[ever1ast]

I've read several of the threads dealing with rotating food (kibble). Whereas before, I assumed staying with one food would do, I can now see why rotating can be beneficial ( avoiding dev. allegies, supplying different nutrients, etc ). My question is can rotating food be started as a puppy (12 weeks)? Are there any drawbacks or health issues to avoid doing this as such a young age. It would seem logical that a wider range of nutrients/vitamins would benefit a pup still going through growth spurts; but I dont want to put any undue pressure on a young digestive tract either.

On the same topic, I've read several posts about supplementing kibble here. People include plain yogurt, eggs (hard boiled and raw), vegetables, sardines, etc. Again, is 12 weeks too young to start a pup on some of these? I want her to have every developmental advantage I can give her, but dont want to start too much too soon. Any advice would be appreciated.

[dogchic]

Most of the higher quality dog foods have basically the same nutrients as a base, even if they are given in different formats. If you feel strongly about rotating, why not just mix it? Never change the food drastically, always add new food slowly, such as 3/4 old and 1/4 new for a few days, then 1/2 and 1/2.

Also, remember that if you are already feeding a balance diet, and your puppy is showing no signs of allergies, then you might be better off just sticking to one. If you do decide to supplement, also make sure to do that slowly as it can take up to a few weeks for any allergic reactions to a particular food to show up, and you want to be able to pinpoint the cause easily.

I was recently told by a very reputable breeder that recent studies have shown that it is completely not necessary to feed "puppy" food to puppies, and that they actually show that puppies on a high quality natural "adult" pet food develop at the same rate, or at a developmental advantage to those puppies that are fed "puppy" food. Just food for thought!

Hope that helps!