hi im Anita and new to this forum,
i pick up my newfie pup in two weeks but slightley worried about what to feed,
the breeder is feeding puppy porridge and ped chum puppy,
but shouldnt he be fed a special diet for larger breed pupsfor good bone and muscle growth
i realy havnt got a clue so much conflicting info on the net.
please help i want my puppy to have the healthiest start i can give him
thanks Anita

Hi Anita

not sure about newfie's but i have a great dane and i feed her royal canin, and on some occasions skinners field and trial with pilchards, tripe etc.  I know some breeders who feed this all the time (skinners etc) but i think they also give a calcium tablet, there is so much advice around it is so difficult to decide, i find that royal canin is great for my pup, she loves it and it is the right balance of nutrients etc so i don't have to suppliment.  the have a web site think it is royalcanin.co.uk.

good luck in deciding :-D

Hi Anita, deede has given you much better advice than the breeder,with all large breeds the growth of the puppy is so important and the best growth depends on the best food !! Now i know we all have our own choice on which we think is the best food, so we wont get argueing about that :)  But i know for a fact that newf's growth responds very well to a food called 'Nutrience' they do a large breed puppy  its not cheap, but if you can just feed it for the 1st 18 months you will give your pup the best start in life.... i have not used royalcanin but it does sound good and might try it !!? I can give you loads of advice on puppy newf's (and probably bore you :D ) if you want to speak to me you can pm me and i will give you my tel no or feel free to ask any more questions.  love mand x x

thanks deede and mand for your great advice i will certainley be feeding on your advice when i get him home cant wait .
ill also probably drive you mad with all my questions from now on.
thanks again
Anita xx

I would like to say some thing here if you dont think that the breeder knows what they are doing WHY did you buy from them? did there bitch not look good how did the pups look? i really dont understand why any one comes on here to ask about feeding or care of a new pup when you should be talking to the person that bred it if they were good enough to buy from why are they not good enough to ask about the do's and dont's of the puppy i am sure that they will be giving you a diet sheet and a contract so talk to the breeder they know there breed/lines better than any one else.

ANITA

I am the breeder that you came to see and payed your deposit to, and to the people that have given the advice to you think that Deede have given better advice them me, I know my dogs, and have bred large breed dogs for over 20 years without any complaint, I can give any number of reference's to people that I have sold pups to over the years without one complaint.
My pups are health check 24 hours before they go by my vet, they have a diet sheet and advice on exercise for large breed,buyers have 24 hour back up from me for any problem that might come up and a life long return guarantee if they can no longer keep the puppy, My pups have been weaned on pedigree puppy porridge from 3 weeks and then gradually put on to pedigree puppy proffesional and buyers are then told to change food at about 6 months so as to not produce to much weight on to soft bones and a exercise program, pedigree foods are one of the largest used foods through out the world for rearing pups, And have been fed to many dogs that have won at Crufts but as some people think that they know what is best for my dogs that have no health faults medical conditions and are regularly worked in water trails and carting with no ill effects, it may be better if the purchaser of the puppy found a breeder that they have more confidence in, as I have a long list of people that have bought from me before and will do again. I have had dogs for 30 years and have never had a problem with my dogs, PJ the father is over 12 stone  and as Anita was very impressed by him, and could see from the mother that 10 pups had taken no toll on her she has kept both her weight and condition, with a beautifull shine on her coat 6 weeks after her pups were born, I have Dogue de Bordeaux and Tibetan Mastiff's my dogs have only been to the vets for injections in there life time as my vet will verify. To them that know better than me . I hope Anita finds a breeder that she has more confidence in in the near future

I would feel the same Britney.  If a prospective puppy purchaser didn't listen to me before they took their puppy, then there would be little chance of them listening to me afterwards!!
I agree that Anita should find a breeder in whom she has confidence.  I would be furious if one of my purchasers asked faceless people on a public board for advice, rather than me, the breeder!!  Time to refund the deposit, I feel???

