huski]

Huski, do you or will you recommend continuing the puppy gold with older pups. Or is that not appropriate for pups 8 weeks plus?

Yes definitely - It's recommended to feed it to pups up until around 6 months, then I would change over to another supp like Showstopper or Super Fuel depending on what your needs are.

I swapped Wiz from Super Fuel to Puppy Gold since around her season (prior to being mated) and she will stay on it until the pups leave. It benefits growing pups and bitches in whelp/with pups.

[Guest hankodie]

Thanks for the info Huski! Can you freeze portions of the raw to save time or do you make it up for your dogs every day? I home cook Odie's meals (she has a liver condition and she can only eat home cooked) and freeze them so if I could do Hank's at the same time that would definitely be ideal. There's also lots of places to buy pre-made stuff around where I live so I'm a bit spoiled for choice!

And to all the new puppy owners - I know you guys might have your hands full and are catching up on sleep but we need more puppy photos please

[minimax]

Thanks for the info Huski! Can you freeze portions of the raw to save time or do you make it up for your dogs every day? I home cook Odie's meals (she has a liver condition and she can only eat home cooked) and freeze them so if I could do Hank's at the same time that would definitely be ideal. There's also lots of places to buy pre-made stuff around where I live so I'm a bit spoiled for choice!

And to all the new puppy owners - I know you guys might have your hands full and are catching up on sleep but we need more puppy photos please

Jumping in here - I make my own raw mix in bulk, about a months worth and freeze it. We have a dedicated dog food freezer full of chicken necks, frames and raw mix (which is charming when you're a vegetarian :laugh: )

[Guest hankodie]

Thanks for the info Huski! Can you freeze portions of the raw to save time or do you make it up for your dogs every day? I home cook Odie's meals (she has a liver condition and she can only eat home cooked) and freeze them so if I could do Hank's at the same time that would definitely be ideal. There's also lots of places to buy pre-made stuff around where I live so I'm a bit spoiled for choice!

And to all the new puppy owners - I know you guys might have your hands full and are catching up on sleep but we need more puppy photos please

Jumping in here - I make my own raw mix in bulk, about a months worth and freeze it. We have a dedicated dog food freezer full of chicken necks, frames and raw mix (which is charming when you're a vegetarian :laugh: )

wow props minimax, that's dedication :laugh:

and investing in a separate freezer is such a good idea! Odie's food takes up way too much room in the freezer already. Hmmmm time to convince my SO that it would be an awesome Christmas present :laugh:

[LisaCC]

I already have a separate freezer, and it's been over taken by frozen turkey and ox tails

Oooh for anyone interested go check out your local woolies at the moment. SO MUCH TURKEY! Turkey wings (Gigantic), turkey legs, turkey necks, I stocked up yesterday and the lady who served me said "early christmas party?" She looked at me like I was nuts when I said it was all being frozen for the dog

[huski]

Thanks for the info Huski! Can you freeze portions of the raw to save time or do you make it up for your dogs every day? I home cook Odie's meals (she has a liver condition and she can only eat home cooked) and freeze them so if I could do Hank's at the same time that would definitely be ideal. There's also lots of places to buy pre-made stuff around where I live so I'm a bit spoiled for choice!

And to all the new puppy owners - I know you guys might have your hands full and are catching up on sleep but we need more puppy photos please

Hey HO

I have a fair bit of dog food in my freezer and I defrost a couple of days worth and leave it in the fridge. There isn't anything I really 'cook', I just portion it out as I am feeding them and add supplements or whatever I want to it. Because I feed Daisy a 'complete' meal over the course of the week it is easy to feed her, I will give her a turkey wing one night; a piece of lamb or beef brisket the next night; meat and sardines/raw egg etc the following and so on over the course of the week.