Growth of puppies....help.

[Quinn222]

I also only have experience with large breeds, but I do know that Cockers sometimes tend to have weight problems so maybe that is why your Vet is so stern about the amount you are giving her. I would tell him everything when you take her back and see what he says. BTW she is too cute for words

I was thinking the exact same thing. Cockers are prone to Obesity so perhaps it Veterinary caution.

 

[SRUAlmn]

Wow! Thanks for all the great advice! I figured the vet had some kind of thing with Science Diet because they sell it in their office. I looked on the bag and saw that the first ingredient was corn so I didn't want to switch because Iams' first ingredient is Chicken. The vet didn't push it, though, and said he thought Iams was good. I'll have to look at that list of foods provided by bekkiz, thanks!

I did tell the vet which food we were giving her and he looked her body shape too, not just her weight. He seemed VERY thorough and knowledgable about the breed because I am and he knew what he was talking about. I know cockers tend to get overweight easily and with her being so small, that's why we're being so precautious. She is kind of a drama queen, aren't all puppies , so I'm chalking it up to that until we can talk to the vet.

JustHolly, I can't get your link to open and would love to see that.

PS All your little ones are SO SWEET too! I love dogs!!

 

[LK03]

What food do you recommend? I bought Science Diet for my puppy because I thought it was one of the better foods. Also the breeder recommended I feed her Gerber baby food, chicken only and the Gerber "chicken stix" . I seem to have the opposite problem, I was told she should eat every 4 hours and she definately is not very hungry and only eats a few bites. This is my first small dog, I have always had large dogs so I have no idea what is normal...

Our pup was eating Nutro Natural but after inspecting ALL the dry foods at Petsmart during our training class we found that Petsmart's brand, Authority was the best. We feed the Herbal Baked I believe it's called. It was $7 for a 5 lbs bag with a ziplock closure at the top. It's made with actual meat, not "meal" in the first few ingredients and had corn gluten I believe which is better than just straight corn. You can tell it's not just corn because the poo piles are smaller. Here's a good link to explain what every single word on that nutrition label means: http://www.canine-epilepsy-guardian-angels.com/dog_food_ingredients.htm I'd suggest going to where you buy dog food and looking at the labels and then when you say, "no way I don't want my dog eating pig necks," well you can eliminate that from the ingredient list and move on to a different brand. Good luck!

 

[JustHolly]

Sorry! I think my link works now! I'm not sure what happened!

 

[SRUAlmn]

Sorry! I think my link works now! I'm not sure what happened!

Thanks! That's very interesting.

 

[Miss Park Avenue]

Hi! I have no advice but to say how much I love cocker spaniels! Your's is so cute. Mine will be six months on the 31st and I have to share a picture. It's the same one as my avatar but I don't like how it looks so small. I want to resize it properly and put it in my siggy.

I feed her Iams smart puppy and used the chart on the bag. She is not overweight, but I take her on 30-50 minute walk just about every day. I never thought about a dog food company over estimating what a dog needs on the bag but I wouldn't be suprised if that's what they did. I have a vet appt Wednesday so I'll have to ask. I don't have a scale, but I want to say she's somewhere between 10 to 12 pounds at six months. Her mother was 18 pounds full grown.

 

[SRUAlmn]

Hi! I have no advice but to say how much I love cocker spaniels! Your's is so cute. Mine will be six months on the 31st and I have to share a picture. It's the same one as my avatar but I don't like how it looks so small. I want to resize it properly and put it in my siggy.

I feed her Iams smart puppy and used the chart on the bag. She is not overweight, but I take her on 30-50 minute walk just about every day. I never thought about a dog food company over estimating what a dog needs on the bag but I wouldn't be suprised if that's what they did. I have a vet appt Wednesday so I'll have to ask. I don't have a scale, but I want to say she's somewhere between 10 to 12 pounds at six months. Her mother was 18 pounds full grown.

She's SOOOO CUTE! I love cocker spaniels too. They are what my family has always had and are such sweet dogs. I love Lady and the Tramp just for that reason

 

[Lesley_Perschky]

Has she been wormed? Worms will take all the goodness out of the food, so the puppy will look full (ie fat belly) but still be hungry. I had this problem with my shih tzu pup. Took six months to sort out.

 

[SRUAlmn]

Has she been wormed? Worms will take all the goodness out of the food, so the puppy will look full (ie fat belly) but still be hungry. I had this problem with my shih tzu pup. Took six months to sort out.

Yes, she has had a full cycle of worm treatments and the vet did a sample when we were there last Saturday and said nothing was irregular. Good thought, though.

 

[Aimeedyan]

Here are some food links:

http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/index.php

http://www.dogaware.com/dogfeeding.html

http://www.dogfoodproject.com/

PetCo carries 3 quality foods - Nutro Ultra (NOT Natural Choice or Max), Natural balance, and Solid Gold. Nutro Ultra is very overpriced in comparison to the other two foods. I fed Natural Balance for a long time and love it. The Ultra Premium is great and all level - no need for puppy food.

PetsMart carries 2 quality foods - Nutro Ultra and Blue Buffalo. Again, Ultra is overpriced.

Anything else from either store is not quality food.

