Raw Feeding A Puppy

[Shelb74]

Hi everyone!

So we're picking up a whippet puppy on the weekend and I'm feeling a bit nervous on what to feed him. We feed our 11 year old Weimeraner a raw diet and I'd like to continue this with the new boy but I'm worried that I may not feed him enough vitamins and minerals for a growing baby, or not got the ratio's right. I've read the raw feeding topics on this forum as well as scoured the internet so i feel confident with feeding our adult dog, but apart from soft bones for calcium is there anything else that i should be feeding the little guy to make sure he's getting everything that he needs to grow up healthy? should I feed a supplement or something??

[CrazyCresties]

You should always continue to feed the puppy whatever is being fed and recommended by the breeder initially while he settles in. If you want to transfer to raw after a while, maybe look at something like the Vets All Natural complete puppy mix that you soak and add to raw meat/offal for a complete diet, plus some additional raw meaty bones.

http://www.vetsallnatural.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=71&Itemid=85

Congrats on the new puppy!

[Dory the Doted One]

Hi Shelb74,

I fed Willow (the Rottweiler) on raw from 8 weeks of age, recently had her hips and elbows x-rayed and scored with very good results. :) (especially when you consider some of the aerobatics she would perform...sprinkled with some acrobatics as well ).

I did feed a supplement because I didn't feel I was getting enough organ meats into the diet, she was a bit fussy about new things. As she was growing I gave her plenty of meaty bones and kept an eye on what her poo was doing, so I could adjust accordingly. I did not add a calcium supplement, at all. If poos was too hard and chalky I would up the protein a little bit. She had a lot of turkey necks and chicken wings...so young meaty bones. I tried (and still do) try and keep a bit of variety happening.

Her diet differed from my older dog, only in the amount of meaty bones vs protein. The older dog gets a bit more protein (and vegies) because to fed her a proportionate amount of meaty bones to the puppy makes her constipated.

Best way to do it is to dive right in. Keep an eye on her feet and straightness of limbs as she grows. Is her coat healthy and shiney? Are her eyes bright, etc? What are her poo's like? Are they hard, dry and chalky? Are they nicely formed, brown and going to white? All of these things help you to 'tweak' the diet till you find a formula that works for her.

Both mine are fed raw, but both of them are fed slightly differently.

[Dogsfevr]

Firstly you should discuss this with the breeder of your pup after all they now there puppies best & many guarantee there pups on the diet they suggest because it works

Changing the diet straight away is not fair on the pup unless the diet is so bad & i would presume you selected the breeder because you like how there dogs look through all the ages & there health etc etc.

Changing to quickly can results in the pup having upset tummies & the stress during this crucial stage of settling into a new home & with a new dog to adjust to can already unsettle there tummies .

Your breeder should have given you or will do a diet sheet that the pup is use to ,stick with that until the pup has settled if you want to change add a bit slowly

[Shelb74]

Thanks everyone for your advice. Yes, I will definitely be continuing on with what the breeder recommends in the first instance but I would like to (slowly) transition him to raw feeding eventually.:)

[Yonjuro]

FWIW... my breeder and I swap diet ideas, she had the litter on mixed kibble and raw as soon as they were on solids. She was very happy when I told her I was moving from mixed onto full prey model raw. Her opinion was it is the best thing to feed our dogs, but cost prohibitive for her whole pack and also a bit difficult if one has a specific food allergy or tummy issue.

I fed small amounts of every type of raw food and offal I could find to my boy from 8 weeks, my untested theory :D was to give exposure to a wide source of raw foods in hope that he wouldn't develop sensitivities or allergies to different raw foods. This is kind of what we did with our human daughter albeit not raw :laugh: and she is one of the few kids in her class with no food allergies.

Many people comment that Siberian Huskies have very sensitive stomachs but I have found the complete opposite. Ronin has a cast iron constitution that I put down partly to his breeding and partly due to the early exposure to these various foods. Of course, I simply could just be lucky :D

Anyway, the point of my post is that it might be worth having a chat to your breeder and discuss what you would like to do with diet. The breeder might be very receptive to the fact that you want to give the best diet you can for one of the beloved pups as I was.

If you get the thumbs-up and you are confident you can supply a good balanced diet, there is a heap of good info available on feeding raw to puppies. There are a couple of FB groups that will help you with this as well.

Best of luck with whatever dietary path you choose.

[Shelb74]

Thanks Jonjuro.

We got some great raw feeding advice from our Holistic Vet yesterday so I'm feeling a lot more confident now.

One more sleep till puppy time!!

[Yonjuro]

How exciting for you