Hi firstly sorry if there is any repetition in my questions, i have read the other posts relating to this but...you know how it is!

I have mini dachshund, 13 weeks old today, weighs 2.5pounds. The vet said his weight is fine but being me i still want to check!

Archie is on Nature Diet which he absolutely loves, has a 3rd of a pack split into 3 meals per day (actually it's now going down to 2 meals with a treat eg. tiny bit of liver cake at lunch). I also mix it with a few science plan pellets (5-6 each meal). i was just looking at the SP website and noticed it has quite a high protein content (about 25.5%) ND has 12%. should i stop adding the SP? - i only add it cos i think it's good for his teeth but i would be happy to substitute this for a bone.

What bones are safe for a tiny pup? i have been told so many different things by so many different people! would the sterilized bones be safe? he is small but can chew through anything (is slowly working his way through a red kong at the mo)

thanks v much!

What you can't do is compare the protein content of wet food (80% or more water) with dry food (less than 10% water). In order to compare correctly you would have to reduce both to dry matter and multiply the values into this.

For arguments sake If Protein of wet food is 10% and only 20% is dry matter, that actually makes the dry matter protein 50%, the food that is 90% dry matter and 25% protein actually gives you less protein (30.6%) than in the wet.

What many people have found when saying the dry food is to high in protein is that for some dogs the processed protein causes them problems. Why this is I am unsure, maybe it is to do with protein quality, freshness etc.

I would also be really interested to know what sort of raw bones would be suitable for a pup, and how old a pup should be before raw bones are introduced?

I was giving my pups raw rib bones to gnaw/play with from about 5 weeks.
:)

Thanks - what sort of animal were they from tho? (I'm a veggie so you have to spell it out!)