I have done some reading today about dry food and raw food. I’m still unsure… there is so much information and this is our first ever puppy called Leo.
The breed is a cockapoo (Cockaspaniel and Toy poodle) currently he is 5 weeks old coming up for 6 so obviously still with his mother, brothers and sister. He will be weaned on to Fish4dogs food and that’s what will come with him when we collect him at 8 weeks.
I am part of a cockapoo club and looking into food on there is also tough as there are so many opinions. Just wanting the best food for him and of course want him to enjoy it.
I’m nervous about going straight to a raw diet even though I know this will be full of everything he needs in nutrition.
Also it’s a struggle to find a decent kibble. As in my opinion some are to high in fat, and some to high in protein? This making my decision very difficult as I’m unsure if I’m reading it correctly.
If anyone could explain in a nutshell that would be fantastic or advise a manufacturer of food. I may have ever more questions with your reply so thank you.
Hello and welcome to the forum,
you can find some general advice about feeding puppies here
Sadly it is not so easy to put it all in a nutshell. There are so many variables and each dog is different. Most have us have just settled on a food that suits through trial and error. I feed a mix of raw and cold pressed food but I use a raw complete. I am not confident that I could get a good balance of nutrients mixing meals for myself. Personally I would wait until he is older before thinking about raw, especially if you are a bit worried about it.
It might be an idea to just wait until he has settled in before changing food as long as the one he is on isn’t causing any problems. Take lots of time and weigh it all up. There is so much choice and if you want any information about a particular food, hopefully some members may have had some experiences to share. Also there are lots of threads about various foods to browse through.
You can also look at this thread to see how to search for a suitable food. It should give you some ideas. Good Luck.
Hello Grey. Choosing a pet food product can be rather confusing, especially with conflicting advice. That is why I think you should continue with the Fish4Dogs puppy food at least for the time being.
My youngest had this when she was a pup and did well on it. I used to make it into a crumble by soaking it for 15 minutes in water. A spot of warm water brings out the fishy smell and the dogs enjoy it all the more. I used to give a topper for variety e.g. cooked chicken/meat or a small amount of good quality wet food. Sometimes scrambled egg was given to replace a meal. Suitable cooked vegetables can be given too. Always check that the food is suitable for dogs.
There is lots to do getting puppy settled, house trained, vaccinated etc etc. On top of this you want to enjoy your puppy so with all this happening, if pup is doing well on the food then all well and good. You can think about changing it further down the line. I agree with Tinyplanets about the raw and would leave that for now.
Make sure you weigh puppy’s food and that you don’t overfeed.
Thank you very much for you information. Have just had a good read about dog feeding guidelines. I will comment again on this thread once I am considering changing but for better.
Thank you for the reply. While scores are useful, the main thing is that the dog does well on the chosen product - link. It is sometimes the case that a dog will do better on a lower scoring product. However, I can understand why you want to feed your dog what you consider to be the best product. When or if the time comes to change food, do it gradually to avoid digestive disturbance. Hopefully pup will be OK on F4D puppy for now. Fish is easy to digest and dogs usually find it tasty.