Cavapoo puppy feeding advice please
Discussion
We recently took a cavapoo into our lives (Mrs F is allergic to non-poodle breeds). After always having dobermans when I was younger, the 'complete' feed is something I find difficult to deal with. We always fed the dobes tinned food and you couldn't wish to find a better example of the breed.
The cavapoo breeder brought it up on Purina Beta so we got the same. Also advised to let it graze all day which we did the first few days. However, looking at the feeding advice, it says to feed about 120 gr daily so have divided it into 3 feeds - 7.30am, 12.30pm & 5.30pm.
Following advice from the pet store, we have moved him onto AVA as it's better quality I'm told by the assistant there.
Now, we just have a constantly hungry puppy and seems to have lost his puppy bloated belly (he's 12wks old). He seems well enough, weighs 4.6kg and the vet says that the complete food is all he needs and to follow the feeding advice. I'm not convinced he isn't losing weight.
His poos are still quite loose and can do 3 or 4 in the space of an hour following meals, sometimes stooping but doing nothing. The vet gave us a probiotic which is also a stool firmer but yet to see any improvement. Also, he can toilet anytime from 7-11pm before bedtime but still does it in his room overnight. He is not caged overnight but has an open cage in his own room.
Should we persevere with the dry food? Go back to grazing? Should we expect the stools to be firmer at this age?
Or should we go onto wet/canned food?
The cavapoo breeder brought it up on Purina Beta so we got the same. Also advised to let it graze all day which we did the first few days. However, looking at the feeding advice, it says to feed about 120 gr daily so have divided it into 3 feeds - 7.30am, 12.30pm & 5.30pm.
Following advice from the pet store, we have moved him onto AVA as it's better quality I'm told by the assistant there.
Now, we just have a constantly hungry puppy and seems to have lost his puppy bloated belly (he's 12wks old). He seems well enough, weighs 4.6kg and the vet says that the complete food is all he needs and to follow the feeding advice. I'm not convinced he isn't losing weight.
His poos are still quite loose and can do 3 or 4 in the space of an hour following meals, sometimes stooping but doing nothing. The vet gave us a probiotic which is also a stool firmer but yet to see any improvement. Also, he can toilet anytime from 7-11pm before bedtime but still does it in his room overnight. He is not caged overnight but has an open cage in his own room.
Should we persevere with the dry food? Go back to grazing? Should we expect the stools to be firmer at this age?
Or should we go onto wet/canned food?
Edited by Fastchas on Friday 10th September 15:17
Fastchas said:
We recently took a cavapoo into our lives (Mrs F is allergic to non-poodle breeds). After always having dobermans when I was younger, the 'complete' feed is something I find difficult to deal with. We always fed the dobes tinned food and you couldn't wish to find a better example of the breed.
The cavapoo breeder brought it up on Purina Beta so we got the same. Also advised to let it graze all day which we did the first few days. However, looking at the feeding advice, it says to feed about 120 gr daily so have divided it into 3 feeds - 7.30am, 12.30pm & 5.30pm.
Following advice from the pet store, we have moved him onto AVA as it's better quality I'm told by the assistant there.
Now, we just have a constantly hungry puppy and seems to have lost his puppy bloated belly (he's 12wks old). He seems well enough, weighs 4.6kg and the vet says that the complete food is all he needs and to follow the feeding advice. I'm not convinced he isn't losing weight.
His poos are still quite loose and can do 3 or 4 in the space of an hour following meals, sometimes stooping but doing nothing. The vet gave us a probiotic which is also a stool firmer but yet to see any improvement. Also, he can toilet anytime from 7-11pm before bedtime but still does it in his room overnight. He is not caged overnight but has an open cage in his own room.
Should we persevere with the dry food? Go back to grazing? Should we expect the stools to be firmer at this age?
Or should we go onto wet/canned food?
Stick to the pre determined meal times, and avoiding grazing all day. The vet should be able to check the weight gain is normal. Puppies will eat and then poo quite quickly after. Not a fan of kibble, but defo check the nutritional information as a lot are rubbish. We feed raw and never have an issue with loose stools. The cavapoo breeder brought it up on Purina Beta so we got the same. Also advised to let it graze all day which we did the first few days. However, looking at the feeding advice, it says to feed about 120 gr daily so have divided it into 3 feeds - 7.30am, 12.30pm & 5.30pm.
Following advice from the pet store, we have moved him onto AVA as it's better quality I'm told by the assistant there.
