# changing a puppy's diet to raw



## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

Many people recommend going straight into raw, but I think with a puppy I would hedge my bets and transition gradually. With a young puppy you will probably be feeding 3 or 4 meals a day - perhaps start by feeding her what she is used to for the first few weeks while she gets used to you and her new surroundings, then replace one meal with raw for a week, 2 the next if there are no problems, and so on.


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## Hayley22 (Sep 21, 2011)

Thanks FJM.  I think I will follow your advice.


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## CharismaticMillie (Jun 16, 2010)

I think with a puppy there is no reason to transition slowly. They have not yet become so used to a processed diet that the switch would be difficult. Most of the raw feeders I know have said that puppies are the easiest to switch. I switched all of my dogs cold turkey. All switched without many hitches but Henry had the least smooth switch and he's the oldest. Millie switched at 9 mos. and Tiger at 6 mos. I can only imagine how easy it would be to switch a little puppy! If I ever get another puppy, I will undoubtedly do a cold turkey switch to raw.


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## CT Girl (Nov 17, 2010)

I planned on transitioning with Swizzle. That lasted about 2 days. He enjoyed the raw so much more. He would run up to his bowl see kibble and look disappointed. I decided to plunge into raw and he had no problems. Keep an eye on his stools. If they are loose add bone if too hard add muscle. Swizzle had no problems with the runs or constipation it was more a case of fine tuning.


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## Hayley22 (Sep 21, 2011)

Thanks CT Girl  

So, do I just change her diet from the day she arrives home with me? She will only be 9 weeks old... How old was Swizzle when you changed his?


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## CT Girl (Nov 17, 2010)

I am horrible with dates but I think he was about 6 months. I had dabbled giving him some raw meals before that but I was traveling a lot and was afraid I would not get the balance right. Then I found a commercial raw brand, Aunt Jeni, that I was happy with. At some point I will make the switch to feeding raw on my own but for now the commercial is working out fine. Since I have a toy it is not too expensive he gets 1.2 ounces twice a day plus a bone every other day. I also will give him chicken gizzards and hearts if he has had a lot of bone and needs some muscle. If I had to do it over again I would have started him on raw earlier. I was worried about an imbalance but the kibble he was on was poor quality so waiting was silly. Swizzle is now a year old and is doing great on the raw.


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## 2719 (Feb 8, 2011)

Hi

Just thought I would add that you should double check the breeder's contract in relation to food. Some have stipulations in the contract about brand of food and also about not feeding raw at all or until after the puppy is a certain age. 

You wouldn't want to have the contract null and void inadvertently because you decided to change the pups diet.


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## Hayley22 (Sep 21, 2011)

truelovepoodles said:


> Hi
> 
> Just thought I would add that you should double check the breeder's contract in relation to food. Some have stipulations in the contract about brand of food and also about not feeding raw at all or until after the puppy is a certain age.
> 
> You wouldn't want to have the contract null and void inadvertently because you decided to change the pups diet.


Interesting thought! I will ask the breeder about that! Thanks truelovepoodles!


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## CharismaticMillie (Jun 16, 2010)

That would sure be a crappy situation, though! If you were required to feed a crappy food. Feeding is such a personal thing. I think that it is way overstepping the boundaries for a breeder to require a certain food.


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## Hayley22 (Sep 21, 2011)

It does seem a little strange. I have never heard of this practice before. From my conversations with the breeder, it doesn't seem that he is the type. But I will definitely check it out... 

I'm wondering (maybe you could answer this, truelovepoodles? ) why such a restriction would be imposed. What is the purpose of preventing the new owner from feeding the dog a healthy, nutritious diet?


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## 2719 (Feb 8, 2011)

It is not so much a restriction but an assurance that the puppy will be fed a better grade of food. Royal Canin is not one of the top foods but there are lesser foods out there. 

In many cases if the Breeder has listed in the contract approved foods it is because they don't want the puppy fed junk...like purina puppy chow...but if you tell them you want to feed a better food...like acana or orijen...they will add this to the contract as an approved food.
That is why I suggested you tell the breeder what you are going to feed, just in case they have a food requirement...and they can amend the contract to include what you want to feed.


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## Hayley22 (Sep 21, 2011)

Oh I see, I understand now  Thanks truelovepoodles


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