Kat70 Posted May 22, 2013 Share Posted May 22, 2013 (edited) I am trying to work out if I am underfeeding my puppy. As per breeder suggestions my 9 week old golden retriever gets: Breakfast - 1.5 weetbix with milk and 1/4 large tin pedigree puppy food Lunch - 3/4 C supercoat for large breed puppy food and 1 chicken wing Dinner - 1.5 weetbix with milk and 1/4 large tin pedigree puppy food He gets puppy treats during training - and this seems to be the problem....he goes nutso for them, when there are no more he sometimes starts growling, jumping up and nipping for more. When he behaves like this we walk away and refuse to play with him. Is he getting enough food. (He is a very large pup already, at 8 weeks he was 8.5 kilograms and 33cm from paw to shoulder when sitting (twice the size of all his brothers and sisters) I was going to attach a picture - but I have yet to work out how to do it :) Edited May 22, 2013 by Kat70 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdierikx Posted May 22, 2013 Share Posted May 22, 2013 I'd be cutting out the weetbix and milk for starters... no real nutritional value there at all. Personally, I'd be looking into a more premium brand of kibble - my preference for pups is Royal Canin Junior, but others may have other suggestions. I tend to feed my rescue foster pups twice daily, but only because I work during business hours. In the morning they get half the recommended daily portion of kibble for their size/weight and a chicken wing - then in the evening they get the other half of the daily recommendation of kibble. This has been working very nicely for my foster pups for a few years now. T. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted May 22, 2013 Share Posted May 22, 2013 that seems quite a lot of food ... however , to me ,it also seems to be not great quality for a growing puppy . Weetbix is grain ... and is filling , but is not ideal dog food - dogs need meat ;) You might enjoy reading THIS THREAD:) It's good for pups to be kept on their breeder's diet when they come home ..to avoid upset tummies :) If you change it .. do so gradually ..... just to let him get used to it ... Re: treats .. how long are your training sessions for which treats are used? Treats are used for things done well /correctly ... You might find THIS ARTICLE useful for the family , as well , if pup is getting impatient . have fun with the new ball of fluff ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dame Aussie Posted May 22, 2013 Share Posted May 22, 2013 I also would cut out the weetbix and milk, he doesn't need it. I probably wouldn't feed the canned food either as it's mostly water but that's just me. I would feed dry rather than canned. Other than that it sounds fine, just follow the guide on the bag for the correct amount of dry food and divide it by 3, plus his chicken wing :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldenWei Posted May 22, 2013 Share Posted May 22, 2013 I would get him off supercoat asap, definitely before 3 months of age. Change over slowly as to not upset his stomach but I would be putting him on something with protein no more than 24% and fat about 12-14%. If fed incorrectly they can have growth problems. I usually put mine on a premium Adult food at 3 months of age, the protein and fat content is much better... they don't need puppy food. I have heard that the eagle pack large breed puppy food is quite good for raising pups on, however this was a couple of years ago and the formula and ratio's may of changed. Puppies, especially those breeds who are prone to joint issues more than others (eg goldens), shouldn't be too fat, you should be able to feel their ribs fairly easily. They need to grow slowly. Dr Karen Hedberg wrote a great guide for raising puppies and how much weight they should put on... at his age, no more than 1kg per week is recommended. The guide is on the National Golden Retriever website: http://www.ausngrc.org/assets/khedberghip-elbows.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelpiecuddles Posted May 22, 2013 Share Posted May 22, 2013 Also most goldens I have met are food fiends so don't let him sucker you in to over feeding him :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldenWei Posted May 22, 2013 Share Posted May 22, 2013 Also most goldens I have met are food fiends so don't let him sucker you in to over feeding him :laugh: Yeah, they ALWAYS think they are starved lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missymoo Posted May 22, 2013 Share Posted May 22, 2013 hes being fed a lot..but alot of CRAP...what breeder in their right mind would start pups off on that??!! Im guessing it was not a registered one... Anyhoo, agree with above, a premium diet will work wonders for the little guy and you will feed no where near as much as stated above as its all good stuff and you need less :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdierikx Posted May 22, 2013 Share Posted May 22, 2013 The best part about premium kibble (apart from the obvious) is that he will make a lot less poop for you to clean up, and it won't stink bad either. T. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Esky the husky Posted May 22, 2013 Share Posted May 22, 2013 Cut the weetbix and milk. You could always put the tinned food into a kong so he has to work for his food a bit. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kat70 Posted May 22, 2013 Author Share Posted May 22, 2013 Thanks for all the advice. Seems he is getting enough. I have been checking on the growth/weight charts and he seems to weigh what he should for his height. He is a big boy - as is his dad. I can feel his ribs - so he is not being overfed. Training doesn't last for too long - no longer than 10 mins at a time. He seems to be ok with that time frame, any more than that and he gets bored. I tried with less treats today - a couple of treats and then just some good old fashioned back scratching - he responded well to that. I will start cutting out the weetbix as of tomorrow - will keep up the tinned food until the three tins we have are finished. I am unsure about the supercoat - have received mixed advice - the breeders two dogs are on it and they are beautiful healthy, good tempered champions. He doesn't seem to poo more than the norm - three times a day. They aren't sloppy or smelly - so I am guessing that is ok. