Orijen puppy to Orijen adult...and a 1 year birthday party

[TYoung]

Hello all!

Well, I can't believe Hadley will be a year old next week...it has flown by!!!  She is the sweetest little soul and we all love her so much that we can't imagine being without her.

Anyhow, I figured it's time to switch her to adult food and I was reading threads and then realized, I better just ask my specific questions.  

1) Do I need to blend puppy and adult food in the trasition if Im sticking with Orijen?  (I just realized that Im down to a few days of food..  I typically bag her food and put in the back of the freezer but I lost track of how much I had left...ugh)

2) Once I make the switch, how much should I feed her of the adult formula?  She is a medium ALD and weights 40 lbs which is supposed to be her max.)  @Karen--you kindly gave me the proper food amounts last time because the Orijen rep had told me to feed larger quantities.  Frankly, she doesn't always finish her food. (1 cup twice a day).  I've not worried about it since she is at a good weight and is healthy.

3) Lastly, the kids and Grandma (haha) want to give her a birthday party with cake, party hats and all.  Any recommendations for a healthy puppy cake.?  I do not want to create any digestive issues for the love of one day.  Perhaps a recipe, or a brand, etc.  There is a local doggie bakery that makes cakes but they have grain.  Will it liklely bother her tummy since she's on a grain-free food?  With that, I do give her itty bitty cookies as treats that do have grain.  She's has no issue with them.

Thanks for all your help in advance.

Tanya  

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

1. You don't need to transition at all from Orijen Puppy to Orijen Adult. They are so similar there should be no issues whatsoever when you switch. 

2. Start with the same amount you're feeding now, 1 cup twice a day. It's slightly lower in calories than the puppy formula, so she may eat all of it. Otherwise, if she's consistently leaving food in the bowl at each meal, you can cut back to 3/4 cup twice a day. 

3. How about a birthday party with hats and cake for the humans and a special meal for Hadley instead of a "cake". After all, she doesn't know or care that cake is traditionally served at birthday parties, lol. We know that's for us, not really for the dog. She'd be much happier with a homemade dinner of one cup chicken, ground beef, or ground turkey combined with one cup of sweet potatoes, and half a cup of green beans. 

I would not give her any kind of commercial doggy cake; they're usually full of flour, which very well could upset her tummy, and that's not a very happy way to celebrate her birthday. You could check the DK Cookbook Group for recipes for doggy treats. A nice birthday dessert could be a small dish of plain yogurt with some blueberries added.

[TYoung]

Thanks Karen!  I appreciate the time you took to lay it all out for me.  Perhaps I can get creative in "forming" those ingredients into something resembling a cake shape.  Yogurt could be a perfect icing and the kids would like that for fun.

Thanks again :)

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I do think you could probably form a mixture of ground meat or poultry and mashed sweet potatoes into a patty or small "cake" (skip the green beans). And yogurt "frosting" sounds perfect! 

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

We had cake for the humans and filled hollow bones with peanut butter and gave festive scarves to the dog attendees at Ned's first birthday party.  Happy birthday to Hadley.We feed our guys Orijen and fed one cup twice a day to both our 42 pound Springer and Clancy who weighs about 60 pounds.  Our Springer was extremely active while Clancy has a much calmer personality.

[TYoung]

Oh that is adorable!  That platter looks great.  Thanks for sharing the photos.  Im excited for her birthday : )  It's actually tomorrow but we are celebrating next week.

Hadley is calm and somewhat lazy (she's a cuddle puppy).  YET, she's always ready when you are to play.  Anyhow, she may not need the full cup so doesn't eat it.  I'll monitor for a few weeks and adjust the quantity if need be.  

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Ned is 28 pounds and eats about half a cup twice a day.

[Gail & Bogey]

Hi Tonya,
I concur with Karen on the birthday cake. I got Bogey a pupcake for his last two birthdays at the dog bakery and he wasn't very impressed. Apparently I'm a slow learner because I did it for two years! This year I plan to make my own out of hamburger and mashed potatoes. He's more of a meat and potatoes kind of guy. And as Karen said the parties are more for the humans. I just use it as an excuse to have my friends over and show off my adorable puppy! He does love getting all the presents!

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Cute pic, Gail!  Ned also got some gifts for that birthday but because of the other dogs, he had to get them later and by himself! :-}

[TYoung]

Cute photo...clearly loved his presents :)  Thanks!

[Mary ann & Lincoln]

I make my own dog treats for Lincoln.  I use:

1 C oatmeal

1 C whole wheat flour

1/4 C peanut butter

1 egg

can also add 1/4 c pumpkin.  Or use sweet potato instead of the peanut butter, just cook well and mash first.

Mix all together, you may need to add some water if it is too thick. 

Roll out like cookie dough and cut with cookie cutters. ( I have a bone shape, a heart, a pumpkin and some smaller ones)any shape will work.  they do not spread , so you can put them fairly close together. 

Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes, turn off the oven and leave in there until the oven cools so that they harden.  store in an airtight container or freeze. Makes about 24 cookies depenidng on size. 

 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I prefer the sweet potato option over the peanut butter; much less fat and calories, and some good fiber, too. 

The only reservation I would have with these is that there are a LOT of dogs who don;t tolerate wheat very well. It's probably the ingredient most likely to trigger an adverse response in a dog with any type of food allergy or intolerance. 

[Mary ann & Lincoln]

Karen  - I am sure oyu could just use all oatmeal and grind it up in the blender to make flour or some other type of flour.  Luckily Lincoln has not shown any food issues or alergies.  He loves the peanut butter, and he only gets 1-2 a day, so not too bad.  He is not a big eater lately!  I mix  up the flavors each time I make them. You can use all kinds of ingredients, applesauce, butternut squash, even baby food carrots.  I even tried baby food beef once, but he did not like them.  Just make sure no onions are addedd to the baby food. 

Lots of other dog biscuits recipes on Pinterest.