Breeder is feeing puppy crap

[Lisa Koch]

We get to go get our f1b labradoodle this Friday. I called today what she had been feeding puppy and she told me she was feeding him Purina puppy food. I know you are not suppose to change the food with the first few weeks but I refuse to feed puppy crappy food. What can switch him to? I am going to get everything we need for his arrival tomorrow. Thanks in advance.

[Joan Bollaert]

The list of recommended food is below.   Some foods like Orijen aren't available in most stores so you might want to make sure whatever food you choose from this list that it's convenient for you.  I order my Orijen from Chewy.com and it's also available at one of the specialty pet stores here but not Pet Smart or Petco.:

I switched my doodles to Orijen within one week:

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

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

A lot of breeders feed lousy food; price seems to be the only concern for them. It's unfortunate, but it's still a big mistake to change your puppy's diet before you've had him for at least two weeks. Here's why:

It's critical that you not change anything about his diet for at least two weeks after he comes home. That means you keep him on the food and treats the breeder is feeding, even if they aren't so great.

Do not introduce any new treats or chews either. Keep his diet exactly the same as it was at the breeder's. 

Many, many doodle puppies come home with giardia and other parasites. Giardia has a 10-14 day incubation period, so it won;t show up in a fecal test right away. The excitement and stress of leaving the mother, the litter, and the only home the puppy has ever known can contribute to tummy troubles, too. And an 8 week old puppy has only been eating solid food of any kind for about 4 weeks, so the digestive system is very immature.

We have even had members whose brand new puppies had serious health issues resulting in digestive symptoms.

If you change the food before the dog has had a chance to settle in, and before any parasite issues have time to show up in a fecal test, and the dog has diarrhea, you will not know if it's caused by the food change, stress, parasites, or a digestive illness, and the breeder will blame it on the food change. Thus begins a journey of frustration trying to figure it out and an endless round of food changes. You also don;t want to do anything to upset that delicate digestive system, as diarrhea can cause a young puppy to dehydrate very quickly, and is going to make housebreaking a whole lot tougher.

So you wait. If you leave the dog's diet exactly as is, and diarrhea develops, you have just eliminated any connection to food as the cause, and saved yourself a lot of aggravation. And of course, if the puppy comes home with diarrhea that doesn't resolve in a day, you know your breeder sent you a puppy with an intestinal parasite and you can probably recoup the cost of the fecal testing and the treatment, lol. (I personally would have fecal done on any new puppy I got, along with a general once-over at the vet's office, but parasites may not show up right away.)

So wait at least two weeks. If, after two weeks, the stool is firm and regular and everything seems fine with the pup's digestion, you can start changing him over. Make only one change at a time. 

As to what to switch to, Orijen Puppy would always be my first choice, but there are lots of other good choices on our recommended list which Joan has given you. 

[Joan Bollaert]

Great advice Karen, as always. :)