I am receiving a GSD puppy in the next few weeks. He has been fed RAW by the breeder, but my wife refuses to feed RAW. So therefore, what dry kibble should I feed my new puppy. I have looked at Canidae (but they changed their ingredients), Natures Variety, Wellness & Innova. I am completely confused and overwhelmed. *The reason my wife doesn't want to feed RAW is because she is not too sure about it and also she is afraid of not doing it right, plus dry food is alot easier*
I feed Caniade and know quite a few others that do also. I also know some folks that feed Innova Large Breed Puppy. You just ned to pick something and see if it works for your pup. Not all foods work for all dogs.
none of the aforementioned can beat THE HONEST KITCHEN DEHYDRATED RAW, so you and your wife might both be happy. Put a pup from a raw food healthy diet to a kibble defeats what your breeder has done for you and your dogs' combined future.
There are several other raw foods which don't look like MEAT are frozen etc, come in patties.
Then, a GSD as a whole, is NOT a convenient dog, its a demanding breed, have you and your wife thought it through enough? If you can't do that little for the dog, maybe go with a companion breed instead.
Please check first back with the breeder if there are any health warranties associated with the diet the breeder was feeding (raw). If so, then you need to continue on it and your best source for how to do that is your breeder.
If there are no warranties associated with the diet, then you have some options as recommended by others. Canidae is not a bad food, even with the new ingredient list. If it doesnt work, you can change to a different one. But anyways, soak some kibble in some water and then add raw beef to it. You can give raw carrots for chewing and nibbling. Feed at least twice a day.
In response to Kerschberger, my wife and I have considered the demands of this breed. I am all for a RAW diet, but my wife refuses. I am trying to find the best compromise.
Thank you to all of those that have provided suggestions...
I have one more question...how do I switch from RAW to dry kibble? The breeder feeds Common Sense Raw Food and it is VERY VERY expensive.
Elkoor gave good advice about checking with your breeder about your contract. If you go to kibble you may lose your guarantee. If your wife is that adament about raw feeding then you might want to switch breeders.
If it's no problem with the breeder as far as switching, I would go ahead and buy 10 lbs of one of the dehydrated raw diets and mix it with the kibble you choose until the dehydrated is gone. I'll pick up a bag of it myself and do it as well as throwing my dogs chicken quarters when they're on sale. They like to munch on raw vegetables too...mostly carrots.
The problem is my wife is not sold on the health benefits of RAW...I have shown her many websites etc but she still thinks that it is dangerous...She does not want me to feed RAW to the dog...I am not going to be disrespectful of her wishes...the dog is as much hers as it is mine.
if your wife refuses to feed raw, you may try to get her to go with K9 Kraving, which is raw, but it comes in neat and convenient tubes, like sausage, and they are easy to feed, just tell her it's canned food but saving the environment by using less packaging
If you are more on a budget, and have to feed kibble, I love Royal Canin. I have fed several different foods, including Innova, Nature's Variety (befoer they changed to using meals) Canidae, and Solid Gold. I have found the Royal Canin gives great coat and also very little poop that is dry the next day and very easy to clean up. I used to fee K9Kraving but for now can not afford it.
I would get enough of what the puppy is currently eating to last at least a couple of weeks. Feed the puppy the same as the breeder has for at least the first couple of days in your home. Moving to a strange home is stressfull enough without also being fed something TOTALLY strange from day 1.
After a few days, start mixing what the pup is eating at the breeders with the kibble and SLOWLY increase the kibble and decrease the other stuff. You need to do WHAT EVER IT TAKES to convince your wife that this needs to be done for the puppys sake. And if there is NO way she will go for a SLOW change to kibble, Make HER take the puppy out and clean up the "runs" it will likely get from a fast switch to a different food.
You could always cook the food. It is not as good as raw but better than commercial dog food IMO. Here is one ladies site and recipes, book etc. www.naturaldogfood.com I haven't ever tried the prepared raw foods so can't comment except that they are kinda spendy. Orijen is a good food but I think its to rich for a pup. I feed it to my adult dogs.
I was in a similar situation to yourself a few month back when i acquired my new puppy. His breeder is one of the top breeders in North America and raised the puppies on "Common Sense". It is a Frozen Raw diet that is prepared for you much in the same way as K9-Kraving. It comes in 3lb logs and is a mixture of meat (including liver and heart), essential oils, vegetables and other ingredients which are all human grade.
There is no doubt that it will be more expensive initially as the recommended feeding for a puppy is 5% of their body weight daily, hence, at 6 months of age you are looking at 2.5 to 3 lbs. The cost of a 30lbs box is approx. $55.00 (yep $150.00 a month dog food bill) if you buy direct.
