What to feed "VEGAN" NEWBORN PUPS?
New here please help if you can,
One of my Sheltie's will be having puppies in a few days. I have been e-mailing all of the companies that make the vegetarian dog food and they all say to feed puppies something else with meat in it.....I really don't want to do that, but hear most people start feeding them some sort of food around 3 weeks of age.... Any idea what I can feed them to be healthy? Mom and dad are on Natures Recipe dry Vegetarian formula and have been for years.... Is it ok to wet this and give to 3 week old pups? I did hear of someone starting a new 9 week old pup as a vegan but don't know what they fed the pup...
This is what the Natural Balance company had to say:
"Please know that the Vegetarian formula is a complete and balanced diet for adult dogs only. For puppies, you may feed any of our all life stage foods."
Natures Recipe says:
"They are 100% completely balanced for adult dogs and can be fed to all adult dogs, even as they become seniors. If your young dog is still a puppy or less than 1 year of age, he should be on a puppy formula."
I refuse to believe this. Please help. Does anyone have experience with this?
Thank you,
-Chase
From my understanding, what they say is true. Puppies require food higher in calories and protein. I would stay away from softening the food with water. Dry kibble tends to have high bacterial content made inert due to the lack of moisture. Adding water creates a breeding ground for possibly harmful bacteria; not something you want for sensitive puppies.
What they don't want you to know is *most* breeds will be fine on adult food as early as 6 months. The breeds not falling into this category are large (60+lbs) breeds, as they still have 2-3 more major growth spurts after 6 months, and those with sensitivities due to massive inbreeding.
Mind you, it has been over 3 years since I worked for Nutro, so things may have changed.
I have a book by a vet named Dr Pitcairn. It has recipes for homemade dog food and it also includes variations on the recipes to include vegetarian and vegan options. It also has information on the special dietary needs of puppies and how to use add-ins and supplements to enrich their food.
http://www.drpitcairn.com/books/pitcairn_book.html
whether the food is vegan or not, it should be a puppy formulation. Not only will it have higher fat and protein that they need, but also higher calcium/phosphorus. If you absolutely can't find vegan puppy food, then non-vegan puppy food is better than vegan adult dog food in terms of the puppies' health.
Unless you're looking to adopt out the puppies around 8 weeks, though, you don't *have* to start weaning them at three weeks. They'll gradually transition to solid food on their own, since the mom will start getting tired of them eventually, haha.
Thank you for all of the replies. I wish this was more simple! I've searched quite a bit and can't find any vegan or at least vegetarian puppy food...still not sure what to do but may end up making my own food for them.
Thank you, 1 love,
-Chase
Don't worry.its not that it is too complicated....it is easy as well. You can try rice,bread or biscuit sock in milk. If that also don't help you then you can find vegan food for puppy in store.
Its easy,and one thing don't give any meat contain to your puppy. It is harmful for their health.
What about a good vegan dog food enriched with good fats, protein and supplements to meet the needs of a puppy