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MariusLecter posted:Thought Purina was a good brand, oh well. Thanks!
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Aug 25, 2013 18:37
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Riiseli posted:Let the food soak (in water or milk replacement) so that you can make mash out of it with a fork. I wouldn't mix something (canned food or ground beef) into it for every meal, but say twice a day. The puppy looks so young that it could very well still be nursing were it with the dam, so formula can be used. I typically start my puppies eating solids with ground beef and the next day or the day after that with curd cream, egg yolks and ground beef. By four weeks of age they eat soaked kibble with curd cream (plus ground beef and egg yolks on occasion) and at around five weeks some of the meals consist of only soaked kibble. I use water as my dams have nursed until the pups are seven to nine weeks old. Careful with raw beef + kibble; you can throw off their growth. Happened with our last litter. I would go with kibble soaked in water, maybe milk.
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Aug 26, 2013 18:55
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And I understand the Purina hate as I used to hate them, but Pro Plan is a decent food. We feed our coursers Pro Plan Sport Performance 30/20 and the maintenance is their Select seafood or Select turkey. Our guys are doing well on it. We switched from other brands over two years ago with our first litter when we had them evaluated by Pat Hastings who noticed our puppies were growing funny at 11 weeks and we were advised to go to the Pro Plan adult chicken. They evened out in their growth in a few weeks. Her statement was, "I've never seen puppies turn out badly on Pro Plan adult food." She is not paid by Purina, and generally considered a go-to breeder for puppy evaluations. We're happy with it and know other breeders who are as well. We advise our puppy homes to feed Pro Plan through their growth stages and monitor their development; it's a "safe bet" kind of thing. I tell them what they choose to feed after they're done growing is up to them: other kibble, barf, cooked, whatever.
SachielDVangel fucked around with this message at 19:31 on Aug 26, 2013 |
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Aug 26, 2013 19:04
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Do they get greasy and gross on it? I have chilled out about food so much over the last few years and don't have the energy to sit around doing stupid puppy nutrition spreadsheets like I used to. At the same time, I can't really find any premium food that impress me anymore, there's always something that annoys me about whatever I'm looking at. I'm totally over all the grain-free/freakishly high protein bullshit, but I still have a big stigma against corn/wheat/soy hard wired into my brain. This is the first puppy I've raised where I've planned to just primarily feed kibble, and I still haven't settled on exactly what I want to feed. As someone who has fed nothing but home-cooked/raw supplemented with spergy premium kibble a for years, do you think I'd like Pro plan? I just don't want stinky dogs, massive corn shits, etcetera. I've got like 3or 4days left of kibble in this bag and then I was going to try something else, soooooo....
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Aug 26, 2013 19:52
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Hard for me to compare a kibble poop to a raw w/ supplement kibble poop as we've never done that and have nothing to compare it to. The high end ProPlan, we're happy with. I also love their Pro Club program w/ coupon/vouchers and the kick back it generates for health research and our parent club. I know vet breeders who feed it as well, but I know other vet breeders who feed BlueRidge Beef only. Give it a try. I don't know what you're feeding the puppy, but we've got all our guys on PP turkey selects, which they're growing well on. I also don't know about your guys digestive capabilities, but i would't call ours stinky. I guess my feeding philosophy has turned from feed only x to feed whatever works for your dog that makes them happy, makes you happy with their capabilities and condition and what you are comfortable affording. I know other coursing dogs which are fed walmart pedigree or ol'roy, and they're rear end kickers, so like I said, whatever works and you're comfortable with.
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Aug 27, 2013 02:02
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SachielDVangel posted:Careful with raw beef + kibble; you can throw off their growth. Happened with our last litter. I would go with kibble soaked in water, maybe milk.
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Aug 27, 2013 05:25
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Riiseli posted:Indeed. I never said anything about amounts, but one shouldn't feed meat a whole lot. I've never had problems, but I use meat in small quantities and not daily through out their puppy hood. I've raised seven litters roughly along these instructions with no problems. Not all grew up to have perfect hip scores, but that wasn't to be expected per their pedigree. I've raised puppies on Eukanuba puppy formula, Orijen and whatever kibble was on offer at the pet store (at least Robur, a whatsitsname brand I'd never heard of before and Brit Care were used when Sukka was growing up). All pups were fine and not even Pi was gross and oily even though he was on Eukanuba.
