Feeding
When you buy your puppy from a reputable breeder you will often be provided with a puppy starter kit. This will contain amongst other things the puppies pedigree, information about what it has been fed on, how much and when along with a quantity of the food used in weaning it and which the puppy is used to eating. It may also contain it's vaccination card and worming card. I also include a copy of a contract between myself and the new owner stating that should there be any problems with the puppy I will be first point of contact for advice and should it be necessary the puppy will be returned to me for rehoming. This is signed prior to the puppy being taken to it's new home and a copy given to the new owner as well as the origional being kept by me. The puppies registration papers from the kennel club are also included if they have arrived back to enable transfer to the new owner's name or are posted onto the new owner once recieved.
The puppy will feel strange being removed from it's mother, litter mates and familiar surroundings. occasionally a puppy will refuse to eat and cause new owners a great deal of worry. This problem is often completely cured by a quick phonecall to the breeder and returning the pup to the breeder for a night. When it goes back to the home of the new owner it recognises the house and quickly settles in. I've personally never had this problem with any of my puppies as I encourage prospective new owners to visit the pups regularly before rehoming so that they are familiar to the puppy. Any children can be gently introduced to the pups and taught how to handle them to prevent injury and once it is time for the puppy to go they are quite happy and familiar with their new owners.
Most breeders, having provided you with a small amount of food for your new puppy (generally enough for a week)will either provide you with further supplies which you can purchase regularly from them or with the suppliers so that you can keep your puppy on the food s/he is used to. this is very important. changing a puppies food immediately is one of the commonest causes of stomach upset and distress for the new puppy. Please, please, if you are going to change your puppies food to something new, introduce it very slowly. I generally recommend mixing a very small quantity of the new food in with the old and gradually over at least a week, build up the quantity of the new food and reduce the quantity of old food in each meal until the pup is weaned off it's usual food onto the new. Any signs of stomach upset should urge you to put the puppy back onto it's normal diet to reduce distress and to prevent the puppy becoming ill. I've found from experience that a puppy will quickly deteriorate in health if it is being fed something that does not agree with it's delicate digestive system and this can prove fatal if not quickly remedied. Puppies weaned on a dry food will often find it difficult to swop over to the variety of canned foods available due to their digestive bacteria being geared towards the dry food as opposed to the 'wet' can variety. I did try with one of my litters to wean them on 'canned wet puppy food' in order to make it easier for new owners to buy their puppy's food but the pup's developed very watery stools and had to be put onto the dried food in order to alleviate the problem. changing them over to another dried food, however, did not cause this problem. If in doubt always consult the breeder. They are invariably only too willing to give advice on this and many other issues or concerns you may have.
There are a bewildering array of dried dog foods on the market and for a new owner they may all look the same. It may be worth a mention that a puppy requires vastly different amounts of protien, fats, vitamins etc to a dog which is 12 months old.There are various stages in a dogs life that ask for changes to be made to what it is being fed. As a puppy it is growing rapidly and most puppy foods are geared towards this growth. Size of puppies from varying breeds dictate what size of nugget the puppy can comfortably get in it's mouth and manufacturers now cater for the little breeds meaning you can buy puppy foods with tiny nuggets and containing all the nutrients to provide for your pups growth. Between 12 and 24 months old the dog's growth rate is beginning to slow down and the dog is classed as a 'junior'. There are foods available for this stage too along with adult formula's and veteran (over 7 years)formulas. I've often found with my own German spitz that despite being adult they are such an active breed they require higher protein levels than the 'normal' adult pet dog. Because they cannot chew the larger nuggets of some dried foods I often continue to feed them a junior level food. This means they are not required to eat huge portions of food in order to get the levels of nutrients they require. If in doubt consult your breeder, vet or pet nutritionist. Feeding a dog a food too high in nutrients can cause problems too and it's much better to talk to a knowledgable breeder or vet than take chances.
This page is intended to inform. Please don't be put off by it :) From a breeders point of view I want my puppies to get the best start in life and an informed new owner is the best way of ensuring that this happens. Any breeder worth their while will tell you exactly the same so.........read and then enjoy your German spitz :)
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