breeder told me to use purina puppy chow

[iloveloki1972]

hello everyone!
I'm getting my new baby louie on sunday. the breeder told me he has been feeding him purina puppy chow small bites and he told me to continue feeding him this till he is at least 4 months old. he is 10 wks old now. I want to feed him a holistic brand because i know purina is not good for him. but he makes it seem like i will be hurting him even if i slowly do the transition. he sai the holistic food has too much meat in it for him. ay advice on what you feed your little puppies? and if i should do what he says or would you all slowly switch him now to a better brand of food?

[rubymoon2072]

that food is garbage imo. i did answer your other thread but i say slowly transition right away after checking the puppy at the vet to be sure he is healthy.

[neersyorkies]

I answered your other post and I agree 100% with "rubymoon 2072" that food is trash. A Vet. check is very important there is no telling if the breeder feeds something like that on what other things he/she skipped on.Also change the pup slowly to another better quality Dog food.

[iloveloki1972]

thank you sorry im new to this i couldn't find my other post im not good with computers.

[neersyorkies]

Originally Posted by iloveloki1972

thank you sorry im new to this i couldn't find my other post im not good with computers.

As I did see you found it after all so you are way better with computers then you thought

[Yorkiemom1]

I would wait until the baby is well settled into your home and family before you start messing around with the only thing that baby is going to be familiar with....continuiong with the Purina Puppy chow is NOT going to do any damage for another month. I am not familiar with the holistic brand meat content....just be sure he is settled in before you start doing the "Changing Food Hustle" ......while he is settling in, you can research what you want to switch to....

[Yorkiemom1]

I forgot to say whatever you decide to feed, he should be on a puppy formula diet until at least 8 - 12 months old!

[lovespandp]

I would switch.. find the food you want to feed and slowly transition him. Usually they will pick the new from the old anyways and show no issues. My 6 year old is extremely sensitive, I have switched his food numerous times he never had any issues from it. Start slow mixing a little new with the old- see if he is going to have any tummy issues…. from there you can mix more and more until you have used all new.

P.s if you still have any old food you can donate to your local shelter!! They will take opened bags of kibble.

[sganow]

All the pups I have gotten have switched basically "cold turkey" when we got them because they liked what the other dogs were eating much more than the puppy food we got from the breeder. I would say to switch the food to something you are comfortable with, and I agree with the others that say to switch slowly... if the pup will allow you to. Good luck with your new puppy!

[yorkietalkjilly]

Originally Posted by Yorkiemom1

I would wait until the baby is well settled into your home and family before you start messing around with the only thing that baby is going to be familiar with....continuiong with the Purina Puppy chow is NOT going to do any damage for another month. I am not familiar with the holistic brand meat content....just be sure he is settled in before you start doing the "Changing Food Hustle" ......while he is settling in, you can research what you want to switch to....

I would listen to Judy's advice. Long-time, savvy gal who knows what's best for pups from lots of practice.

[mimimomo]

Originally Posted by Yorkiemom1

I would wait until the baby is well settled into your home and family before you start messing around with the only thing that baby is going to be familiar with....continuiong with the Purina Puppy chow is NOT going to do any damage for another month. I am not familiar with the holistic brand meat content....just be sure he is settled in before you start doing the "Changing Food Hustle" ......while he is settling in, you can research what you want to switch to....

That's why most breeders have it in their contract to feed the same food until they're @ least 6 months old. If the puppy is 12-15 weeks old or bigger, about 2 #'s, it's less risky, but very dangerous for younger 8 week, under 2#'s pups. I also wonder why a breeder is feeding Purina in the 1st place. Is this what the momma eats too? It's not a 'premium brand', not the BEST food for breeding bitches.

Switching food on a very young puppy is very risky.
1. it can cause additional stress, stress = bloody poop
2. it can cause stomach upset, tummy upset = diarrhea
3. diarrhea + bloody poop = dehydration
4. dehydration in a small puppy + they lose their appetite = hypoglycemia
5. hypoglycemia + they can go downhill very fast = trip to the ER or vet

Some dogs do not eat the old food when you transition them, they will pick out the new & leave the old. So in this case, it's cold turkey & hope that they don't get a stomach upset. Some dogs do fine w/cold turkey switches, some do not. When switching from a store brand to a premium brand, they recommend transitioning slowly for 7-10 days. Just be prepared to take on the responsibility of what can happen when the pup gets any loose stool or diarrhea when switching foods, take them to the vet asap.

[iloveloki1972]

thank you everyone!! I want to just do the best thing for him. not sure why the breeder is feeding him purina. but I do know purina is junk food so i wanted to switch to a better brand.for the health of my new baby!!

[yorkietalkjilly]

Originally Posted by mimimomo

That's why most breeders have it in their contract to feed the same food until they're @ least 6 months old. If the puppy is 12-15 weeks old or bigger, about 2 #'s, it's less risky, but very dangerous for younger 8 week, under 2#'s pups. I also wonder why a breeder is feeding Purina in the 1st place. Is this what the momma eats too? It's not a 'premium brand', not the BEST food for breeding bitches.

Switching food on a very young puppy is very risky.
1. it can cause additional stress, stress = bloody poop
2. it can cause stomach upset, tummy upset = diarrhea
3. diarrhea + bloody poop = dehydration
4. dehydration in a small puppy + they lose their appetite = hypoglycemia
5. hypoglycemia + they can go downhill very fast = trip to the ER or vet

Some dogs do not eat the old food when you transition them, they will pick out the new & leave the old. So in this case, it's cold turkey & hope that they don't get a stomach upset. Some dogs do fine w/cold turkey switches, some do not. When switching from a store brand to a premium brand, they recommend transitioning slowly for 7-10 days. Just be prepared to take on the responsibility of what can happen when the pup gets any loose stool or diarrhea when switching foods, take them to the vet asap.

Great info! Thanks!

[kimp5]

mine fed eukanuba and that's not great either. I will say Jess is very healthy and from a reputable breeder who breeds them for show (Jess was too sweet/timid according to her to be a show dog, Ha! that changed)
anyway I would take it slow. I tried to change her (she was older) right away and it was too much trauma/change all at once and she wouldnt eat blue buffalo..so I went back to eukanuba and slowly over a period of a month mixed with royal canin. (I never went back to the blue buffalo, but I was kind of puppy challenged and didn't think to mix it until I already threw it out..anyways she is now 100% royal canin now..

[Ellie May]

I'll go with the minority here.

Purina Puppy Chow is not going to kill your puppy. Changing food when the pup is already stressed over new surroundings could lead to severe GI issues which could kill your puppy.

If you hate Purina so much then switch over after pup settles in (2-3+ weeks).