which food & treats for puppy

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happy_schnappy
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which food & treats for puppy

Post by happy_schnappy »

We are picking up Kiki in 3 weeks and so I am looking at food options. The breeder is feeding her Royal Canin but from doing some research I think I would like to change it gradually. So, I have a few questions...

1) time-wise how do I change? Do I for example give her Royal Canin then a little bit of new food, or do one meal of new food a day?

2) any recommendations for grain free puppy food would be very helpful. I like the idea of raw but 1) our freezer is too small 2) I am vegetarian so not sure I could cope handling it! 3) what do you do when you travel? Could I do a mix of pre-prepared and raw and see how we get on (as in e.g. raw once a week, pre-prepared the rest (I know I shouldn't mix both in one meal)?

3) kibble - any dry stuff that's considered healthy?

4) 'healthy'/good quality treats for puppies

Thanks very much. Obviously I'm not going to bulk buy anything just yet, I'll try a few suggestions and see which ones she likes, then order bigger quantities.
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Schnauzer Sam
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Re: which food & treats for puppy

Post by Schnauzer Sam »

Hi Menna, when I picked Rosie up she was on IAMS. Since then I've tried her on a few different diets with varying degrees of success. The secret is in your opening paragraph. Do it gradually.

Whatever you decide, you replace maybe 25% of the Royal Canin for each meal then next day 50% etc. While you may be lucky enough if you suddenly switch you may find that Kiki will end up with an upset tummy.

You can use https://www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk/ to research different foods; their contents and reviews.

Rosie loves carrot as a treat but she does have a small treat every night at bedtime. If I forget she'll sit at the cupboard as an aide memoir.

There are a few members here who feed raw and I'm sure will be glad to add their advice.
Country Girl at Heart (Molly) 8 April 2003 - 22 December 2018

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happy_schnappy
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Dog #1: Kiki
is a: B/S Mini Bitch
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Re: which food & treats for puppy

Post by happy_schnappy »

Thanks Sam.
I'll have a look at that website - it's come up a couple of times while doing research.

I'm worried the might choke on a bit of carrot!
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Re: which food & treats for puppy

Post by Oscar 12345 »

Hi Menna

Introduce the new food mixed with the old food starting with very small amounts and increasing and do it over several (5) days with a puppy so on the 5th/6th day if everything is ok you are feeding 100% of the new food. I feed Naturediet grain free either lamb or chicken with is a wet food in a daily package. My previous boy was brought up on it and Otto's breeder started him off on Naturediet although not the grain free version. I was quite interested in the cold pressed feed but decided to stick with what I know. I do like a food that has a good moisture content otherwise I find I am worrying about whether he has drank any water. Personally I don't like complete dry kibble of any brand. If I wasn't using wet food I would try cold pressed rather than dry kibble. I also add a spoonful of green veg (steamed) to his meals. When he was a puppy I got him used to lots of different foods by adding a small amount on top of his meal, a little scrambled egg (plain), tuna in spring water, steamed salmon, minced turkey breast steamed, chicken etc. and also fruit, pineapple, apple, etc. I am sure it is obvious but get him used to the new food and then you can consider adding other foods one at a time so you know whether anything has had a nasty effect. For example my first schnauzer could not eat freshly cooked chicken or turkey although he could eat it in his processed dog feed.

Because I don't feed dry kibble Otto had puppy treat biscuits by Pooch and Mutt. Also small pieces of fruit like apple or banana is a nice treat and also cooked chicken.
Man cannot survive with wine alone...
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zeta1454
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Re: which food & treats for puppy

Post by zeta1454 »

If you are considering raw feeding, I would be careful of mixing raw with kibble. You might almost be better moving from kibble to a wet food such as Naturediet and then to raw (my personal view). Years ago when we first changed to raw feeding from kibble (due to a new puppy refusing to eat anything but raw chicken wings!! ) we had a 12 year old mini, an 11 year old and a 7 year old and all three moved straight over to raw feeding with no issues at all. However, if you are worried with a puppy which may not have a strong digestion I would gradually introduce "real" meat (cooked or pre-prepared) and then on to raw.

