Getting a puppy on Saturday - what to feed her?

[Kim Ledoux]

This is my first post on DK, what a great community and full of so much great information!

We are picking up Maddie is a 12 week old goldendoodle on Saturday.  The breeder feeds her chicken Purina Pro Choice for Large Breed Puppies.  I picked up a bag of that until she gets settled into her new family: )  I have a few questions I was hoping you all could help with?

• I am new to the whole idea of grain free foods or healthy grain food, can someone explain the basis of why this is better or point me to a good resource?  Does is need to be high protein as well?
• What brands do you all recommend?  It seems that Fromms gets a lot of good comments, but I am not sure what to start with when I transition Maddie off.
• What is the best method to transition her?
• Also, the breeder allowed her access to food at all times but we plan to put her on a 3x a day schedule here.  Does anyone have any suggestions for feeding time etc?
• Lastly, any good suggestions for training snacks or kiblets?  I would like something small and round and soft if possible.

I have a 5.5 and 3.5 yo who are on the moon excited to go pick her up.  I think my husband is most excited of all.  I am just a nervous wreck to give her the best start and get her comfy: )

Thanks for any input!

Kim

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Kim your questions are good ones, and have been asked many times by new owners. Here are some discussions on these topics that will help answer them:

On transitioning a puppy to a new food:

http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/thefoodgroup/forum/topics/totw-al...

 

Wait at least two weeks before introducing a new food, or a new treat. 

Then start with the food only. Replace one quarter of her old food with the new food, and then gradually increase the amount of new food as you decrease the old food, over a period of 7-10 days. But if she loves the new food and tries to pick that out, go ahead and make the switch.

Also, you will need to pay attention to calories. Chances are that the new food, being a better quality, is going to have more calories per cup than the old one and you need to feed less of it. So take that into account when transitioning. If the old food has 320 k/cal per cup, one quarter cup is 80 calories. If the new food has 460 k/cal per cup, one quarter cup is 115 calories. So you cannot replace one quarter cup of the old with one quarter cup of the new, or you'll be overfeeding. It may take a little calculating to get the right amounts at first.

On grain-free VS grains:

http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/thefoodgroup/forum/topics/why-gra...

For Recommended Brands:

http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/thefoodgroup/forum/topics/recomme...

When choosing a formula, start with one that has the same main protein source as the Purina; I'm guessing that's probably chicken.

Best small healthy treats are Zuke's minis, IMO.

 You'll have to play it by ear regarding feeding times, since she is accustomed to free-feeding and may take some time to get accustomed to not always having food available and having to eat at given times, so you may have to be flexible as she settles in. First thing in the a.m. after she's been outside for potty is a given. She may not eat well at subsequent meals until she catches on to the fact that she needs to eat whne the food is available, but she'll catch on.

Congratulations, we can't wait to hear all about Maddie. 

[Jess and Pippin]

Oh how exciting!  I've always fed the dogs on a schedule (3 times per day for the puppy stage) and twice daily for adults.  A regular food routine means regular BM's.  :)  We are an early morning family.  The dogs and I go for a walk at 6:30 am, and then they get fed at 7.  Dinner is at 5:30.  When Pippin was a puppy, we fed him at 7, 3:30 and 7:30. Water was/is available all day, and is taken away at 8pm. He would go outside for his last business at 10pm, then up once during the night.  We gave Pippin an ice cube if he seemed thirsty once the water was taken up in the evening.  that way he got some water but didn't have a lot of output.  They are also great for sore teething mouths.  Have fun on the site.  There are so many great, knowledgable people here.  Check out the puppy madness group on the site too.  My 2 love the zukes minis naturals for training treats.  They can be a bit hard, but soften up well with the heat from your hand to make it easy to break into smaller pieces.

[Jeanine Bandini]

I am so excited for you! She will do great. We added Wally to our family recently (I also have 2 young kids 5 and 7) and now we cant imagine being without him! I feed him Puppy wellness 2 times a day (fed him 3 times a day until 8 months old) I am sure you know this but in the off chance you don't; get a crate and keep her confined to a smaller area until potty trained!! (I used baby gates) I cant wait to see pictures!!

[Kim Ledoux]

Thanks so much for the links and replies.  Having it it in one place is making my week of puppy madness a little less stressful!  We had a deposit on a puppy in our area, but came across Maddie and fell in love with her.  She's a little older at 12 weeks and we bought her over the internet which is so scary - there aren't enough references in the world that can make me feel 100% ok.  She is being shipped (poor thing, I paid for a direct flight).  We will love her no matter what though!  We definitely plan to crate train her though: )

[Maria, Ton & Zoe]

No worries, our Zoe flew from Oregon at 12 weeks and she is all fine.  If you can bring her to Puppy Socials classes - if you can find any in your area - it will make a big difference. 

Expect that she may not eat much the first couple of days due to travel stress.  Our vet told us 3 meals a day, leave the food 20 minutes, then take it away even if she did not eat. The breeder though told us to do this until she is potty trained but after to free feed her. After enough months trying it both ways (free feeding and strict meal times) I believe now that free feeding encourages picky dogs so it'd be best if you are strict with the meals.

And please, please do not try to switch her foods just to get her to eat something, you will create a picky dog (we did that and now we have been strugling for 6+ months to convince her that she will not get "better" food even if she is refusing food for 2 days in a row)!

I wish your puppy won't be food picky, but either way it's such a joy to see them growing!  Good luck!