Now, we just have a constantly hungry puppy and seems to have lost his puppy bloated belly (he's 12wks old). He seems well enough, weighs 4.6kg and the vet says that the complete food is all he needs and to follow the feeding advice. I'm not convinced he isn't losing weight.
His poos are still quite loose and can do 3 or 4 in the space of an hour following meals, sometimes stooping but doing nothing. The vet gave us a probiotic which is also a stool firmer but yet to see any improvement. Also, he can toilet anytime from 7-11pm before bedtime but still does it in his room overnight. He is not caged overnight but has an open cage in his own room.
Should we persevere with the dry food? Go back to grazing? Should we expect the stools to be firmer at this age?
Or should we go onto wet/canned food?
Edited by Fastchas on Friday 10th September 15:17
Odd that he is going to poo overnight if he has gone before bedtime. What’s AVA?
Challo said:
What’s AVA?
A food exclusive to Pets at Home by the looks of it:https://www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk/dog-food-reviews...
It may be fine (I'm not qualified to judge) but Pets at Home do tend to recommend things that you can only buy from them....
Our little man is nearly nine months and has taken a while to toilet train, the guy who cut his hair summed them up perfectly, huge hearts and small brains!
He took a while to settle into eating and at one point we were worried he wasn't putting weight on but he's fine now. We let him graze and he only eats when he wants, probably has three, maybe four poos a day but they're solid - the fact your puppy isn't would be a concern and something to keep an eye on.
We do the crate thing at night and the first few weeks were worth it but he'll sleep now from 10 through till 6:30/7 and has never had an accident in his cage, plenty in the house but he's starting to finally bark to go out!
Great little dogs though I'll say that! Wouldn't have been my first choice but amazing with my kids, doesn't shed and is the most wonderful little character and wouldn't change him for the world.
He took a while to settle into eating and at one point we were worried he wasn't putting weight on but he's fine now. We let him graze and he only eats when he wants, probably has three, maybe four poos a day but they're solid - the fact your puppy isn't would be a concern and something to keep an eye on.
We do the crate thing at night and the first few weeks were worth it but he'll sleep now from 10 through till 6:30/7 and has never had an accident in his cage, plenty in the house but he's starting to finally bark to go out!
Great little dogs though I'll say that! Wouldn't have been my first choice but amazing with my kids, doesn't shed and is the most wonderful little character and wouldn't change him for the world.
If his tummy is upset and has been for a while it might be worth getting a stool sample to the vet. There’s a lot of giardia around right now, possibly exasperated by the increase in lockdown dogs. Our lab had runny poos for ages. We tried probiotics and feeding her just plain rice and boiled chicken for a few weeks until she was diagnosed with giardia. A few courses of various medications cleared it up fairly swiftly.
moorx said:
How long has the pup been with you?
How quickly did you change their food and how did you do this?
Pup’s been with us two weeks now. We’ve gradually changed over the kibble from one to the other by 10g each day. So it’s took a week more or less to get him 100% on the new feed. How quickly did you change their food and how did you do this?
Talking to a friend tonight, we may start him on a raw diet. This is the little fella.
Edited by Fastchas on Friday 10th September 22:22
Be careful switching to raw from kibble as you might make things worse. Raw and Kibble degrade at different speeds in the tummy and therefore might make the dog worse.
I would have a chat to the vet and just feed chicken and white rice for a bit and see if the stools firm up.
Also ask around and get recommendations on a good pet store. Pets At Home is ok, but won’t always give the best information. We have a local independent store near us and they are excellent. Lots of good advice, and have a good range of quality foods and treats.
I would have a chat to the vet and just feed chicken and white rice for a bit and see if the stools firm up.
Also ask around and get recommendations on a good pet store. Pets At Home is ok, but won’t always give the best information. We have a local independent store near us and they are excellent. Lots of good advice, and have a good range of quality foods and treats.
I agree, I'd be wary of switching food again. He's only been with you for two weeks. Whilst I haven't got much experience of young puppies, some dogs take time to settle in and an upset tum can be a sign of this. I would get vet advice before making any more changes.
Good luck, he's very cute!
Good luck, he's very cute!
You can't predict toilet training. We have two standard poodles which we got as pups at seperate times. The first was virtually house trained at 9 weeks old. She had two or three accidents in the house and that was it.
The second which we treated exactly the same took 5 or 6 weeks to get the idea. The only difference we can see it that the first was a summer pup and was out in an enclosed garden from a few weeks old while the second was a winter pup raised indoors until we got her.
I would be wondering about the 4 poos an hour and squatting while not doing anything. That sounds like some sort of tummy problem. If our dogs do anything like that they are at the vet if it doesn't clear up itself with 48 hours or so.
