# Puppy Food



## bogeydaddy (Jan 3, 2013)

Hello all,

I will be getting a male puppy in 2 weeks and was curious to know what other V owners have found to be the best puppy food? Also, how much food should I be feeding him as a pup (6 weeks old)? Thanks for your responses!

Jordan


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## MilesMom (Jun 21, 2012)

We free feed Miles! He eats anywhere from 2-5 cups a day depending on the amount of exercise that day and how many distractions he has in the house (he would rather follow us around all day vs eat, so he eats more when we are on work days!) 

We feed Taste of the Wild and are happy with it. We rotate the salmon and bison to keep it interesting for him. 

We have definitely had some issues with him being under weight. He currently is very thin and we have been supplementing with egg, sweet potato, yogurt, meats, and a variety of vegetables to help stimulate him to eat a bit more and gain some weight.


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## maplevizsla (Oct 26, 2012)

I have fed a variety of kibble brands over the past 14 years. I have also fed raw (barf) diet for 4+ years at one time.
Hunter my first Vizsla, was on Pro Plan Puppy and Pedigree Puppy - yuck! I did not like it at all, big stinky stools and dull coat causing scratching. She was switched to raw, and then Evo (meat supply issue so we went kibble), and then Acana Prairie Harvest.
Wager was raised on Pro Plan from my knowledge before she came to us and was fed raw, then Evo and Acana Fish.
Brandy was raised as a puppy on raw, but developed severe allergies , so after 2.5yrs on raw we switched her to various other kibble brands for allergies and none worked. She could only eat duck, lamb or rabbit (none of which raw I could afford) so I found California Natural and she has been on it for 5 years now, I love the adult formula.
Titan was raised on Acana from the breeder, but since I liked the CN that Brandy was on I thought the puppy formula would be good too. CNow at 6 months old now I am not happy with it, he seems skinny and small. So after much discussion with other Vizsla breeders, I am switching and feeding him Acana (which is what his breeder feeds her Vizslas and what many other breeders I know feed). 

I have tried Solid Gold, Wellness and especially Natural Balance made my dogs sick (Brandy had vomiting and diarrhea for the NB). I tried Nutro and Canidae too once, it as okay but big stinky poops. Feeding raw my dogs were the healthiest dogs ever, and if I had a choice I would be feeding a raw diet (lack of suppliers and time are why I do not). 


Feeding:
I would not free feed. 
Scheduled feedings allow for easier housebreaking chances since you know if he ate at breakfast, he will have to poop at lunch, if he ate at lunch he will have to poop at dinnertime, if he ate at dinnertime then before bedtime he will have to poop. Yes- - puppies poop alot in the first few weeks. 

Scheduled feedings also ensure he is getting enough, or if he is rolly-polly (NOT good for puppies growing joints) you can control the portions and adjust accordingly.

Scheduled feedings ensure that your dog did not just eat before you got home for work and you decide to exercise him - which can cause bloat and your dog to die. Always allow for at least 1 hour before and after exercise before feeding your dog.

Lastly, scheduled feedings are the perfect opportunity to fit in training exercises for a few minutes, you can teach your puppy to sit-wait for his food. He must wait until you say "Okay". You can do Down-Wait too. And "Watch me" where he has to look up and pay attention to your face before releasing him to eat.


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## maplevizsla (Oct 26, 2012)

* I just posted this for another member*
Addition: Many breeders are opting to now skip puppy food and feed adult only. Talk with your breeder.


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## GarysApollo (Nov 27, 2012)

Agree with maplevizsla, we feed Orijen witch is made by champion pet foods same as Acana both are great foods. Both of my boys do very well on Orijen with no stool issues and are very healthy, and they love it! We also add fish oil to one meal a day. 

I tried Solid Gold with my first boy and was not impressed with results after a month, and he did not like it. 

If you are going to go the kibble rout I would definitely go with a grain free kibble. And please no kibbles n bits, or Alpo that would just not be right.

Good luck!


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## datacan (May 15, 2011)

maplevizsla said:


> * I just posted this for another member*
> Addition: Many breeders are opting to now skip puppy food and feed adult only. Talk with your breeder.


