# What to feed a wire vizsla puppy



## Dixiedog (Mar 23, 2014)

Hi, we are brand new dog owners, had done loads of research and finally after a long wait picked up Dixie Dog yesterday, a 9 week old wire vizsla. She has been unbelievable in the past 24 hours, settled beyond our expectation and there's no way back, she's part of the family already. The only thing we were wondering is what we should feed her. There is a lot of conflicting advice and at the moment she is only eating a small amount of premium dry food which we see from the forum is normal. Should we be giving her milk and if so what sort and should we be giving her raw food, we keep reading raw chicken wings are good for them but are really concerned about her getting bones stuck. Any suggestions on food variation and also brand of food would be great. Thanks and looking forward to becoming a vizsla owner, so far it's been better than we could of anticipated albeit early days.


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## emilycn (Jul 30, 2013)

Greetings, and welcome to the forum. I think people are holding their advice hostage until we get some pictures of your newest little family member.

But you'll find many opinions on this forum about what to feed --- some are conflicting, but I'd venture to guess that most are well-researched and good options. I'd point you in a couple early directions. First, have you looked on dogfoodadvisor.com? That's a really good resource for kibble info.

Second, at this young of an age, I'd suggest feeding as consistently as possible to avoid upset tummies; find something that works for your pup and stick with it. And definitely no cow's milk --- i believe dogs can't digest it, so it just makes them get the runs out one end or the other. And commercial milk replacer is usually used for orphaned puppies who don't have access to mom's milk, or perhaps for very sick, very young pups. At this point, your pup is weaned from her mother's milk, so there's no point going back to that diet with milk replacements. 

My 9 month-old Lua eats Taste of the Wild kibble in High Prairie Puppy formula topped with a spoonful of Merrick canned food to encourage eating. She does well on this diet, and other forum members feed Taste of the Wild with great success also. Ask your vet, your breeder, and the forum members about reasons to feed a puppy kibble versus an adult kibble and large-breed versus regular kibble --- there are some things to consider on each front. 

And lastly, if you have issues with soft poops or diarrhea, fear not. It seems all of us here have battled the runs with their pups at least once -- you'll find lots of good advice here.


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## einspänner (Sep 8, 2012)

Welcome to the forum! You're going to have so much fun with your wirey girl. It's hard to believe mine is almost a year old.

It sounds like you've done a lot of research already, but have a look through the threads on the forum. There are recommendations on everything from kibble to raw.

After trying out a couple kibbles, I switched Scout to raw and that's worked really well for her. Raw chicken bones are the safest around. Their teeth easily manage them and the bones digest well. Wings and necks have a good bone to meat ratio, so I'd recommend those.

Lastly while you can feed kibble and use bones for dental health, don't feed raw and kibble at the same meal. They digest at different rates, so the body won't process it as efficiently and it can lead to tummy aches. 

It's normal for vizslas to be picky, especially during transitions like coming to a new home. So don't put too much stock in her finicky eating, instead monitor body condition and waste to determine if the food is working for her. 

Pretty please post pictures!


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## Dixiedog (Mar 23, 2014)

Here is a picture from yesterday in the garden & thanks for the feedback


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## born36 (Jun 28, 2011)

Raw


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## hotmischief (Mar 11, 2012)

Welcome she is gorgeous. Where did you get her from? I am also a wire-haired owner and I am delighted that we are growing in numbers on this forum.

When you picked your puppy up your breeder should have given you a small packet of whatever the puppies had been weaned on. I am a great advocate of not changing the puppies food immediately. Puppies have a lot of changes to get used to, going to a new home, building an immune system and having their vaccinations. Once your pup is settled in and vaccinated then is the time to think about changing diet, if that is what you want to do.

I have to say from the minute we bought our boy home he had loose stools and having tried several excellent brands of dry kibble I changed to raw and the problem was solved. I am a great believer that what you feed your dogs has to suit your pocket, your life style and of course your pup. If you want to feed dry kibble, the best advise I can give you is only buy small packets when trying a new brand, as I ended up by supplying our local shelter with several large bags that didn't agree with Boris.

If you are feeding chicken wings and bones that is an excellent start.

Keep the pictures coming we all love pictures.


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## Dixiedog (Mar 23, 2014)

Thanks - we are very smitten already. We bought her from a breeder in Telford and the parents are show dog's, the sire is well known and a lovely dog. That wasn't a determining factor, we specifically wanted a female wire and had been waiting to find one. She will be a family pet rather than a show or working dog.

We didn't plan to change her food too soon and are sticking with what the breeder gave us but she has only eaten small amounts so far, she seems fine though and I think all in all has been too busy to worry about her food. I'll get some more photo's and thanks


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## MeandMy3 (Feb 27, 2013)

She is gorgeous! Congrats on your new family member. When we got second pup, the breeder delivered her to us and forgot to bring some of the food along. Meg wouldn't eat anything - at all - for the first two days she ws home. We called the breeder and he told us what he was feeding, but it was something he ordered online and it would take a week for us to get it. Then he told us what was similar. We picked some of that up and she still wouldn't eat. It took her about 3 days to settle into our house and now she eats like she should. It hurt us more than it hurt her. Good luck with your new pup!


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## einspänner (Sep 8, 2012)

What a cutie! If you're on facebook there is a great group for WHVs. https://www.facebook.com/groups/4306187343/


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## gem2304 (Mar 7, 2013)

I have an 18 week old wire boy!  he is at an age where he is starting to test my patience but I love him to bits. He is also going to be a family pet (not worked or shown).

He is very picky with his food.


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## harrigab (Aug 21, 2011)

welcome to the forum ;D another wirey here too, I've always fed Ruby kibble, not a top priced one or a cheap one either. At first she was on chudley's puppy kibble, then working crunch, (again chudleys), the last year or so I've switched her over to auturky and swapped between chicken and salmon varieties, gonna be going raw sometime soon so long as I can find a decent local supplier.


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## Dixiedog (Mar 23, 2014)

She has had her first jabs today and totally off her food altogether now and lethargic which hopefully will pass. She was however star of the show at the vets, they had a welcoming party at the door waiting for us as they don't see many wire vizsla puppies, she got a fuss and the cameras were out.


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## WillowyndRanch (Apr 3, 2012)

Intellectual Property removed by Author.


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