Food

[pippywhippet]

Hi, mine are very fussy, the only complete dry they will eat happily is Orijen, which is very high quality, 70% meat kibble. It is quite pricey but the only food I have fed which actually puts weight on- they are very active. I buy online from zooplus, you cant buy in the shops.
They also enjoy raw tripe...bet your pup cannot resist, and raw meaty lamb rib bones.

Your pup will be fine on a mix of complete and canned, if it suits you to feed that, as long as both are complete foods. I have been told NEVER to mix raw with kibble, it is hard to digest and may give them diahorrea.

Its best to feed to appetite in 2-3 meals a day for your pup, unless you notice him getting fat, (very unlikely in a pup)

Good luck, hope to see some pics soon

"I have been told NEVER to mix raw with kibble, it is hard to digest and may give them diahorrea."

The manufacturers make this claim why? because most dogs prefer meat and if mixed will start to pick the meat out and leave the kibble,

A dog has a unsacculated colon with a short fore gut designed to digest their food quickly eating kibble and meat together would not be a problem, i know as i have done this many times without any adverse incident

I have been advised this by an online forum dedicated to feeding BARF and raw Prey model diets, I was advised that it is hard to digest raw and cooked together. I do not feed raw now, other than the odd meaty bones or tripe.

I sometimes add meat to kibble but I cook it first.

I was interested in feeding raw at the time, as I had a ridgeback with food allergies, and when I looked into commercial foods, and what was in them I was horrified at all the unneccesary ingredients, some of which are harmful.

As previously mentioned in this thread some manufacturers are now making canned food to mix in with complete dry foods or to feed alone. The Burns canned lamb and Rice is very good, 58% lamb, and only 4 ingredients

 

[Noise]

regarding Weetabix - why do you feed it? considering that grains/gluten is not that good for dogs, in a sense it's not what they're supposed to eat naturally and some dogs even having intolerance (best dry kibble usually has very low grain percentage, some not any at all). sure, as a snack but as the day's main meal. might be part of the reason why your pup feels hungry so quickly again.

 

[pippywhippet]

regarding Weetabix - why do you feed it? considering that grains/gluten is not that good for dogs, in a sense it's not what they're supposed to eat naturally and some dogs even having intolerance (best dry kibble usually has very low grain percentage, some not any at all). sure, as a snack but as the day's main meal. might be part of the reason why your pup feels hungry so quickly again.

I agree with Noise, grains are hard to digest and can cause allergies. There is a brilliant website, http://dogfoodanalysis.com

It compares dog foods and their ingredients, and rates them accordingly. Most of the foods on this site that are rated highly are low grain/ grain free.

The only drawback is it is a US site, and many brands are not available here.

Go to reviews and put in the name of your food to get an independent review/ analysis

 

[Seraphina]

You cannot overfeed growing puppy. I find I struggle to keep their ribs from sticking out, and mine generally eat 3x as much as the fat oldies.

I would leave out the weetbix too, unless your dog is particularly sensitive, you can also try different kibble; you may find something that he likes better, something that suits him better. I do not feed much of kibble, but I do buy different brand every time - I alternate between several top brands. i do not believe the manufacturers when they say that their product is the only perfect food for dogs; and this way if one of these brands lacks something it all gets more balanced over time.

 

[eve]

regarding Weetabix - why do you feed it? considering that grains/gluten is not that good for dogs, in a sense it's not what they're supposed to eat naturally and some dogs even having intolerance (best dry kibble usually has very low grain percentage, some not any at all). sure, as a snack but as the day's main meal. might be part of the reason why your pup feels hungry so quickly again.

I agree with Noise, grains are hard to digest and can cause allergies. There is a brilliant website, http://dogfoodanalysis.com

It compares dog foods and their ingredients, and rates them accordingly. Most of the foods on this site that are rated highly are low grain/ grain free.

The only drawback is it is a US site, and many brands are not available here.

Go to reviews and put in the name of your food to get an independent review/ analysis

Wow,

I asked for advice!

