# Need advice feeding puppy...



## Rockafeller (Jan 29, 2011)

Hi there! What a great forum! I'm so confused. In November I got a tiny minigolden doodle (born Sept/2010). The family that raised him said to keep him on Royal Canin Development (until 6 months at least) so I bought a big bag of that. We are getting low now and thought I'd read up on dog/puppy food and found so much information here that Royal Canin is not that great! (understatement). My puppy is 4 1/2 months old. He is about 10 pounds now, and will grow between 15-18 pounds). I'm in Canada. Seems all the vets here carry this Royal Canin Development. Anyways, I'm interested in switching him to something else, do I have to wait until he's 6 months? I was thinking Orijen puppy food would be a good choice since it gets such good reviews and its Canadian! Any tips? Any advice would be appreciated! Also, would be nice to be something not too over the top expensive.


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## Ania's Mommy (Feb 8, 2009)

Switch to the Orijen. No need to wait, just make sure you do a slow transition.

Welcome!


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## harrkim120 (Feb 2, 2010)

^^ agreed. :thumb:

Random question: How do you get a poodle/golden cross to be so small? Do you have pictures? lol


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## Rockafeller (Jan 29, 2011)

Thanks for the advice, do I just mix the two foods 1/2 and 1/2 to transition or other? How long should I take to transition (like does it take a week? a month?)? I just posted some pics of my puppy and his parents (its funny they had a little of 9 black pups but neither of them was black).


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## Ania's Mommy (Feb 8, 2009)

Rockafeller said:


> Thanks for the advice, do I just mix the two foods 1/2 and 1/2 to transition or other? How long should I take to transition (like does it take a week? a month?)? I just posted some pics of my puppy and his parents (its funny they had a little of 9 black pups but neither of them was black).


You'd want to start with replacing 1/4 of each meal with the new food. Do that for two or three days. Then replace half the food with the new food for each meal. Do that for two or three days. Then replace 3/4 of the food with the new food. Feed for two or three days. Then, feed 100% new food.


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## Rockafeller (Jan 29, 2011)

Wonderful, thank you


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## cast71 (Sep 16, 2010)

There's no need to buy puppy food. It's a gimmick to mark up the food. You can use orijen adult or look into any of the acana grainfrees. Both are from the same company. Also your going to feed much less as well. Orijen and acana has more meat, higher quality ingredients and less fillers. Don't go by the chart on the bag. You might want to start out wit 1/2 cup a day and than adjust the amount if you need to. Make sure he's slim. Overweight is not good. You should be able to easily see his waist line from looking above and be able to easily feel his ribs. If you get upset stomach problems when transitioning to the new food, go back a step and feed more old food a little longer. After your done transitioning to the new food and he's adjusted fine, you might want to think about adding either cooked meats or canned meats. It's good to supplement kibble with extra meat;0)


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## Serendipity (Aug 13, 2010)

Any food is fine; there’s no need to get a puppy formula. Orijen’s a great brand, though. I would go with it! 

Also, I’m just wondering, did you get this puppy from a family that needed to rehome it, or from a breeder? I’m going to try to keep this from turning into a crazy debate, but I really don’t like supporting the unethical “designer dog” industry. I only recommend getting mutts from a rehoming situation or shelter/rescue.


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## Rockafeller (Jan 29, 2011)

Interesting thoughts Serendipity! I'm not sure you'd call them breeders (this was their family pet) and this was their dogs only litter. For me I did search for dogs needing to be rehomed, we needed something hypoallergenic for 2 members of my family as well as so many of the dogs looking to be rehomed (spca, etc.) were not suitable to go to familes with children (and I have 2!). Kinda feel like I'm being judged here!


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## doggiedad (Jan 23, 2011)

i've never fed puppy food to my dogs. feed the best food you can afford.

don't worry about being judged. all of us are judged and i think all of us judge.
i read somewhere "it's none of your business what someone thinks of you".



Rockafeller said:


> Interesting thoughts Serendipity! I'm not sure you'd call them breeders (this was their family pet) and this was their dogs only litter. For me I did search for dogs needing to be rehomed, we needed something hypoallergenic for 2 members of my family as well as so many of the dogs looking to be rehomed (spca, etc.) were not suitable to go to familes with children (and I have 2!).
> 
> Kinda feel like I'm being judged here!


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## Loki Love (Jan 30, 2011)

Rockafeller said:


> I'm not sure you'd call them breeders (this was their family pet) and this was their dogs only litter.


Not judging (I'll keep my opinions to myself!) but once someone has a dog that they bred (whether it was accidental or purposely) - they are breeders by my definition.

:focus:

I too agree that Orijen is a fantastic choice. Loki did pretty well with it prior to us switching to raw. Good luck!


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## Serendipity (Aug 13, 2010)

Rockafeller said:


> Interesting thoughts Serendipity! I'm not sure you'd call them breeders (this was their family pet) and this was their dogs only litter. For me I did search for dogs needing to be rehomed, we needed something hypoallergenic for 2 members of my family as well as so many of the dogs looking to be rehomed (spca, etc.) were not suitable to go to familes with children (and I have 2!). Kinda feel like I'm being judged here![/QUOTE
> 
> Sounds good that this is the only litter; I just hope they didn't charge you anymore than the price of shots & wormer, and are going to get their dogs fixed. Anyone who breeds a dog is a breeder, and "family pets" (pet-quality dogs) should be fixed, not bred, because they are not fit for breeding. No dog is guaranteed to be "hypoallergenic"; it depends your specific allergies. For example, all dogs with hair will shed, just minimally for some. All dogs have dander, just lower amounts for some, and all dogs salivate. It is harder to claim that a mutt will shed less, have less dander, etc., because you're taking a gamble with genetics. Reputable breeders will breed purebreds, have breed club membership and proven breeding stock (dogs with working or show titles with good temperaments, that have passed all genetic tests). This does not happen with "designer dog" breeders, so that is why they should only be adopted; you're getting the same quality dog, from the same type of breeder, for much less. Backyard bred dogs are often surrendered due to some genetic issues, because these breeders will not take the dog back at any time (this includes purebreds from unethical breeders well, and all those "teacup", "micro mini", "imperial" dogs, too). I'm not trying to judge you, and I apologize if you felt like I was; I just feel really strongly about this topic, and I try to educate, one at a time.
> 
> Anyway, I will get back to the topic of food. Orijen can get expensive, but it is really the best commercial kibble on the market, in my opinion, and a rotation of all three adult formulas is a good idea. If you want to try other brands, I also recommend Taste of the Wild, Acana (made by Champion, just like Orijen), Evo, etc. Taste of the Wild (I prefer High Prairie & Wetlands) and Acana also have more moderate protein (early 30's) if your dog happens to get loose stools from a higher protein food, even after a lengthy transition (it happens with some dogs, although they're more of a minority).


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