Puppy food advice please

[Laura]

Hi all- we have a ten week standard goldendoodle, Wrigley. He was one of twelve puppies in the litter and has always fallen in the middle of them weight wise. At 6 weeks, he was 4 pounds, 8 weeks was 5.12 pounds, and today at 10 weeks he was 10.1 pounds. Mom was 60, dad 67.

I’ve been concerned about his smaller than usual size for a standard but both the breeder and our vet said this happens sometimes in extra large letters and they typically “catch up” in size. However, Wrigley also tested positive for giardia and just finished a week of panacur. He hasn’t been real interested in food, especially kibble, and the vet said today that he’s too thin. 

Wrigley has  been on blue buffalo puppy, mostly the canned food, but we want him eating kibble and eating more. I’ve been researching higher quality foods and came across orijen, Acana, Fromm, etc. but I’m overwhelmed by the information on this group. I’ve always been told to look into raw goat’s milk.

I guess what I’m asking for is someone with experience to maybe walk along side us as we come up with a food plan for our guy to try to get him healthy and growing. I’m also not sure if we do large breed puppy or regular puppy, especially since our guy is smaller than usual right now. Shew. Thanks!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Okay, so what you want is a food that is calorie dense, meaning the greatest number of calories in the smallest amount of food, and that's always going to be a high protein grain-free kibble like Orijen. Canned food is generally lower in calories than dry food, due to the high water content, and with a pup who is not a big food gobbler, it's probably not your best choice. You may need to add a little wet food to his kibble to get him to eat, though. 
I'm not sure who is telling you to look into goat's milk, raw or otherwise, but I'm pretty sure it isn't anyone who has any formal education in nutrition, lol. Forget the goat's milk. However, a tablespoon or two of plain unflavored yogurt added to his meals (or separately) wouldn't be a bad idea. That might work to take the place of canned food in getting him to eat the kibble, and it will put some good bacteria into his gut.  
I'd wait until you have a clear fecal (to avoid confusing the issue if diarrhea develops after switching food) and then I'd switch him to Orijen puppy. You can start the yogurt now. 

[Maria Brow]

Hi!  Our labdradoodle who is now 13 months did not care for kibble (Wellness Core Grain Free), in fact he left most of it uneaten, but he loves Ziwipeak Air Dried 98% meat, organs and mussels.  He also loves plain goat milk yogurt for a snack.  Good luck with your puppy.  Here is a link to our vet's feeding recommendations.  Click on "Best Foods for Your Dog":  https://meridianvetcare.com/services/nutritional-therapy/

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Ziwipeak is wonderful, but it is very expensive...beyond most people's budgets. I priced it myself for my last doodle, and it would have run me $110 per week. And that was several years ago. 

[J and Riley (and Luna)]

Whaaaat that's crazy!  That's about how much we spend weekly to feed my entire family (dog included).

We spent about $10-12 weekly on Luna's food (Acana), I'm expecting that to go up a bit with Riley since she's big but maybe to $15-20 a week max.

[DonMarie and Picco]

I looked at this and read the list the Food Energies.  I have seen these before but have seen them varied on different lists and different ways to use them.  Was it explained to you?  

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

These ideas about hot and cold foods and food energies are part of the "alternative" branch of health & vet care,specifically Aryurvedic philosophies. To date, there is no scientific or clinical evidence that there is anything to them, or that they are beneficial in any way. And as you may know, in this group, we deal with factual, science-based information only. :)
And any time you see Karen Becker's name associated with any kind of health advice, the appropriate response should be skepticism, at the least. :) Ditto, Rodney Habib. 

[DonMarie and Picco]

Okay, I thought that might have to do with Aryurvedic which I tried myself - Pita, vatta, whatever - with no noticeable difference for me, I just didn't see any association on the dog related websites to it.

I stick to science based myself (have science degree) the problem is there is too much bad science!   And thanks Karen, it is fun to read your comments about misinformation we all find floating out there!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I find the Skeptvet website to be a valuable tool in weeding through some of the nonsense you read online, along with Quackwatch. :) 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Let me add also that my opinions about "holistic", "homeopathic", and "alternative" nutrition & health advice are not based solely on reading & research but on actual experience. I worked in the field of human health & nutrition and I had several clients who had been greatly harmed by "alternative" treatments and diets. It didn't just not help them, it actually hurt them. 

[Laura]

All of these posts have been so helpful. We’re still on the struggle bus over here. I ordered the Orijen but it doesn’t arrive until tomorrow. In the meantime, the poor pup is still alternating normal stools with loose stools and isn’t wanting to eat. I’m going to go ahead and do the rice and chicken diet and see if that helps and if not, call the vet about maybe the giardia not being kicked. How long should I do the bland diet and how soon should I see a change? Thankfully he acts ok energy wise/isn’t lethargic so I’m not feeling like he needs an emergency visit but I just can’t figure out why he won’t eat and what’s up wirh the stools.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

If you are still having loose stools, I would not switch foods at this time. I would order Proviable DC probiotics and start that. In the meantime, give plain unflavored yogurt. Sometimes the giardia may be gone but there is a lack of good gut flora (necessary for proper stool formation) and the probiotics help with that. Giardia can be tough to get rid of, though. It's not enough to just treat it, you also have to prevent reinfection with scrupulous cleaning of anything and everything the poop may have touched, and supervision outdoors to prevent the puppy from coming into contact with standing water (including puddles) and from eating anything that may have been contaminated.  
Giardia typically doesn;t cause lack of appetite. You may just have a picky puppy. :) Mine needs continuous coaxing to eat as well as dehydrated chicken "dust" (crushed Pure Bites) sprinkled over the food. I often have to feed at least part of each meal by hand. I am very strict about sticking to a scheduled feeding regimen and limiting all distractions at meal time, and I can help with that once the giardia/loose stool issues are resolved. 
If your pup is on a grain-free diet (not sure which Blue formula he has been eating), don't use rice in your bland diet. Use sweet potatoes, and feed a 50/50 mixture of white meat chicken and the sweet potatoes. Be aware that starting a homecooked diet is going to make it even harder to get your pup interested in kibble.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Oh, and you will have to feed about twice as much of the bland homecooked diet as kibble, because it has only about 200 calories per cup, again due to the high water content.