Hi all!
We are bout to bring our baby pointer (8 weeks old) home next week and I am struggling to choose a new food for her. She is currently on mediocre quality food (purina pro plan athletic puppy - I cannot even find it here?) - and I think we should switch asap?
What is your experience with switching baby dog’s food? I don’t want to upset her tummy straight after the move but similarly I know how important those first months are for her development… Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you!
Ps. We’re thinking of giving her Akela dry food instead, at least for the time when she’s a puppy and needs all the best engredients and nutrition…
Hi, and welcome to the forum!
A new environment and being separated by her mum are quite stressful events for a puppy, this is the main reason why it is always recommended to keep the same food as the breeder for the first few weeks. This holds true even if the food is not top quality; at the end, Purina has fed and is currently feeding hundreds of thousands of reasonably healthy dogs.
Perhaps the best course of action is leaving her on the same food for a couple of weeks and once she’s settled in the new environment, gradually transition to a new food (transition should be over a period of 2 weeks). A puppy physical development is not so narrow to be affected by a delay of a few weeks -behavioural and social developments are (she should be fully socialised with other dogs by week 13).
As for the best food, there is no quick answer unfortunately. She might do incredibly well on high protein food like Akela, Orijen or Aatu… but she may as well not. The “ancestral diet” current is being revised and now there is general agreement that some dogs actually prefer a diet with lower protein content a bit more carbs.
As long as the manufacturer is reputable and the ingredients list is clear with no questionable additives, you are playing fairly safe and all you can do is a trial-and-error approach.
Enjoy your new member of the family and please let us know how she goes!
Thank you so so much for your response! I believe I will be back on the forum as (what’s obvious!) I’m pretty anxious owner haha!
Well, we will follow on with the purina for now then. It does make sense to go with it for a bit, and if you say it’s pretty well known and used by many - I shall not worry as much! We are considering introducing some home-made foood too (my partner is a nutritionist/chef) therefore she will won’t be hungry for sure!
Once again, thank you so much!
Polly
Hello and welcome to the forum. A new puppy is very exciting! I second what Red_akita said. It can be a testing time trying to choose a food as all dogs are different. If you need support to use the dog food directory, to help you decide or advice on any particular food you want to try. Just ask and somebody should be able to advise. Also any feedback on what you try will be much appreciated. I suspect your pup will do well as you are already researching. There is a section on homemade food too should you want any advice. There are quite a few considerations if you decide to feed a mostly home made diet.
Purina is part of the Nestle group and together with Royal Canin is among the best sellers in the middle-of-the-market type of foods.
This does not mean at all which is the best food available (far from it), rather it strikes a money/quality ratio that most dog owners find adequate.
Your puppy has been fed with it for a few weeks already so 2-3 extra will not hurt her.
About the choice of the next food, Tinyplanets is giving great advice: come back to us, we’ll be happy to help. Much will also depend on the dog’s temperament and what he will be raised for: it is a versatile breed so you might want to adjust the nutritional requirements whether you want her to be a family pet, a hunting dog, a competition dog etc.
Thank you all so much!
Having thought it all through we will do as advised - stay on purina for 2/3 weeks and gradually transition onto slightly better quality food.
We will socialise her from a very young age as she will be coming to work with us and meeting people every day.
I will introduce us properly in the ‘newbies’ thread - what a supportive community you all are!
All the best,
Polly and Murphy - the 8 weeks old pup