 
I would prefer if breeders opt to feed puppy food (even if economy brand). Adult food is geared toward neutered/spayed dogs and as such must contain less calories. Intact dogs (and they should stay intact until fully mature) can easily handle about 20% (and some even 30%) more calories than altered dogs.


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## MilesMom (Jun 21, 2012)

maplevizsla said:


> Feeding:
> I would not free feed.
> Scheduled feedings allow for easier housebreaking chances since you know if he ate at breakfast, he will have to poop at lunch, if he ate at lunch he will have to poop at dinnertime, if he ate at dinnertime then before bedtime he will have to poop. Yes- - puppies poop alot in the first few weeks.
> 
> ...


I think that different things work for different families. There is not one right way. We free feed, but do our largest exercise with Miles in the morning and he hasn't eaten yet because he has been sleeping with us. At lunch we walk and jog, which is fine even if he has eaten, and at night he goes out to play when we get home but it takes us at least 30 min to get going. We measure his food and know exactly when he was eating, and don't care if he poops a lot because it's not hard for us to open the back door and let him go out to the yard. We can still work on all the commands described with treats. I'm not saying everyone should free feed, but it works for some and we like it.


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## hotmischief (Mar 11, 2012)

MilesMom,

You wouldn't say it is fine that he has just eaten at lunch time and then goes out walking and jogging - if you then go back to work and come home and find you dog suffering from BLOAT - it is fine till it happens to you.

The AHT in the UK have just done a massive study in to bloat, results are still being analyized, but already it is apparent that exercise too close to being fed is one of the major factors.

You have obviously not had a dog that has suffered from Bloat - believe me you would not be saying it is fine to eat and then going walking or jogging.

I am not saying that you should not free feed that is up to you, but I would suggest you take the food away from the dog for an hour before and after exercise, you really do not want your dog suffering from bloat, and Vizslas are very prone to this awful condition.


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## MilesMom (Jun 21, 2012)

Typed a response but deleted it as my New Year's resolution is acceptance. So I am accepting to agree to disagree and know that we are responsible with our dog and his eating schedule.


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## hotmischief (Mar 11, 2012)

MilesMom,

Absolutely. Please don't take offence at my earlier post, I certainly didn't intend to cause any. Having once had a dog that suffered bloat twice and died at 4, I am now very conscious of educating people to the causes.

Having said that, we all love our dogs and do what we think is best for them.

I love your New Years resolution - it is one of my favourite sayings and on that note lets agree to disagree


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## threefsh (Apr 25, 2011)

I have to disagree on free-feeding being a specific bloat danger. It depends on the dog. Even a dog that is fed at specific times can develop bloat if they eat too quickly.

_"What Causes Bloat in Dogs?

The exact cause is currently unknown. Certain risk factors include: rapid eating, eating one large meal daily, dry food-only diet, overeating, overdrinking, heavy exercise after eating, fearful temperament, stress, trauma and abnormal gastric motility or hormone secretion."_

http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/dog-care/dog-care-bloat.aspx

Riley always paces herself when she's eating/drinking. She was successfully free-fed until we brought home Cooper. If she knew we were going to exercise in the morning she would refuse to eat until we were done. Cooper, on the other hand, will literally eat and drink until he pukes, if we let him. I kid you not - we have to watch him when he's drinking and force him to take breaks. He is currently fed from a muffin tin so he will eat more slowly.

Back on topic: We are currently feeding both pups Canidae Pure Sea and they love it. It's an all-stages food (Puppy, Adult, Working Dog, Senior). 40% protein and 20% fat and grain free.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

When mine are puppies I do free feed but I pick up all food at least 2 hours before exercise.
There is no dog food that is perfect for every dog.
What works for my dogs may not work for yours.
Find a good quality food and give it a try.
My dogs aren't puppies anymore, I go by stool, coat and endurance as to if I will stick with a dog food or change it.


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## datacan (May 15, 2011)

Never free fed our dogs and probably never will. After each meal there is a mandatory 30-40 minute downtime (mostly in the crate, sometimes on the couch). One of the perks of knowing when they eat. 
Other advantages are, the dogs are not stressed by food all day long. They know when and approximately how much. 