Cheque already in the post, when I stop shaking with rage, Have phone a back up number I had taken as they were disappionted that I had not another puppy for them, as they had bought from me 2 years ago, as they live in Dover they did not know that I had another litter untill all the pups had gone, they are traveling up now, set off straight away, there are other people on this forum that have bought from me and were waiting for pups, but unfortunately I had 1 bitch and 9 males and the bitch was black,but from someone that is supposed to not know about my dogs I have a good list of people that will wait untill I have another litter in about 2 years time

I bought my first Newfie from Britney 18 months ago and was down on top of her list for another from this litter, sadly she didnt have the Landseer bitch I wanted. My boy is great, he was well raised, happy and outgoing and I have no hesitation recommending her pups. He saw my vet within 24 hours of going home and was given a top bill of health. I now have 5 Newfs, all fed on Eukanuba for large breeds as it is my choice of food, but Ozzy was kept on the diet originally that he was fed on as he did well on it. As all my other dogs are on the same brand it was easier for me to change at my leisure. Keep up the good work with your pups.

i would just like to make it clear that i did not post this message it was my daughter who is 12 going on 30 and thinks she knows everthing that is to be known about everthing in the world and solar system, just proves what a mess kids can get you in to we now have no puppy to look forward to .
the real grown up Anita

Anita,is your daughters name Anita also?As she has been signing the previous posts with this name Was it your daughter who said she will be feeding HER dog by the advice given when she gets him home??
I would quit while i was ahead if i was you!

no her name isnt anita she just logged in on my name as my computer remembers all my passwords. and if i have ever posted anything on this forum before it as been in a freindly manner and never derogative or rude as i beleive that everyone as their own oppinion about different things and respect that, unlike some extremley narrow minded people who judge a person before they know the true facts.

Anita(the 34 year old)

It's just that the original post is signed 'Anita', not just the username at the top.

she is told specifically never to give personal details on the internet so she just uses my name i am usually around to supervise any postings but this got bye me as i wasnt in the house at the time. i was shopping and second one id taken the dog for out for her morning walk, and also we do not agree on most things like everyone who as a teenager and she posted to try and prove a point and inosently didnt realise she would offend anyone. hope this satisfies all the doubting thomas's out there. but i suppose you cant please everyone all of the time

this has all upset me abit! britney has every right to be fuming,but now anita & daughter arent getting their puppy & must be gutted! i can see both sides, id be worried if id sold a puppy to someone who was so quick to take others advice over mine ,but all anita/daughter were doing,in their excited anticpation ,was too gather some other opinions, i know it was said that they would take that advice....but well,i just really feel for them........

Hi,

What is the legal age you can leave a child in the house alone is it 13yrs or is that when they can babysit?
I would be interested to know as I have a 12yr old and don't know exactly what the law is?

Briony:-)

Hi Sorry,

This should really have gone in "idle chat"

Briony:-)

i have come to the conclusion that this forum is not for everyone as most people on here seem to take pleasure from ostrosising new members. i will not be posting on here ever again.ho and by the way there is more than one adult living in my home.

I'm sorry you feel like that. It was an easy mistake to make - if someone signs themselves with a particular name, the natural assumption is that it is their name, not that of another. We only have the written posts to go by I'm afraid.

ANITA

When I rang you about  the posting you denied to me that you knew anything about this site and had never heard of it, how would your daughter then be able to just log in, there is a procedure that is undertaken and a password proccess,so she found a site filled in the registration agreed to the rules and the proceeded to post in your name. This matter is over and done with in my opinion, the puppy has now got a home that will keep in touch with me, visit and sent photo's and with people that have confidence in me, that is all I ask of the people that get my puppy's.

Anita & Britney

I am sorry thatyour post and me replying to your post and letting you know what i feed my dog has caused so much trouble, i would never be so bold as to offer "advice" on any breed of dog, i would merely let you know what i do and it is up to you from there.

Britney, i did not wish to offend you with my reply, i simply informed Anita what i feed my pup no offence was intended.  Who better to get advice from than the breeder????

