# Preferred puppy diet??



## Anthony8858 (Sep 18, 2011)

While searching for our pup, we had the opportunity to speak to a number of breeders.
One of the questions we did ask all the breeders..., "what do you feed your pups"?

The answers we got were all over the place.
We were told:
Purina Pro Plan
Royal Canin GS puppy
Other dry food with raw chop meat and yogurt
Dry food with fruits and veggies.

I'd like to hear what you fed your pup?


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## VTcoach (Jun 28, 2005)

Orijen dry and occasionally some treats like meat, yogurt, cottage cheese.


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## hps (Jul 18, 2011)

4 month old Ritz gets 1.5 cups of Exceed lamb and rice and about 3/4 cup of blue buffalo/canned lamb and rice. Twice daily. (coat,skin,stools look really well).


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## Lialla (Jan 12, 2011)

i feed orijen large breed puppy


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## sable123 (Jul 11, 2010)

Anthony8858 said:


> While searching for our pup, we had the opportunity to speak to a number of breeders.
> One of the questions we did ask all the breeders..., "what do you feed your pups"?
> 
> The answers we got were all over the place.
> ...


You are on the right track. Depends on where you live because there are some regional brands that are better. But PP and RC are fine.

The most important thing with a puppy both nutritionally and from a training standpoint is consistency. You will see on here many people having trouble with puppies and the cause is them, always adding useless stuff, overfeeding and switching foods.

Same food, same times. Let your puppy eat until it is full 3 times a day until it is about 3 months. Then see how much food keeps it at good weight. The bags are not perfect but provide good guidance.

Don't let anyone tell you Orijen for $3lb is better than Pro Plan for $1.25lb. It just isn't so. In fact, if you have time, you will see on here much more success with the tested foods like Pro Plan than the wannabees like Orijen. There are foods at $.75lb that are just as good.


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## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

I fed my puppy an adult kibble from day 1 (Precise). I also supplement with raw chicken leg quarters and give raw frozen veggies as treats.


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## BlackGSD (Jan 4, 2005)

I don''t feed puppy food either.


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## TechieDog (Jan 13, 2011)

The breeder had my pup on Pro Plan so I continued it to start. I've looked at other foods but so far I have not figured out what would be any better. He seems to do ok on the Pro Plan so I will continue with it for now as long as it works for him.


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## JakodaCD OA (May 14, 2000)

I also do not feed puppy food..at the time I put Masi on Diamond L & R, now she's on TWO..


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## ChancetheGSD (Dec 19, 2007)

I don't use puppy food either. Eevee is currently being raised on Sportmix 24/20 with a little bit of Nuture Heavenly Harvest thrown in the kibble bin so it gets used up. Lol! I also feed other things like pumpkin, yogurt, cottage cheese, ect but mostly I stick with raw meats and eggs. She gets raw green tripe almost daily and I feed raw bones a couple times a week. I also feed a variety of canned foods mixed in too.


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## Anthony8858 (Sep 18, 2011)

Well, she decided to skip the last two meals. She's been eating the Pro Plan, and I've also used it for treats.

She had a taste from our other dog's bowl of IAM's Healthy Natural, and now she snubs her nose at the Pro Plan.

She wants the IAMs natural.

Now what?


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## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

Anthony8858 said:


> Well, she decided to skip the last two meals. She's been eating the Pro Plan, and I've also used it for treats.
> 
> She had a taste from our other dog's bowl of IAM's Healthy Natural, and now she snubs her nose at the Pro Plan.
> 
> ...


Who cares what she wants? She's a puppy. When I was a kid I snubbed my nose at vegetables after I had a taste of chocolate. Doesn't mean my parents gave me chocolate for the rest of my life.


Feed her what you want her to eat. Put her food in front of her for 15 minutes and if she doesn't eat it, pick it back up again. I guarantee that in less than two days she'll be eating her ProPlan like it was ambrosia. This is one of those little moments that determines who is in charge-- you or the dog.


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## Anthony8858 (Sep 18, 2011)

Emoore said:


> Who cares what she wants? She's a puppy. When I was a kid I snubbed my nose at vegetables after I had a taste of chocolate. Doesn't mean my parents gave me chocolate for the rest of my life.
> 
> 
> Feed her what you want her to eat. Put her food in front of her for 15 minutes and if she doesn't eat it, pick it back up again. I guarantee that in less than two days she'll be eating her ProPlan like it was ambrosia. This is one of those little moments that determines who is in charge-- you or the dog.


 
Yes, I knew this.
I just wanted to hear from prior experiences


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## Rachel1422 (Aug 30, 2011)

I have been trying Orijen LBP for the last three days but we have watery, jet like diarrhea. I think I am going to switch her to my adult dogs Horizon Legacy food. DOn't want to upset her system but Orijen is not working!


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## Adolph (Aug 31, 2011)

*Excellent Advice*

Excellent Advice - Thank You and I am glad I found this post...



sable123 said:


> You are on the right track.
> The most important thing with a puppy both nutritionally and from a training standpoint is consistency. You will see on here many people having trouble with puppies and the cause is them, always adding useless stuff, overfeeding and switching foods.
> 
> Same food, same times. Let your puppy eat until it is full 3 times a day until it is about 3 months. Then see how much food keeps it at good weight. The bags are not perfect but provide good guidance.


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## RMF (Oct 1, 2011)

When we got Deezul, we put him on the Puppy Chow Healthy Morsels. He ate it with no problems. He liked it too.

Our vet suggested Puppy Chow for large breed, so we got a small bag of that. He liked it ok, but not like the Healthy Morsels. So we decided to mix them together, and he's been tearing it up ever since. 

Haven't had any problems with mixing them, he's growing fine, health is fine, so we're going to continue with what works for us.


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## kr16 (Apr 30, 2011)

sable123 said:


> You are on the right track. Depends on where you live because there are some regional brands that are better. But PP and RC are fine.
> 
> The most important thing with a puppy both nutritionally and from a training standpoint is consistency. You will see on here many people having trouble with puppies and the cause is them, always adding useless stuff, overfeeding and switching foods.
> 
> ...


Let my puppy eat until he is full? Seriously, does that mean keep feeding him as long as he keeps eating?


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## Wolfgeist (Dec 4, 2010)

I fed my puppy and still feed raw from day one, and he is doing incredibly well on a raw diet.


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## pwillow (Jun 2, 2011)

I would not agree with the 15 minutes thing, personally that did not work for our picky puppy until we took it away after 1 minute. Then less than a minute. 
We started doing this following the advice of our trainer at instantly our food problems went away.
As far as what shes eating, I started her off on a raw diet to determine the cause of her itching. Turns out she has a grain allergy. So now she eats the NaturalBalance kibble –Non grain-. To make things "interesting" I grate some Vital sausage over her food; also non grain. 

http://promotions.petsmart.com/landing/freshpet/vital.shtml


I also supplement with Fishoil once a week and 1/4tsp of probiotic a day. For treats outside of her meal time (as to not disrupt the kibble digestion) she gets chicken necks and frozen chicken feet with the nails removed. I also dehydrate fresh liver from the butcher for a treat to coax her inside after she “gets busy” aka takes a dump dump. I wouldn’t give that as a training treat though because I think it might have a lot of Iron in it.

For teething she enjoys bully sticks and free range bison trachea (these are both dehydrated/hard)
And also she has a few soup bone pieces that are cut up lengthwise. Sometimes she gets eggs, yogurt and cottage cheese. She is pretty, she is smart and she is kind but the allergy thing also makes her a little high maintenance.


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