I am collecting my irish staff pup in about a week. Just need some tips on what the best food is for pups and how often i need to feed him. Any other information would be very helpful as i have never owned a dog before.

The best food (at least for the first week or two) is whatever he is being fed at the moment. Changing homes is a huge upheaval for a baby puppy, and they need as much to stay the same as possible (providing they are being fed a suitable food by the breeder, of course!).

How old will he be? As a rule pups have 4 meals a day from 8 weeks of age to 12 weeks, 3 meals a day from 12 weeks to 6 months, and two meals a day thereafter (some people drop it to one meal a day after 12 months).

An excellent book for the new owner (and excellent refresher material for all!) is "The Perfect Puppy" by Gwen Bailey. You will find it full of excellent advice.
:)

Hi Jeangenie, the pup will be around 8 weeks old. What type of food is best, is it best to stick to the same type or is it better to give a a diiferent range?

Hi MIke, it's best to stick to exactly the same for at least a week till your pup has settled in, then if you want to you can start to gradually change over to what you to feed him. All feeding changes need to be done gradually, over a week or so, because puppies' stomachs are notoriously easy to upset! There is a huge variety of foods on the market, whether dried complete, tinned, raw, home-cooked etc, and no one food or feeding regime is right for every single dog (or owner).

The best food is one that the dog enjoys, thrives on, and the owner can afford!
:)

Hi Mike, most breeders will give you enough food for a week to 10 days, it is also a good idea to take a large bottle and ask for some water so the pup only has to deal with the change of home and not a change of food and water. During the first week slowly over that week add a little more of your water to that you brought from the pups home. After about a week when the pup has settled and has been to the vet for a check up slowly start to change the food, if that is what you wish to do, I prefer to keep the pup on the food it was reared on for the first month at least. Dogs do not need a varied diet, and in puppy hood I would say change as little as possible.

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i think eukanuba puppy would be the best and you can go wrong-or even raw chicken wings AND RICE WITH MIX VEG.I HAVE USED THIS WITH ALL MY PUPPIES AND HAVE HAD THE BEST RESULTS WITH THE RAW WINGS AND RICE

pyndath, have to say you may find it ok to feed like this but you don't know what the pup have been reared on, would yyou not agree that it is best to continue with that till the pup has settled and then the owner should feed as they see fit.

Hi Jackie.

I wish i had thought of taking a bottle of water from my breeders house, my new pup got a urine infection within 3 days of having her home and i am sure the change in water didnt help.

Debbie

yes jackie totally agree.but just stating my experiences.sorry bout the confusion.however with irish staffys pups which i have reared they have done extremely well watever the food they have been reared up on (im talkingh bout the raw wings and rice).i actually got this recipe from a well known pitbull breeder from the states who actually works his dogs in weightpulling and on boar as well as ob/pp work.

And you do that at 10 weeks old do you, regardless of what the pup has been fed on by the breeder. Do you really think chicken wings and rice is a good diet to recommend, no added supplements?

if you see i didnt say just rice and chicken wings i also add fruit and veg.
and yes it is good at a puppy at that age.i breed these dogs as well as ambull dogs.i have not had any problems wat so ever in tis food nor any breeders of these dogs that also feed on this diet.if you look at jami long you will also find he is one of usa best well known pitbull and ambulldog breeders he has never had any problems either.
obviously i am talking about weaning the puppy slowly into this diet like any other diet/new food that is introduced.end of.

Its a lot of hassle and very expensive feeding your dog fresh food, think about it sometimes you, yourself won't even have time to prepare fresh food for yourself or your family and you may end up eating something frozen/tinned food. Think about it first, once you put your dog on a certain type of food your going to have to stick with it even when your ill or go on holiday or whatever. If you put the dog in broading kennels your also gonna have to ask especially for that certain type of food which will gain add upto more expense. I recommend a mix of dry and wet food, 50-50 its cheap, healthy, easy to provide and prepare and dogs love it. My irish staff seems very happy with it.

Raw is neither expensive(I feed 3 elkhounds...weigh 20kg each and 1 shiba inu on approx 50p per day TOTAL) nor hassle.I cannot beleive that taking an extra couple of minutes(and thats all it is) can affect the way someone feeds their pets.
Any good kennels will follow your dogs dietry requirement whatever it is...and good complete dog food isn't cheap....
If people want to feed complete thats great...but it should be because it suits the dog...not cos its cheap and easy
Archer

Ditto Archer. A high quality premium commercial food is not cheap!
it's such a pity that peoples laziness gets in the way of feeding their dogs a better diet :(
Feeding raw or homecooked does take a little more time than dumping some kibble into their bowl,but the satisfaction you get knowing you are feeding the dogs a species appropriate diet far outweighs the extra minutes,and not to mention the health bonuses and  less vet visits etc. it definately does work out cheaper and 100 times healthier!

Even if you do decide to feed your staff. a commercial food it would be in his best interest to add as much fresh whole foods as you can to his diet,such as,all kinds of meats,raw meaty bones,fruit,veg,liver,heart,tripe etc.

My personal fave commercial food is "eaglepack" you can check it out at www.postalpets.co.uk

Make sure you choose a food that has meat  for the first 3 ingredients,when i say meat i mean "chicken or chicken meal or lamb meal" etc and NOT meat derivatives,by-products,meat meals,it must state the specific meat used.
By-products are commonly used in less expensive brands of dog food.Most commercial pet food companies simply list a general term such as meat or poultry by-products on their labels and do not define the exact content,even though they are often made of so called 4-D animals:dead,diseased,dying and disabled.By-products may include such UNDIGESTABLE parts such as ligaments,tendons,feathers or hooves!!Although these ingredients can statitically boost the protein levels of the food,be aware that shoe leather could as well.This doesnt mean it is what your dog should be eating!
Also stay away from a food that lists a grain as the first ingredient,preferably it should be third or fourth down the line,manufactures of cheap food use grain as their main ingredient(s) because it is cheaper,it is not what the dog does well on at all.
Try and stay away from foods you can find in the supermarket as they usually fit the above description :(

Good luck with your new pup :)

Rose

Fair enough if you want to give your dog just fresh food that is upto you. I do occasionaly mix in fresh meats and rice in with the food so he gets his share of fresh food aswell. I think the food I have providing for my dog has been very succesful the vet on various  occasions has congratulated us on the coat colour, health, muscle and bone structure and temperment of the dog and has also claimed that it is the best looking Staffordshire Bull Terrier type dog he has ever seen, he said it was a perfect example of the breed type. I am not making this up merely to try and put you down, this is true.

Is 28 - 32kg for my Irish Staff too heavy. He isn't a huge dog but he is very muscular and I think he may be big boned. He isn't fat at all but he does eat ALOT. Constantly hungry, if it was upto him he would eat till he pukes. Hes about 20 - 22inches to the shoulder. Vet never really seems to give us a straight answer on his weight. Sorry for the inaqurate weight and height, he nerver seems to stay still when measuring.

Since your dog is a perfect example in perfect condition my are you asking people who cannoy even see him?
Oh and by the way vets are good at treating ailments in dogs...they know NOTHING about breed standards. My vet (who I no longer use) tolsd me my new pup was a bad example from a puppy farm...he has never been out of the first 2 at champshows,and has won best puppy and best of breeds at open level as well as 2 group placements!!!!Vets should stick to treating ailments....thats what they know
Archer

I changed vets after one 'reassured' me that my pup's liver spots would turn black with maturity .. "Don't worry, they all start like that!"

It always amazes me how they all have perfect x ray vision and can tell that a bitch is suitable for breeding just by looking....who needs health tests!
Archer