DEEDEE

I have not a problem with your post, you are quite within your rights to give the poster the benefit of your experience I note that you did say that Newfie's were not your breed, and your experience  was with other large breeds, we all have our own ways of rearing our dogs and what is good for one puppy may not be right for another, in fact in this litter we have found that 2 out of the 10 did not respond well to the pedigree profesional, so they are fed a different more bland diet that does suit them, so there owners have been advised of this in advance so they can arrange to have that diet ready for the puppy when they go in 2 weeks time, they will recieve a different diet sheet to the others. If the poster had fed the puppy on the diet recommended by some other person than the breeder, she would have ended up with one poorly puppy and that is why I advise puppy buyer to continue with my diet and tell them why I fed that particular food, then it is up to them to gradually change them on to there prefered food as did Debbie that had a puppy from me. But if they had followed the advice from the next poster, who thinks that I am a very poor breeder, they would have had a poorly puppy, and who would they come back and complain to ME.It is good to ask advice and cover all options, but it was only me that knew that these 2 puppy's had a problem with particular type's of food, not some one that had experience of there own newfie's not mine,  I have had large breed's for 20 years, and I am stillI  learning from other people experience on this forum, I hope that they can say the same. No 2 dogs are identical, I have had the pups for 6 weeks and weaned and fed them, they are strong healthy pups and I can send anyone picture's to confirm that. I have calmed down now, things have worked out well for me,and on that I will let the case rest.

Let me just say i have nothing against new puppy buyers asking questions,i think the more questions asked the better,it is always good to get others advice and experiences.Anita i support you asking as many questions as you need to,i think it is the responsible thing to do,when i first brought my pup home i had a million questions,some of which i consulted the breeder about and some i posted here on champdogs,i honestly dont see the problem in Anita asking about her new pup,granted she should have also asked the breeder but it doesnt hurt to get others points of views,no breeder or pet owner knows "everything".What i did have a problem with was the obvious porky pies told by said poster re;daughter,this was the one thing that put me off.
If i were a breeder i would encourage a new puppy owner to ask as many questions as they could,to myself and elsewhere hoping common sense would prevail! I know alot of new puppy owners are worried they are being a pain calling the breeder everyday with questions(i know i did)so maybe that was the reason Anita posted here??Anita or britney were these questions asked when the pup was picked out?An answer to this would help us to understand better.

christine

Sorry Christine, on something as important as feeding, especially a giant breed, the only person to ask is the experienced breeder.  She is the one who'll get "the phone call!" at a year old when the badly reared puppy has a problem!
By all means ask on a public board "What's you dog's favourite toy?" etc, but for anything that matters, like training, grooming, health or feeding etc, then it's got to be back to the breeder!  
A GOOD BREEDER never minds being asked question for the sake of the puppy that they've spent months working out the right stud dog, and hours on their hands and knees whelping and rearing!
Let's hope that anyone looking for a new puppy has learned something from this thread!!

There is no legal "minimum age " before which you cannot leave your child alone in your house.

There IS a law with regard leaving your children at risk of fire.

Only you know if and when your particular child is sufficiently capable and competent of being left alone, without adult supervision and for how long, after conducting your own personal "risk assessment".

As all children differ in their development, intelligence, nous, experience etc and all environments will be different this will inevitably be down to personal choice!

Thanks for replying Val,i guess i see the breeders point now.
As for leaving kids home alone,i  leave my 12 year old home when i do the groceries or have to nip up to the shops BUT there is no way i would leave her 13yr. old cousin home alone,it all depends on the individual kid,my neice is 13 going on 6,not very mature or trustworthy at all,she is the polar opposite to my daughter ;) Parents know their kids best,there is much more to it than just their age.

christine

Glad that I made my passionate point understandable Christine!!  Not always easy with the written word! ;)

Anita sounded like she only wanted the best for her puppy.I Trust my breeder but I would also seek advice from other people.