The second which we treated exactly the same took 5 or 6 weeks to get the idea. The only difference we can see it that the first was a summer pup and was out in an enclosed garden from a few weeks old while the second was a winter pup raised indoors until we got her.
I would be wondering about the 4 poos an hour and squatting while not doing anything. That sounds like some sort of tummy problem. If our dogs do anything like that they are at the vet if it doesn't clear up itself with 48 hours or so.
After talking to different friends they both advised a raw diet and a local independent pet food shop. We took pup down to the shop and he was weighed in there and we talked to the shopkeeper about our concerns.
The shopkeeper advised the raw diet as well, he really didn’t like the complete kibbles off the shelf. After talking to him we were happy to try the raw. He said the kibble takes 7hrs for the body to process it and the two can’t be mixed so wait until the next day.
We finished at 5pm yesterday on the kibble and waited for breakfast to start the raw.
85g of raw puppy food for breakfast, lunch & dinner, and we had a ‘proper’ stool tonight! I am amazed at the difference. Normally we have to hose down the area after picking up the poo but Mrs F picked it up in a bag and had to come show me!
We will continue this raw diet for a few weeks to see how it goes.
The shopkeeper advised the raw diet as well, he really didn’t like the complete kibbles off the shelf. After talking to him we were happy to try the raw. He said the kibble takes 7hrs for the body to process it and the two can’t be mixed so wait until the next day.
We finished at 5pm yesterday on the kibble and waited for breakfast to start the raw.
85g of raw puppy food for breakfast, lunch & dinner, and we had a ‘proper’ stool tonight! I am amazed at the difference. Normally we have to hose down the area after picking up the poo but Mrs F picked it up in a bag and had to come show me!
We will continue this raw diet for a few weeks to see how it goes.
Our Golden was raised on Beta by the breeder, he never particularly got on with it, in particular not good poos, v smelly nose hair frazzling farts too.
We tried a few brands and the one that really sorted out that end was James Wellbeloved, good quality poops on the poop scale and not smelly. If he has eaten something that upsets things, a day just on JW and back to normal.
Toilet training, only two accidents, now he's taken it to extreme and absolutely refuses to go in the garden, which in one way can be a nuisance on a rainy winter night when he wants to go out but equally good in other ways.
One for the "You know you've got a dog when..." thread, namely an unhealthy interest in the state of dog eggs, but frankly it's a really good way of monitoring certain aspects of state of health.
We tried a few brands and the one that really sorted out that end was James Wellbeloved, good quality poops on the poop scale and not smelly. If he has eaten something that upsets things, a day just on JW and back to normal.
Toilet training, only two accidents, now he's taken it to extreme and absolutely refuses to go in the garden, which in one way can be a nuisance on a rainy winter night when he wants to go out but equally good in other ways.
One for the "You know you've got a dog when..." thread, namely an unhealthy interest in the state of dog eggs, but frankly it's a really good way of monitoring certain aspects of state of health.
Fastchas said:
After talking to different friends they both advised a raw diet and a local independent pet food shop. We took pup down to the shop and he was weighed in there and we talked to the shopkeeper about our concerns.
The shopkeeper advised the raw diet as well, he really didn’t like the complete kibbles off the shelf. After talking to him we were happy to try the raw. He said the kibble takes 7hrs for the body to process it and the two can’t be mixed so wait until the next day.
We finished at 5pm yesterday on the kibble and waited for breakfast to start the raw.
85g of raw puppy food for breakfast, lunch & dinner, and we had a ‘proper’ stool tonight! I am amazed at the difference. Normally we have to hose down the area after picking up the poo but Mrs F picked it up in a bag and had to come show me!
We will continue this raw diet for a few weeks to see how it goes.
Good to hear. Do you know what raw they recommended? Loads out there, and we use a mix or different brands. If it’s not a raw complete, you might need to add some veggies to keep them regular.The shopkeeper advised the raw diet as well, he really didn’t like the complete kibbles off the shelf. After talking to him we were happy to try the raw. He said the kibble takes 7hrs for the body to process it and the two can’t be mixed so wait until the next day.
We finished at 5pm yesterday on the kibble and waited for breakfast to start the raw.
85g of raw puppy food for breakfast, lunch & dinner, and we had a ‘proper’ stool tonight! I am amazed at the difference. Normally we have to hose down the area after picking up the poo but Mrs F picked it up in a bag and had to come show me!
We will continue this raw diet for a few weeks to see how it goes.
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