I am vegetarian and have found the prepared raw packs of minced meat (meat and veg) easy to deal with - it arrives frozen in a container which can be defrosted in the fridge and then weighed out as needed. Wolf Tucker is a good brand but there are many others now to choose from if you search the Internet.

Travelling - it depends whether this is a short journey or a holiday on the road. If we are staying in a holiday cottage or similar there is usually a freezer. For short journeys we would take the food in a cool box. You could however use something like Pure pet food as a holiday substitute- we have tried this and the dogs loved it too!
https://purepetfood.co.uk

You could even use this regularly of course too :-)


If you are sure you do not want to go down the route of raw feeding, just try to find a food that is as little processed as possible, contains a high percentage of named meat (not meat derivatives / meal etc) and little or no cereals / grains. The All About Dog Food website is very helpful on a wide range of food.

We use dried liver, cooked chicken and cheese as high value treats (cut into really tiny pieces) but also the Simpsons 80/20 puppy kibble which is 80% meat 20% vegetables and is tiny so good for training.
Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole. ~Roger Caras

Magic - Silversocks Sharade at Darksprite
Trilby - Darksprite Rosa Bud


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happy_schnappy
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Re: which food & treats for puppy

Post by happy_schnappy »

Thank you both.
I think I will start off with a wet food, and then order a small amount of raw to see what I have to deal with! My other main problem is lack of freezer space.

I've had a quick look at the all about dog food website, it's great. Pure pet food looks good too.
Lots of reading to do!
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Re: which food & treats for puppy

Post by Oscar 12345 »

Leigh, what differences have you seen in your pets since feeding raw?
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zeta1454
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Re: which food & treats for puppy

Post by zeta1454 »

Julie - we have fed raw to our dogs now for over 10 years and none of our current dogs have known anything else as regular food here although one of the minis was fed kibble before we got her at 8 weeks old. So hard to assess any difference in them personally although we have found that they all seem to have strong digestions (although the mini who was kibble fed as a pup in the early weeks does occasionally have bouts of soft poo but nothing serious). None of them have suffered with colitis, gastritis etc. and their general health is excellent.
With our first three minis who were fed a quality kibble for much of their lives (certainly the eldest two) they did more often have minor digestive issues, one suffered quite severe gastritis as a puppy and all had dental extractions in later life.

I am sure there will be dogs fed on kibble, wet food or any other than raw who may also be fine in their health so I wouldn't want to be prescriptive about raw should be the only food for dogs. However, the more I looked into it, the more I felt that raw meat (with some vegetables/fruit) is an appropriate diet for a canine; that they really enjoy their meals and have a variety which might not be the case with kibble; that the less processed the food, the more they can get the nutrients and vitamins from the actual food (rather than added in afterwards as in kibble where the nutrients have been destroyed in the processing). I suppose a bit like the fact that I try to get organically grown food for us and home cook rather than buying processed / ready meals :-)

As you know, we try to avoid the use of any chemical parasite treatments for our dogs and I do think that a raw meat diet does reduce the likelihood of parasites in the gut causing a problem as the environment will be so acidic to deal with digesting bone etc. Raw meat also does have a very wide range of nutrients which are beneficial for health and may well be lost and not supplemented in processed food.

So I would say that our current dogs aged from five months to eleven years are all fit, rarely see a vet, active, good coats, eyes, teeth and rarely a digestive issue of any kind (usually if they have eaten something disgusting they have found on a walk but even then only a bout of soft poo for a day or two). Whether this is all to do with raw feeding, I could not say. They are all well bred, either by us or from responsible breeders, minimal vaccination and no anti-parasite chemicals so other factors may play a part too.
Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole. ~Roger Caras

Magic - Silversocks Sharade at Darksprite
Trilby - Darksprite Rosa Bud


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Oscar 12345
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Dog #2: Otto
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Re: which food & treats for puppy

Post by Oscar 12345 »

Thanks Leigh and I agree that Pure Pet food looks good.
Man cannot survive with wine alone...
we also need a schnauzer.
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Re: which food & treats for puppy

Post by Schnauzer Sam »

Oscar 12345 wrote: 11 Jul 2018, 17:14 Thanks Leigh and I agree that Pure Pet food looks good.
I thought the same Julie and bought the small pack of the duck and a small pack of the chicken to try with Rosie. When rehydrated it looks and smells like baby food and our chief tester (Rosie) sniffed at her dish, looked up at me and walked away!

