Feed Additives

[KyCountry]

Hey, guys.

I will be picking up my pup in a few weeks and had some questions. (Well actually a lot, but I will stick to this one for now. ) She is a GSP and is the runt of the litter so obviously she's a little behind physically. She's smaller and more skinny. She's currently on Purina Puppy Chow so I bought some and was going to slowely ween her off and start her on Diamond. My question is- Is there anything I should put in her food to maybe give her a little more fat? I'm wanting to put a little weight on her so she might not be quite as skinny. I'm talking basically human food here. By the way, she will be 8 weeks old.

Any thoughts are appreciated.

[Cajun Casey]

Supplementing a food throws off the formulation and can affect nutrient balance. Also, you don't want fat on a puppy because it stresses joints. Choose a good food and follow the directions. FYI, Diamond just recalled a run of Puppy formula, so check the bag code if you're getting food from Gaston, SC.

[KyCountry]

Thanks, that's good to know. I guess I will just feed as usual. I did check the Diamond website. Thanks again.

[frontline]

Don't worry about her being the runt of the litter. Sometimes the runt will surpass the others in growth once it's removed from the litter. Just feed your puppy normally and take her to your vet within 2-3 days of getting her, take a poop sample with you to rule out parasites. Feeding her a food that she isn't used to (including treats) could cause a digestive upset and she could lose more weight.

[KyCountry]

Don't worry about her being the runt of the litter. Sometimes the runt will surpass the others in growth once it's removed from the litter. Just feed your puppy normally and take her to your vet within 2-3 days of getting her, take a poop sample with you to rule out parasites. Feeding her a food that she isn't used to (including treats) could cause a digestive upset and she could lose more weight.

I do plan on going to the vet shortly after but didn't think about the stool sample, thanks for the heads up. I was thinking of keeping her on Purina for at least a few months before I try and switch, at least until I think she's fattened up a bit.

[jwnissen]

The breeder I bought my GSP from feeds his puppies 1 tablespoon of real whole fat yogurt and 1 tablespood of 4% cottage cheese or higher fat content with every meal. He said an "old timer" he knew told him about this. He usually pulls one of the puppies out of his litter at 5 weeks to keep. He feeds that pup dry food mixed with that and he says that at 8 eweeks his pup is bigger and stronger than the others and has even had people comment on the size difference. I fed my pup 3 times a day and mixed in some everytime I fed her until she was about 2 1/2 months old. I took her in for her initial vet checkup at 6 weeks and you could already see muscle defination on her back legs. The vet said that she had never seen a 6 week old puppy with back legs as well defined as hers. So, does it really work? Maybe or maybe not. But I look at it as she got a lot more protein and fat in her food. She was 51 lbs at 6 months. I think it helped her and will give it to my future puppies. Hope this helps. I also did a lot of research on food and use Blue Buffalo wilderness puppy. It has the highest protein, 36%, of all the foods I looked at. Hope this helps

[KyCountry]

The breeder I bought my GSP from feeds his puppies 1 tablespoon of real whole fat yogurt and 1 tablespood of 4% cottage cheese or higher fat content with every meal. He said an "old timer" he knew told him about this. He usually pulls one of the puppies out of his litter at 5 weeks to keep. He feeds that pup dry food mixed with that and he says that at 8 eweeks his pup is bigger and stronger than the others and has even had people comment on the size difference. I fed my pup 3 times a day and mixed in some everytime I fed her until she was about 2 1/2 months old. I took her in for her initial vet checkup at 6 weeks and you could already see muscle defination on her back legs. The vet said that she had never seen a 6 week old puppy with back legs as well defined as hers. So, does it really work? Maybe or maybe not. But I look at it as she got a lot more protein and fat in her food. She was 51 lbs at 6 months. I think it helped her and will give it to my future puppies. Hope this helps. I also did a lot of research on food and use Blue Buffalo wilderness puppy. It has the highest protein, 36%, of all the foods I looked at. Hope this helps

Awesome, makes a lot of sense. That's what I was looking for. I will definitely be adding some. Thanks, Jw.

[bossman]

jwnissen...Just out of curiousity, what's the significance of 36% protein

[mcbosco]

If you are going to add dairy, then go with goat milk yogurt. Goat milk is far easier to digest and virtually every supermarket has the quart containers of whole plain yogurt.

If you have access to fresh milk make your own yogurt in a small igloo cooler and warm water bath. It is amazingly easy.

[frontline]

Yogurt and cottage cheese are considered high calcium foods and adding them at every meal will change the calcium phosphorus ratio that your feeding. These foods are ok to use sparingly but not on a regular basis.

