Cooking For Puppy

[Pets In Stone]

Hi there,

I am a new first time puppy owner. Maurice is 11 weeks old and we have had him one week. He is beagle x cocker spaniel and the cutest thing !!!

When we picked him up, the pet store told us to feed him puppy biscuits in the morning and in the afternoon and nothing else. But i am finding he is starving and dives into his food, and once finished is looking for more.

Two questions

1. How often DO i feed him ? we all know that we like food every four hours or so.

2. When can i start making some home made food for him ... ie mince, rice and vegies and gravy (or whatever suggestions you all may have) remembering i am new to this.

Next is my biting issue, but i will read through your posts, i may find my answer there...

[Dog_Horse_Girl]

Hi and welcome!

Firstly, the mix of breeds in your pup suggests that you will be conned into thinking he is starving...that's just a breed trait of the beagle and they're very food-motivated, as is the cocker. You can use this to your advantage in obedience training b/c your pup will work very hard for food treats! Just be sure to monitor his weight b/c both breeds can be prone to gaining weight if the diet/exercise mix is out of whack.

Secondly, the pet shop is incorrect. Young pups need three feeds per day, morning, lunchtime, and evening and often a snack before bed too. Pups are growing fast and need smaller but more frequent meals than grown dogs. Reduce to twice-daily meals when the pup is about five months of age.

I'm not sure why you would cook for your pup b/c dogs don't need cooked foods, in fact, their digestive systems cope much better with raw foods than cooked or processed. I feed my dogs on raw, whole foods, based on the principle that this is what they have evolved to eat and that we should mimic their "natural diet" as closely as is reasonable and possible. This means that my dogs eat mostly raw meaty bones, with raw offal, raw pulverised vegetation (veg and fruits), and some extras including tinned sardines, raw eggs, and yoghurt with probiotics from time to time.

Before switching diets on your pup, I'd encourage you to do some research. I spent months researching raw foods diets before changing over and my dogs haven't looked back. But a good dry food is quite acceptable for most ppl and their dogs, as long as it's not something from the supermarket or lower end of the scale nutritionally. If you can afford it, opt for a truly super premium kibble such as Eagle Pack Holistic...well worth the money in terms of superior nutrition and quality ingredients.

I hope this helps.

[wyvernblade]

I have a 9 week old puppy now so I am going through the same things you are! I feed natural, none of my dogs get commercial foods, there is a bit more preperation involved but I prefer it. As a guide this is what my guy gets fed, varying from day to day.

raw beef or chicken mince mixed with vegetables (Beans, peas, creamed corn, carrots-you can buy tinned home brand vegies,makes it easy and cheap to feed) he has a tablespoon of natural yoghurt mixed through and small amount of garlic and seaweed meal (kelp) Then he'll have a lamb neck or shank. Then chicken necks or thigh pieces (Necks are good for puppies but are too small for most older dogs so switch to thigh or maryland pieces, or even chicken carcasses)

He'll also have cottage cheese mixed with either baked beans or 3 bean mix or sardines, and then either porridge oats, or cooked brown rice, with an egg mixed through. You can vary the vegetables, but it's important that they get a mix of beef. lamb and chicken. You can also give offal, cheek flaps, etc once a week as well. All my dogs get these meals, different one each day, they are all healthy and seem to relish the food no problems, even my fussy little yorkshire terrier!

[Nekhbet]

Look up threads on BARF, and also the website www.barfworld.com

at the moment if you plan on swapping, no matter how old the dog is, the trick is to do it slowly. Never replace whole meals or give large quantities of new food because it can give them an unpset tummy (and a lot of cleaning when it comes out for you )

introduce things like chicken wings and chicken necks at the moment (raw only NEVER feed cooked bones of any sort) once or twice a week and then you can up the amount. Keeps them occupied for a while too.

Dont go for highly manufactured things, stay as natural as possible. Mince is good but I find its bolted down quickly and look around for one thats not too fatty or too full of offal until your puppy is used to it. Dont bother cooking it, raw is always better then cooked when it comes to meat.

