Feeding/ growth/ which food/JRT Discussions

Hi guys


About my jack russell terrier male (born on feb 2nd 2016) 11 weeks old

got loads of questions to ask, but don't know where to start!!!

well, I've been feeding him on science plan hills, miniature and small puppy 1 month to 1 year chicken and turkey dried food!!

witch he has been eating well.

but today, i ran out, and i had to run to my local vet (where rex is registered) and i was hoping to buy rex the same miniature/ small breed puppy food that i mentioned above

but they did not have stock of my food, so they offered me science plan hills VETEssentials puppy, mini chicken!!


so, as some of you may know from one of my previous forum topics, i was worried about my jack being small,,,, so now I'm worried about the offered food, as it says for mini dogs only / as oppose to miniature and small labeled food!!!!

rex gobbled the new food up, but i was just concerned that the new food was only catering for a mini breed of dog, and therefore, hindering the growth of my small breed dog!!

sorry for me being stupid, but i want the best for my best friend

at the moment he is 2.8kg and he is 11weeks, nearly 12

also, how often, and how much kg should i be feeding him!!!!!

i want the best for him, so please excuse me if my questions are stupid or common sense, just need to hear it from someone with experience

thanks lot.

rob

Have you thought about different food for your little puppy? I have to admit to being rather "anti" special foods, especially Hills, but that is my opinion only..

My puppy was only 3 weeks old when I adopted her and yes, I do know it was far too young, but by 12 weeks old she was finished on bottle feeding and was weaned, and I had started her on raw food - meat and vegetables.

How often and how much should you give Rex? Whatever he will eat at one time. I would think at that age he needs four meals a day, reducing to three and then two. But you have to go by what he asks for, and if your vet sells Hills and you and your puppy are happy with it...

...all I can say is that my vet does not sell dog food.

My now nearly 11½ month old crossbreed Doxie/Minpin is still very small but weighs 5.5kg and is rock solid bone and muscle although she is so skinny you can see all her ribs and frequently also her spine.

But no way would I give her Hills Science Plan food.

You question is not at all stupid.
Is the pellet size of the 'mini' a little smaller? Very often the difference between mini and small puppy only refers to the size of the actual pieces. Even if there is a slight difference in the formula, one bag won't make any difference to his overall growth rate.

How about another photo when he gets to 12 weeks?

I feed my 6 JRT's food that's idea for their weight

Purina One does mini food which is designed for 1-10kg dogs, I try to feed my 6 the smaller bites food.

well, rex is now 16 weeks, and getting him to eat his hills, science plan puppy dry food is becoming a battle

was at my sisters with him, and her grown springer eats canned winalot, i gave rex some, and he gobbled it up!!!

should i switch rex to wet food??? if so, what kind for a 16 week old jack?????

thanks for your continued support guys

I think that if you asked each of us individually we would all give you different answers to this question. Another complication is that we have slightly different brands of food in the UK, and also, some of our members prefer to feed a raw diet consisting of meat, vegetables and bones.
Personally, I feed a mixed diet. The basis is a grain free kibble which has meat as the main ingredient, and is appropriate for the age of the dog, (in my case, this would be a senior variety as my dogs are over seven years of age, and inclined towards being overweight). To this I add a tablespoon of lightly cooked mixed vegetables, and a garnish of either chopped wet tray food, or minced beef, (raw or boiled).
I don't see any reason why you could not add a good quality tinned or tray food to Rex's kibble if it allows him to enjoy it more, but I wouldn't move him onto Winalot tinned food on its own as I don't believe that it would be sufficient for growth in a puppy.
Hope this helps.

