Puppy Feed... Raw or Quality Kibble?

Now I know there is a big raw movement going on as far as feeding your dogs. But what about puppies? I know it's very important for a pup to get a balanced nutritional diet in its early stages. Can their young digestive sytem handle the raw just like the big dogs? Or is a good balanced quality kibble the way to go? If anyone can post there raw feed for pup would be appreciated!

BTW... Happy Turkey Day To All!!!

 

Norcal, I need you to stop in humble county for me and meet me..............LOL! J/J

Naw, I've feed my pup raw and he liked it alot. that was not the only thing I feed though, I would feed kibble in the morning and raw at night. I depending on the age of the pup, I gave chicken backs, when he was small I gave chicken wings, but I would also put chicken gizzards, chicken liver and or chicken feet, and he did great. Search Black Juno in the puppy of the month thread, thats how the pup looked on that diet.

 

i feed raw since 6 weeks of age!

 

If wanting to start puppies on Raw immediately I feed this: http://www.naturesvariety.com/raw_products Its balanced and nutritionally
complete!

YIS

 

"great post guys "lv'e just started my new little fireball on raw,a (barf diet)sort of feed. My problem is about the bacteria vets talk about all the time when you pop the raw word. My 2,5 month pup started with chicken breast (200gr) and a mix of vegetables: broccoli, spinach, carrots, celery (50gr lightly boiled and blended).My question is,is 250/300 gr enough for 3 meals a day,he weights 4,9kg.
l would really appreciate some help from experienced raw feeders.
ps:l also feed 1 or 2 tspn low fat yogurt in the morning.
thanx:confused:

 

I have been trying this pre-made RAW formula for about a month. Not sure what area you live in but they deliver mine for free every other week to my door. A little pricey.

Organic and Human-grade Raw Dog Foods – Chicken, Duck, Turkey, Duck, Buffalo, Beef - from Darwin’s | Darwins Natural Pet

 

thanks for the info,but l live in europe and feed from the butcher's
my prob is how much to feed and how many feeds a day???

 

If you can find chicken backs, turkey necks, lamb necks/trimmings/organs, beef organs where you are you should have no problems. Feeding raw to puppies is not rocket science and not as terrifyingly difficult as a lot of websites and overly particular folks would have you believe. If you have raised a dog before and know what a happy well fed puppy looks like, you can do it. If you are one of those folks who needs to read the directions on the kibble bag to know exactly how much to feed and are prone to worry,...stick with the kibble.

I usually feed two to three small meals a day to puppies-depending on my time schedule and the pup's needs.
As for how much depends on the dog. The only real difference between feeding dogs and puppies on raw is that for pups you cut things into slightly smaller pieces and sometimes give bones a few whacks with a kitchen mallet to make them easier to eat.
Most times I don't even do that. I usually just feed what the big dogs eat, just less more often.

If you like the way your pup looks now, take a picture, weigh him/her and stick the info on the fridge. Start feeding, a chicken back or two (depending on size) a turkey neck, a litle kelp, fish oil, a little of that awful tasting euro yogurt, etc. Stick to the basic diet for a week and keep a crirical eye on the pup. Pay particular attention to stools, skin and energy levels. These are "end products" of your feeding regimen and they tell you most of what you need to know. If stools look and smell right, skin and coat look, feel and smell right, pup has all the energy to do what it needs to and more,...then you're golden. My general rule is feed as much as pup will eat in a few minutes without getting a swollen belly and losing that puppy tuck. As long as pup eats till satisfied and can walk away tail wagging without waddling,-pup is fed. If such a no worries approach isn't right for you, get a small food scale and weigh your portions. There are some here who have "exact approximate" amounts of food per kilo tables that they live by, but like like I said, keep your eyes, hands and nose on your pup and you will know what you need to know. Tweak diet according to need and availability of items, a little more oil here, a little less yogurt there, is sometimes necessary. If a stomach doesn't react well to something one day, a little white rice helps. Avoid large or sharp bones and just take it easy. It is just dog food, and considering people had been feeding dogs successfully for millenia before Purina got into the business a few decades ago, why worry?

 

Hi,Is the chicken breast served 'on the bone'??Raw fed dogs need some bone in their diet,especially growing pups.Personally I'd dump the yoghurt and swap half the breast meat with some chicken necks or wings,or feed bone-in thigh fillets or drumsticks.Make sure you also feed the skin,growing pups also need some fats in their diet.Slowly introduce a SMALL amount of raw liver as well,20-30g a day is enough for pups.

 

Excellent info in this post!!!

 

"you forgot the vegies":eek: thank you for great easy reading information.
just for record my little fire ball weighs 5kg at nearly 3 months and gets 3 feeds,(100gr per feed) of raw meat and slightly boild vegetables with tsp of olive oil and yogurt day after day.
l'm also interested in salmon oil,and apple cider,but not sure if all these ingredients do well together at his age,anyway thanks again!:rolleyes:

 

thanks for that link my buddys dad feeds zoolodgic and i asked about it on hear and no one knew what it was he feeds it to his alpha blue blooded bull dog and his dog is in proberly the best shape of any dog i seen in person but i have not been able to find were to get it hows your dog doing on it