Dog Community

Puppy Questions

Posted : 12/5/2007 9:09:08 AM

I may be bringing home a new puppy in a few weeks if everything works out, and I just had some questions about foods and supplements. The puppy is a border collie and 6 weeks now so I still have some time to get ready. Based on her mothers size my guess is she will be about 45 lbs full grown.

The breeder is feeding them royal canin medium puppy right now and they are still nursing as well. I don't want to continue with the royal canin because it has corn and Salem is allergic to corn. I will switch the puppy over gradually to whatever I choose, but I don't want to risk Salem eating some of the puppies food even though I will feed her seperately. Just a few kibbles and he would be an itchy mess.

I feed Salem Fromm 4-star now and I will probably eventually switch the puppy over to that. I think it is formulated for all life stages though. Would it be better to put her on that if it is (I thought I remembered seeing that on the package but will have to look when I get home)? As for puppy foods at first I was thinking solid gold wolf cub, but that is for large breeds which I don't think the border collie will count as. Now I am thinking either solid gold Hundchen Flocken or Innova Puppy.

I also give Salem raw food occasionally. I either give him natures variety premade or sometimes I will pick him up something at the butcher. He normally gets something extra every day, whether is is the natures variety, a chicken wing, some beef or an egg. When is it safe to start giving the puppy some raw foods as treats? I will want to get her on whatever kibble first, but is it safe to give a young puppy raw or are there immune systems more fragile?

What about salmon oil? When would it be safe to give the puppy salmon oil?

Sorry this is so long, I just have a lot of time to prepare for this puppy so I want to make sure I do everything right.

Edited to add pictures. They aren't great quality because it was really dark when we took them.

TheDogHouseBCMPD

Posted : 12/5/2007 10:24:09 AM

I really have nothing helpful to add....but what a cute pup!!

huskymom

Posted : 12/5/2007 12:42:01 PM

I really have no issues with feeding puppies raw food. Make sure its human grade and handle it properly and chances of parasites are low. Plus you worm pups that young anyway, so that should help as well. Giving a nice raw rec bone will really help with teething too.

You can switch a pup cold turkey to a different food, with a normal digestive track, the pup should do fine on its own. But adding a teaspoon of pumpkin to its meals for a day or two wouldn't hurt. If the food you are feeding is an all stages food, I'd go with that, plus raw. Just keep an eye on the pups growth and energy level as well as elimination.

Adding fish oil is fine too, but not really necessary if you're worried about it. Unless its cold and dry where you are and the pup spends alot of time in the elements. I add fish oil to help my dogs cope with the weather. They really don't need nearly as much in the summer.

She's adorable by the way.

SalemsMom

Posted : 12/5/2007 1:40:12 PM

Thanks so much for answering. I just wasn't sure about the raw. We have only given it to Salem recently. I'm really happy with it though. His winter coat has never looked as nice as it does since I started feeding the raw. I'm sure the bones will help with teething! We never did that for Salem, but I'm sure it would have been great.

Its nice to know I could switch her off the royal canin right away as well. I'm just paranoid about Salem getting it. He is looking so good I hate to do anything that could ruin it.

I went ahead and emailed Fromm to see what they say about giving there food to the puppy. It does say all life stages on it, but I figured I would see what they have to say as well. They normally email back pretty quickly. It would be nice if I could just have both dogs on the same kibble!