Recommended Food

We're now feeding Purina Puppy Chow because results of our surveys indicated that an overwhelming majority of people feed Puppy Chow. Actually, we are mixing Puppy Chow with NutriSource puppy food, but Puppy Chow is available nationwide, so we recommend that you begin with that. To avoid stress of changing foods when puppies leave us, we have decided to feed predominantly what most of you will (Puppy Chow). If you want to feed something different, we recommend buying a small bag of Purina Puppy Chow (look at the picture on the bag and try to get the one with brown kibbles, and NOT the one with red and green coloring...which also colors the stools) to mix with your chosen food to acclimate the puppy to your puppy food. 

• We keep Purina Puppy Chow dry (brown kibbles only...no red or green coloring) with the puppies almost all the time.

• Once per day, we give them dry NutriSource puppy food mixed with warm water, and they think that's a real treat for some reason, even though it's just dry food with water. :-) You should be fine with just the Puppy Chow, as that is what most of their diet is here.

A high-quality puppy food is essential for the first few months.  We love Diamond brand Lamb and Rice Puppy for puppies that are 2 months old and older. We also found a food at Wal-Mart that does not contain corn called Maxim Puppy Food that might be good to look into.   Science Diet, Eukanuba, Purina Puppy Chow, and Iams are also good, and your veterinarian might have a suggestion that he/she prefers.  Lamb and Rice or chicken and rice foods are often recommended for breeds of dogs with large ears that lay down, like beagles.  We also like the quality of NutriSource puppy food, and supplement our puppies with that.  However, millions of puppies have been raised on non-specialty store-bought food, and you sure can choose that route as well.

How do you know if a food is good? Look at the ingredients...if "corn" or "corn meal" (or similar) is in the first few ingredients, it isn't as good as if those ingredients were lower on the list. Better yet, avoid a corn-based feed entirely and look instead for rice.

PLEASE DO NOT FEED YOUR PUPPY CANNED PUPPY FOOD in unlimited amounts soon after receiving him/her. Puppies are healthiest when fed dry food, and drastic changes in their diets can cause severe digestive upset. Do keep a couple cans of soft food on hand to use to tempt the puppy to eat if he/she is off feed. But give just a couple tablespoons at a time to prevent overeating. If the puppy eats soft food until he bloats, he could begin a cycle of vomiting/diarrhea that could lead to blood sugar problems and anemia which could be fatal.

Ask your vet about vitamins. Puppy foods are supposed to be complete, so giving vitamins might just be overkill and not necessary. Lots of people do give vitamins, though.

Changing Foods Slowly

This is just "my idea" for a way to acclimate the puppy to your new home's feed and feeding schedule. The goal is "slow change" to help prevent digestive upset. You don't have to follow this schedule, but maybe it will give you an idea of what to do to reduce digestive stress on your puppy. The change of home is enough for the first few days...no need to add the change in diet as well.

• Feed straight Puppy Chow (brown variety, not red/green) for 5 days.

• For the first 3 days, have some dry Puppy Chow in the food dish all the time or else feed at least 5 small meals per day. This allows the puppy to eat when he/she is hungry, as his/her schedule will be unsettled for a few days due to leaving the littermates and familiar home.

• After 5 days, mix the Puppy Chow half and half with your new food for at least a week, or until the Puppy Chow is gone. During this time, offer food only at meal times. Still offer 5 small meals per day, and not just two meals. Puppies need to eat more frequently than adult dogs.

• After the 12th day, feed your preferred feed.