Switching puppy from raw to kibble - advice needed!

[MrsGface]

Hi all. We’re picking up our new springer puppy in a fortnight when he turns 8 weeks, and the breeder is currently feeding them raw food that he gets from a local abattoir. For lots of reasons, I really don’t want any raw meat in my house, and would like to just use kibble from the start.
Has anyone gone cold turkey (excuse the pun!) and switched to kibble 100% from the start? Could it harm the puppy in any way?
Thanks!

You could use Wolfworthy which is a "raw equivalent" kibble 80% protein. Suitable for puppies. People who raw feed use it and other similar foods like Eden for holidays etc where they don't want the faff of raw.

That way pups tum shouldn't get upset by the switch.

I gave mine a week of raw so she wasn’t dealing with too many changed at once, then straight to kibble. No issues at all.

You could use raw like Bella and Duke which comes frozen in brickettes and just looks like mince once defrosted. Keep in a tupperware and use a dog only spoon and it is ok. It doesn't have obvious meaty bits in it that other raw foods have. Alternatively there is dehydrated raw food called Pure which is in a powder form and you just rehydrate with water. Stir. Looks a bit like ready brek. That removes any ick factor or meat aversion if you are non meat family. They deliver and dog wolfs it down. Her poo isn't as good on that as the Bella and Duke (smaller, firmer, less smelly). Wolfworthy also good and I think worth getting in a pack as really useful for training treats. Puppy tummy's are still rather delicate so I would introduce anything gradually.

8 weeks is very young to be separating a pup from its mum? 10 weeks used to be the standard. I guess the breeder doesn’t want to lose money by feeding the pup more but I do wonder if this is the reason rescue centres are reporting increased amounts of dogs with behavioural problems?

Have a google about changing dog food, it should be done slowly over a course of weeks to avoid upsets.

Most dog food stores have a frozen raw section, it’s very sanitised and easy to use.
As GuyFawkesDay says there are some fantastic high protein dog foods available online.

There’s a fab website which explains how to source quality dog food and which ones to stay away from.

www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk/

Honestly? I wouldn’t switch. I feed raw and it is no problem. I certainly wouldn’t want to risk upsetting a puppy given the upheaval of moving to a new home.

Thanks all! We’ve looked at all about dog food, and had been thinking about Orijen or Acana, but will take a look at Wolfworthy too. We tried raw with old dog, and also rehydrated. Old dog had severe inflammatory bowel issues with regular blood in stool, and bizarrely the only food that ever worked for him was James Wellbeloved. I would like to start puppy off on something higher protein and with better nutritional value though.

We are pretty much a meat free house, and while I’m always happy to feed my dogs meat, I am very nervous about bacteria and cross contamination. I also want to be able to use as much of his food as possible for training which I really can’t do with raw.

Of to research Wolfworthy!

You could try fresco ‘dry’ food, it looks like kibble but it’s dehydrated raw food.
I think Bella and Duke also do a ‘dry’ kibble that is raw food dehydrated.

I have looked into wolfworthy before and imo, it’s no different to any other high meat grain free dry food tbh.
I would go so far as to say that describing it as a ‘raw equivalent’ is misleading and an outright lie.

The formula seems close to identical to Akela, crave, Aatu and other high meat grain free dry foods.

Funnily enough @Powertothepetal, I was just trying to work out how much of Wolfworthy is marketing hype and how it does actually differ from regular fried food.

I’m still keen to move straight to Orijen and not introduce another type of raw only to phase it out quickly. @Motorina do you mind me asking what age your dog was when you moved it to dry, and what breed?

That should be regular dried food

@MrsGface why not ring up and speak to a nutritionist at somewhere like Millies wolf heart and ask them what they advise , they will be a lot more knowledgeable . @Isawthathaggis 8 weeks is the norm for getting a pup of most breeds now.

I would just switch the standard way: 75% old food/25% new food for a few days, then 50/50 for a few days, 25/75 for another few days then carry on with 100% new food. This will minimise any tummy upsets from changing food.

