I've got a 9 week old puppy and been feeding him wainwrights biscuits and meat he's growing well he is 10.4kg But sometimes he seems really fussy and doesn't want to eat. What do you feed your dogs and what would you recommend? Also he's teething and I've gave him chews toys etc but doesn't seem to be improving nipping fingers and toes what would you recommend? Cheers Rich
Hi Rich, welcome to the forum. I feed Wainwright's too, and have been happy with the quality. Perhaps his appetite has just been affected by the change of environment - and the proximity of human food. I'm afraid I have no experience of bull breeds, but I'm sure someone will be along soon.
At nine weeks, you've a way to go yet before you get the mouthing under control. Puppies, like babies, explore their World with their mouths. When puppies get excited or tired, the mouthing gets worse. The best thing to do is, as soon as teeth touch skin stop all interaction including eye contact for anything from a split second to a few seconds until pup stops, then go back to what you were doing. Repeat, repeat, repeat. When pup is over-tired, I find a crate/cage/playpen is good so that you can coax pup in and they usually settle down to sleep quite quickly. Your pup is lovely by the way xx
For large breeds its best to feed a good adult food as they need to grow slowly otherwise they run the risk of developing joint issues. There is no one food that suits all, though you could ask the breeder what they recommend. If he’s getting fussy you could try adding a small amount of tuna or cooked grated liver as it mixes in better that way. As for nipping there are various methods I use the word gentle. When he nips hard just say gentle and move hands away and ignore him for a few seconds till he’s calmed down, keep repeating till he gets the message.
What would be your guys experience on raw food diet? What about tripe? Or just add that to his biscuits?
For the nipping you could also try swapping a toy in the puppy's mouth for your hand and tell the puppy it is a good dog when he chews the toy instead of your hand. I have no experience with raw feeding so can't answer there.
I feed Buster pre-prepared raw food and he's thriving on it (Natures Menu). Thankfully the tripe doesn't smell as awful when it comes out a it does before it goes in!! He also poops less than when I tried canned & dry food. I sometimes add biscuit but am having trouble finding one he likes.
Hello Nicola and Buster - welcome to Breedia from little Tikva and from me! I am a raw feeder but from fresh, not pre-prepared, do not add biscuits, and unfortunately I am unable to get tripe. I learned all about raw feeding from Tarimoor on Dogsey http://www.dogsey.com/showthread.php?t=137215 although I have tweaked it according to what I am able to purchase. Unfortunately the pictures are missing as PhotoBucket have removed all pictures unless a person pays to upgrade, but all the written information by Tarimoor should give you sufficient advice.