Advice needed on food for new puppy

Hi im new to the site and am looking for a little advice. I have an 8 week old bishon frise and feeling confused as what to feed him. Thanks

Hi Adonia and welcome to Dogsey.

Has the breeder given you any puppy pack with some food, or advice? Do you know what the breeder has been feeding?

Hi, yes the breeder was feeding him tesco puppy food. I thought i would contine giving him this but dont know if one type of food is better than another. Hope this isnt a silly question but i have never had a dog before never mind a puppy. Thanks

Hi

I would keep him on the food the breeder was feeding at least for the next couple of weeks. You don't want to go switching foods as he will still be settling in, so switching at this stage will likely result in an upset tum.

Tesco dog food probably isn't the best quality though. After a couple of weeks, you might want to think about switching him to something better. Arden Grange and James Wellbeloved both make high quality puppy foods (Google them, they have informative websites).

Of course it isn't a silly question!

You can change but it's best to do it gradually, so that the puppy has a chance to get used to the change.

Do you want to continue to feed dried foods? If so, there are lots on the market to choose from that might be better quality. Labradork mentioned some and you could look at Burns and Fish 4 Dogs. I can't recommend anything because I don't feed dry but there are lots of threads on this section with information about what people are feeding.

Hope your puppy is settling in well.

I strongly support continuing the Tesco. Some may bash its ingredients, but likely it has the same nutrition as the foods with ''better'' ingredients. There are no published reports of careful, controlled studies showing ingredients make the least bit of difference.

Let's get it right. It isn't that there are shed-loads of studies out there that show ingredients make no difference.

In actual fact, few studies have been carried out at all, other than some which were funded and carried out by the food manufacturers themselves. Of course, they have a vested interest in their products. Mega bucks are involved.

Just as with any other species - including humans - it is extremely naive to think one could stick any old rubbish, additives and chemicals into a dog and expect it to remain healthy and function properly and I am astonished if there are really people out there that think that.

If someone wishes to feed their dog the best quality diet that they can - in the absence of any researchers taking the time to invest their effort, manpower and money into properly conducted - and unbiased - scientific studies, we have no choice but to do as much independent research as possible and make the best, informed decision we can.

Thanks everyone for the advice. I have decided to feed him James Wellbelloved. I shall mix some of this with his Tesco puppy food to begin with. Should i feed him dry or wet food.

Hi Adonia I would moisten the food, dogs are attracted to food by the smell and kibble doesn't smell much of anything, moistening it releases the scent and makes it easier for puppies to eat.

You don't need to worry about cleaning the teeth , the puppy will be shedding its baby teeth in a few months time.

I would feed the best food you can find with the least number of additives and preservatives.

Unless a dog is over fed or sick, it seldom is necessary to do anything to encourage it to eat.

What makes a dog food high quality is having a generous amount of each essential nutrient. That can be done starting with almost any ingredients.