Calcium excess:
"Feeding high calcium diets with excess calcium is often blamed for contributing to bone problems in young, rapidly growing dogs. There does appear to be a link between the incidence of hypertrophic osteodystrophy (HOD), osteochondritis dissecans (OCD) and hip dysplasia, and the overfeeding of calcium. In recent studies, researchers fed dogs calcium at a much higher than recommended amount, and compared the incidence of disease in dogs that were fed normal or less than normal calcium levels. As would be expected, the animals that were overfed calcium showed increased incidence of skeletal problems including hip dysplasia."

"Calcium and phosphorous work together in the body to maintain the growth and structure of the skeletal system. Deficiencies or excesses of both can create skeletal problems especially in young puppies. It is very important that the calcium and phosphorous be fed in the correct ratio. Problems with calcium and phosphorous rarely occur anymore due to the easily available commercial pet foods that are properly balanced. When problems arise, it is when owners feed a homemade diet or over-supplement, especially with young, rapidly growing puppies."
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2&aid=652

Sometimes less is better. I know your excited about getting your puppy and you want to do something to prepare for her arrival but her food is a given for a few weeks, or should be. Do you have a crate, flat collar and leash, the proper toys? Have you read a current book about raising and training a puppy? Do you know about clicker training? New training techniques are much kinder and more effective than what was used in the past and there are many methods. I would be concentrating on other aspects of raising your puppy instead of her food, more dogs are given up due to training failure than because of feeding.

[KyCountry]

Yogurt and cottage cheese are considered high calcium foods and adding them at every meal will change the calcium phosphorus ratio that your feeding. These foods are ok to use sparingly but not on a regular basis.

Calcium excess:
"Feeding high calcium diets with excess calcium is often blamed for contributing to bone problems in young, rapidly growing dogs. There does appear to be a link between the incidence of hypertrophic osteodystrophy (HOD), osteochondritis dissecans (OCD) and hip dysplasia, and the overfeeding of calcium. In recent studies, researchers fed dogs calcium at a much higher than recommended amount, and compared the incidence of disease in dogs that were fed normal or less than normal calcium levels. As would be expected, the animals that were overfed calcium showed increased incidence of skeletal problems including hip dysplasia."

"Calcium and phosphorous work together in the body to maintain the growth and structure of the skeletal system. Deficiencies or excesses of both can create skeletal problems especially in young puppies. It is very important that the calcium and phosphorous be fed in the correct ratio. Problems with calcium and phosphorous rarely occur anymore due to the easily available commercial pet foods that are properly balanced. When problems arise, it is when owners feed a homemade diet or over-supplement, especially with young, rapidly growing puppies."
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2&aid=652

Sometimes less is better. I know your excited about getting your puppy and you want to do something to prepare for her arrival but her food is a given for a few weeks, or should be. Do you have a crate, flat collar and leash, the proper toys? Have you read a current book about raising and training a puppy? Do you know about clicker training? New training techniques are much kinder and more effective than what was used in the past and there are many methods. I would be concentrating on other aspects of raising your puppy instead of her food, more dogs are given up due to training failure than because of feeding.

Yes. Over the past month I have read everything I could get my hands on as well as a few DVD's regarding pointers. I have two crates, toys, check chords, leashes, collars, bowls, etc. I have trained multiple labs and duck dogs but wanted to research due to inexperience as far as pointers go. I have since developed a plan for my pup and know what will be done and when it will be done. The only reason I asked the question pertaining to food is I saw her the other day and she just looked extremely skinny for what I'm used to.

[ezzy333]

Two things come to mind and I hope you don't take offense but think about it.

Anytime you supplement a balanced feed it is no longer balanced. Plus their is nothing your pup will need that isn't in the regular food.

Schedules never work for training dogs, kids, or anything else. Each pup is different and will learn at their own schedule. A trainer must be able to watch and read the pup while exhibiting extreme patience. Ther is no quicker way to mess up a pup than to do what you want to do instead of what the pup needs.

Ezzy

[frontline]

It sounds like your good to go then. Make sure you get a wellness check to rule out a health issue, she could have parasites. If you plan to do the cottage cheese thing, run that by your vet first.

[jwnissen]

jwnissen...Just out of curiousity, what's the significance of 36% protein

She seems to do a lot better with less food. I was feeding her some food with less protein and fewer calories per serving and she looked too skinny so I kept feeding her more to help her gain weight. I was up to almost 3 cups a day when she was 3 months old. So I found this other food and I was able to cut her servings in half and she maintained her healthy weight. I also know how importand protein is to me when I work out a lot so I kind of used the same train of thought for her since she is non stop energy and play.

Definately talk to your vet, I did. I did hear goats milk and goats milk yogurt is better than cows milk, but I decided that it was too expensive and hard to find. As far as the skinny puppy, from what I have learned, GSP's are suppose to be really skinny. I tried to fatten mine up because I thought she looked too thin. But I have since been educated and now kow your suppose to see their ribs and hips. They are definately skinnier than labs. Something to consider.