I use Honey's raw food & it's probably higher-welfare than our own food. They will also provide advice. I'd not fancy trying to DIY meat straight from the abattoir.

We recently did very similar. Also a meat free house and have the same feelings as you about raw meat in the house.

Puppy came at 10 weeks. Her breeder sent food with her to last a good few weeks. But it was pretty mushy and bloody.

Millies Wolfheart advisor said it was fine to change over 48 hours. Pups poo was already not the best - it was very hot weather, she had moved home and had her worming medication etc. The raw didn't go down well anyway and she didn't take much at all of it. I mixed in her kibble over the 48 hours, increasing the % each time.

Her tummy coped. There was runny poo but she already had that anyway on the raw. Possibly just due to the move and her worming medication.

After a couple of days on just the kibble her poo really firmed up (sorry - puppies make you a little obsessive about poo!). And she likes the kibble.

Millies advised to mix her kibble with water to start as she was used to raw. She's 15 weeks now and loves it dry. And we can use it for treats which is really useful.

Enjoy your puppy

We had the same scenario with our puppy. we fed her raw until she had settled and then gradually introduced Tribal Freeze Dried puppy food. She loved it straight away and had no tummy issues.

@MrsGface she’s a beagle, and was 8 weeks when I got her and 9 when I transitioned her. Literally zero issues. ‘It’s in my bowl, it must be food…’. Ate the lot, zero bowl problems. Never looked back.

I’m still keen to move straight to Orijen and not introduce another type of raw only to phase it out quickly
Freeze dried raw, like that offered by Fresco is much like kibble, it’s dry and crunchy.

Poor wee thing... raw is the best for them. You might find the pup won't be infested in small brown rocks compared to delicious raw!

Thanks @xoJellyBean, but I won’t be feeding raw

I tried some Wolfworthy when we went camping for the first time with my raw fed dog - he showed no interest in it at all, even letting the biscuits drop out of his mouth.
He will eat other kibble though, skinners or jwb.
I personally would do a transition, to allow his gut to adjust - what I find quite handy is the natures menu free flow minces - even though they aren't great quality, they are handy to feed direct from the freezer - it defrosts quickly in the bowl but my dog eats his frozen. I'd buy one bag and use that perhaps to help with the transition?

Just bear in mind that puppies tend to get upset tummies anyway just with the change of environment. Any change of food should be really gradual at that age, over a 2 week period.

We feed ours on Country Hunter sachets and Forthglade cold pressed dry kibble. Our eldest has had colitis for years on and off but touch wood, these foods seem to really suit. We've got a cocker and a sprocker for reference.

www.naturesmenu.co.uk/chdpf-superfood-selection
forthglade.com/collections/dry-dog-food%20

They're similar to raw but without the hassle.

Our springer puppy wouldn’t eat the kibble :( tried different ones - added water - nope!

I wasn’t sure about the whole raw thing looked into it found a company that sales premade completes and also seems to source its meat ethically. I now have a very happy healthy 4 year old Springer spaniel!! Ohh the poos are tiny and compared to my sister kibble fed spaniel poos blurgh

I wasn’t sure but it’s in its own container (which I store in another sealed container at the bottom of the fridge to defrost) I use a separate spoon to drop it into a bowl - we’ve had no issues at all.

We spoke to Millies today and they advised transitioning him over 4 days to a 60/40 mix as it would be more gentle. They recommended Ranger or Riverside. Start with 75:25, then 50:50, then 25:75.
We’ll give that a try and see how we get on.

Ours started on Wellbeloved, and we moved to Orijen which was better. Have recently been trying Rocketo, which is a freeze-dried raw (so you rehydrate it w warm water). I got 4 kinds to try. She loves the beef one (which is the one I def don't want to stick w) and is really dubious about the insect one so far (that's the one I want her to have!) Haven't tried fish/chicken yet.

Poo is WAY better on Rocketo than any of the kibbles she's had.

Mine has Ranger mix with Applaws wet and we don’t have any bowel issues