Best food for a Wolfhound Puppy Bitch?

[dobesign]

I met a person at a handling drill that was having a hard time finding the right food for her wolfhound pup. She's looking for a commercial diet (has done her research and admittedly BARF and RAW diets are NOT for every household) that would put that extra something in her dog's baby body. Suggestions?:confused:

[doberdogsfd]

Hey There Brenna....does the puppy have any issue putting on and keeping weight or anything like that? How old is the puppy?
There are a couple of very nice commercial diets I typically recommend for those who do not want to do raw, etc. I just like a bit o' background on the little guy before doing it.

Cheryl

[Patty Storkel]

sorry for the delayed response. Have been having computer problems off and on at home, and forgot my password...

I would suggest she check out Innova's large breed puppy food. It won't be available at petsmart or petco, though. she will need to find a supplier in her area- a business that provides more of the upscale or higher quality dog foods.

I would not feed iams or eukanuba as their formulas have changed and they aren't as good as they used to be (and if i remember correctly, the whole dog journal doesn't recommend them, either). There are several wolfhound people who do the raw food thing, with very good results, so she could do that and cause no harm to the puppy. However, as already mentioned, that method isn't for everyone...

and then i must admit i know of people who feed grocery store stuff and have had good results with that also. I just don't recommend it...

One word of caution: do not add extra calcium! You want the puppy to grow slowly and not carry too much weight on their frame. Growing too much too fast is known to cause severe problems down the road. She might not look like she is getting enough, but it's better to be a little on the skinny side than be a fat one. The average rule of thumb is that by 6 months, a boy puppy should be 100 lbs, give or take a few, and a bitch puppy should be at least 85 lbs. Remember also, they physically grow till they are two, and there are many documented reports of growth occuring after age two. The old adage that bitches don't grow after their first season is not true (at least in wolfhounds). I have had at least 3 of my girls grow after that first season (when the growth plates presumably close).

Hope this helps...
patty, keenan & neala

[Wolfhoundadora]

Wow, this question is right up my alley :) I think Brenna might have posted it for us:) My bitch is almost 7 months and weighs about 83lbs. When we got her from the breeder she was feeding just regular purina puppy chow.

From my experience with Weimaraners, Purina hadn't been that great of a food so I tried putting her gradually on to iams, a food the weims had done great on....it did NOT go well. So we made a switch to Science Diet large breed puppy. Its been going ok but I am starting to worry she's a little on the thin side. Any suggestions would be very welcome

Thanks

[Wolfhoundadora]

By the way its nice to hear from you Patty are you located in the Northwest? I haven't me anyone else with IW aside from the breeder I know this side of the Mississippi. Great to meet another fan!!

[mosso]

When we don't feed raw/fresh food (mostly Afghan Hounds) we use Evo (made by Innova), the chicken flavor (my dogs refuse the beef foods normally, don't ask me why, canned, other brands, doesn't matter).

It seems to promote muscle, not fat (unless of course, you feed entirely too much of it). It is one of those high protein, no grain, foods. We did use this on puppies 12 weeks on. with good results. nice slow even growth (but, we fed mostly fresh/raw through).

Stir