New member and Puppy! Wellness Food

[salty]

Hi, My name is Chris. I came across this site last week. I have a couple questions about feeding. He will be 9 weeks this Sunday and right now I would say he weighs 15lbs. I am currently switching him from purina puppy chow over to Wellness puppy. Is 1 cup 3x per day too much for him?? He seems like he wants more and I would bet he would eat 3 cups 3x per day if we let him. I am just wondering if this food is quality because it sure is expensive. Any thoughts are appreciated.

this is Moose when we first got him at 7 weeks.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v357/salty600x/moose1.jpg

This is Moose yesterday at 8 1/2 weeks
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v357/salty600x/moosesit.jpg

[salty]

couple more pics

7weeks
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v357/salty600x/moose.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v357/salty600x/moose4.jpg

8 1/2 weeks

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v357/salty600x/moosesleepin.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v357/salty600x/moosesit2.jpg

[tlmartin]

My pup is 12 weeks now and i am feeding her about 3/4 cup 3x a day. She weighs 20lbs. Will probably bump it up to 1 cup soon. Cannot comment on the brand you are using as i have never used it.

[suzysues]

Oh he is adorable!! Such a cute face I just want to kiss it!

The food should have a feeding guide on the back. Some company's provide a measuring cup. I get a free one online.

[salty]

The back of the bag says for pups his age and weight should be getting no more than 2 3/4 cups per day spread out over 3 meals. It just doesn't seem like much for him. I'm wondering if anyone else has used this food and what their feedback is on it.

[Cassidy'sMom]

Welcome, salty. You are now the proud owner of a "chow hound". (Bet you thought you had a golden retriever :laugh2 ). If you look around in the food forum you will see many owners of goldens speak about how much and how fast their goldens eat. I think this is just the nature of the beast . . . um, I mean the nature of a golden. :dogbark

Sounds like you are feeding perfectly. 3 meals a day sounds good to me. You should follow the amount listed on the back of the bag. However, if you have a more active pup he may need a little more. Likewise, if the pup is less active he may need a little less. Ajust like you see fit, but watch the weight. You don't want an overweight golden on your hands. You can also give fresh veggies to help control the "hunger monster". Anything high in fiber works great - Cassidy likes green beans or green peas the best!

Wellness is considered a premuim food - good choice.

[salty]

Thank you. that is a pretty dog you have. I am not familiar with Goldens yet so it will take some time. I can tell that he is a very fast learner. He knows "sit" already and sleeps like a baby at night. He also takes lots of naps during the day. My fiancee and I used to help out our friend that breeds great danes but we have to wait until we get our house next year for one of those. Feel free to see their site if anyone likes that particular breed. How long do golden pups require a feeding schedule of 3X per day ? :woofpup

www.countryrun.com

[Copper's Mom]

It should show on the back of the bag of dogfood how much and when to feed him. For example 25 gets 1 cup 3x's a day. You said you were new to the breed. So are we. Our pup Copper is only 1 year old and he's our first dog as a married couple, we've been married a little over a year now. Goldens are really impressive dogs. I will always love golden retrievers, I think they are the best. We will probably always have a golden retriever. Welcome aboard.

[salty]

BTW, the guy at the pet shop told me that wellness is made using "Human food". So......... wouldn't you know that I had to try a piece!! YUCK. rofl3

[angenbear]

What a cute puppy! Yes, going with natural is so much better for their health and digestion, so do a gradual change so that your puppy won't have a problem with the change, some are sensitive to change of foods. When you first look at natural, the serving is small and makes you wonder if it's enough. The reason why they are small compared to like purina puppy chow is because it's natural, human grade, so the puppy is getting everything out of it, so you shouldn't feed more than what they tell you to serve. And puppy chow is filled with lots of fillers and hence asks for a larger serving. Compare the ingredients, and you will find that Wellness or other natural products are so much better than superstore dog brands.

If Wellness doesn't work for your pup, try Innova, it's great for the indigestion and the ingredients are amazing. There are others that are great too: Canidae, Chicken lover for the soul, etc. What works for one dog may not work for another since some of them are rich.

[Goldenglittergirl]

Great food choice!! I have always wanted to try Wellness, have heard excellent things about it.

With a premuim food you will feed less.

Your puppy is just too adorable!!! :029 cheerleade dog9

[SteveR]

Follow the low end of the feeding guidelines for a while. As they grow you want them lean to prevent joint and hip problems later. Wellness puppy food is great but you should switch him over to adult food or a large breed puppy food by three months. There are some studies out there that suggest you try to minimize rapid growth in large breed dogs by using adult food sooner or by using a large breed puppy food. This is again to minimize the potential for joint and hip problems which are prevalent in large breed dogs. He's a real cutie. Good luck with him.

[coopersmom04]

I had my German Shepherd on Wellness (we had to put him down in November). I have my puppy on Nutro Large Breed Puppy. He is 11 weeks now and I feed him 3/4 cup 3 times a day, mixed with 2 tbs of canned food twice a day. I am going to eventually wean him off the canned food and only feed him dry food. I will probably bump at least one feeding to one cup when he turns 12 weeks!

Your puppy is so cute :)

[2blondebabes]

I feed my puppy Solid Gold wolf cub. She just turned 16 weeks and I was feeding her 1 cup three times a day and just switched to 1 1/2 cups twice a day. I have been feeding her 3 cups per day since she was about 12 weeks. She is very lean - weighs 26 pounds and looks really good. The post about giving her a large breed food is right on. wolf cub is a large breed puppy food and my puppy does very well on it.

[Katy]

I agree with "Rileysmom", I feed my puppy(20 wks old) both Solid Gold Wolf Cub and Innova Puppy Food, and she loves it and she does well on them. I've been feeding her twice a day ever since I got her when she was 7 wks old, she eats 3 3/4 cups a day in total right now, and I supplement her food with Solid Gold Seameal.

[angenbear]

Natural food requires less feeding, so feeding 3 cups a day for a pup seems to be alot. It does look less since previously you have used purina. You w ill notice with those brands the servings are big due to lots of fillers. Natural is human grade so they get more out of it even if the serving is less. Most goldens act like they can eat a gallon of food if you let them.

hehe, when I first got Bear, the breeder named him Moose. One of the pics looks like Bear when he was 8 weeks.

http://photobucket.com/albums/v205/angenbear/th_bear7.jpg

[texasyankee76]

Follow the low end of the feeding guidelines for a while. As they grow you want them lean to prevent joint and hip problems later. Wellness puppy food is great but you should switch him over to adult food or a large breed puppy food by three months. There are some studies out there that suggest you try to minimize rapid growth in large breed dogs by using adult food sooner or by using a large breed puppy food. This is again to minimize the potential for joint and hip problems which are prevalent in large breed dogs. He's a real cutie. Good luck with him.

Jimmy is a little over four months now and he's gone from eatting Bill-Jac puppy to Wellness puppy, but after reading your comments I just may switch him to adult food.

[SteveR]

I had mine on Nutro large breed puppy until 7 months and then I switched him to adult Chicken soup. He's on Innova large breed adult now. By far the best food I've ever used and I've tried them all.