Wheetabix with a drop of warm milk was to supplement his breakfast of IAMS Junior. Having read comments about / milk allergies, he will have to make do with plain old dog food. Toddys last owners gave him milk and I was weaning him off the habit anyway. He is pretty hyperactive (hopefully the wheetabix or more probably hunger). Boy will he be a happy content and well fed puppy today! I am not too keen on the meat diet and I would expect that he will get all the nutrients he needs from a good well balanced junior food.

I am thinking of weaning him onto James well beloved junior as it is obviously well thought of by other whippet owners. I have also been looking at the following supplier Mad-dog but will start a new topic for feedback. My older dogs get organic Aukarty and do really well on it but it is not developed for junior needs. All my dogs get a bone from time to time for their teeth and Hills T/D for supper time and tooth care.

Thanks again to all

eve

 

[charliesangel]

The Iams could be making him hypoactive it made Flash awful and almost uncontrolable at times. Also in puppy foods they have a much higher protein content than adult food .

 

[jazad]

Hi

I have two 6 month old boys - one of them (Huey) is the fussiest eater ever - there was a time when he would have scrambled egg for breakfast and cheese buried under his food (so he would eat through the food to get to the cheese)! They were both on Butchers tinned with Pedigree Small Bite Mixer - which was all Huey would tolerate - when we got them they were on cheapo tins and we moved them onto Pedigree then gradually tried to shift them to James Wellbeloved - but Huey wouldn't eat it...and was becoming incredibly ribby (it didn't help that his brindle was coming out at the time and the "stripes" followed his ribs) he was starting to look like a drowned rat!!!

We stuck with the "supplemented" Butchers and Pedigree SBM - but with two it was getting expensive. After loads of reading (inc the FAQs on here) I gradually shifted them onto Skinners Field and Trial Puppy/ Junior - and to our amazement they both love it! It is so easy to feed, and as you will have read elsewhere their poops become better to deal with - also their coats are ten times more shiny. Now if only I could get them to stay still I could take some photos to share with you all!

All I can really say is - eventually you will find something that works for you and yours - just check the ingredients (as loads of commercial foots are chock full of crap)!

Good Luck :luck: :luck: :luck:

zahra

 

[Esty]

A bit of goat's milk would be ok - mine get that every now and then - it's cow juice that's the problem!

 

[Noise]

actually, cow's milk can be given to dogs - if it's a probiotic product, I give mine a bit of probiotic organic yogurt every now and then, they love it and don't have any problems.

 

[wellybob]

Hi there, Jovi is a fawn brindle whippet we got him from Winsford Cheshire, his pedigree is Shardbeck I will send a photo when I figure out how to !!
Wellybob

If you are anywhere near Widnes there's a decent training class in one of the community centres which might be useful for helping to socalise Jovi. Mine were terrified the first time but trot in quite happily now and we've only been going for about ten weeks. There are 3 whippets there including my two, among every other kind of dog you can think of! :thumbsup:

Thanks Noise but we have booked into a training centre dont know how Jovi will go on due to his nervous disposition but we can give it a go instructor says she will give private lessons if need be thanks again wellybob

 

[scooby]

Anything with wheat in it--dont feed to dogs, WEETABIX IS A NO NO.! Got our reasons :x

 

[eve]

Hi all

Still worrying about how thin Toddy is. He has been getting twice the recommended anoung of Iams puppy and Junior for his weight and is gaining a little weight. I am using the 2% principle recommended by a few of you. He has put on .350KG in 10 days but still looks very thin. Is this a sufficient weight gain for an unnutered 35week old pup?

he now weighs 10.100KG and is of a build that should be about 15 KG as an adult.

Thanks Eve

 

[jazad]

Hi Eve

I can't advise you specifically, but I can tell you that my two have very different builds to each other - Marlo is quite stocky and was always the bigger pup, Huey on the other hand was the runt and looked very scrawny, now he's still skinny but is longer and taller than Marlo. I was watching them eat tonight (they both love Skinners - a miracle when I think back to how fussy Huey was) and it struck me that Huey is very much like Iggy Pop - still scrawny and sinewy - but no longer like a concentration camp survivor! I might rename him Iggy!

I've taken to adding a little bit more food if they finish it all, and continue to do so until they leave a little (although that will probably cause some form of neurosis down the line!!!)

Good luck - am sure the more experienced whippeteers on here will give you more advice.

Cheers

zahra