What to feed new puppy - help!!

[suebee]

I am soooo confused about feeding my soon to arrive home puppy! I searched the web, probably too much, and the RAW diet keeps popping up - problem is I would have to get over handling all those parts that I don't even eat myself, and it seems a bit messy to feed a true raw diet. Then there is the Prey vs BARF raw diet - PREY says "no" to veggies, BARF says "yes." And of course those who feed raw say there are NO good kibble foods. I did look at the recommended foods on this site and have some questions. Frankie will be coming home on Royal Canin puppy food. I would like to, at the very least, move him to a higher quality kibble. When can I do this and which one is best for the puppy stage of life? Also, any advice on if I should look into RAW or just drop it would be appreciated. Is it worth buying the frozen RAW meals that are available - they don't look like they are the whole pieces, rather look chopped and minced. I thought the purpose of RAW was to give the dog a true carnivore diet which would include chomping the meat apart and chewing up bones. I have absolutely no experience to draw on. And I am very obsessive on subjects to the point that I think I over-research and make things more complicated than necessary. I just want to do the right thing for this little guy who will be relying on me for his nutrition. So "thank you" all ahead of time for your input!

-Confused in PA

 

[MaplesMommy]

Shoot I just wrote a whole post and it disappeared
Anyways, here we go again : Maple was on a grain free small breed dog food. We waited two weeks after her arrival to switch to Go! Chicken + Turkey Puppy food. The puppy has to get used to a new environment and people thats why I decided to wait a few weeks with the food switch. I then started sprinkling a few kibbles of Go over the original food and raised the amount gradually. Maple did great while switching food.
I can highly recommend Go! Maple is healthy, has a shiny coat, solid stools and is a little tank Some people cant believe she is only (almost) 6 months old.

We were told that feeding a puppy raw is very expensive because a lot of it will go bad before the puppy can eat it so you end up throwing a lot away. At least thats what we were told at Planet Paws because you can only buy "big" packages of raw food(at least there).

- - - Updated - - -

Another great brand I heard a lot of good things about is Acana!

 

[suebee]

Thanks for the advice! I know the vet will put his/her opinions on the table, but the foods they recommend have had recall issues which scares me. I had planned on keeping him on the food he started out on with the gradual switch, but did not think of waiting a few weeks for all of the other things he will need to adjust to. Does Maple have problems with gas? My daughter's Boston is on Royal Canin and looks/acts wonderful, but has awful gas - a lot of it! I had heard that you can help "modify" some gas issues by getting a higher quality food - more protein, less carbs. :happy:

 

[KimB3384]

We recently switched Bisou over to Primal Raw with some Acana Singles (Duck and Pear) added in to help cut the cost. She'd been raised on a raw diet, but I'd switched her to kibble because I didn't want to mess with raw meat and because I'm lazy. We've had pretty much nothing but trouble since we made that first switch off of raw. It's either been bad gas or constant scratching and licking her paws. I don't know that this is the case, but I think she could have been having issues with potatoes/starch all along because that was the one constant from brand to brand. Primal comes in raw nuggets that you keep in the freezer and take out about 6-8 hours before you're ready to feed, and it also comes in freeze dried nuggets that you just break up and add water to. I can tell you this much - Bisou has never been more excited to eat and maybe most importantly, her scratching has diminished dramatically in just one week. She still scratches a little bit, but I think that's because the duck formula has yams in it. Today was her first day on venison, which is starchy-carb free. I'm sure it's my imagination but I think she's filled out a little more on the raw, has grown some, and has a shinier coat. But this is also time for her to have a growth spurt (she's 6.5 months old) so it could just be that.

I think it's really what you're comfortable with. If you want to experiment with raw but you don't want to handle uncooked meat there are good options out there. If you want to keep her on kibble there are good options for that as well. Pre-packaged raw is more expensive. I think it's going to wind up costing me around $100/mo. but if she does well on it and doesn't scratch or chew all the time it's worth it to me. I'd be spending that on taking her to the vet to address the itching issue anyway.

Good luck with whatever route you choose. It's a tough decision because you're their only advocate and you want to do right by them, so it's kind of stressful. Trust your gut and your puppy will be fine.

 

[suebee]

Great info! Thank you. :clap:

 

[MaplesMommy]

Thanks for the advice! I know the vet will put his/her opinions on the table, but the foods they recommend have had recall issues which scares me. I had planned on keeping him on the food he started out on with the gradual switch, but did not think of waiting a few weeks for all of the other things he will need to adjust to. Does Maple have problems with gas? My daughter's Boston is on Royal Canin and looks/acts wonderful, but has awful gas - a lot of it! I had heard that you can help "modify" some gas issues by getting a higher quality food - more protein, less carbs. :happy:

I wouldnt say Maple is too gassy. About 2 times a day I smell one of her farts She used to eat her food real fast and thats actually what caused her to become gassy. We then bought her a slow feed dish and it helped a lot. We are now back to her old dish because she apparently got the idea and now takes her time eating.

Im happy with the Go!. No allergy issues(watery eyes,scratching,licking) and no diarhea. Of course every dog is different and your pup may prefer something totally different!

IMO vets always recommend brands that they actually sell at their office. I wasnt convinced at all by my vets recommendation. My vet also told me that she wouldnt recommend feeding raw at all . I ,again , was not convinced by what she was saying.
I have learned not to trust every single word a vet says,despite the fact you would think thats the person that should know it all. Anyways starting a whole other topic now

 

[davidh]

We feed all our pups FROMM Puppy Gold in the pink bag.

 

[kim]

I changed to Fromm puppy gold after some people on this site recommend it. Pipers after a few weeks on it hardly had any gas.
Now she's on the 4 star and doing just as well!!

 

[suebee]

Any suggestions as to dry vs wet foods? I have seen on the web that the wet foods contain higher proteins/nutrients and that they do not cause dental decay any faster than dry foods, which have a lot of the nutrients cooked out of them when processed. Also, regarding raw diets, I am seeing few freeze dried/frozen foods (Primal, specifically)which are prepared in a process that helps alleviate chance of contamination with bacteria - their web site is quite detailed on how their foods are processed. But then again, I also have seen people whose dogs ate raw and contacted bacterial infections which lead to their deaths which could have been contamination from improper handling/feeding at home. I am probably overthinking this while awaiting Frankie's arrival, but really do appreciate hearing what others have done for their Frenchies. It gives me a wide range of ideas and success stories!

 

[KimB3384]

I was in that "I won't feed raw because that seems too unsafe" camp for the past few months. I also had a vet friend who claimed to have treated "many" dogs who'd gotten sick from eating raw. But when you think about it, you handle raw meat frequently (unless you're a vegetarian) and you don't get sick. I think that if you use common sense and practice good hygiene you're going to be okay. I feed both freeze dried and frozen and I'm constantly washing my hands, washing containers, disinfecting the counters, and sanitizing the floors. I do that normally, but I maybe a little more diligent about it now. There can be food contamination issues with anything, even if you're buying meat from someone you know and preparing it yourself. You need to do what feels right for you. Read the ingredients and see if it's something you'd put into your body. If you decide that raw is going to be the way to go, you'll adapt to safe handling procedures. It seems intimidating at first, but it becomes a non-issue pretty quickly. I will say that the freeze dried seems less icky than the frozen stuff, so maybe start there and gradually transition. You'll also need to watch to see how your pup reacts to certain things. Bisou cannot tolerate potatoes or sweet potatoes. Some of the Primal formulas have yams in them, so we steer clear of them and she does fine. The first few months might be filled with some trial and error, so don't get discouraged. The people on this site are super knowledgeable and can help you get through anything.