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdierikx Posted May 22, 2013 Share Posted May 22, 2013 In all honesty, I've fed my dogs all sorts of kibble over the years, and they have all thrived nicely on whatever I've fed them. However, with my last 2 additions, I found that they did even better on the premium kibble than pups of the past have done on less well balanced foods. I now feed them a lot less food, have less mess to clean up, etc... I have 4 large dogs, and one 15kg bag will last me a whole fortnight and I collect less than one standard bucket full of poop a week. Previously I'd have been going through a 20kg bag of cheaper kibble a week - and would be filling 2 buckets with poop a week. Find what your pup does well on and is providing him with the nutrition his growing body needs, and go with it... but please ditch the weetbix, OK? T. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldenWei Posted May 22, 2013 Share Posted May 22, 2013 Just be careful. The first 12 months of the pups life are the most important, I would be very wary of how fast he is growing ESPECIALLY if he is large and big boned anyway. I don't like supercoat at all, I did raise my first two goldens on it however that was 20 years ago now and it was the best out there.... The formula would of changed over time and I just think the protein level is far too high in supercoat to grow a golden slowly. Hip and elbow problems occur in this breed, just be very careful how you go about raising him as feeding him incorrectly can contribute to hip and especially elbow dysplaysia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minimax Posted May 22, 2013 Share Posted May 22, 2013 Thanks for all the advice. Seems he is getting enough. I have been checking on the growth/weight charts and he seems to weigh what he should for his height. He is a big boy - as is his dad. I can feel his ribs - so he is not being overfed. Training doesn't last for too long - no longer than 10 mins at a time. He seems to be ok with that time frame, any more than that and he gets bored. I tried with less treats today - a couple of treats and then just some good old fashioned back scratching - he responded well to that. I will start cutting out the weetbix as of tomorrow - will keep up the tinned food until the three tins we have are finished. I am unsure about the supercoat - have received mixed advice - the breeders two dogs are on it and they are beautiful healthy, good tempered champions. He doesn't seem to poo more than the norm - three times a day. They aren't sloppy or smelly - so I am guessing that is ok. Considering your breeder also seems to have given you the advice to feed weet-bix and PAL (both foods that I'd not even give my mother in law, let alone my dog) I'd be taking someone else's advice on the dry food as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dotdashdot Posted May 22, 2013 Share Posted May 22, 2013 hes being fed a lot..but alot of CRAP...what breeder in their right mind would start pups off on that??!! Im guessing it was not a registered one... Anyhoo, agree with above, a premium diet will work wonders for the little guy and you will feed no where near as much as stated above as its all good stuff and you need less :) Once I would have agreed with you, but the breeder of my next pup feeds that kibble and puppy milk for the pups. No weetbix, but the breeder of my current dog recommended it actually, and also Supercoat. After knowing the breeder of my next pup for a few years now, and her dogs, it works for them and they are her life. Some people just don't know as much about food as others, or find that they do best on these cheaper foods. I was very naughty, I switched Cleo's diet straight away when I got her from Supercoat to Holistic Select with no ill effects (I didn't want to buy Supercoat when I don't like it at all). I ALWAYS recommend to my customers though that they add a bit of new food each day for 7 days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebanne Posted May 22, 2013 Share Posted May 22, 2013 (edited) . Edited May 22, 2013 by Rebanne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kavik Posted May 22, 2013 Share Posted May 22, 2013 I've always switched my pups straight over to what I want to feed them (currently using Advance), I have never found out what the breeder fed them before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaCC Posted May 22, 2013 Share Posted May 22, 2013 The breeder of my pup feeds Super coat and I plan on switching over to a premium food when I get him, I know about slowly adding in food from my last boys stomach problems. But when after getting the pup would you start switching? Straight away or leave it a few weeks while the puppy settles in? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missymoo Posted May 22, 2013 Share Posted May 22, 2013 was more talking about weetbix and PAL, not so much the super coat ... :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moosepup Posted May 22, 2013 Share Posted May 22, 2013 (edited) The breeder of my pup feeds Super coat and I plan on switching over to a premium food when I get him, I know about slowly adding in food from my last boys stomach problems. But when after getting the pup would you start switching? Straight away or leave it a few weeks while the puppy settles in? Okay to start straight away, just do it very gradually if you want. :) I'm switching my pup over straight away but it's not so much of a change as I'm only changing from RC Starter to RC Mini Junior. Not sure why anyone would feed Weet-bix?? Seems strange. Edited May 22, 2013 by moosepup Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now