Hi

This might sound a bit silly but it is worrying me.

I recently sold a litter of pups. I had weaned them on to raw foods but also gave them puppy food. meat and complete as most of the new owners werent keen on raw feeding. This way I made sure they were goign to eat when they went to there new homes

I explained in great detail about raw feeding with the new owners. wrote it all down ect.

One of the pups is coming to stay with me next week while owner on holiday so I was asking what she is eating. They said she wont touch the puppy food but they are cooking her mince, chicken and stew and she is loving it.

I am concerend that the whole point of feeding the chicken, mince ect was to have a balanced diet including bones and veg, which she wont be getting cooking it.

And also buy doing this they are going to make this 11 week puppy a fussy eater who has already learnt that she can get what she wants by not eating what she is given. She was very good eater when she left me.

I can only advice them but I feel I need to say something as I dont think she is getting a balanced diet.

What would you all do

Wendy

When I've had one of my 'pups' (albeit grown up!) back to stay I've fed a mixture of what her owners brought for her and what I feed mine. Everyone was happy. :)

Personaly all pups would have a diet sheet from me...that way there is no way they can say they wrote it down wrong or forgot what to give...I think you need to ask them WHY they changed stuff?? Perhaps they aren't happy handling and feeding raw meat. Maybe they could be persuaded to feed a decent complete meal instead??(if they find raw feeding hard?) all the best, Dawn

Hi

I knew they were not keen on feeding raw, which is why I made sure they would eat the complete before they left.

I did write it all down for them in great detail and have gone over it with them. I know they didnt think dogs could eat the raw food and it was a suprise that I did feed it, They are a older couple and probably thinking I am talking rubbish with my new fangled ideas.:rolleyes:

I will suss it when she comes

Wendy

There's no reason that cooking food should not provide a balanced diet.  However, if all they are feeding is meat & veg (no bone) it certainly does not sound like the puppy is getting one.  

You could suggest that they give the pup a daily dog vitamin tablet, which is suspect is something they would be willing to do.  Or you could try feeding the pup a complete food that might appeal to the owners more than dry completes. NatureDiet or Naturesmenu, for example. 

I would have some sort of kibble or bone, it may be OK at the moment as the pup is young, but later it will help keep teeth clean and avoid costly dental bills.

Hi

Yes this is what is bothering me I doubt she is getting any veg, kibble or bone. Just pure cooked meat. I have suggested a few things but i cant demand they feed what I say. It is there pup now and I can only advice. I will be able to see for myself when she comes to stay. If i am to heavy handed they could just go away and I might not hear from them again so I have to tred carefully. I do know they have the pups best interest at heart and think the world of her so if I am clever and say she isnt getting the best diet I think they will listen. Just have to be tackfull to. Dont want them to think they are doing anything wrong incase they are worried about asking for help in the future.

I noticed in a photo they sent me she has a full bowl of dried food in the background. Up to the rim,. looks like she can nibble as she pleases. There is no way she is going to be wanting that when she knows a cooked meal is coming. SO I am going to have to say about lifting that and not let her pick all day. She wont be able to do that in my house because of my dogs. Not that they will eat it but I dont have food sitting all day

Wendy

Was just wondering out of curiosity what a breeders rights are? What if you knew one of the precious pups you bred was getting an obvious wrong diet which could seriously affect his growth and development in the future and the present owners were not willing to change it,could you take the pup back? What if you knew your pup was being abused,could you take him back?

I know a breeder who did this,she found out one of her girls was being used as a breeding machine.She marched over to the owners house,just about knocked down the front door when she answered it,stomped out to the back shed where she was being kept,picked her up,marched back out past the shocked owner and took her home! I dont think she ever heard from the owner,even if she had there was no way she was ever going to give the dog back!

Oh! the pleasures of breeding.  All you can do is advise and inform - the rest is up to them.  It's very difficult to sit back and watch someone doing it a different way from yours but there seems to be very little you can do (I know from experience!).  Take a similar attitude as you would with other peoples children, as I find that equally frustrating that some parents make the silliest of mistakes with their upbringing despite good role models and experienced advice.

I would be tempted to try raw feeding and kibble while the pup was with you and have a go at talking to the owners on their return, perhaps demonstrating pups ability to heartily wolf down raw.

Good luck

Breeder's rights? None, I'm afraid. Once a puppy is sold the new owner has all rights over the animal. A breeder can advise but cannot insist on anything. In the eyes of the law a dog is the same as a car or a fridge - manufacturers can't insist that you only put fuel from Esso garages into your car and polish it once a week; neither can a breeder insist that a pup is given only a certain diet.

If you think a puppy you've bred is being mistreated all you can do is report it to the authorities - marching in and taking it away, no matter how justified, is theft.

Two things I would gently suggest to them.  One of my new owners didn't even realise they were doing this wrong.  Feed the puppy kibble only, pick it up if not eaten - biggest mistake leaving it down - by the end of the day the puppy should have realised this is all that is coming and eat it anyway. It would be very unusual for a puppy to starve itself.

Give a demonstration of how well puppy can eat. Feed puppy with your dogs albeit keeping it separate and safe but able to see the others, works a treat they usually remember to wolf it down before someone else gets it.  Advise new owners to only give a little and often (4 times daily for young pup) and to always take up any uneaten food.

My main concern with a cooked only diet would be the dogs teeth.  The gums may soften and the teeth loosen.  True enough years ago we fed our dogs on table scraps but they also got bones from the butches with some raw meat left on.  My grandads dogs had sheepsheads twice a week and they were gorgeous.

The other thing I do personally is to give freeze dried tripe mince for the raw element of a puppies diet.  Doesn't need too much preparation and mixed with kibble goes down a treat.