[Lucy Brees]

hello everyone!

I have been reading on this most wonderfully informative forum for a few weeks. We got our precious Lucy (toy schnoodle) just 2 weeks ago, she is now 10 weeks. We are first time dog owners and I have NO IDEA what I am doing, LOL!

I am on a huge learning curve here on all things dog, so please bear with me if I ask a lot of questions. I am trying to find as much info in the forums archives as I can.

Right now I am concerned about choosing the proper food. The breeder had her on Life's Abundance, but I had decided that I wanted a grain free food from the very beginning to prevent allergies and hopefully prevent (or help) tear staining as she is an apricot. The boutique food store nearby offered me many choices and I chose NB grain free small breed (just a guess really). She has been on it since she got home with no problems except for one day of vomiting this week, which I think was from giving her few too many treats the day before. That has passed and she seems fine again. She eats well, although less than what the package says she should. She is about 3.5 pounds now, to be 10-12 pounds. She is eating about 1/8 cup 3 times a day.

But as I am looking at other foods and comparing things here are my concerns:

1) The NB food is for puppy to adulthood, and I don't think it has as much protein as some pure puppy foods.

2) Am I doing her a disservice by starting her off on grain free when she has no evidence of allergies yet? (although I do think she is scratching and chewing her paws less than when I first got her. I also think the tear staining might be a tad better as well, but hard to tell.)

3) Is she eating enough and getting enough protein?

4) I am aware of the recent recall but also ties to this food and severe pancreatitis and even dog deaths ( really scares me).

She is very energetic, happy. I am no dog expert but she looks good to me. I have no experience to judge her coat, eyes and teeth.

Any information or advice you guys could give would be most appreciative. We are head over heels for Lucy and I want only the best for her.

 

[Lucy Brees]

Just bumping this up as I really could use some help. Thanks so much!

 

[CrimsonAccent]

Well if she is scratching less, I'd assume that is a good sign. And she's acting like a puppy. I know other members still choose to use foods that are/were associated with recalls because it works for them. I'm sure they have better reasons than that, but I can't speak for them.

But yeah, I'm not food expert. I believe there is a forum specifically for questions like these though. You might want to try posting this in the Food, Health, or Grooming forum instead.

Best of luck, she's a cutie

 

[Lucy Brees]

Thank you so much!

 

[mcdavis]

She's very very cute.

Did you take her to a vet for a check-up when you brought her home from the breeder? The vet would be able to confirm that she is healthy, but they are not always nutritional experts. Have you looked at the food options on dogfoodadvisor.com - how does this food compare to others from a protein perspective? When you say she isn't eating as much as the package recommends - is that based on current weight or target weight (remembering she is a puppy)? Is she eating all of the food she is given or leaving some?

 

[Lucy Brees]

Thanks, I did take her to vet a few days after she came home. ( about a week ago now, give or take). he said she was fine, but she was on a different food with the breeder. I have compared the foods and this foods seems to be lower in protein than most others, and most def lower in protein than pure puppy formulas. I am just so new to all of this, I want to make the best choice for her, and it is very overwhelming. We have another vet appt in 10 days ( with a new vet, the other one was mean lol) . I am going to ask him what he thinks, but i do realize lots of vets are not really educated in this area.

As far as your question about the food amount recommended on the package, it is such a wide range given, it is not very specific( hence my being unsure she is getting enough). It just says 1/2-1 cup for adult dogs up to 10 pounds; and up to 2 times per pound over that for puppies. What the heck? LOL. I give her 1/4 cup in am and she usually eats half for breakfast. then other half for lunch and usually will eat the full 1/4 cup at dinner. I can tell she is growing, and she is very happy and energetic and pooping well.

 

[InkedMarie]

Lots of people, myself included, feed grain free to all dogs. I'm not a huge NaturalbBalance fan but if it's working for your dog, that's all that matters. Stick around!

 

[Lucy Brees]

Thank you. I like it here and appreciate the help!