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Aug 27, 2013 07:40
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I've heard a lot of similar stuff from people who breed/ work with breeders, in as much as they really like Pro Plan. That's what my mom and dad's Finnish spitzes were raised on prior to living with us. They were kind of skunky when we got them, but I think that wasn't really the food. They've both turned out nicely and have wonderful coats/
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Aug 27, 2013 12:39
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As we're talking about food, when should I stop adding water/milk to the kibble? The dog is 5 months old now and he seems to be doing okay on lunch meat and hard kibble for training treats, is he ready for the step up to all hard yet? Bosworth demanded to be let out for a poo poo today, weird how proud of that I am 
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Aug 27, 2013 19:23
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By 8 weeks, puppies can eat hard kibble.
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Aug 27, 2013 19:31
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Eau de MacGowan posted:As we're talking about food, when should I stop adding water/milk to the kibble? Who told you to do this?
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Aug 27, 2013 19:54
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Rixatrix posted:Also you breed middle sized dogs so I guess the pups are less prone to develop problems maybe? At least compared to large breeds.
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Aug 28, 2013 02:19
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I always cover my dogs kibble with water 
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Aug 28, 2013 04:21
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Superconsndar posted:I always cover my dogs kibble with water
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Aug 28, 2013 05:05
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I don't soak my dogs' kibble but people in my family do with their dogs and whattayaknow everyone involved is happy and healthy.
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Aug 28, 2013 06:34
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We add water to the dogs' kibble every dinner. Sometimes Abby will refuse to eat her breakfast until you add some water to it. Water is yummy.
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Aug 28, 2013 06:42
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I don't soak Neige's food, but it's raw and full of moisture. She doesn't drink water during the day much unless we've been playing really hard and that means she doesn't chug until she spews anymore. For that alone, I am eternally grateful.
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Aug 28, 2013 06:44
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Yep, Eva always gets water added to her food. She doesn't drink enough water, while Angus drinks enough to looks constantly bloated so I add a cup of warm water on top of her kibble with each meal and sometimes will mix up some wet food and water to get her to drink more if I'm not happy with how much she's drinking.
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Aug 28, 2013 06:58
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I'm on one side of a door, dog is on the other. He's whining because he wants to be fed. I don't want to teach him that whining on the other side of the door will make me come through it, but I really need to go through that door. This happens fairly often. How can I combat this?
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Aug 28, 2013 12:00
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New Leaf posted:I'm on one side of a door, dog is on the other. He's whining because he wants to be fed. I don't want to teach him that whining on the other side of the door will make me come through it, but I really need to go through that door. This happens fairly often. How can I combat this? I'm in no means an expert but what has been working for us is ignoring the dog. Open the door and walk in but do not acknowledge the dog. Once it calms down maybe give it a sit/down command. Then praise it and feed. Just try to disassociate your entry with it's whining. Our pup is still very young (4 months 1 week) and she can hold her bladder all night. However around 7:50AM like clockwork she starts whining because she can hear me get up for work. I usually just go on about my day until my girlfriend get's up around 8:10. She lifts the sheet from the cage but does not let her out until she calmly sits down. It was been a slow process but we are finding that she isn't as hyper coming out of her cage in the morning anymore, which is great. Your results may vary.
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Aug 28, 2013 14:13
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Our normal adult meals are 1/2 daily kibble, a tbs of canned food and a splash of water to make the canned mix more easily; that twice a day. Puppies get the same, but are being free fed a bucket of dry when they are crated as well to fill in any gaps. For weaning, we transitioned them to PuppyBac(canine milk replacer)/kibble/ground meat puree at 4 weeks to pure dry kibble at 8 weeks. They were stealing from mom's bowl the second they could get their heads in it at 14 or 15 days iirc. They would gum the meat off her kibble. The meat we used was a "complete" ground product put out by BlueRidge Beef: their puppy mix. http://www.blueridgebeef.com/products-mix.html Once they hit the 8 week mark, we cut out raw with them to guard against abnormal growth.
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Aug 28, 2013 15:17
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The beagles get stale bread, cheap greyhound kibble mixer and fresh meat/bones along with general scraps. The puppies get the same w/ eggs and porridge made with powdered lamb milk. Everyone is a healthy dog.
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Aug 28, 2013 15:26
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Just like ye olden dogs.
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Aug 28, 2013 15:29
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I don't think I could handle doing 100% kibble throughout puppy growth because then when they get older and I want to supplement them with stuff they're gonna get the squirts or maybe they'll be like "I'M NOT USED TO THAT I DONT WAAAANT IT" so basically i just turn my dogs into garbage disposals from day 1 done deal
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Aug 28, 2013 15:31
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Dog guts adjust pretty quick to whatever you feed. Our adults are garbage disposals and get all the leftovers in our fridge substituting the canned food when possible. Like today, they got the crock-pot strainings instead of canned which was basically chicken broth, onions and celery. We don't give fridge leftovers to the puppies until they're about 8-9 months, not really because of their gut, but because of creating finicky eaters at a time when it would be really bad for their growth. Puppies stay strict, but adults get leftovers. Also saved on canned food costs and makes us feel eco friendly instead of throwing out week old food.
