What and how much?
WHAT I FED YOUR PUP FROM AGE 5 WEEKS UNTIL 8 WEEKS
At four weeks, I introduce well cooked ground whole chicken mixed with dried goat milk powder. This mixture is shifted over to ground whole chicken mixed with grass fed Bison heart, liver, spleen, kidney. At six weeks I begin to introduce kibble. They also get eggs or sardines in water daily. Eventually they are fed eggs with oatmeal and sardines in the morning, ground whole chicken with bison organs at night. Kibble is mixed in to both meals at a ratio of about 50:50. This is the food they will have before joining your household.
RAW AND HOMEMADE
Homemade is better than kibble. But it can be challenging to get the nutrition correct, especially the calcium-phosphorus ratio. And the source for vitamin D must be addressed. Unless you have some knowledge of nutrition or chemistry, it might be worth seeking expertise if you decide to make your own dog food. The typical mistake is to give food that is too high in calcium for the amount of phosphorus available. For pups, I have discovered that the best ratio is 0.8:1 for the Calcium:phosphorus ratio. Most dog kibbles contain too much calcium. For this reason, supplementing with meat is beneficial to the development of healthy joints.
I would not feed raw until the pup is 4-6 months of age because uncooked meat from facilities that process large numbers of animals are invariably going to eventually have some bacterial or cocci contamination. Young pups are still developing their immune systems and cannot handle a huge dose of cocci or E.coli contaminated meat. Unless you grow and butcher your own meat, cook it for your young pup until the pup has a fully developed immune system. I try to make sure to include fish at least three times a week. I am lucky in that I have access to organic Menhadden fish meal, but for those without access to this, cooked salmon or a can of sardines (IN WATER, NO SALT ADDED) three times a week is great. Dogs cannot handle salt like humans. They end up pooping it out and it causes diarrhea. The diarrhea takes valuable nutrition with it, depriving your pup of necessary nutrition.
I think continuing the feeding of half kibble with half cooked meat and 3-4 times a week supplements with sardines, eggs or cooked fish is a superb diet for a pup ages 2-4 months and the meat can be slowly cut back as the pup gets older. The best case scenario is this diet is continued throughout the dog's life.
KIBBLES
Store kibble in a cool, dark place. Heat and light will cause the fat in kibble to go bad. Kibbles vary tremendously in quality. Time spent researching your dog's food is time well spent. Fish based kibbles from large fish (haddock, cod, tuna, flounder, whitefish) are not ok for breeding stock because of the content of heavy metals which specifically interfere with fetal development and nursing milk quality. It is not known how heavy metals affect sperm quality. Fish based kibbles from small fish are better (herring, anchovies, Menhadden) Fish based dog food has benefits because of the rich nutritional value of fish. Personally I feed N&D Farmina No Grain Chicken and Pomegranate. I recommend all the N&D Farmina products and they can be found at www.petflow.com. If you feed your dog a non-fish based kibble, then try to supplement their diet 2-3 times a week with a can of sardines or cooked salmon. Sardines have less heavy metals than most other fish and provide the following critical nutrients that can be low in kibble dog foods: iodine, vitamin D, vitamin B12, and omega 3 fatty acids (the good fats).
BEWARE PUPPY KIBBLE
Never feed your pup puppy food unless it is specifically designed for large breed puppies. Adult dog food or general purpose all around dog food is just fine. Puppy kibble is associated with the development of hip dysplasia and other bone problems because the dog's bones outgrow their connective tissue.
NO DAIRY, NO GRAIN
Folks sometimes ask me if they can give their dogs table scraps. The answer is yes if the scraps do NOT contain: dairy products such as cheese, ice cream, yogurt and milk, or bread products such as bagels, pasta, and muffins. Most dogs are lactose intolerant and can get pancreatitis/bloat if given dairy products. Also dairy products have an incorrect calcium to phosphorus ratio. I also do not recommend any dog food containing grains because grain products produce gas and expand with moisture and therefore can cause bloat.
HOW MUCH?
Some puppies/dogs will eat just what they need and never overeat and other puppies/dogs will overeat and get fat if given free choice. From age 2 months to 3 months, let the puppy eat as much as it would like when offered food 3-4 times a day. Then, starting at three months, put the food down, start your 10 minute timer. After 10 minutes, pick it up. That is the most your puppy/dog should be fed three times a day until he/she is 4-6 months old. At 4-6 months old, go to twice a day feeding.
WHAT ABOUT BONES?
Bones are great. Bones are the dog's natural toothbrush. Big bulky bones from cows, lamb, goats, buffalo and pigs are fine. I recommend you boil big bones before giving to any pup under four months of age because of the possibility of meat on the bone containing bacteria or cocci that a young pup with a partially developed immune system might get an infection from. Also, bird and fish bones are too sharp and can lodge in many places of a dog's anatomy. So take precautions, but dental health is very important for the dog's overall well being.
