I am soon to be buying a pug puppy but am so confused about what to feed it ! Ive heard commercial supermarket food is bad for them and also feeding them raw meat is too ? i dont have the time to prepare homemade food can anyone help me ? I dont want her to get overweight as i know pugs are prone to obesity.
Thanks, Olivia.

> but am so confused about what to feed

Hi Olivia i think you are local to us you are welcome to spend a Puggy hour with our gang they will show you what food they like   :-)

Barry & Margaret

>Ive heard commercial supermarket food is bad for them

Yes,the foods found in supermarkets are generally of poor quality :(

However not ALL commercial foods are horrible,they definitely are not all created equal!

I feed Orijen,which IMO is one of the best available at the moment http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/dogs/dry_dog_food/orijen/44954

Other decent commercial foods:

Timberwolf
Arden Grange
Wafcol Salmon&Potato
Wainwrights

Just look for meat as the first ingredient,and stay away from foods which list loads of grains,and definitely dont feed anything with colours,sugars and artificial preservatives such as BHA,BHT and ethoxiquin.

There are also many nice wet foods you can feed alone or mix in with boring dry food:

Naturediet
Prizechoice
Naturesmenu

There are plenty more,just have a look in the fridge/freezer section of PAH or the like.

>and also feeding them raw meat is too ?

Lets not forget that our dogs are Carnivores,their digestive tract is designed to handle raw meat and bones,something my dogs get on a daily basis.

Hi baz and marg can i spend a puggy time or two with yours lol !! if anyone needs a pug see these two!!!

Baz what foods do you feed?

just looked on zooplus site and there is so much food to choose from - i was seeing whats available for a very fussy eater and what might tempt her.
Has anyone tried bozita or rinti? looks good but not sure as havn't really seen these makes in shops.

>Has anyone tried bozita or rinti?

My Dobe's had both of those (the tinned versions, not the dry) - he loved them :-D

i was seeing whats available for a very fussy eater and what might tempt her

My Cavalier (believe it or not!!!) went through an extremely fussy stage - I was quite worried as he was getting really thin and just didn't want to know when it came to food. I tried allsorts of brands but the one that turned things around for us was Arden Grange Prestige. also adding a little Naturediet or Natures Menu wet foods helped Harvey eat up.

already do AG and she wont touch either of those wet foods! like you she's worrying me as needs to 'beef' up a bit for her breed.

> already do AG and she wont touch either of those wet foods

Arden Grange isn't a Wet food?  My anorexic ate Arden Grange Prestige until she was two as ti was the only one that she would eat enough of to keep from being very thin.  She is 10 1/2 now and given the option would be a pig :D

I mentioned adding either a little Naturediet or Natures Menu to the Arden Grange

I certainly would'nt feed the dog foods usually found in supermarkets e.g Bakers and similar brands as they are full of sugar. To start off with I would continue feeding the food the breeder has the puppy on and introduce new food gradually. However if the breeder is already feeding the puppies on a high quality food (which I would hope they would be) and the puppy is doing well I would just continue to buy and feed what they are used to. Are you planning on taking your puppy to puppy training? The trainer we had gave excellent advice on diet and suitable foods (we have to be very careful what we feed our bitch as shes hyper - spend more time checking labels on her food than my own :) ) plus she was sponsered by James Wellbeloved then Burns so we got loads of free food/treats from her. Burns seems to really suit my dogs and I mix it with Natures diet wet food.

I know other champdoggers have found Burns is not suitable for there dogs just as certain foods are not suitable for mine. You are doing the right thing asking on here and as I've mentioned speak to the breeder and possibly a trainer (if youre going down that route) then you have the most information possible to work out what is most suitable for your dog. Give any new foods a chance though as I'm sure youre aware that changing food too often can cause tummy upsets.

Thanks for all the posts ill be sure to keep them in mind :-)
The other problem is i dont have an overly large budget and was also wondering how long would a 15kg bag last for my puppy ?
Thanks,
Olivia

>that changing food too often can cause tummy upsets.

On the other hand...Giving a large variety of different foods may also ensure a cast iron tum.Feeding the same food constantly will almost ensure a sensitive digestion,whereas if the dog is used to different foods, swapping around shouldn't even cause a blip ;-)

> .Feeding the same food constantly will almost ensure a sensitive digestion,

Have you got scientific evidence for this ? I've got an 11 + Cavalier who has eaten the same dog food since he arrived here(puppy then adult version)he has never had any digestive problems & when my parents were alive they often gave him unsuitable food inbetween his meals in later life

With young puppies changing food all the time IMHO & IMHE casues no end of digestive upsets

>Have you got scientific evidence for this ?

