Rules for Feeding Your Puppy
Feeding Your New Puppy
1) For at least the first month, keep your puppy on the same brand of puppy food that your breeder is feeding your puppy. (Wholehearted Puppy Food) Don't feed anything else. You have to have time for the puppy to adjust to his new surroundings without also adding stress to his digestive tract at the same time. By waiting a month or two to switch food, you will understand your puppy a bit better and be able to judge how he is tolerating the new food better.
2) Let your puppy eat as much food as he would like for about 10 minutes then remove the bowl.
Use the bag recommended feeding amount as a guideline only. These recommendations are usually MORE than your puppy or dog will need. Do not hover over the puppy or stress about what he is or is not eating. The first few days he may not eat too much. Try to get him to eat a little something at each meal. But hydration is super important in the first few days. Please don't stress over your puppy while he eats. You can actually cause eating problems because your puppy will pick up on your stress!
3) Do not use any store bought treats for the first month.
For potty training incentives, use boiled chicken (with no salt or additives!) . Chicken is the same protein source as your food so it is not introducing a new ingredient. Feed very tiny pieces of chicken. Cut it all up at once and some in fridge and some in freezer. Save the broth to entice a brand new puppy to keep drinking.
4) After the first month you may introduce new treats or foods one at a time.
Every time you give your puppy a new food or treat, watch the puppy closely. Look for signs that the new food does not agree with the puppy. He may throw up, start scratching, or diarrhea. Discontinue the food. And don't try that food again for several months.
5) Be careful about switching off the puppies original food when the puppy is still young. Once you switch the food, you have introduced new things to the puppies digestive tract that the puppy is not use to. This can cause problems in itself.
5) DO NOT feed your Schnoodles raw hides, or cooked bones, or chicken bones, or anything that will be hard and small enough to become lodged in his throat or intestines.
I like Cow Hooves because they only chew tiny bits at a time, they last for months and I can toss them long before they get small enough to become a hazard.
Questions and Answers:
What do I do if my puppy throws up after eating his dinner?
Please note that puppies do throw up for a lot of reasons. They may eat too fast. They may eat too much. They may have a sensitive gag reflux. They may have eaten something that they should not have eaten from the kitchen floor, the garbage, the yard. Eating grass will make a puppy throw up. So you don't need to worry too much if a puppy randomly throws up since some puppies do that for no apparent reason. You should keep an eye on your puppies weight, that he is happy, and overall health appearance to know if he is getting enough food in his system.
How do I know if my puppy is sick when he throws up?
It is good to know the difference between vomiting and regurgitation. Vomiting is throwing up because of illness or poisoning and the puppy will look very sick and will often vomit consecutively. This can be serious because it can lead to dehydration. So do address that problem right away.
Regurgitation on the other hand, is when a puppy throws up his lunch and you can see that the food he just ate is visible. He may continue to throw up a few times in succession. If it is one episode and the puppy seems normal and running about like nothing is wrong, then it probably is fine. Just keep an eye because if he throws up every time he eats, he could have a blockage from eating something which then got stuck in his intestines.
My puppy doesn't like his food. Should I buy a new food?
If your puppy doesn't want to eat one day, just keep an eye on him. As long as he is eating some of his food and maintaining his weight he may be fine. Keep in mind that puppies will eat more when they have an increase in activity, when they are growing or if they ate less the day before. But on the other hand, some days they may not be as hungry for natural reasons. If you start enticing them to eat more when their body is telling them not to eat you may just be creating a finicky puppy. Do NOT rush to change their food. Any new food will be more exciting to a dog when they first get it. But it too will become commonplace after a few weeks. Just know that if your puppy is growing fine then he is doing fine. And not eating his meal one morning is no big deal. Offer him his bowl later in the day and 9 times out of 10 he will be hungry again.
Can I supplement my puppies food with canned food? He really loves it!
If you are going to spend the money to add canned food to your dogs diet, make sure it is a high quality food. I like to supplement my dog's kibble with a very high quality Human grade food called Smallbatch because it is going to add value to the kibble they are eating. But there are many human foods that will boost the protein and nutritional value of your dogs food as well. The article, 10 healthy Dog Food Additives gives a few ideas for adding nutrition to your dogs kibble.
My veterinary explained that puppies are very similar physiologically to humans. When people start their babies on food they feed the easiest digested foods first and introduce one new food every few weeks. If a baby has diarrhea or a rash, we know right away to discontinue that food for a while. Just like babies, puppies digestive systems are still maturing and it may take a while before they can eat some foods. By keeping puppies foods simple at first, you also are less likely to create health issues and allergies in your puppy.
Your Puppies Food
Please refer to the Puppy Supply list for the brand of food that I am currently feeding the puppies. I chose this food because it is what most veterinaries will approve. However, there are many other higher quality foods on the market in my opinion. I have to make a practical food choice for my litters to feed a food that is accessible to the majority of customers needs.
Keep in mind this is DRY kibble, which is never the best for your dog long term. If you are able, I highly recommend you supplement with a food, like Smallbatch (see below) This is great for finicky eaters too.
Keep in mind this is DRY kibble, which is never the best for your dog long term. If you are able, I highly recommend you supplement with a food, like Smallbatch (see below) This is great for finicky eaters too.
Adult FoodAs your puppy gets older and you want to transition your puppy to an adult food, I highly recommend you try Smallbatch Pets Food or any other HUMAN grade dog food. Here is an article about the Difference between Human Grade and Feed Grade Dog Food.