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Aug 28, 2013 15:43
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SachielDVangel posted:They would gum the meat off her kibble.
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Aug 28, 2013 15:47
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Riiseli posted:Speaking of gumming. This is how my latest litter began to experiment with food https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77FXGM63Ar4. Typically I've gone with ground beef, but then realized them Lapphund puppies will be interested enough in meat to get their first taste this way. The vinyl floor can be a bit slippery when one is really small and really enthusiastic. I typically rotate small area rugs in their playroom and have newspaper for the toilet, but the rugs were just out of the washer when I filmed these. I have nothing to add on puppy feeding advice, but those little squeaking carnivores just about killed me. We add warm water to kibble for my mom's jack/chi mix, who's proven to be quite the picky eater. Warm water makes the food stinkier, which makes him more likely to actually take a few bites instead of turning up his little nose in disdain.
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Aug 28, 2013 15:56
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Pretty sure this is Brienne helping Soleil with her meal at 14 days old. 
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Aug 28, 2013 16:02
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Goonicus posted:Just like ye olden dogs. They eat like nineteenth century orphans irl, and thrive on it.
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Aug 28, 2013 16:06
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I feed my dogs kibble, no water or anything. They might get some scraps of food if I make too much dinner or they're begging and I'm in a good mood while cooking. I'm about to switch Kalli from a decent food (wainwrights) to one with less protein/more filler crap in the hopes of actually getting solid shits out of her maybe someday hopefully
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Aug 28, 2013 16:17
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m.hache posted:I'm in no means an expert but what has been working for us is ignoring the dog. Open the door and walk in but do not acknowledge the dog. Once it calms down maybe give it a sit/down command. Then praise it and feed. Just try to disassociate your entry with it's whining. Thanks, I'll just try ignoring him until he stops. This morning's incident came when I was in the bathroom around 6:45, but they don't get fed until 7:00. I was awake earlier than I normally am, and I haven't quite taught him how to read a clock yet, so I can't blame him too much. Instead of feeding him, I just went straight from the bathroom and took him outside to potty a little earlier than normal.
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Aug 28, 2013 16:54
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It's been 2 1/2 months and Jordan's doing... better with the cats, to a certain extent. There's very little chasing or barking, and the cats aren't afraid to be near her. That's not to say they're very nice. She's fairly frightened of the little hellions. I've run up the stairs with her on my heels, but there's no sign of her when I get to my room. Look back to see a whimpering dog mid-stairs with a bored cat at the top. One cat hisses whenever the dog displeases her (occasionally charging for not-too-serious swats), and the other has literally chased her. She's three times his size. It was equal parts funny and horrible to behold. What's the answer to this one? Spray the cat? Treat and pet the dog like crazy (which I try to do)? Finally remember to buy a damned cat tree or two so they'll leave her alone? Also, how does one key their dog onto toys that don't involve food? She loves the Kong (when full of food), but tug rope, Nylabone, and squeaky toy can go directly to hell. I tried to take her to PetSmart for inspiration, but she freaked out at the other dogs wandering around. I just now caught her chewing on a pair of pajama pants. Not sure how to make my bored dog less bored. If anyone has Amazon suggestions, they'd be super-appreciated. (I have Prime for the next month, and might continue it if I think it'll be cost-effective.) Sorry for the billion questions. This is my first dog, so I struggle with the balance between  and  .
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Aug 28, 2013 17:50
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Superconsndar posted:I always cover my dogs kibble with water
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Aug 28, 2013 18:22
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Nyarai posted:It's been 2 1/2 months and Jordan's doing... better with the cats, to a certain extent. There's very little chasing or barking, and the cats aren't afraid to be near her. I'm not sure how old your pup is but if they are starting to teeth try soaking and freezing the tug rope. It may get them to start playing with it to start soothing their gums. Also Nyx seems to love ice cubes. She goes nuts over them. Not too bad if you don't have carpet. I've also found the stuffless toys you can get from petsmart to be pretty good. She's had this thing for a month now and is gnawing small bits off at a time. I'm surprised it's lasted this long seeing as how she destroys every toy she get's within a day.
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Aug 28, 2013 19:08
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Some dogs just aren't into toys and playing. One of my dogs is like this. He prefers to cuddle with the stuffless toy I bought. The most playing he does is when I get home and he chases my hands and then flops over for belly rubs.
