Advice on Dog Food please...

[Marinegeekswife]

Each dog requires something different so all folk can tell you is what worked for them. In our case our male Spock has an incredibly sensitive stomach. We've been through 5 or 6 foods trying to find something that worked for him. We finally found Wellness CORE Ocean and have had the best results from him we've ever seen. Better than I ever thought we could possibly see from him. As for RAW you might want to put that off until you've had a chance to do more research on it. There are some theories out there that RAW can be bad for puppies during those critical growth times since you could be missing something critical and not know it until it is too late.

 

[JanS]

Oh I didn't know (or remember) Spock moved on the the Wellness CORE but I've heard that's a great food. The last I remember he was on the Natural Balance, but maybe that was treats I'm thinking of. Our feed store has the Natural Balance treats too so I've been buying that brand quite a bit these days.

 

[Dobs4ever]

Puppyhood is a critical time in growth and development. It is not a time I would want to take a chance on making sure they get a quality all around diet. I am not convinced that raw is balanced enough for a puppy but it does seem that the majority are raised on kibble and do well. There are not enough valid studies out there on the long term results of feeding a puppy totally raw.

The thing I find interesting is some of the ones promoting raw are feeding kibble at one of the meals. I have read where it is not good to mix them. And a true Raw enthusiast only feeds raw. So I have a hard time understanding why you would feed some of both.

Personally I stick with kibble as it is so much easier if you are traveling and I feel more secure that they are getting a more balanced diet. Mine also get bananas, pumpkin, yogurt, green beans, pineapple, apples, peas, sweet potatoes and they love it all - which leads me to lean strongly towards the omnivores as opposed to carnivores theory.

 

[Shirls&Dobes]

Wow, thanks so much for all this great advice!! I am definitely going to get Nico off of Iams as fast can I can and incorporate a premium food into his diet and having these websites and brands recommended to look into will definitely help me find the right one. We are bringing him home when he is exactly 8 weeks old - a little over 2 weeks away and seems like forever....

Another question: Does anyone recommend bringing a blanket or something with us to let his siblings and mom and day lay on so we can bring it home and he can still smell them once he's away from them?

We are due to pick our little one up at the end of this month and I took a blanket when we went to see them last week so that she has something to come home with. I think it is a good idea especially if you have a long trip home too. I have also made sure we have stocked up on Puppy Pads so we can stop and let her have a toilet break without coming into contact with any areas that other dogs have been with not having her first injections or only having had the first ones I think its a good idea. As for food our breeder suggested that they should have at least 26% meat content and steer clear of high cereal contents if you can.