Not off hand,as i've never felt the need to find any scientific studies to prove what to me,is plain common sense.But i'm sure there would be plenty of papers out there that back up this theory.

>Cavalier who has eaten the same dog food since he arrived here

Why?

>he has never had any digestive problems

But how would you know if you've fed him nothing but the same food for 11 years? A few tidbits in between meals isn't really conclusive.

>With young puppies changing food all the time IMHO & IMHE casues no end of digestive upsets

This is exactly how i have raised every one of my dogs from the get go. They get a large variety of different foods from home cooked to raw to commercial,and thus far ALL have had cast iron tummies.I can change food on a daily basis and their poops etc etc stay the same.And yet i have read countless stories of dogs who cant even handle the most simplest of food changes or additions,these seem to be the dogs fed very limited diets for most of their life.

Well i guess it all comes down to what makes sense to pet owners..... Feed nothing but the same old food for every meal day in day out OR feed a nice variety of fresh foods and/or commercial foods each having different nutrient values to cover all the bases.
We get it drummed into us to eat a variety of different foods on a daily basis,why should it be any different for our pets???
I wouldn't feed my kids or ourselves on the same processed packet food,no matter how complete and balanced,for every meal,because IMHO it would be an unhealthy option,therefore i wont subject my dogs to it either.

I found this paragraph from one of my bookmarked sites.I would have no idea what to enter in google....
Best Diet
There is no "best" food for all dogs, as each dog is an individual, and what works well for one dog may not work at all for another. In addition, it is better for a dog to get a variety of foods, rather than just one food for its whole life. Feeding different commercial diets can help fill in nutritional gaps that a particular food or brand might have, as well as making it less likely that your dog will develop food allergies.

Rather than trying to find a single, "best" food, I recommend that you choose at least two or three different brands, using different protein sources, and rotate between them, anywhere from a daily basis to every few months. Variety is always better than feeding any single food, as it helps to guarantee that all of your dogs' nutritional needs are met and is more interesting for your dogs. The only warning I have about feeding a lot of variety is to not feed every exotic protein available (duck, rabbit, venison, etc.); always reserve one or two in case you ever need to do an elimination diet using a food your dog has never had before to test for food allergies.

In addition, I suggest adding some fresh foods to the diet, no matter what you feed, including eggs and meat (raw or cooked), canned fish with bones (jack mackerel, pink salmon, sardines), dairy (yogurt, kefir, cottage cheese) and healthy leftovers . This can be used to improve the quality of whatever diet you feed.

When you feed the same food continuously for a month or more, be sure to make the switch gradually to avoid digestive upset, but dogs that are used to getting different foods all the time rarely have any problems with this.
http://www.dogaware.com/dogfeeding.html

> Why?

Why not ???

What is wrong with him having the same food ? His only health problems are genetic(MVD)

My two previous BC's both had no digestive problems either

There's a very old saying"If it ain't broke why fix it ?"

BTW you do not know what I feed my dogs so you are possibly totally wrong in believing that I feed any old food

>There's a very old saying"If it ain't broke why fix it ?"

Yes but were talking about living things.That very old saying sounds more like it's referring to a car! What about "prevention is better than cure" or "variety is the spice of life" :-D

>What is wrong with him having the same food ?

I thought i explained all that in my last post.
Would you like to eat the same food for every meal for 11 years?
Do you eat a wide variety of different healthy foods to ensure optimal health?
Do you think that the food you are feeding is meeting every one of your dogs needs.If so how? How do you know he wouldn't do even better on a different food(s)? There is always room for improvement.No one diet can provide everything every dog out there needs,it's plain impossible.

I just can not see the argument in which is the better healthier option..One single food or a variety of different ones

>Would you like to eat the same food for every meal for 11 years?

Pandas do (bamboo). Whales do (krill). Sheep do (grass). Why is it considered so odd?

