DogPaddle Posted January 11, 2003 Share Posted January 11, 2003 Neighbours of ours have a 7 month old jack russel pup, they came over to see our new puppy and we got to talking about dog food. They feed iams but that's another conversation, what I was most interested in was that they feed Jack adult dog food and always have. They feel it is unneccassary to feed puppy food after all after children do not eat child food, sometimes they eat kiddified versions of adult food but the nutrients are essentially the same they say. I've never really thought about it, we always just fed puppy food. Is there any problem feeding a puppy adult dog food? Is puppy food just a petfoodco scam? What differences do BARF feeders make in their puppies diet vs their adult dogs diet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alicat613 Posted January 11, 2003 Share Posted January 11, 2003 I think usually puppy food is fed for too long, but then, I think most dogs are too fat! Giant breeds shouldn't be fed puppy food either. My vet doesn't really recommend it for any dogs but he doesn't really like kibble anyway. I have no idea about Jack Russels but it sounds like your neighbors have this as an all -breed philosophy. I do kinda think it's a ripoff, but then I'm anti-kibble myself. Notice a lot of the really premium brands don't even have a puppy food. Doesn't it seem logical that by amounts the puppy will get what he needs and poop the rest out? In the wild, after nursing the puppy would eat like an adult dog. After weaning, human babies don't get super high protein calcium loaded food, they get regular human food too. I don't feed my puppy any differently than I will when he is an adult, provided no problems arise like allergies. I feed cooked food, like the original Pitcairn diet. Hmmm...food for thought! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest roo Posted January 11, 2003 Share Posted January 11, 2003 I shall make a post in the morning concerning feeding ok Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DogPaddle Posted January 11, 2003 Author Share Posted January 11, 2003 Ok, I look forward to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hobbit Posted January 12, 2003 Share Posted January 12, 2003 We feed puppy food. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheetah Posted January 12, 2003 Share Posted January 12, 2003 I fed Iams puppy food, I don't know if it's a scam to make extra money or not...but I thought puppy food was supposed to be richer in some type of vitamin/protein/whatever to feed growing puppy bodies...but that could be a scam too! What do I know!? I don't think it really matters one way or the other if some of us fed puppy food and others fed adult food (and of course, others feed the BARF diet) if all of our dog's seem to be in good health now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hobbit Posted January 12, 2003 Share Posted January 12, 2003 Let me clarify my statement. We have herding bred dogs and feed puppy food. If I had a large or giant breed, I surely would not push his growth faster than the ligaments and tendons could grow. :wink: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DogPaddle Posted January 12, 2003 Author Share Posted January 12, 2003 Hmmm, this could be very good news, its been a pain to feed Kavik and Zaphod differnet dog foods. I think I'll try switching Zaphod over to the adult food and see how he does, we still have a number of visits to the vet for shots so I'll mention it to him as well. Glad I didn't jump all over the neighbours when they said they feed adult food to their puppy, I would have felt so silly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hobbit Posted January 12, 2003 Share Posted January 12, 2003 What breed of dog(s) do you have? I am sure that you've said, but I have forgotten. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DogPaddle Posted January 12, 2003 Author Share Posted January 12, 2003 Kavik is a 13month old Border Collie, Zaphod is a 10 week old mutt - the shelter thought maybe BC/Lab but there is something about his skull that is too squarish and broad, also his whole mouth, including his gums are black, he was 5 lbs at two weeks and I think (just doing my best guess here) he will be between 40 and 70 lbs when fully grown, its so hard to tell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bk_blue Posted January 12, 2003 Share Posted January 12, 2003 Can I just say that Zaphod is a very cool name for your dog... from [i]Hitchhiker's[/i] I assume? :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DogPaddle Posted January 12, 2003 Author Share Posted January 12, 2003 Yes and thanks, we were thinking of Ford but Zaphod (the puppy) had a certain crazy, obtuse, charm that we thought it matched his character better. :lol: Its too bad he was not a she; Trillian might have made a good name too. Other names we discarded, mostly because they would be too hard to shout when puppy was chewing on our cat or something urgent: Zarniwoop, fourty-two, Beeblebrox, Slartibartfast and Marvin because it was just too dull in comparison. Be Hoopy! :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bk_blue Posted January 12, 2003 Share Posted January 12, 2003 :D You definitely made the right choice. Does your Zaphod have two heads? :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DogPaddle Posted January 13, 2003 Author Share Posted January 13, 2003 [size=2]No Zaphod only has one head [/size] [size=6]but he does have four arms [/size] [size=3]well legs and that sortof makes up for the missing head dosn't it?