And yes, up the number of meals to 3 times a day and a little evening snack, but keep them smaller. Puppies need quite a lot of food but if he starts getting fat cut back the meal sizes. Their tummies are small adn they cant hold a lot of food so thats why they need more meals. Even as adults I beleive in 2 meals a day, once a day just isnt fair on my dogs.

Dont be sucked into leaving food lying around between meals, your dog is part beagle which means they are ... well ... piggys when it comes to eating so you could feed it 24 hrs a day and they would still sidle up to you with those big brown eyes looking for more hehehehe set the meal times adn food only comes out at that time. Helps with begging problems later too ... oh and NEVER feed your puppy from what you are eating, off the kitchen bench or off your plate or they will expect that to be a source of food too, could create a scrounger.

[ReXy]

(slightly OT) excellent advice.... i have a 10 week old pup and altho i have no food feedining issues i still like to read everyones replies give u little tips hints and info that you may not have known,, i have learnt soooooo much from DOl and find it invaluable.. love it thanks guys..

[Ons]

my puppy, now 16 weeks old, growing up way too fast, was throwing up flem first thing in the morning so I always make sure I give her a bone biscuit before bed. No more problems! Just think their little tummies get to empty otherwise. Oh and now I could never forget the bone biscuit, she goes outside then runs into the kitchen waiting - guess she will for the rest of her life

[Keen]

Hi and welcome!

Firstly, the mix of breeds in your pup suggests that you will be conned into thinking he is starving...that's just a breed trait of the beagle and they're very food-motivated, as is the cocker.

How can you say that! Cocker spaniels are just born with big stomach bones... Mine really IS starving, honest!

[ReXy]

aww loo at those big beautifull puppy eyes how can u say no to that... sweeettttt

[caffiend42]

aww loo at those big beautifull puppy eyes how can u say no to that... sweeettttt

Easy...look at the waist next!

I gotta say though, I don't quite get the "can't say no" thing when it is just not in the pooch's interest for you to give in. YOU are the one to decide how much they eat - they are no indicator of their hunger at all!

Pets in Stone - DON'T give in to those pleading eyes! It is too sad to see a beagle, or any dog for that matter, overweight and unfit.

Go to a good puppy preschool and get some good training advice. Depending on how long the poor little guy was in the pet shop, he may not have had enough interaction with his littermates to know what is and isn't acceptable with biting. To a large extent, it is part of play, but he has to know how much is too much - and YOU have to tell him that. Be firm and consistent.

More pics please!

[ReXy]

aww loo at those big beautifull puppy eyes how can u say no to that... sweeettttt

Easy...look at the waist next!

I gotta say though, I don't quite get the "can't say no" thing when it is just not in the pooch's interest for you to give in. YOU are the one to decide how much they eat - they are no indicator of their hunger at all!

Pets in Stone - DON'T give in to those pleading eyes! It is too sad to see a beagle, or any dog for that matter, overweight and unfit.

Go to a good puppy preschool and get some good training advice. Depending on how long the poor little guy was in the pet shop, he may not have had enough interaction with his littermates to know what is and isn't acceptable with biting. To a large extent, it is part of play, but he has to know how much is too much - and YOU have to tell him that. Be firm and consistent.

More pics please!

i knw you are right caff... just sooooo cute .. i agree 100% tho... i have a friend with a black cocker and he is a little on the tubby side.. i keep telling them to cut back on his food, treats... more pics pleasee

[Keen]

I do know what you mean, Caffiend42, and I am not sure why there are so many overweight pets around... I guess there are too many owners who don't equate overfeeding with cruelty. (Although I once knew a woman who overfed her dog because it was agressive and she was aftraid of it - the huge size kept it slow and less agressive!) My other pet peeve... is not clipping nails because 'he doesn't like it!" But my cocker does have a sooky face, and when she gets into trouble from me, she puts it on in bucket-loads.