At four weeks, I introduce well cooked ground whole chicken mixed with dried goat milk powder. This mixture is shifted over to ground whole chicken mixed with grass fed Bison heart, liver, spleen, kidney. At six weeks I begin to introduce kibble. They also get eggs or sardines in water daily. Eventually they are fed eggs with oatmeal and sardines in the morning, ground whole chicken with bison organs at night. Kibble is mixed in to both meals at a ratio of about 50:50. This is the food they will have before joining your household.
RAW AND HOMEMADE
Homemade is better than kibble. But it can be challenging to get the nutrition correct, especially the calcium-phosphorus ratio. And the source for vitamin D must be addressed. Unless you have some knowledge of nutrition or chemistry, it might be worth seeking expertise if you decide to make your own dog food. The typical mistake is to give food that is too high in calcium for the amount of phosphorus available. For pups, I have discovered that the best ratio is 0.8:1 for the Calcium:phosphorus ratio. Most dog kibbles contain too much calcium. For this reason, supplementing with meat is beneficial to the development of healthy joints.
I would not feed raw until the pup is 4-6 months of age because uncooked meat from facilities that process large numbers of animals are invariably going to eventually have some bacterial or cocci contamination. Young pups are still developing their immune systems and cannot handle a huge dose of cocci or E.coli contaminated meat. Unless you grow and butcher your own meat, cook it for your young pup until the pup has a fully developed immune system. I try to make sure to include fish at least three times a week. I am lucky in that I have access to organic Menhadden fish meal, but for those without access to this, cooked salmon or a can of sardines (IN WATER, NO SALT ADDED) three times a week is great. Dogs cannot handle salt like humans. They end up pooping it out and it causes diarrhea. The diarrhea takes valuable nutrition with it, depriving your pup of necessary nutrition.
I think continuing the feeding of half kibble with half cooked meat and 3-4 times a week supplements with sardines, eggs or cooked fish is a superb diet for a pup ages 2-4 months and the meat can be slowly cut back as the pup gets older. The best case scenario is this diet is continued throughout the dog's life.
KIBBLES
Store kibble in a cool, dark place. Heat and light will cause the fat in kibble to go bad. Kibbles vary tremendously in quality. Time spent researching your dog's food is time well spent. Fish based kibbles from large fish (haddock, cod, tuna, flounder, whitefish) are not ok for breeding stock because of the content of heavy metals which specifically interfere with fetal development and nursing milk quality. It is not known how heavy metals affect sperm quality. Fish based kibbles from small fish are better (herring, anchovies, Menhadden) Fish based dog food has benefits because of the rich nutritional value of fish. Personally I feed N&D Farmina No Grain Chicken and Pomegranate. I recommend all the N&D Farmina products and they can be found at www.petflow.com. If you feed your dog a non-fish based kibble, then try to supplement their diet 2-3 times a week with a can of sardines or cooked salmon. Sardines have less heavy metals than most other fish and provide the following critical nutrients that can be low in kibble dog foods: iodine, vitamin D, vitamin B12, and omega 3 fatty acids (the good fats).
BEWARE PUPPY KIBBLE
Never feed your pup puppy food unless it is specifically designed for large breed puppies. Adult dog food or general purpose all around dog food is just fine. Puppy kibble is associated with the development of hip dysplasia and other bone problems because the dog's bones outgrow their connective tissue.
NO DAIRY, NO GRAIN
Folks sometimes ask me if they can give their dogs table scraps. The answer is yes if the scraps do NOT contain: dairy products such as cheese, ice cream, yogurt and milk, or bread products such as bagels, pasta, and muffins. Most dogs are lactose intolerant and can get pancreatitis/bloat if given dairy products. Also dairy products have an incorrect calcium to phosphorus ratio. I also do not recommend any dog food containing grains because grain products produce gas and expand with moisture and therefore can cause bloat.
HOW MUCH?
Some puppies/dogs will eat just what they need and never overeat and other puppies/dogs will overeat and get fat if given free choice. From age 2 months to 3 months, let the puppy eat as much as it would like when offered food 3-4 times a day. Then, starting at three months, put the food down, start your 10 minute timer. After 10 minutes, pick it up. That is the most your puppy/dog should be fed three times a day until he/she is 4-6 months old. At 4-6 months old, go to twice a day feeding.
WHAT ABOUT BONES?
Bones are great. Bones are the dog's natural toothbrush. Big bulky bones from cows, lamb, goats, buffalo and pigs are fine. I recommend you boil big bones before giving to any pup under four months of age because of the possibility of meat on the bone containing bacteria or cocci that a young pup with a partially developed immune system might get an infection from. Also, bird and fish bones are too sharp and can lodge in many places of a dog's anatomy. So take precautions, but dental health is very important for the dog's overall well being.