> Would you like to eat the same food for every meal for 11 years?
> Do you eat a wide variety of different healthy foods to ensure optimal health?
> Do you think that the food you are feeding is meeting every one of your dogs needs.If so how? How do you know he wouldn't do even better on a different food(s)? There is always room for improvement.No one diet can provide everything every dog out there needs,it's plain impossible.
>

You are criticizing my dogs' diets without actually knowing what they are feed, you are assuming that they eat "any old complete food"aren't you ? How very wrong you are, my dogs have the same diet which in my language is the same food all their lives & have done for a very long time, it doesn't mean it is a complete or commercial food or diet. As for no one diet not being able to provide everything for every dog again you are presuming that the diet is a commercial food

Actually being a vegan who only eats organically sourced food my dogs have a similar diet but suitable for dogs(no my dogs are not fed a vegan or vegetarian diet) & are fed the best quality diet available

Hi ilovepugs

If you are on a budget (although I would guess a pug doesn't eat that much considering its size) then I now feed mine Kirkland food from Costco.  They used to get Autarky but I can't get that locally now.

The Kirkland is £15 for 18kg which I would guess would last AGES.  But, as you probably won't through loads of food you could probably get on one of the even better more expensive ones as per day it probably wouldn't cost much.

Mine also get raw chicken wings, eggs, cottage cheese and a variety of fruit and veg (not onions or grapes though) etc etc.

Hi Ktee,

Of every dog I've owned and reared, the only issues I've experienced with giving a variety of foods (i.e. differing brands and flavours of completes, fresh foods both raw and cooked, tinned or vacuum packed food etc) have been with dogs (2) which were not initially raised from weaning on varied foods :)

Like you IME, (6 dogs plus two litters totalling 17 pups) and those of my family and closests friends, pups which have been weaned onto varying food types and sources have not had the "dicky tum" problems of those weaned and reared on one brand alone.

However that is my personal opinion based on my personal experience and was put into practice having sought good counsel of experienced breeders who had followed that routine (some for decades) so that's all the evidence I have - but it stands up pretty well IMO ;)

regards, Teri

>You are criticizing my dogs' diets without actually knowing what they are feed, you are assuming that they eat "any old complete food"aren't you ?

Are you wanting me to guess what you feed your dogs?

You said "who has eaten the same dog food since he arrived here(puppy then adult version): "Dog food,Puppy then adult version".This to me says commercial food,but since you havn't said what you feed i can only guess.
If you feed raw or homecooked then there is no choice but to feed a variety of different foods.

And i am not criticizing your dogs diet.You asked what is wrong with feeding the same food for years,and i gave you MY reasons. :)

> I am soon to be buying a pug puppy but am so confused about what to feed it ! Ive heard commercial supermarket food is bad for them and also feeding them raw meat is too ? i dont have the time to prepare homemade food can anyone help me ? I dont want her to get overweight as i know pugs are prone to obesity.
> Thanks, Olivia.

Hi Olivia,

Ours are fed on mainly James Wellbeloved, with naturediet or butchers for a bit of meaty 'interest'.

They also get healthy left overs, veg, meat and a little bit of gravy if we've done a roast. They also love a little bit of mashed potato and the odd bit of fruit. Carrots (as mentioned in a previous post) are another favourite, especially when fed raw!

Always follow the breeders feeding plan and if you want to change it do so gradually. I wouldnt recommend making dietary changes until your pup has been with you for a few weeks (give him/her time to settle into its new way of life) then do the changes over the space of a couple of weeks.

And of course, enjoy your new pup!

:)

I feed my cavvie and papillon on JWB, over the years Ive tried most foods including the supermarket ones, and Im on a really tiny budget.  JWB was the best food I could afford on that budget.  I prefer a dry food as I find that the water in the wet foods gave my two loads and loads of poos and as the dry food takes a while to crunch up it doesnt disappear in a couple of seconds. The breeders of my two had them on something completely different and I kept them on the same diet for about a month until I very slowly introduced the JWB over two weeks.  My two get treats of tripe sticks, the odd rawhide chew, bits of cheese and fishy cube things.  I did find that at the beginning I could only feed the odd treat like this, or limit the time they chewed at the tripe sticks or rawhide or they would get a bit of an upset tum, but now at five and six months they are fine. Just dont get into the habit of choosing a food, then after two weeks if your pup shows any disinterest in a meal, changing the brand to get them to eat, because then you will end up with a dog that has 'trained you'.  My ex-MIL ended up with a dog that would only eat sausages that way (yes I know ::rolleyes) and he would flatly refuse to eat anything else, she gave in every time.  If she had just persisted with a decent food, he may have lived a little longer instead of dieing of obesity.