thanks for the reply carole, well, i went down to my local pet store, and there was a few options down there, but i was not sure witch one to choose, below are the ones i was looking at, sorry, theres a few,

would be good to get advice on some of them

http://www.petsathome.com/shop/en/p...py-food/butchers-puppy-first-recipes-6-x-400g

http://www.petsathome.com/shop/en/p...-dog/wainwrights-puppy-food-with-chicken-400g

http://www.petsathome.com/shop/en/p...vanced-nutrition-puppy-food-with-chicken-395g

http://www.petsathome.com/shop/en/p...an-puppy-food-tins-with-savoury-chicken-370gm

http://www.petsathome.com/shop/en/p...-groups/nm-lp-wetfood/natures-menu-puppy-400g

http://www.petsathome.com/shop/en/p...r-for-puppies-complete-wet-food-for-dogs-400g

Hi Rob, I can only say that I feed either James Wellbeloved or Wainwright's kibble. I pick the grain free varieties, and like to vary the flavours. You would need to pick a puppy variety. I have never found much difference between any of the various makes of wet tray foods, so you could pick any puppy variety that you think he might like. For a change, you could add a little meat and vegetable if you are cooking some for yourself.

I hadn't realised that you had access to a Pets at Home. I believe all their stores have a diet advisor that you could check your choice of kibble with, just in case you are in any doubt. They may also have some samples that Rex could try first.
I'm sure that he is going to grow up just fine. Have you got any photo's of him yet?

It's really down to choices. Personally, I feed three meals of Wafcol Salmon and Potato (dry) food and one meal of Butchers Beef and Liver (tinned food).

My girl has a lot of intolerances (particularly chicken), but I've found the above suits her well. She has four meals to aid digestion (we had a lot of dietary problems in the early months and I don't want to risk going back to them). She started to refuse kibble at one point (to the point of hardly eating) but the introduction of one wet meal livened up her appetite and she's well settled on the foods we have now.

Mostly, it's a case of trial and error until you find what suits your youngster.

cheers carole and chris

well, i went for the wet version of the the dry stuff i used before,

the link is below

http://www.petplanet.co.uk/product.asp?dept_id=665&pf_id=5636

what do you guys think of that food?? rex seems to like it, and his toilet is good

only problem i have, is how much of this wet food to feed him per day/serving??

he is 3.5kg ..

below are some pics

Are you planning on feeding just the canned food or are you going to give dry too?

If just the canned, look at the feeding guide and take that as a starting guide. Not sure what the recommended amount is, but usually it is 'very' generous on canned foods.

I tend to play it by ear. Remember pups have small tums so usually need less than you think. Trial and error. If too much weight goes on, cut back and similarly if pup isn't putting on enough, up it a bit.

Remember to divide the amount you decide on into the amount of meals you are giving which I'm assuming is 3 or 4 meals at the age he is.

He is gorgeous by the way. Such a sweet little face xx

thanks chris

the plan has changed again, my local pet shop, have run out of the wet science plan stuff, and as i have dry stuff, the vet told me to add fish oil to it, and he should eat it, and it was a good outcome!!!!!

poured sardine oil and a few pieces of sardine over the dry, and he gobbled it up.

so im going to continue useing the science plan puppy dry, with some fish oil!!!

is there anything else i can spill onto the dried food that a dog finds irresistible??

They tend to love sardines .

Other stuff:

Small amount of warm, weak gravy
Warm stock
Small amount of cheese (although some would argue this)

Again, much of it is trial and error

Lovely markings on your JRT.

If you live in the UK try looking in KennelGate pet shops they have specially designed food [in freezer] which can be fed raw or cooked [far better then tin wet food]


Composition:
Chicken (65%), Brown Rice (18%), Salmon (10%), Liver (5%), Minerals, Prebiotic MOS, Yucca Extract, Green Tea Extract, Grape Seed Extract
Analytical Constituents:
Protein (16%), Crude Oils & Fats (7%), Crude Ash (1.5%), Crude Fibres (1%), Moisture (70%).

My puppy adores some coconut oil added to her [raw] meat and vegetable meal.

[Rex is adorable! ]

I buy liver boil for 10/15 mins when its cold I grate it, then mix small amount into food with tiny bit of the juice just enough to moisten.

Both the liver and juice keeps well in fridge and can be frozen.

If they like it, cottage cheese is good.