Science Diet

[ninadoxie]

I have a three month old mini red dachshund and I have been feeding her half science diet for puppies and half wet Eukanuba. I read from this site these are really great dog foods for her. I have two questions:

1. Do I have to feed her half wet half dry?

2. How often do I feed a puppy of this age?

I have been feeding her three meals a day (rushing home at lunch to get her a meal) but she rarely eats all her lunch or dinner (scarfs down her breakfast). But I'm not sure if I'm feeding her too much or if the food's so bad for her that she doesn't like it. I'm also giving her snacks (in and ATTEMPT to train her) so I thought she was holding out to eat those instead of her meal. I have been holding out on the snacks and she has been eating more of her food but I'm still not sure if I have the right combination. Any suggestions? Thank you!

http://photos.yahoo.com/ninadoxie

[Mark]

. . . not the best food out there. Check the ingredients on the label. The first ingredient represents the majority of the food and so-on down the list of ingredients. Corn and grains are not what a carnivore (dog) thrives on . . . in fact, corn is undigestible by canines.

If you check the archives (past threads and posts) . . . you'll find many discussions on healthy foods for our furkids. :) This is the LINK (http://www.dachsie.org/vbb/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=52)

BTW . . . welcome to DBB! ;)

[TessieMom]

The Prescription Diets from Hills Science Diet may be the best available for a specific condition such as Liver and Kidney problems, hence they are handled by many vets including mine. However, if you go to the Whole Dog Journal Top Ten Foods, you will not find Science Diet there for the reasons that Mark and others have mentioned in other posts. Pedigree and many other common brands also list corn as a primary ingredient, though it is not digested by dogs. I have switched from Eukanuba dry to Natural Balance, but I do still use Eukanuba canned as a mix at night. You will see a poll where it looks like almost everyone uses dry food. Puppies are commonly fed 3 times a day and then switched to two and some people do one feeding a day for adults. I went to twice a day at about 3 to 4 months with Tess. You might try going to twice a day by gradually decreasing lunch and increasing supper.

Rena and the Waco girls

[Heide]

welcome to the Best doxie board around. You have come to the right place to ask questions.
Our members will be able to help out.
I feed my 7 year old rescue Science diet c/d for her kidney problems. It works good for that.
Plus use cranberry powder also 3 times a week.

[Patt]

:bounce: Welcome to the best Doxie board :pink:

Thanks for posting your pics your little pupper is a doll. I think it would be your preference wet or dry or combo whichever way she likes to eat. If she is turning up her nose at the food maybe too many snacks so cut back some or possibly you are feeding too much at one time. May I suggest the book "Dachshund for Dummies" lots of good info for a new Doxie guardian.

Here is what I found that is recommended on feeding puppies.
Puppies 7 weeks through teething should be fed four times daily. When they are through teething, reduce feeding to three times daily. Around 6-7 months, reduce to two feedings, which will continue throughout the life of your pet.

Looking forward to hearing more about Nina.

[Kim H.]

Thanks for the picture link and welcome to the DBB!:)

My 4-month olds get 2 Tbsp canned mixed with dry twice a day, and a little more of the plain dry at noon. We converted them from dry Pedigree to Wellness Puppy Mix & plan to convert the canned Pedigree to one of the Wellness formulas as well.

Supposedly, the canned is beneficial because it is digested faster, while the dry may take several hours to get through the GI tract. Other members have more knowledge in this area than I do, however.

[lotsadox]

Welcome to DBB! This is a great place to learn about dachsies. As far a feeding goes, I feed a premix raw food diet and am sold on it. My 11 year old has been on raw food for 9 years (first I made it myself and now we buy premixed mostly) and has done extremely well. Other than some reactions to airborn allergens that causes him to itch, he's had very few health problems. The allergies are handled with supplements and he does very well. Now if I can just convince my husband that carrots are a perfectly good treat maybe I can get his weight down a little!

[FOREVER A DAXIE]

Then like another member said you cut out the lunch and just breakfast/dinner. However, if the puppy is still quite young but not eating all the kibble at lunch I would give a Cookie or two.

Welcome to DBB!!!

Thanks so much for the link of your pictures. She is sooo sweet!!
I'm sure you're enjoying her.:flower:

[ninadoxie]

Thank you everyone for answering my questions. I do have Dachshunds for Dummies, in fact the weeks before I could pick up Nina I attempted to read every book on Dachshunds and puppies. But the best information is that from those who have had the experieces themselves and are willing to share! So THANK YOU ALL again.

I have switched to Natural Balance (strangely not offered at Petsmart), but it seems Nina is picking for the the Natural Balance portion and not really eating the science diet or the eukanuba. Should I be worried about this upsetting her stomach?

Also we just got back from the vet for her vacinations and her weight is 4 pounds. I read in a book that her weight should be closer to 6 at three months. Do I have an underweight dog? Her bones aren't sticking out as I have read in this BB is an indication of an underweight dog, but do I just have a dog which will be smaller when she is an adult? Thanks again!

Nina says thanks too - she loves her new food!

[TessieMom]

Mine switched completely to Natural Balance (except Stinker who is refusing all dry right now and Mikey who won't eat it if offered).
It didn't upset their stomachs at all. It has been so long since I have had a puppy that I can't remember, but they are individuals, just like humans, they have growth spurts at different times.

Rena and the Waco crew

[Cindi]

If she isn't ravenous at lunch and dinner, cut out lunch :) Since you are giving her training treats that IS part of her daily consumption so remember to count that in your daily calorie count if you are doing that.
I also feed raw and because of that we weigh our food for each dog. Two of my adults are on maintenance and that is 3% of their body weight so 6 oz and 5 oz daily (including training treats - and surprise! I use natural Balance as their training treats and it is GREAT stuff! I use the turkey. I slice it up and then freeze it so I can take it out in daily amounts.) Once you start weighing out food and dividing it up for feedings I think you will be amazed at how little they actually NEED to eat at each sitting :)

My 5.5 month old naturally weighs less so he is getting 4% of his body weight daily, maybe a little more :) We play with it depending on how he looks :) And then one adult is on reducing amount so she gets 2.5% of body weight. My 5.5 month old has been on single feedings since he was 4.5 months old because we train every night in agility and he gets approximately 1 oz of training treats, AT LEAST :), at that time. Your *child* is probably telling you that her body doesn't need the calories during the day because she isn't doing much because you are gone.
The books can't tell you what YOUR dog should weigh :) Each dog is individual. Yours may be going through teething right now and will slow down in growing. Once down she may spurt up or she may just be a smaller adult. Genetics also plays a role.

Enjoy!!!

Cindi