# Feeding a puppy



## KCsunshine (Apr 16, 2012)

So now we are getting closer to bringing a puppy home I've been driving myself nuts for weeks with all my research, sometimes I think I over do it and it becomes no fun.

Anyhow, after discounting raw feeding or natural instincts for now (just because I dont think I could truly time commit to it right now and I have limited refridgerated/freezer space) I've been comparing the ingredients of Barking heads to James well beloved, and whilst both look great I must admit I like the look of the barking heads ingredients being 55% chicken, salmon etc. 

But is it right there is only 1 Barking heads flavour for puppies, one for older dogs etc? Are most dogs happy to eat one flavour meal for months? The James wellbeloved seems to have so many different flavours....who knew it would be such a mine field!

If I do go with barking heads, do you moisten it for puppies, or feed it dry straight away. I do know that the owner is using wet food when it is weaning. would you perhaps mix a wet food pouch with barking heads, or would it not need it. Oooh let me stop rambling, lol, my mind is a MESS


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## susanb (Jan 19, 2012)

Barking Heads do have only one puppy flavour - but there is more choice on the "adult" food, which they can have at 12 months. on the puppy food packet, it recommends moistening the kibble until they are three months old.


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## Eddie (Sep 30, 2011)

Eddie does seem to like Barking heads puppy food but he also has Royal canin and natures diet wet food. I dont have the freezer space to do raw feeding but I do give him raw chicken wings they seem to keep his teeth lovely and clean.I do like to give him a variety of foods but if you want to stick to one Barking heads seems to be highly recommended.


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## colpa110 (Jul 5, 2011)

Betty came from the breeder on JWB and had a runny tummy the whole time she was on it...BH suited her much better..

Ted ( my 11 week old puppy) is being fed on Natural instinct which he loves.. his poo is more like rabbit droppings...small and dry so if he does have an accident in the house it is no big deal...
my cream carpets are very grateful


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## designsbyisis (Dec 27, 2011)

We use the barking heads puppy days too - Dexter loved it until a few weeks ago. Rather than switch food we have opted for the 'jazz it up' method which basically involves adding a touch of something extra like bit of egg, grated cheese, sliced chicken, spoonful peanut butter. We did consider moving to the adult food but the vet felt it was too early. But certainly we feel better to be using BH - he was on JWBeloved but ended up with terrible runny poos. 


Sent from my iPhone 
Lisa - mum of 3 boys, Dexter Cockapoo & 4 hens !


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## Jedicrazy (Apr 26, 2011)

Obi came from his breeder on JWB and he had the most horrendous wind whilst on it  needless to say we changed from JWB to Orijen pretty quickly!! Unfortunately Orijen made his stools too soft and runny so I switched to Natural Instinct and haven't looked back. Most people I know who feed dry kibble go with Barking Heads.


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## KCsunshine (Apr 16, 2012)

well, thanks for all the lovely advice, I just rang Barking heads and they are going to send me out a a couple of free samples!


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## Janev1000 (Oct 4, 2011)

I'm doing a mixture of Barking Heads and raw chicken wings/pieces, which is working well as it doesn't require too much fridge/freezer space. I also find that if Biscuit sniffs his BH and walks away, he'll eat it if I tip it across the floor or spread it across the lawn. This was a tip I read about as some dogs like to work a bit more for their food and sometimes it's more the bowl they are bored with than what's in it. A kong wobbler works well too.


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## tosh (Feb 10, 2012)

We switched Mitzi from jwb and Arden to Arden and BH, with a view to just giving her BH. her tummy is a little better. I'm just wondering how long before we just go with BH. All the advice I've read to do this gradually but does anyone have any ideas how many days we should give it? jwb does seem to give puppies lots of upset tummys.


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## KCsunshine (Apr 16, 2012)

Tosh my friend has a shih tzu puppy and she changed from the owners food to her own over a period of 10 days. The puppy seems absolutely fine now on her choice of food. I guess a shih tzu has aratehr small tummy though!


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## MillieDog (Jun 1, 2011)

I've always changed Millie's food straight from one to the other, without any transition. Mainly because she simply stops eating the original food. She must have a cast iron constitution as she's never had a bad tummy.


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## Eddie (Sep 30, 2011)

I think Eddie must have a cast iron stomach too as when I want to try a new brand I mix a small amount of the new dog food into his regular food over 3 or 4 days and havnt had problems [apart from orijen which seems very rich so he tolerates it in very small quantities], sometimes I will give him half a tin of sardines or some raw mince if I'm cooking something for our tea and it hasnt caused any tummy problems.Given that he eats horse and goose poo at every opportunity and doesnt seem to be any the worse for it ,I cant imagine anything I could give him that could be worse.


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## tosh (Feb 10, 2012)

Think I'll bite the bullet and move Mitzi completely over to BH. what do you guys do with the bags of uneaten food?


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## susanb (Jan 19, 2012)

I believe uneaten food can be donated to dog rescue centres.


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## Dawny (Mar 28, 2010)

hi I've just put my 13 week old on to wainrights puppy food, reading all the packages of all the high quality foods they are all almost the same. so what ever you start with just see how it goes its easy to change them over to something else. good luck


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