Lurcher pup food

[rose1]

I have recently added a 14 week old whippety lurcher type pup to my pack . So far she has been fed on Royal Canin junior food for medium dogs - my other dogs are fed on Natural Instinct raw combined with Burns pork and potato . We do not know her parentage so do not know how big she will be - so advice please on what to feed her on,how much, how often ( at the moment she is having 4 meals a day ) she has grown but still quite skinny. I would like to get her on the same food as my other dogs ( not lurchers ) ultimately and am not keen on the food she is on but did not want to upset her system -any advice very welcome !

[123lurcherlover]

Hello Rose, and welcome to GAP

The feeding thing is always a bit of a conundrum! hopefully you will get lots of helpful advice from members and people with nutritional advice.

Im not an expert, and have a 12 mth lurcher pup, who has been a little monkey/fuss-pot on food! I feed Burns puppy x 3 daily with a small amount of Nature diet puppy mixed with water to make a gravy. i also make a casserole thing, turkey mince-chopped carrot, peas and brown rice and olive oil to pad her out -she is quite skinny. I used to get upset she was so skinny, but now realise she is just 'made that way'.
she also gets bits of chicken and sosidge as training treats .

Rather frustratingly, she sometimes eats next to nothing for a day, but then loads the next but Ive started to accept its just what she does. Her poo's are good, and other than being 'ribby' she is happy and healthy.

Clare x

[rose1]

Thank you Clare -- I have had a Deerhound and a Wolfhound in the past but of course I knew what they were growing into ! also they came as well fed pups. This little soul obviously had poor nutrition in the early weeks and was skin and bones , although gradually improving once she was in rescue.I think she will be quite petite so I will have to get used to her being skinny - she likes her food and eats with no problems I will just let her set the pace. It is strange having a skinny soul amongst my usual lot who while not fat look very well covered !!!

[Nettie]

You will find that just as she puts on weight she'll have a growth spurt and look all skinny again. I've fed all my pups raw from 12 - 14 weeks old, starting them on raw mince from Prize Choice, after a few weeks adding a small chicken wing well bashed and holding on to one end of the wing to start with to ensure they don't just swallow it whole.

[rose1]

Yes I aim to get her on raw I have seen such an improvement ,in what I considered healthy dogs, in my other dogs since changing to mainly raw food - so going from your advice Nettie I can start introducing it now . Yes bits of her seem to grow over night ! It is the first time I have not either seen the parents or in recent years I have only adopted adult dogs - but this time I do not know what we will end up with - ! Although definitely lurcher shape and running style and speed !

[emmajane]

I agree with Nettie, they are like shape-shifters at this age - how they manage to grow giraffe legs overnight is beyond me!

My pups all go onto raw as soon as they land - they eat pretty much what the older dogs eat, apart from adding pureed veg to at least one of their meals (half meat/half veg) mostly to vary the diet as much as possible when they are young so they get used to eating whatever is put infront of them.
I feed them as they need, usually 4 meals til about 6 months old, then 3 meals til a year and then down to 2 meals a day - however if they are going through a growth spurt and are hungry then I will give them an extra meal. I was still feeding Malcolm on and off 3 meals a day until he was probably 2 years old - its pretty obvious if they are hungry.
I tend to feed my dogs raw meat and bones in their original form and don't cut any of it up into smaller pieces (Stig was teeny when he landed with me - probably about 9/10 weeks old and he managed full chicken wings perfectly) the more they have to work hard at chewing their dinner the less they feel the need to practice on the furniture.
I also don't worry if they look a bit ribby - as long as they are active and putting down muscle then they are ok and will fill out in their own good time.

[rose1]

Thank you - I am feeling more confident now ! she is definitely growing in bits ! I'm sure her legs grew an inch last night - so its onto raw and will wait to see what she turns into !