As some have mentioned, this is a stressful time for the puppy, and maintaining his diet is one way you can help him adjust. If you intend to switch i would recommend doing so after the puppy has settled. The breeder has probably informed you of the difference in digestion time between raw and kibble and recommended a fasting period. This will undoubtedly be hard on the puppy at 8 weeks of age.
I can certainly vouch for common sense dog food, my puppy looks great, is very healthy (my vet was impressed, especially with his coat) doesn't have puppy breath and has never had a soft stool to this day.
I would suggest you explain to your wife how it is important to maintain his diet, at least initially, and hope she comes around to your way of thinking. Perhaps you might also wish to share this information with her;
Good luck with your puppy and feel free to message me should you want more information. P.S. I am in no way associated with nor profit from common sense dog food.
I second Honest Kitchen Dehydrated Raw. I think it's better than dry kibble. You add water to rehydrate, and it looks like mush, but smells good and the dogs like it. For a puppy try Embark or Force. It's expensive, but you can use a coupon from Retailmenot.com for a discount.
Or you could try a pre-made like Nature's variety raw frozen.
Why buy from a breeder who feeds raw if your wife is not sure it's a good idea?
If she thinks dehydrated, baked hard pellets are better or safer, then she clearly does not trust the judgement of the breeder you are buying a puppy from. I don't mean to be disrespectul.
Buy one raised on the nice "safe" convenient pellets.
I wish my puppy had come from a raw fed kennel. They are few and far between. I had to switch him to raw and he had giardia. Pups who eat raw meat and bone have stomach acid strong enough to kill many parasites. Dogs are predators, short digestive tract and strong stomach acit. Raw food passes through the system quickly. Kibble can take 24 hours or more, during which time, bacteria, parasites etc are having a feast and growing and multiplying and putrefying.
You state multiple times that your WIFE is against raw feeding, but you don't state how you feel. My wife WAS against raw feeding, then she saw the benefits and now is a firm believer. She still has issues with the bulk foods that I buy, but overall, if she had to, she would continue the feeding in my absence.
Expensive? I was feeding four dogs for less than $2.85 per day. Homework has to be done and persistence is key. Opening a bag of crap is one way to feed dogs, but, would you like to eat jerkey EVERYDAY? The other way to feed them is how they are supposed to be fed. Continued feeding does become an economic issue, but I've decided that spending some time researching and finding vendors is worth more than the ease of opening a bag and scooping a cupful of dried crap that I have no idea of the contents.
Dry dog food is only about 50 years old. Domestic dogs have been around for around 14,000 years. If real - raw - food was a problem, wouldn't dogs have been killed off by now?
The four dogs in my house now (two GSD, one Golden and one pit/bull dog mix) shed less than ONE kibble fed GSD. All of the dogs are healthy, which means no vet bills (knock on wood that none get injured). All of the dogs have clean teeth - meaning now vet bills for knocking the dog out to clean the teeth. They are also muscularly sound.
Like I said, my wife does not like to be around when I process a 55+ pound box of beef heart, but to me it's worth it.
I'd be happy to answer any questions. Dog ownership isn't as easy as opening a bag of crap - whether it's cheap, grocery store crap in a bag or claimed quality crap in a bag. When it comes down to it, it's still crap.
I boarded two dogs for a week in April. I prepackaged all their meals in ziplock baggies and froze half so that it would be defrosted by the mid week and still good for the last day. I put lables on the baggies so nothing was left to chance.
It would be even easier to just give them the Prairie Nuggets in baggies with labels. It's not that hard. I have freinds who do that.
Another friend feeds raw in the AM and kibble (soaked) in the PM. When she kennels her dog, she just eats kibble.
This dog and mine did not get diarrhea.at the kennel.
I had the same thought when I got my puppy, the vet I took him to for his initial check-up came highly recommended. One of the first things the vet asked was "what are you feeding him", to which I replied Raw. He looked at me and suggested I switch to kibble. When asked why, his responded that there is a risk of salmonella/e-coli ... This was the same vet that wanted to give the puppy a 6 way booster "just to be safe" and wasn't receptive to my request for titers just to confirm he really needed them.
Needless to say, I have a different vet now, one that has no problem feeding raw when I board him there (feeds his own dogs raw), and is happy not only to titer and "confirm" he is current on vaccinations after positive titer results but is even happy to discuss the merits of, and source specific vaccinations for me (like mercury free rabies vaccination).
With all the recent recalls and controversy over kibble, more vets are receptive to the idea of Raw, some are even making the switch.
I will add another one here Urban Wolf, www.urbanwolf.cc This is a granular formation you just add water to it and raw or cooked meat and fish oil. So it is fed moist and pup's just love it. It's not cheap but it's as good as it gets especially for puppies.
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