One of the most important things in any animal's life is food. It can become quite stressful for them. They form a bond with humans because of it. It works for most animals and even for aquarium fish. 
It amazes me, aquarium fish recognize those who feed them. And btw. if fish are free fed, the remaining food in the water can have disastrous effects in the whole ecosystem. 

Kibble, on the other hand has excellent shelf life, like everything else that has long shelf life (human grade, included)... Ever wonder why? 
Processed, enriched, hydrogenated fats + high fructose corn syrup :-X


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## Suliko (Sep 17, 2011)

> Riley always paces herself when she's eating/drinking. She was successfully free-fed until we brought home Cooper. If she knew we were going to exercise in the morning she would refuse to eat until we were done. Cooper, on the other hand, will literally eat and drink until he pukes, if we let him. I kid you not - we have to watch him when he's drinking and force him to take breaks.


Similar to our story. Sophie used to eat after her morning walk at her own leisure. She wasn't free-fed, but she wouldn't eat the whole thing at once. I'd come home from work, and there would still be kibble in the bowl. That all changed when Pacsirta arrived. Sophie started eating fast and every little bit of her food  Pacsirta on the other hand vacuumed up every little crumb under the speed of lightning. She would literally eat water! Not drink but eat - muzzle half way in the bowl chopping away. She eats so fast even in the slow-feeding bowl that she chokes herself every single meal. I can't imagine free-feeding both of them. They'd eat themselves to death.


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## NowakVizsla (Oct 26, 2012)

We had all sorts of problems with Igors eating at first. We tried scheduled feedings and would put his food down for 10 minutes and then put it back up. Igor just refused to eat. We switched his food from Kirkland (Costco brand) to Blue Buffalo Freedom Puppy and also started free feeding but only put half the amount for a days feeding (I.e. if he needed 4 cups a day we would put 2 in the morning then 2 at night). This worked for us. He never eats his food all at once but will be done eating his morning portion by noon. And this doesn't bother us. 
Right now we are feeding him Blue Buffalo Large Breed Puppy. Our vet recommended we switch him to a large breed puppy food. And actually on the Freedom he was having 4-5 BM a day and on the current food he has about 2. 
Also the package of food should tell you how much to feed your dog based on weight and age!
Good luck!


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## born36 (Jun 28, 2011)

I am not going to get into the free feed debate as I have no experience. I do think it would be like Christmas come early for Mac as he would eat until he popped if I put that much food down! 

Back to the question asked by the poster of this thread. 

I would keep your pup on what the breeder was feeding him/her for a couple weeks as you don't want to upset his/her tummy while adjusting to your house/family/. 

However I would then switch to a high quality grain free kibble or raw food diet(which is what I feed my pup) 

Hope that helps.


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## bogeydaddy (Jan 3, 2013)

Thanks for everyones insight. It is great to hear experiences from people who have free fed vs non. I think we will start out with scheduled meals and see how that works for Bogey and our schedule. I will post pics of the little guy for everyone to see once I get him (Jan 19th)!!


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## bogeydaddy (Jan 3, 2013)

Here is Bogey. We decided to go with Nutro Puppy food as this was what the breeder started him off with. He is a great puppy!


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## GarysApollo (Nov 27, 2012)

Cute!


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## Ozkar (Jul 4, 2011)

Bogey is freakin cute.....  love him. 

This thread has been a terrific read. PMSL reading almost every post  I would have liked them but I'm viewing in tapatalk and can't work out how....... 

But there's some real humour in amongst the shared experiences. I'm not laughing at the meanings, just some of the crack up one liners in them...... Love your work......... 


FWIW......... Mine get fed twice per day at the same time. Neither leaves even a stain in the bowl.......... If I free fed, Zsa Zsa would need her own postcode .........


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## threefsh (Apr 25, 2011)

Adorable! 

Here is the Dog Food Advisor review of Nutro:

http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/nutro-max-dog-food-dry/

You should definitely keep him on the food from the breeder for a few weeks until he settles in, but after that I would recommend looking for something that is 5-star rated. The DFA website is an excellent tool for researching dog food!


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