I tried it three times before putting the rest of the packs in the bin. Alison (Dawnspell or Barney's owner) recommends Forthglade and I got a bag of their cold pressed dry food from Waitrose as a trial. She has only had it mixed in with her kibble so far but hasn't refused it yet.

I've found she eats best when she has a small amount of kibble mixed in with home cooked protein such as white fish, lamb or liver with a few veg added.
Country Girl at Heart (Molly) 8 April 2003 - 22 December 2018

You're never alone when you own a schnauzer

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Oscar 12345
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Dog #2: Otto
is a: B/S Mini Dog
Born: 04 Jul 2017

Re: which food & treats for puppy

Post by Oscar 12345 »

That's interesting. Could be that because it is human grade dehydrated rather than cooked it doesn't have a strong/appetising smell to it e.g. steamed or poached chicken just smells of nothing really and doesn't taste of much either. Is Rosie excited by the cold pressed - I like a wagging tail and lots of excitement when the food is prepared. Otto would knock anything out of the way to get to his food and skids on the tiling floor at about 30 mph. If he doesn't act that way in the morning then I know he is off for some reason.
Man cannot survive with wine alone...
we also need a schnauzer.
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Schnauzer Sam
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Born: 11 Jun 2018
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Re: which food & treats for puppy

Post by Schnauzer Sam »

Oscar 12345 wrote: 12 Jul 2018, 09:42 That's interesting. Could be that because it is human grade dehydrated rather than cooked it doesn't have a strong/appetising smell to it e.g. steamed or poached chicken just smells of nothing really and doesn't taste of much either. Is Rosie excited by the cold pressed - I like a wagging tail and lots of excitement when the food is prepared. Otto would knock anything out of the way to get to his food and skids on the tiling floor at about 30 mph. If he doesn't act that way in the morning then I know he is off for some reason.
Julie, Rosie is an oddball when it comes to food. She sits and watches while I prepare her food and put it on the floor. I tell her that she can take it and then, in her own time, she walks over to have a sniff. She usually walks away and returns to eat it a few minutes later.

A wagging tail for food is reserved for treats. She gets really hyper for these.

Skidding on the floor is purely for greeting me when I come home from work - she goes crazy :)
Country Girl at Heart (Molly) 8 April 2003 - 22 December 2018

You're never alone when you own a schnauzer

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Oscar 12345
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Posts: 1592
Joined: 02 May 2017, 11:28
First Name: Julie
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Born: 21 Dec 2002
Dog #2: Otto
is a: B/S Mini Dog
Born: 04 Jul 2017

Re: which food & treats for puppy

Post by Oscar 12345 »

Sam, they are funny aren't they....
Man cannot survive with wine alone...
we also need a schnauzer.
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zeta1454
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Born: 15 Mar 2012
Dog #3: Pip
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is a: P/S Mini Bitch
Location: North Yorkshire
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Re: which food & treats for puppy

Post by zeta1454 »

Re the "Pure" food, I was not too keen on the consistency when we trialled it with our dogs some years back but the schnauzers were very keen and a couple of mini schnauzers who stayed with us for a holiday were fed this normally and seemed to love it. I must admit that all our schnauzers have been gannets when it comes to food and I have hardly known them to turn up their noses at anything remotely edible! Our other dogs can be more picky though so I can understand the issue although we have rarely had a problem with raw meat.

For the OP though, I would suggest trying a small pack of whatever you want to try out with your puppy as it could work out expensive if you invest in anything too large or just too many packs if Kiki then doesn't like it. I think some processed foods do have flavour enhancers added which may mean that the more basic ingredient foods are less immediately appealing as Julie suggested.

This is a photo of one of our minis trying to get to the Pure food when we had a trial of it:


Image
Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole. ~Roger Caras

Magic - Silversocks Sharade at Darksprite
Trilby - Darksprite Rosa Bud


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happy_schnappy
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Re: which food & treats for puppy

Post by happy_schnappy »

Thanks Leigh. I've just ordered a starter pack of Pure - they had a 50% off starter packs deal!
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