Additional foods for a pup

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strick9995
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Additional foods for a pup

Post by strick9995 » Fri Aug 03, 2018 3:27 pm

What kinds of additional foods other than dog food (if any) are you all adding to your puppies diet? I've heard of people giving their pups eggs, cottage cheese, etc. What other foods are helpful for a young dog?

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ezzy333
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Re: Additional foods for a pup

Post by ezzy333 » Fri Aug 03, 2018 4:54 pm

You can feed lots of different stuff but if you are feeding a balanced kibble then all you re doing is throwing it out of balance. The companies making the feed spend a lot of money for nutritionist that have the job of formulating the feed to provide the right amount of all of the nutrients that your pup needs. When you start adding other ingredients you are usually doing more harm than good.

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Urban_Redneck
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Re: Additional foods for a pup

Post by Urban_Redneck » Tue Aug 07, 2018 5:33 am

Why are you looking to supplement your dog's diet? Just looking to add some variety or do you have a particular concern?

You can supplement kibble with raw meat, raw bones, and raw offal, up to 25% without need for rebalancing.

If you're looking for performance during periods of high exertion/stress, extra raw fat will help, dogs burn fat for energy. 2 ounces the night before a hunt is plenty, start with half that to check tolerance. Oily fish like mackerel and sardines supply essential fatty acids that help with skin and coat- raw is best, but, low sodium canned is ok in moderation.

I mostly stay away from weight bearing bones from anything larger than a chicken, otherwise, you should supervise the dog to prevent broken teeth. Only feed raw bones, they are relatively soft and digestible. Cooked bones splinter and can cause all sorts of nasty problems. My pup gets a raw, frozen, chicken foot for a snack every day, it's a good source of bioavailable glucosamine and chondroitin.

2 or 3 whole raw eggs week help keep the coat nice and shiny. Don't feed the shells of supermarket eggs as they are often sprayed with a cleaner/sealer.

Dogs don't really digest or gain any nutrition from raw vegetables, so carrots are ok for a recreational treat. If you want to add cooked veggies stay away from high starch/high glycemic foods like potatoes, hard squashes, and carrots. Cooked and pureed, broccoli and summer squashes mixed with a little chicken broth and frozen, make nice a treat on a hot day.

I'd go on, but, ezzy is probably close to having a stroke already :lol:

strick9995
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Re: Additional foods for a pup

Post by strick9995 » Tue Aug 07, 2018 8:39 am

Thanks, that's a lot of good information.

I have a 5 month old GSP/Lab pup. Shes kind of skinny in my opinion, and it seems like she gets tired quickly when I have her running around in the yard (Large yard and its hot outside). I just want to make sure shes getting everything she needs and more while she is still growing.

Steve007
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Re: Additional foods for a pup

Post by Steve007 » Tue Aug 07, 2018 8:58 am

strick9995 wrote:Thanks, that's a lot of good information.

I have a 5 month old GSP/Lab pup. Shes kind of skinny in my opinion, and it seems like she gets tired quickly when I have her running around in the yard (Large yard and its hot outside). I just want to make sure shes getting everything she needs and more while she is still growing.
Try feeding more food if she's skinny, though if you're thinking "Lab", GSP pups are thin compared to them. IF your dog is vet-cleared of parasites, you're probably all right. There are real and definite negatives to plump young dogs, though they are cuter. Dogs do get slow and tired in the heat; they're cold-weather animals.

Ezzy is correct.

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Re: Additional foods for a pup

Post by shags » Tue Aug 07, 2018 9:44 am

strick9995 wrote:Thanks, that's a lot of good information.

I have a 5 month old GSP/Lab pup. Shes kind of skinny in my opinion, and it seems like she gets tired quickly when I have her running around in the yard (Large yard and its hot outside). I just want to make sure shes getting everything she needs and more while she is still growing.
The "and more" you stuck in there can lead to problems, so don't go overboard on on adding stuff.

IME some dogs go through a skinny period at 5-7 months or so. It seems to me that they get their basic size then, as in height and length, but it outstrips their mass for a while before it self-corrects. Some dogs are more hard keepers, and are difficult to keep in good flesh; it works for mine to feed twice a day, morning and late afternoon, amount adjusted as needed. Feeding more once a day can result in loose nasty poops.

Keep in mind though, that lots of people have no idea what a fit dog looks like because they are so used to seeing pudgy dogs. I've told this here before...I had one of my dogs at the university vet clinic for an ortho issue, and the attending vet called about a dozen vet students over to check him out, because they so rarely get to see a fit athletic intact dog.

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Urban_Redneck
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Re: Additional foods for a pup

Post by Urban_Redneck » Tue Aug 07, 2018 3:47 pm

strick9995 wrote:Thanks, that's a lot of good information.

I have a 5 month old GSP/Lab pup. Shes kind of skinny in my opinion, and it seems like she gets tired quickly when I have her running around in the yard (Large yard and its hot outside). I just want to make sure shes getting everything she needs and more while she is still growing.
30 minutes of real running around is enough for a 5 month old pup, my vet gave me a rule of thumb "5 minutes of running for each month of age". Plus it's been hot as heck.

She's still growing and needs food to fuel that, plus whatever she's burning through exercise. When my pup was 5 months, I think was looking for the last rib, that was skinny enough, I tweaked food amounts all the time and still do.

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