If you can find local feed stores or local pet shops, that is your best bet. They usually carry the best brands. CA Natural is a good food, by the same people that make Innova, and it's more affordable than Nutro Ulta and about the same price as Natural Balance and Solid Gold. When you do some research, just go to the store locator on the brand websites for info on where to find it near you. I have discovered some great independently owned pet stores because I was looking for local suppliers. The local stores also seem to know their stuff, which is nice!

ALL the quality foods are cheaper than Science Diet and usually cheaper than Iams/Purina/Eukanuba. You feed less of a quality food so the price evens out.

All that now said, I am currently feeding Costco's Kirkland brand. GREAT ingredients, it's made by Diamond pet foods who also makes Chicken Soup (also great food) and it's so disgustingly cheap it's laughable. I switched from CA Natural and Natural Balance to Costco's brand due to $$$. I pay $15.50 for 40 POUNDS of chicken and rice. Is it the very best food? No, but for the money it's far superior to low quality foods like Iams and Science Diet. For less than half the price! We've been thrilled with it and both boys love it - I am feeding the same amount of that as I fed of the Natural Balance and CA Natural because it's high quality.

So that's another option =)

I like to switch the foods around every 6-8 months or so - there are varying opinions on that. Food companies will tell you not to do that of course because they want your lifelong devotion and business =) Since there is no perfect food and they depend almost solely on kibble for their nutrition, I feel better switching it up every once in awhile to ensure they are getting a well balanced diet. I also think they enjoy having variety. I do not, however, switch them to foods with a major protein source change because I want to have options if either one of them ever needs an allergy formula. even sticking with the same basic sources of protein, there are tons of good foods out there to try. If your dog has a sensitive tummy, I would find something good and stick with it. Neither one of my do, thankfully.

That was way more than you asked for - Good luck!

 

[tikilyn]

I love cocker spaniels! In fact I just bought one. She is only two weeks old and beautiful. She's white with blonde spots on her. Shhh don't tell my hubby he doesn't know yet!

I've already named her and it's Bailey Rose. I can't wait to bring her home!

Oh and everyones dog is so beautiful.

 

[SRUAlmn]

I love cocker spaniels! In fact I just bought one. She is only two weeks old and beautiful. She's white with blonde spots on her. Shhh don't tell my hubby he doesn't know yet!

I've already named her and it's Bailey Rose. I can't wait to bring her home!

Oh and everyones dog is so beautiful.

My mom's new cocker spaniel is named Bailey too!! She sounds beautiful. Ours has some black spots on her back (you can't tell in the picture) and if they grow with her they will connect and look like Mickey ears. I'm SO EXCITED!!!!!

Aimeedyan:
Thanks so much for all the food info!! It's great to get advice from people who don't have a vested interest in a particular brand or company!

 

[Disney Doll]

I have an English Springer Spaniel. He has wheat allergies, so I feed him California Natural...have for years, and he's been very good on it. No more skin breakouts from the aleergy thing.

If your puppy is crying for food, I'd probably give her a bit more...the formative months are pretty important. Perhaps consider a different food, with a slightly higher protein content, so it stays in her belly longer. Be careful to make sure it's formulated for puppies though.

 

[SRUAlmn]

While I have the attention of many puppy lovers and owners, I have another question. My mom just called me to warn me about the Swiffer Wet Jet and that it has an ingredient that is one molecule away from being anitfreeze and it can be deadly for pets (and children.) I don't have it, but I do have a Clorox Ready mop. Does anyone know if the Clorox mop is just as dangerous? Thanks so much!!


ETA: We also heard this could just be an urban legend. Anyone know any facts??

 

[Aimeedyan]

While I have the attention of many puppy lovers and owners, I have another question. My mom just called me to warn me about the Swiffer Wet Jet and that it has an ingredient that is one molecule away from being anitfreeze and it can be deadly for pets (and children.) I don't have it, but I do have a Clorox Ready mop. Does anyone know if the Clorox mop is just as dangerous? Thanks so much!!


ETA: We also heard this could just be an urban legend. Anyone know any facts??

It's an urban legend. http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/swiffer.asp

 

[SRUAlmn]

It's an urban legend. http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/swiffer.asp

Thank you! It's just one of those things that you don't want to believe, but you also don't want to take the chance, you know?

 

[SRUAlmn]

Since we were talking food, I thought I'd post this other link from snopes about Diamond brand food:

http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/diamond.asp

YIKES!!!!

 

[tikilyn]

YIKES

Since we were talking food, I thought I'd post this other link from snopes about Diamond brand food:

http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/diamond.asp

YIKES!!!!

 

[tikilyn]

I'm hoping to go and see her this week sometime so I can get a picture of her! I'm so pathetic!

Oh cool your dog is gonna have a mickey on her! You'll have to post a picture of it when it connects

My mom's new cocker spaniel is named Bailey too!! She sounds beautiful. Ours has some black spots on her back (you can't tell in the picture) and if they grow with her they will connect and look like Mickey ears. I'm SO EXCITED!!!!!

Aimeedyan:
Thanks so much for all the food info!! It's great to get advice from people who don't have a vested interest in a particular brand or company!

 

[SRUAlmn]

I'm hoping to go and see her this week sometime so I can get a picture of her! I'm so pathetic!

Oh cool your dog is gonna have a mickey on her! You'll have to post a picture of it when it connects

Hey! Just checking to see if you got to visit your new baby yet and if you had any pictures