Switching food in our puppy

    • Gold Top Dog

    Switching food in our puppy

    Our breeder uses Eukanuba Large Breed Puppy and of course would prefer he stay on it.  As adults she uses their performance food which is  30/20 which imo is too high in fat unless the dog is working/running/agility etc everyday.  She said it works for them for years now.  He just isn't into his food.  Grazes on it for hours rather than eating it all at once.  Puppies we have had always lived for their meals and enjoyed it.  So I got a bag of Wellness Large Breed Puppy for him and he is nuts for it.  Only putting a tiny amount mixed in his Euk had him eating the whole bowl;  He is actually begging at the food cabinet all day long for more.  I plan to transition very slowly to avoid a problem.  Time will tell if he tolerates it.  I assume the calcium level in this Wellness is acceptable for an Irish Setter's growth?  Anyone know more about that?  He spit up a tad bit of foamy bile this morning which is probably from the introduction so I will go even slower now with it.  The breeder felt I should add canned to the Euk instead and leave him on it.  Flavoring it isn't what I wanted.  I want him to like his food.  There are enough good ones out there that I will find one he likes that likes him too! 

    • Gold Top Dog

     I know Fynn's breeder didnt want me putting him on anything above 23% protein till he was done growing. She feeds Evanger's Pheasant and brown rice dry formula(ALS). Protein 24% and fat 14%. She also adds in cooked chicken, which she slows cooks till the bones are mush and gives them a helping of that with one meal. She never said anything about fat.

    Of course when I got Fynn I switched him cold turkey to TOTW(pacific stream formula 25% protein and 15% fat) and a raw chicken breast. He was 8 months old though when I got him. And I run my guys.Big Smile  The breeder was fine with that and didnt say anything when I switched him to a 40% protein food a few months ago.

    I know when I got Joker he wouldnt eat for a few days. Noticed he did try to eat with Cheyanne out of her bowl and it's just where he was used to eating with littermates he didnt know what to do! And then when he figured out the bowl of food was all his he became a gulper! So in went 2 rocks big enough he couldnt or wouldnt think about eating to slow him down.

     I always switch my pups cold turkey.