Puppy survival thread. Oct/Nov fireworks!

[sandwiches77]

New thread...

Oof @Goawayangryman that's a lot! Can you just do it for one meal?

So, kibble from the kong is acceptable (Kong sealed with sweet potato but kibble not mixed in with anything) also kibble from the puzzle feeder and her Kong hide and treat ball. It is not acceptable from her bowl or my hand. If the kibble has fallen out the Kong onto her bed it will also be eaten, kibble placed directly on the bed is not good!

Lol yea @tizwozliz mine won't eat from bowl at all but only really likes kibble mixed with wet food which is too messy for most puzzle toys so I stuff it in her buffalo horn which she then will eat!

Meanwhile, all the other lab owners are researching slow feeders and lab proof food containers!

@tizwozliz it shows your dog is highly intelligent or even a genius and is much happier with the contrafreeloading theory.

Aria20
Which wet food do you mix with your pup's kibble?

Newboy has been on chicken and rice for the past few days due to the infection but when he finally goes back to his normal kibble I'd like to be ale to mix in a bit of wet food.

@BaconAndAvocado currently using pets at home "step up to nature" tins they scored quite highly on that all about dog food website.

[quote Goawayangryman]@MrsHerculePoirot off to investigate... She needs around 800g a day of their food unfortunately which comes in at £115 every 4 weeks. Ouch.[/quote]
This is why I had to sack off raw food. For his size and age he was supposed to be on 2kg of it a day... I did a couple of weeks of it to see how it when but my bank account couldn't cope!

I had to admit we can't afford raw either. We have moved to a better kibble this week though. We've moved to lakes heritage, which seems to be a local ish brand to Cumbria and it's not on allaboutdogfood, but the people in the shop all said they use this brand for their dogs as it's grain free and good quality. It's definitely firmed up his poos again (they were quite firm when we were giving him half raw half kibble, but went very very sloppy when we stopped the raw).

We've had a poop breakthrough this week, all of a sudden it's exactly as it should be. He's been having pumpkin puree from the carved ones last week in his Kong and it's really helped.

I've worked out costings for various food and the Eden did work out well for a high quality complete, especially as I am moving him to the VAT free working dog one in a few weeks.

A 14kg sack has lasted since September, and we still have about 4/5kg left.

I'm going to look at MWH and others and see if there's as good an option out there but cheaper. I can't really feed raw with the kids (& me!!) kissing him and butternut works out ££££. I'd rather feed a little less quality kibble and top up with interesting Kong/lickimat/chews/toppers on his meals

Thanks Aria20 I'll take a look into that 🙂

Oh the lakes heritage is WCF!!! They used to have great (cheap!) Petrol stations in the 90s along with belting horsey shops😂

We had a good day today. 🐶 The puppy had a romp off lead with some new friends: a poodle and a collie, both about his age. It really seems to me that in the past few days he has started to understand how to play with other dogs (and how not to). Then we went for a walk in the woods on a new long lead that seems to work better than the previous one. He did grab the lead a few times but otherwise did very well. We did some recall practice which was a bit hit or miss! When we came home he was tired but very happy.

Had a lovely and interesting chat today. Bought a biothane long lead as I got sick of washing the standard one and it was disgusting after the beach.

I bought a cheap one, and it's neon yellow. Went to big park today and we met a partially sighted guy with his guide dog and he asked where it was from cos he could see it and it really helped him understand what was going on as FawkesPup is black and he can't usually make put where dogs and leads are.

I'd never thought of it before but glad I got the brightest line I could now.

I'm definitely in the lookout for any suggestions to get firmer poos.
Puppy's were a lot better on the raw food diet, but the cost isn't sustainable. He's gone back on his Beta large breed puppy kibble, which is what he was on at the breeders, but his poo is loose again.

Beta scores 63% on allaboutdogfood so it's not bad but not brilliant.

Maybe have a look at what might suit you? Loads of choice from UK manufacturers these days

Thanks I have checked Beta on there, but I'm not sure what to switch him to to solve the problem. It needs to be a large breed puppy one and I'm not really sure what to look for kibble-wise to improve his poo.

@Returnoftheowl do they do a grain free version? That might make a difference?

Eden seems to come up on there as good quality and not too expensive especially if you can buy in bulk? Have you used the sliders to put in breed/size/age and how much you want to spend? Then look at the uk ones?

@Returnoftheowl sorry I don't know how to link but I found this it's the also by purina who make beta, it's their medium and large breed puppy grain free food.

Eden have now brought out their puppy food, the 80/20 food is now only allowed to be described as for adult dogs rather than all life stages. Something to do with calcium levels and large breeds. I don't really understand the regulations or how much it matters but worth being aware of if you have a large breed.

80/20 is very high meat content for puppies. They will need to eat a lot of it to get them to put on weight and that then leads to loose poos as their smaller digestive symptons find it hard to process that amount of food.

If your puppy is underweight of the correct weight a 50/50 mix of carbs and meat is better. They will not see not much physical food and it will allow them to grow and be the correct weight without stressing out their digestion and hopefully less loose poos.

If your puppy is overweight then a 70/30 mix would be better.

However of course all puppies are individuals and will do their own thing just when you think you have the food sorted.

For occasional loose paste we use logic charcoal paste will get a link

Interesting @PollyRoullson mine has been on Eden from the off, I fed the guidance amount (sometimes less as he gets treats/chews etc) and he's tracked his 45 degree weight gain line at the vet almost exactly. I asked about condition and weight gain at his last visit and they said that's what the look for.