If you have a store that is local to you, you can buy it fresh. But if not they offer a freeze dried variety. The food is Human Grade, Low Fat, and high in Protein. The ingredients are recognizable and healthy. This is the best food you can buy, next to fresh or frozen. If the price is more than you would like to pay, you can also supplement your dogs kibble with these sliders. Feed a half portion of Small batch in the morning and Kibble in the afternoon. |
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Choosing the Best Dog Food
These days there are so many dog foods on the market. Choosing the one that is right for your dog can be a confusing task indeed. What is the best dog food? There is no one answer. So many factors are involved. What can you afford, what brands are convenient to where you shop, What the best ingredients for the money. It is my hope that the following grading system will help you see what makes a quality dog food, and help you to decide what is the best food for your dogs.
Is Grain Free Food Bad?
There has been a lot of false information going around the internet, where people are telling you that Grain-free food causes heart disease in dogs. There is no conclusive evidence to support that claim. The Food and Drug Administration announced on Dec. 23, 2022, that the agency plans to end routine updates on the investigation of case reports of nonhereditary canine dilated cardiomyopathy and of certain dog foods and ingredients.
“While adverse event numbers can be a potential signal of an issue with an FDA regulated product, by themselves, they do not supply sufficient data to establish a causal relationship with reported product(s). FDA continues to encourage research and collaboration by academia, veterinarians, and industry,” the agency state
There has been a lot of false information going around the internet, where people are telling you that Grain-free food causes heart disease in dogs. There is no conclusive evidence to support that claim. The Food and Drug Administration announced on Dec. 23, 2022, that the agency plans to end routine updates on the investigation of case reports of nonhereditary canine dilated cardiomyopathy and of certain dog foods and ingredients.
“While adverse event numbers can be a potential signal of an issue with an FDA regulated product, by themselves, they do not supply sufficient data to establish a causal relationship with reported product(s). FDA continues to encourage research and collaboration by academia, veterinarians, and industry,” the agency state
Scoring Your Dog Food
INGREDIENT Points
(Add or Subtract) New Score For every listing of "By-Product" -10
For every Non-Specific Animal Source ("Meat" or "Poultry", Meat, Meal or Fat) reference -10
For every Grain "Mill Run" or Non-Specific Grain Source - 5
Same Grain ingredient used 2 or more times in the first 5 ingredients.
(example: ground brown rice, brewer's rice, and rice flour are all the same grain) - 5
Corn listed in the top 5 ingredients -2
Protein Sources are not meat meal and there are less than 2 meats in the top 3 ingredients - 3
If Lamb is the only animal protein source (unless your dog is allergic to other protein sources) - 2
Food is baked not extruded, points + 5
Food is endorsed by any major breed group or nutritionist + 5
Animal sources are hormone-free and antibiotic-free + 2
Vegetables have been tested for pesticides and ARE pesticide-free + 1
Any of the meat sources are organic + 5
For every different specific animal protein source, other than the 1st one. (example: Count "chicken" & "chicken meal" as only 1 protein source, BUT count "chicken" & "fish" as 2 different sources) + 1
IF THE FOOD CONTAINS
BHA, BHT, or ethoxyquin - 10
Any Artificial Colorants - 3
Ground Corn or Whole Grain Corn - 3
Any Animal Fat (other than Fish Oil) - 2
Soy or Soybeans - 2
Salt - 1
Wheat (unless you know that your dog isn't allergic to wheat) - 2
Beef (unless you know that your dog isn't allergic to beef) - 1
Fruit + 3
Barley + 2
Probiotics + 3
Vegetables (NOT Corn or Other Grains) + 3
Flax Seed Oil (not just the seeds) + 2
Oats or Oatmeal + 1
Sunflower Oil + 1
Glucosamine & Chondroitin + 1
TOTAL POINTS HERE Grade Scale
100+ = A+ 94-100 = A 86-93 = B 78-85 = C 70-77 = D 69-below = F
(Add or Subtract) New Score For every listing of "By-Product" -10
For every Non-Specific Animal Source ("Meat" or "Poultry", Meat, Meal or Fat) reference -10
For every Grain "Mill Run" or Non-Specific Grain Source - 5
Same Grain ingredient used 2 or more times in the first 5 ingredients.
(example: ground brown rice, brewer's rice, and rice flour are all the same grain) - 5
Corn listed in the top 5 ingredients -2
Protein Sources are not meat meal and there are less than 2 meats in the top 3 ingredients - 3
If Lamb is the only animal protein source (unless your dog is allergic to other protein sources) - 2
Food is baked not extruded, points + 5
Food is endorsed by any major breed group or nutritionist + 5
Animal sources are hormone-free and antibiotic-free + 2
Vegetables have been tested for pesticides and ARE pesticide-free + 1
Any of the meat sources are organic + 5
For every different specific animal protein source, other than the 1st one. (example: Count "chicken" & "chicken meal" as only 1 protein source, BUT count "chicken" & "fish" as 2 different sources) + 1
IF THE FOOD CONTAINS
BHA, BHT, or ethoxyquin - 10
Any Artificial Colorants - 3
Ground Corn or Whole Grain Corn - 3
Any Animal Fat (other than Fish Oil) - 2
Soy or Soybeans - 2
Salt - 1
Wheat (unless you know that your dog isn't allergic to wheat) - 2
Beef (unless you know that your dog isn't allergic to beef) - 1
Fruit + 3
Barley + 2
Probiotics + 3
Vegetables (NOT Corn or Other Grains) + 3
Flax Seed Oil (not just the seeds) + 2
Oats or Oatmeal + 1
Sunflower Oil + 1
Glucosamine & Chondroitin + 1
TOTAL POINTS HERE Grade Scale
100+ = A+ 94-100 = A 86-93 = B 78-85 = C 70-77 = D 69-below = F