[/size] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest roo Posted January 13, 2003 Share Posted January 13, 2003 Sorry i am so late back :oops: Been a bit busy with moderating issues :lol: When ever i have a litter i start my pups off on puppy weaning porridge Be it a dane or a frenchie I then add puppy complete food and or tinned puppy food. With the danes by the time they are 10 weeks i have them on junior and onto adult by 6months but every dog is different :lol: with the frenchies puppy food untill around 6 months. Puppy food is higher calarificaly, it has as we all know higher protien and fat content in it. (As does baby milk) It also has different levels of vitamins and minerals. Research of many kinds has been done over the years to see what is needed to help any animal grow correctly. but it is always geared to the average. Yes giant breeds do not need this high level of things, they do not need their growth forced but they do need the correct start. Toy breeds mature far quicker, but many a chihuahua breeder keeps their dog on puppy food throughout its life. There are so many different feeds out there. And ways of feeding. When i used to work for a dog food company :o Many many breeders would say, we need a smaller kibble or bigger kibble for our breed, or our breed is different to the others etc. That is one reason why there is so many different kibbles etc out there. Roo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DogPaddle Posted January 13, 2003 Author Share Posted January 13, 2003 Hmmm - and I thought BARF and other plans were complicated. I'm going out to buy more "make your own dog food" and BARF books that way I can skip the whole puppy food or no puppy food issue. we already supliment the kibble with people food: stewing beef, bone (beef shank?), blueberry and strawbery yogurt, eggs, crunchy vegatables etc. So switching all the way over shouldn't be to hard and I know the dogs will like it. The only thing is - There is no way I can get Kavik to eat anything that has even been siting next to apple cider viniger which seems to be mentioned in most make you own foods. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alicat613 Posted January 13, 2003 Share Posted January 13, 2003 I'd steer away from the flavored yogurts! They're all sugary. Parker just eats plain unsweetened yogurt and sometimes I squish berries in it. If you don't give them sugar they are satisfied with natural sugars. Apple cider vinegar? I've heard of it as a supplement, especially mixed with honey, but it certainly isn't in my "dog food". I do try to make his food good. I don't mix ingredients that I wouldn't want in there! Once I put oatmeal cooked with meat together. He didn't eat it and I thought well duh, I wouldn't either! So he gets oatmeal with fruit, but with meat he has rice or potato or sweet potato. Are you steering more towards a raw diet? Basically, when it comes to feeding home foods, there is raw with bones like BARF, raw without bones like in the new Pitcairn book, both kinds of raw with and without grains/carbs, and then homecooked like in the older Pitcairn book. Whew, huh!? There is a book by Kymythy Schulze that is really good. It is a raw no grain method, but very short and really good at helping you "get" the home feeding thing. The Pitcairn book is fabulous too. It is a raw with grains, but cook it if it makes you feel better, no bones diet LOL. When looking at the books don't worry too much about which diet. Go ahead and get books different from the diet you are headed for, they all have a lot of great useful info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DogPaddle Posted January 14, 2003 Author Share Posted January 14, 2003 From what I've seen so far in my limited research I think I'll go with raw meats but cooked grains (oatmeal and veg.) and bones mostly for chewing (uncooked). I might try to find a make your own kibble option because I like the convenience when we travel especially on a week long camping or canoe trip. Allicat - I know, too much suger - no good, he so loves his strawberry and blueberry yogurt though, shouldn't be to difficult to switch to plain yogurt with frozen berries blended in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alicat613 Posted January 14, 2003 Share Posted January 14, 2003 I use frozen berries right now, makes it super easy! Oats that you buy are already cooked, so you can just soak them. Parkers favorite breakfast and his big sweet of the day is oatmeal soaked in milk with squished blueberries, and a peanut butter banana. He's a funny dog - he refuses to eat meat at breakfast! Other grain ideas: barley - slow to digest, good protein rices - there are like a million kinds so I mix them for variety sweet potato - like dog candy LOL and great vitamin source potato - I vary red, russet, yellow etc but NO GREEN PARTS/sprouting Here are some BARF sites for you [url]http://www.barfdogfood.com/[/url] [url]http://www.njboxers.com/faqs.htm[/url] [url]http://ighawaii.com/naturally/newsletter/barf.html[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiger Posted January 15, 2003 Share Posted January 15, 2003 I don't feed puppy food. Canidae doesn't have a puppy formula and is supposed to be for all life stages. I just feed more of it to Kato. He looks great so I'm satisfied. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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