Do we have too many foods in our puppy's rotation?

This topic has 4 replies, 5 voices, and was last updated 10 years, 2 months ago by Aspen A.

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February 14, 2015 at 11:58 pm #66602 Report Abuse Edit Post Visibility

Sam D
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Hi all,
We have a 15 week old Aussie and he’s been doing well on his rotating diet. I want to get him used to different foods but I also don’t want to upset his stomach. So far he’s been tolerating the following pretty well.

Mon-Fri – Kibble Taste of the Wild Puppy. Sometimes his kibble dinner is topped with TOTW canned food or Merrick canned food.

Sat & Sun – RAW – Either instinct raw frozen bites (turkey or beef) with Honest Kitchen Topper OR Aunt Jenni’s raw (turkey or beef)

1-2 days a week I’ll give him a lunch of canned Tripett

His 30lb bag of Taste of the Wild Kibble is almost up and I wanted to get Orijen large breed puppy. Does this seem like overkill on variety? We watch his stools. When he’s on raw his stools are dark, hard and once or twice a day. Kibble he poops up to 4 times a day. More gassy on the kibble too.
THANKS!!!!

February 15, 2015 at 9:32 am #66612 Report Abuse Edit Post Visibility

Melissaandcrew
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I don’t think so. My crew eats different brands on a daily basis alternating with various cans dehydrated etc. Sometimes it’s just raw.

February 15, 2015 at 4:55 pm #66643 Report Abuse Edit Post Visibility

Dog_Obsessed
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Unless he has stomach problems from frequent food changes, it shouldn’t be a problem. The more, the better in my opinion! 😀 You can also add digestive enzymes/probiotics to help with transitions or stomach upset. One thing though, if he is a large breed puppy, then all of the foods on the rotation should be suitable for LBPs. Here is some more information about that, there is a list of foods on page 15: /forums/topic/large-and-giant-breed-puppy-nutrition/

I’m not sure if he qualifies as a large breed puppy or not though. What is his expected adult weight?

February 15, 2015 at 5:53 pm #66644 Report Abuse Edit Post Visibility

DogFoodie
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It definitely doesn’t sound like too many different foods to me, Sam. I would definitely rotate the kibble as well. Maybe rotating every bag would work for you.

The only thing I’d suggest in addition to what you’re already doing would be to offer a can (or two, depending on his size) of tinned sardines packed in spring water once a week as a meal or even a topper.

February 20, 2015 at 7:09 pm #67146 Report Abuse Edit Post Visibility

Aspen A
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Hi, SamD, Aspen here with Steve’s Real Food (for full disclosure). Rotating is good – you wouldn’t expect your kids to eat the same thing all day every day, and dogs should have variety, too. If you can’t afford raw all the time then switching back and forth would be fine, but if you can, completely eliminating kibble would be best – it sounds like you are already seeing the difference in how they react between kibble and raw, and it is because raw is so much healthier. You just want to make sure he is getting all the trace minerals he needs, and if he is a pup with lots of energy, proteins with higher fat content are better to help him maintain his energy and weight. Good luck to you!
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