Feeding Issue

ThirdMan

Hi. I have a four month old Staffordshire Terrier cross. I've no idea how often or how much I should be feeding him. Last night was my first night with him, so I just gave him a medium sized bowl of 'complete' dog nuts. I want to ensure he gets exactly what he needs. Thanks.

Rommie

Generally up to six months I would feed three times a day. The amount depends on what food you're giving him. A lower quality food means you have to feed more, higher quality means you feed less. What brand is it?

lorebringer

At four months, you are likely to be feeding a puppy food (this, I'm assuming because you didn't say in your post). Usually, there is a feeding guide based on the size/weight of the adult dog so if you go by this and judge by your own dogs response to the amount, it should be a good guide. At 4 months, your dog will need to be fed 3 times per day - split the total daily amount into 3 smaller meals and feed at equal intervals throughout the day.

Just on a side note - please ensure you are feeding the dog a good quality food as puppies need all the nutrition they can get, they grow like wildfire and have loads of energy so need a good food to fuel them!

ThirdMan

At the moment I'm feeding him this.

There's a suggested feeding guide printed on the back. For 4-6 month old puppies the recommended amount is 300-600 grams per day, spread out over three meals. But this is greyhound food, so I'm not sure if that is too much/too little for a Staff. I initially wanted to buy a specialised puppy food, but the price was more than I can afford, so the sales assistant recommended this. She said that although it's marketed as greyhound food, it's still a complete food and would be suitable.

Rommie

What the hell are you feeding him greyhound food for!? This is a food for racing dogs, they have completely different nutritional needs than a staffie puppy. Please change his food as soon as you can! I don't know what pet shop you bought this in, but the sales assistant clearly doesn't have a clue!

RubyGirl

Op did u just get this puppy recently, if not did the previous owner not go through feeding and general care of the pup with you?
He will need to be changed from that food but do so gradually, introduce a new food very slowly or he will get a sick tummy. Feed him this 3 times a day, any food he won't eat after 20 mins, take it up and keep until next feeding time.

Go to a good pet shop and they will be able to put you in the right direction of dog food.

Pic's of course are a must also.

lorebringer

ThirdMan wrote: »

At the moment I'm feeding him this.

There's a suggested feeding guide printed on the back. For 4-6 month old puppies the recommended amount is 300-600 grams per day, spread out over three meals. But this is greyhound food, so I'm not sure if that is too much/too little for a Staff. I initially wanted to buy a specialised puppy food, but the price was more than I can afford, so the sales assistant recommended this. She said that although it's marketed as greyhound food, it's still a complete food and would be suitable.

The sales assistant clearly had no idea what she was talking about. While this food won't cause your pup any damage, it is not ideal to be feeding him this. Complete foods do not mean they are good quality - looking at the ingredients of this food, it is not too good.

What is you approx budget and perhaps some recommendations could be made for some better foods for you pup.

ThirdMan

Thanks for the replies. I'm a bit embarrassed by how ignorant I am when it comes to this. I thought a pet supplies store would be a source of good information. Obviously not. Either way I should have looked into it a bit more.

The puppy was lost/abandoned. Every effort was made to trace his owner. But over two weeks have passed since, so I've taken him in. I'm fully prepared to commit myself to the dogs welfare, but I've been caught unawares on the nutritional front. Things have moved on a bit since I last had a pet in the house.

I don't really have a fixed budget, but I certainly need to keep the costs down as much as possible. €42 for a 10kg bag of puppy food is definitely too much. I mean, how far would that get me?

I'd appreciate any advice you my have. I really want to do my best for the little fella.

lorebringer

Red Mills Leader or Leader Supreme (the other version are a bit crap), Creavans (previously "Whites"), Select Gold, Clinivet, James Wellbeloved, Nutro... there are lots of good to excellent brands of food out there. It is much cheaper to buy in bulk (that is, buy a 15kg bag over a 7kg bag) and, often, prices are cheaper online. With dog food, paying over €40 if pretty standard when it comes to quality.

Feeding guides go with about 30g - 50g of food per kg, so if your dog is 10 kg and you are feeding 40g of food per kg per day, that is 400g per day. Divide this into 15kg and that's about 37 days per bag. So, for your €40 or so you are getting over a months supply of food, more if the feeding guide calls for less food per kg of dog! Steer clear of the supermarket stuff (Pedigree, Bakers, own brand etc.) as it is terrible stuff. When changing food, do it slowly - gradually increasing the new food and decreasing the old food over a week/10 days to prevent the dog getting an upset belly.

Some websites:
http://creavenspremium.com/
http://www.clinivet.com/
http://www.redmills.ie/ie/
http://www.zooplus.ie/ or http://www.zooplus.co.uk/ (check out both sites for the best deals - huge selection of foods)

Also, large pet stores (like Maxizoo and PetStop) tend to have offers on different foods at any given time so it's worth keeping an eye out for them to see if you could get a good deal!

Tranceypoo

Just wanted to say well done for taking the pup in and good luck to you with him, please post pics I bet he's a cutie pie!!

And I also cannot believe a sales assistant would recommend that food for your pup, perfect example of how little too many of them actually know about pet nutrition!!

janekelly7777

What about raw/barf food diet? It's another option that you can consider, is based in raw food, and in case you get a great deal from a butcher you will be giving your puppy better quality food and cheaper.

In my case is great can give them apples and chicken, for them is funnier!