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Aug 28, 2013 21:17
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Fraction posted:I feed my dogs kibble, no water or anything. Same. I tried the water+kibble thing twice when I needed to give her some powered medicine and she ate it so fast, she threw up all over the place (I think that's the time she jumped up on the back of the couch we were sitting on and the proceeded to vomit). So she eats all her meals dry out of a ball she has to roll around to get the kibble out. She's probably so used to her food/treats getting doled out a piece at a time, her stomach doesn't know what to do with a bunch of food at once. Plus she actually gets full when she eats from the toy and stops eating before it's all gone. If I put it in a bowl, she would just eat it all because it's there. We're lucky that we tried Blue Buffalo early and it agrees with her stomach, even when we switched to a lower protein formula. She eats all sorts of other poo poo too, since I just use whatever food is around for treats.
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Aug 28, 2013 22:22
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Any ideas how to get over some abandonment issues? We just adopted a 9-week-old black lab who was abandoned about 3 weeks ago. He was super-skinny when Animal Contol picked him up, but he's fattened back up and doesn't seem to have too many issues. He seems like he may have some food anxiety, but that may also be us attempting to follow the Humane Society when they said he was being 'free-fed' while he was there. When we first got him home he was ruthless with his food bowl and kept going at it pretty much no matter how much he ate...I think he regretted that a bit later. Should be ration it to him a bit slower, but still keep him free-feeding until he's learned our schedule a bit more? He doesn't eat more than a little at a time unless his food bowl has been empty and then he just gorges. The other thing is we think he may have been abandoned on a walk. He absolutely does NOT like to walk away from the house. You have to drag him to the mailbox. As soon as we're going the other direction he's totally fine. When playing in the yard he will run towards the house, in circles, across the yard, etc - anything but away from the house. He won't chase you that direction until you've stopped and faced back towards the house. Is this something we're just going to have to condition him with?
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Aug 29, 2013 20:17
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Advent Horizon posted:We just adopted a 9-week-old black lab Congratulations on acquiring a male black lab, the best dog! Abandoned at 6 weeks is harsh but I wouldn't think that's really old enough to develop any issues, sounds like he's just a typical food-motivated lab. A lot of friends have hunting labs that they got at 7 weeks and they turned out pretty nice. Your food bag should have a recommended amount of food for his age and weight, feed him that much per day. Free feeding a young puppy seems a little crazy to me because they usually poop pretty soon afterwards so it makes house training tough. I also wouldn't free feed because you have such a great opportunity right now to use his meals to create positive associations. Definitely check out the excellent training thread because they learn so fast at that age, http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3364451. I highly suggest starting Leave It and It's Yer Choice as a puppy. The most important thing you should be doing right now is socializing him with strangers and then other dogs as soon as he's done his shots. My lab wouldn't want to leave the house if there was a bowl of food in there either. Try giving him some kibble on your walks and he'll start loving them. Labs are really easy because they're so food motivated. Do something you want the dog to like (car rides, babies, kids, all manner of strangers, walks, loud noises, retrieving, etc) and then put food in his face. I took mine to a coffee shop patio a few times a week when he was a puppy. When strangers would come up to see the cute puppy, I'd ask them to ask him to sit and then give him a bit of food. People liked it and he's always liked strangers. And post some pics.
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Aug 29, 2013 20:51
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We're actually not sure that he's 9 weeks, since they have no record of where he came from before he was abandoned. And nobody knows how long he was on his own. Honestly, it's lucky he wasn't eaten considering the number of predators around here. There's about 50 black bears within a 2 mile radius of our house, and a resident wolf pack that wanders through occasionally. This is not a good place for abandoned baby animals. He's certainly food-motivated enough to have already figured out that as soon as he goes potty outside he gets a treat. I think they may have done a similar thing at the shelter since he's mostly housebroken when you give him a chance to go outside (and I've noticed he looks for tile if he's about to have an accident). At this point I think housebreaking is mostly a matter of his bowels/bladder catching up and working out a good signal for us to take him out. I think I'm going to get a sleighbell for the door so we can ring it when we take him and hopefully he picks that up. Is there a good way to get photos from iOS to the forums? I don't even have a computer anymore and there's a really good photo of him that I took when we first went to meet him.
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Aug 29, 2013 21:33
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| # ? May 15, 2024 17:32 |
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Advent Horizon posted:Is there a good way to get photos from iOS to the forums? I don't even have a computer anymore and there's a really good photo of him that I took when we first went to meet him. Use the Awful app? (press and hold on the posting screen to bring up the menu, go to [img], select your photo. It'll automatically upload it to imgur.)
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Aug 29, 2013 21:38
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