I switched my my dog as an adult to raw so I never bothered figuring out how it works for a puppy. I'm going to be bringing home a Mal pup this weekend finally. This has been a long time coming waiting for the right time to raise a puppy but now it is happening.

Hokie currently gets chicken necks in the morning and some combo of ground beef, pork or turkey + occasional organs mixed with mashed up sweet potato, peas and carrots. I also supplement with Aunt Jennies, Fish Oil and Vitamin E.

Can someone help me with a breakdown of what foods the dog should be getting up until 8 months or so and what the portion sizes should be? I have looked online but haven't found a good guide and I want to make sure I do this right.

At first I was going to feed kibble until she was a year old then switch to raw because I am scared of messing up the raw when the dog is so much more sensitive to getting the right things in the right amounts but if possible I think I want to start raw right away.

Thanks!

Puppies can eat exactly the same diet as an adult dog. The only accommodation you sometimes have to make is the size of RMBs that a puppy can handle versus an adult dog. But even the tiniest pups can easily handle the soft bones of chicken backs and necks.

The portions for puppies is also surprisingly easy. You feed a puppy 2-3% of his EXPECTED ideal adult weight. (with the usual caveat that any recommendation on meal size is adujusted based on the dog standing in front of you. If he's too fat, feed less; too skinny feed more.)

Here's how this works. Let's assume a 100 pound ideal adult weight to make the math easy.

2.5% of that is 2.5 pounds of food a day. Divide that amount up into 3 feedings at first, and then into two feedings when he's a little older. (although I never did the 3 meals. Mine were fed 2 meals a day from the get-go.)

So, when that puppy weighs 25 pounds, he's actually eating 10% of his body weight a day. (puppies need a lot of food for all that growth.)

When he grows to 50 pounds, he's eating 5% of his body weight.

Every day, as the puppy grows a little bit, the percentage of his weight in food is AUTOMATICALLY reduced...even though the meal size stays the same. In that way, there's never any need to do new calculations or figure out how much to feed him. Meal size is the same for life.

Start a puppy in the same way you'd transition an older dog. Start with one simple food item (de-skinned chicken backs are the usual recommendation) and then gradually introduce new items one at a time (including the skin from the chicken) over the course of a week or so, monitoring poops as you go. Couldn't be simpler.

Don't supplement with any additional calcium. What he gets in the RMBs is perfectly balanced. The other supplements that are usually recommended (fish oil and E) are good.

Thanks for the info! That was very helpful and dispelled the myth I had in my head that feeding pups raw was a lot more complicated.

I don't feed raw yet, but If I was you I would not feed ground beef, pink slime, unless you are 100% sure it is not pink slime. You could use ground chicken or turkey instead. Tracy might have just told you not to even include ground anything in the diet, so If she did just ignore this.

IMO, there's nothing wrong with ground beef or any other ground meat. If it's something being sold as safe and inspected for human consumption, that's good enough for me. I think everyone has to use their own good sense and conscience (and pocketbook)when deciding on what to eat or feed their dog. Some people choose only organic. Some people don't buy pre-ground meats because there is an increased risk of pathogens being mixed into the meat. Some people grind everything themselves. Most don't. My dogs have eaten hundreds of pounds of ground beef and lived to tell about it.

IMO, "pink slime" probably suffered more from bad PR than anything else. I probably wouldn't go out of my way to eat it, but most of us probably have. But no one will have to worry about it any more. The company that produced this "finely textured beef product" has shut its doors.

FWIF....puppies raised on a raw diet need to have the balance perfect in order for them to grow & produce healthy muscle, nerve & skelletal systems. If the calcium/phospherous balalnce & other important ratios are off you run the risk of all kinds of problems. There really isn't any room for error when feeding a puppy properly like there is an adult dog.

I have seen pups with bad pasterns & hocks, as well as other issues that have not been fed properly balanced raw diets. These were people that swore that they knew how to feed a raw diet.

There are premade raw diets that you can use for the first year in order to see that the pup is properly nurished. Even a very high quality kibble is better then a not balanced raw diet for a growing pup.

I have used premade (Bravo)& also my own raw diets for pups. I know that I can feed a proper raw diet to pups...but like the extra asurance, especially the fist 7-8 nmonths. I know working line mal & GSD breeders that feed their own raw diet for years that also use Bravo to feed pups. I personally, rather be safe then sorry.

I don't know what Aunt Jennies is...maybe a kibble? Is it fed daily, if it is. Is it all life stages..if you are planning on feeding it to a pup? Also if you are supplimenting an already made diet.be it raw or kibble....you need to be sure that the items that you are adding need to be well balanced or you still throw the diets requirements off.

What you have listed as what raw you are feeding now..to me is not a proper diet. Certainly not for a pup. Only necks & occasional organs doesn't cut it in my book at all. To me, what you are feeding is not enough variety. Again I don't know if this is supplimenting a kibble or premade diet or some other kind. Others may feel differently. JMO

LB has sample raw menues for adult & puppies lister here. If you search you will find them, I am sure.

I'm with Anne on the care needed with a growing puppy.

Tracy feeds a very varied (and excellent) diet. What I read in the O.P. really doesn't provide the variety for a growing puppy that I'd feel confident would ensure balance over time.

Anne has made some good "insurance" suggestions, and I would add the idea of THK with RMBs per the box instructions.

THK:
http://leerburg.com/honestkitchen.htm

A puppy recipe:
http://leerburg.com/embark.htm

JMO!

If I couldn't give a diet as careful and as varied as Tracy's, I would probably go with one of these "insurance" plans for a growing puppy.

I definitely agree that variety of protein sources is very important for puppies. A regular mix of 4, 5 or more different animal proteins would be ideal. Chicken, turkey, beef, pork, fish and eggs would be great. And as long as poops are properly formed--neither too hard or soft--I think that calcium and phosphorous would be in order.

My puppies fed this way all had slow steady growth.

The biggest risk with puppies IMO is providing supplemental calcium, or feeding "puppy formula" diets that have artificially high levels of calcium, protein, and calories--all of which make pups grow too quickly.

And I'll add Connie's usual caveat: I'm not a vet.

Funny...I use THK as an additive to my raw diet..as a sauce over food or a whole food if I forget to take something out of the freeaer in time or for traveling. As I look at it sitting right on my counter...& I didn't think to add it in my post.

Thanks, Connie for adding that. :-)

Moved to new thread.

Edited by David Winners (05/11/2012 09:30 PM)
Edit reason: Moved to new thread.