Hi everyone, Can anyone give suggestions as to what food is best for my black labrador puppy. She is 7 weeks old and ive been trying to give her wainwrights complete (turkey & rice)puppy. She is refusing to eat it. There are so many different brand out there (some cheap &some not so cheap.!!) Wainwrights sounded good as it doesnt seem to be full of additives, preservatives and the rest of the rubbish and was very reasonably priced i thought. But shes having none of it.!! Help needed. Thankyou.

The best person to advice is the breeder of your pup and the best thing to do is keep her on the food she was used to, at least initially, as an abrupt change of food can cause a lot of stomach upsets.

I expect she is finding her feet, don't worry, labradors are the ultimate eating machine, one day you will look back at the sheer impossibility that your dog did not want to consume everything (edible or not) within its grasp! :)

For at least the next two weeks she needs to be fed the same food that the breeder was feeding her (provided that it wasn't total rubbish!) to avoid stomach upsets which in such a young dog can be very serious.

I agree with the other posters, for a least a couple of weeks after coming home the pup should be eating the same food as the breeder had them on, and unless there is a good reason to change foods I wouldn't personally...

Agree as well, she will only have been fully weaned for two weeks or so, don't change from what the breeder was feeding for at least 4 weeks and then do it very slowly. She should be on 4 or 5 meals a day so perhaps you are feeding too much at a time.

Thanks for all your replys. The people i got her off gave me a small bag of dried food in a carrier bag and said it was just some puppy food from the pet shop.!! I have had her for a week and have kept to the rubbish he gave me, but because i was running out ive had to introduce the wainwrights and she doesnt like it. So im not quite sure what to give her for the best. She is very bouncy and playful and seems happy in herself, its just the food.

Well they must know what they were feeding, I would give them a ring and if they don't know ask them to find out. Can't believe that a breeder would just wean their pups on any old thing that came to hand.

Hi

I would try and tempt her with a little mince or maybe some Nature Diet mixed in with the food to get her to eat it but don't worry when she is hungry she will eat ! If she flatly refuses then try Jame Well Beloved as I have reared all my Labs pups on that and they loved it.

Did you get her at six weeks old then as that is a bit young for a puppy to leave her mum ?

Lucy

Edited to say you mentioned in another posts the breeder had her on Proplan
Hi is there anyone who could tell me if wainwrights complete puppy food is any good, i have a black labrador. The breeder had her on pro plan.

If the breeder had her on ProPlan stick with that - it's not a bad food at all.

Hi everyone, yes he told me the puppies were on pro-plan but that wasnt the case. He just had a big plastic bag full of dried food that didnt look very nice. He looked like he coulnt wait to get rid. But saying that mum & dad were in good condition. lovely shiny coates, bright eyes, full of beans, well as full of beans as mum could get with 8 babies and there kc reg. But really wasnt keen on the guy. i rang the other day and he sounded like he was in the pub to be honest and couldnt hear properly. Id much rather sort it without him, but with you guys if thats all right.!!

Maybe they started on proplan until they realised how much they ate and decided to go for a cheaper one? Just a thought?

Breeders are allowed to go into pubs once in a while ! :-D

I would go and buy a small bag of Pro plan then and see if the pup eats it.

Just wondering what you mean by it didn't look very nice as I don't think I like the look of many dogs foods to be honest as they don't get my mouth watering very often ! :-D

Ha,ha sorry didnt mean he couldnt go in the pub, just think he spends alot of time in there.!!! Im not explaining myself very well am i.! Anyway she has been to the vet tonight for her 1st vacc and she is all fit & healthy and i can take the wainwrights back and exchange it for something else because its got a 100% garrantee. So might try jwb and see how that goes. Thanks for everyones advice.xx

I don't want to alarm you (the off hand attitude of the breeder concerns me) but as you say that pup is KC reg what does it say re health tests for the parents?

Even more important than choosign a puppy is choosign a carign breeder who fills you with confidence and will be there with help and advice through puppyhood, and beyond.

If there are none shown then the parents will not have had them.  You can also check by putting Mum and Dad's names here: http://www.the-kennel-club.org.uk/services/public/health/search/

If nothing comes up please pleas make sure to Insure the puppy and ensure it is true life cover (that the condition is covered for life and the annual amount starts again at renewal).

Labradors should have a number of health tests to help minimise the risk of inheriting certain health conditions.  Hip and Elbow scoring, eye testing including DNA testing for those eye problems that have DNA tests.  There may be more that I am not aware of.