Feed for Rottie Pups (nearly 8 months)

[MrsMozart]

Been on Eden for the last two months but it's no agreeing with them. Squidgier side of normal, with the occasional real squirt. Admittedly they do pick up anything they can get their teeth around, but we're pretty good at noticing and retrieving things.

Have spoken with the feed shop and added in raw chicken as whilst they look well and have a tonne of energy, they seem hungry. The Eden is fed in such small quantities it doesn't seem to fill them up.

Wondering what other feeds people have found suitable for large dog pups?

 

[Moobli]

My dogs (GSDs and working border collies) are all fed on Simpsons Premium grain-free with a few squirts of salmon oil. They also have some meals of raw mince, raw bones a couple of times a week and free range raw egg regularly. Seems to agree with them.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

Our previous Rottie had a very delicate digestive system and had to have salmon & potato/lamb & rice type kibble, sorry I can't remember which makes we used. The current pair (4 yrs old) have very straightforward Butcher's tripe tinned meat and plain 'terrier meal' biscuits, with no problem at all. They do have 3 meals a day, though, because they are big, active girls and I wouldn't want their individual meals to be any bigger than they currently are. Everything seems to be working well.

 

[MrsMozart]

Thank you folks.

I'll look into them.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

Sorry MrsM, I should have said they have eaten the same food since they were tiny, just increasingly larger amounts.

 

[jedjelly]

Got to love a Rottie pup! We've had Rottweilers for over 30 years and have dealt with most digestive disquiet, in some form or other.
At 8mths, there's still a ton of growing to do, and whilst they will eat you out of house and home if you let them, it is very important that you keep their growth slow. Rottweilers aren't finished till at least 3yrs for a male, so there's no hurry.
Without fail, all our dogs have done well on a raw diet. We're always found dry food/kibble to have far too much starch(sugar) for a young heavy breed. I don't care what they print on the bags, large breed this, young maxi that...the food is not ideal for a heavy boned pup. I breathe a sigh of relief when they hit 12 months and have their hips and elbows tested, until then, it's a constant worry about joints, joints, joints! Food plays a huge role in long term joint health, together with genetics and exercise management.
Sorry, I digress, can't help it where Rottweilers are concerned.
Personally, I would transition them to a balanced raw diet, there is acres of info out there these days, far easier than it used to be. I follow the 80/10/10 ratio, meat, bone, offal. Some people add veg, the choice is yours. However, I would never feed kibble and raw in the same meal or day even. Stomach PH requirements are different to digest raw and kibble.
You will find the pups more content on a raw diet and if you want some quiet time, a good bone will keep them entertained for ages.
The pooh will firm up, there'll be less of it and the dogs will smell better (less doggy). Once the stomach PH has settled, there's not much that your pups will pick up that will upset them, however minging it smells to us.

 

[MrsMozart]

Apologies! Just realised I've been mulling over but not actually replied.

Thank you. Will look into those options. We used to feed raw some years ago. Will look into what the options are these days.

 

[Moobli]

JedJelly - could I please ask where your information comes from regarding not feeding kibble and raw in the same meal or even same day? I’ve fed them together or on the same day as separate meals for years with no adverse effects whatsoever. I can’t find a single piece of scientific evidence to back up the myth that seems to be spread all over the internet about feeding raw/kibble together. Thanks.

 

[jedjelly]

Hi WorkingGSD, I've not read any scientific evidence either, regarding kibble and raw mixed. In the early 80's when I started feeding raw, the easiest thing I could find was tripe and wholemeal biscuit, which I fed for some time. I wouldn't feed that now, because of the starch element and lack of essential vits. But we learn all the time. Agree, some info is probably myth but much is now researched, although maybe not scientifically. Raw feeding lacks the massive funding corporations.
I don't mix kibble and raw, because my experience has proven they don't mix so well (pooh not so good, hunger pukes). One dog in particular taught me a huge amount about how easy PH was altered by diet and extremely quickly. He just confirms my personal choice not to mix the two. However, I have colleagues who do mix kibble and raw in a day,
for convenience when away from home. In fact, I don't know two raw feeders who feed the same. Often, it's a topic best left to vague generalisation. Years ago, I would go to great lengths to try and explain (defend) my feeding choice, now I'm just happy to share info if asked and hope that it may spark some interest to try the same, in some form or other.
I digress a little, but I wonder if you've come across Rodney Habib? He has been particularly vocal recently about the importance of species appropriate diet...mainly aimed at longevity and cancer prevention. It was the high prevalence of bone cancer in our breed that made me seek an alternative to processed dog food.

 

[honetpot]

I have a RottieX girl, I got her at 10 months and she stank, from cheap food. I put her on Arden Grange dry, which my lurcher also has, neither have had any problems. I change the bag occasionally just to vary it a bit, but to say they are very different types of dog they both do well on it and do perfect poos.

 

[MrsMozart]

Thank you for more insight and thoughts.

The Rotties in question are currently eating other's heads, which I'm sure, whilst a novel way of solving my dilemma is probably not the best They're both fit and full of energy and reasonably trainable and biddable, so long as we don't count the now occasional poo/wee in a pen (never in the rest of the house) and a tendency to eat the (in situ) floorboards, so I'm happy with the 'rest of them', it's just the apparent hunger and the squirts when they come.

 

[gunnergundog]

I can’t find a single piece of scientific evidence to back up the myth that seems to be spread all over the internet about feeding raw/kibble together. Thanks.

The only papers that I can find are these two below. However, all they conclude is that there is a distinct difference in the bacteria/flora and output of a dog fed raw as opposed to that fed kibble. The missing link (research yet to be done?) is can those two types of bacteria/flora co-exist if a dog is fed both and what are the longer term implications re digestibility and health.

https://bmcvetres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12917-017-0981-z
https://peerj.com/articles/3019/

 

[Cinnamontoast]

I too have never seen solid evidence re not feeding kibble and raw together. I haven’t fed kibble except stuffed in a kong for long time.

I echo raw feeding obviously :rolleyes3: but the transition for me was not pretty, I fed too much of the wrong stuff (oily fish, it wasn’t pretty!) I think there are excellent grain free options out there, tho, it might just be a question of find8ng the right one.

 

[Alec Swan]

…….

Wondering what other feeds people have found suitable for large dog pups?

After pups are four months, regardless of breed, they've all been fed the same feed as the adults. With the large breeds I would strongly recommend a low protein whilst offering greater volume. There's a very real risk attached to feeding the high protein feeds, especially to growing youngsters.

Alec.

 

[MrsMozart]

Thank you folks.

Noted the fish experience.

Tad concerned now about the protein comment as I want to try raw...

Found this site, which looks interesting. It's Irish hence all the comments about 'keeping it Irish' (confused me at first). Thoughts? https://www.dogsfirst.ie/raw-faq/raw-diet-for-dogs/

 

[CorvusCorax]

Raw meat and prepared raw meals have less protein content than dry foods. Really.

 

[Cinnamontoast]

First few pages are fab, it started me on the road to full raw feeding. https://www.petforums.co.uk/threads/raw-feeding-everything-you-need-to-know.111437/

 

[MrsMozart]

Thank you both