Do not buy large quantity of food at once, food can spoil, specially in hot weather. If you open a bag of food and it smells funny or rancid, please return it. Always the date of manufacture on the bag.
Speaking of warm weather! Did you know that the temperature in the car rises fast when sun is out, so never leave your dog in a closed up car without ventilation and never in the summer! Every year there are deaths of dogs reported from being locked in the hot car. Please be careful and if you would not leave your child in the car, do not leave your dog.
It is very important, maybe the most important thing you can do for your dog – provide good nutrition and supplements. There are many, many dry dog foods on the market and the labeling regulation allow them to be mislabeled…. ingredients misleading… very different in quality of ingredients, chemicals added …. We researched many foods, not only by reading about them, but by trial and error over the years. Not all quality foods work for a Vizsla with their activity levels. Sometimes the foods are too rich or too high in grain ingredients. Please ask us before switching dog food, we know how pet store employees can give you high pressure talk about “this is the best food”!
You will feed your puppy Taste of the Wild
High Prairie Roasted venison & bison or Pacific Stream Salmon
Feed PUPPY formula for at least six months after coming home. Evangers are good cans, they have many varieties, I am just showing one.
Here is the link to their webpage and analysis of these foods:
http://www.tasteofthewildpetfood.com/
This food has the right ratios of ingredients your puppy needs. We add either home cooked meat mixture (ground beef, chicken or venison with some carrots or sweet potatoes or good canned food. Same makes are Wellness (whitefish, turkey, lamb, chicken) or Core, Taste of the Wild, Canidae is great – duck and sweet potato formula, Evangers have great cans, plus either add either coconut oil or Salmon Omega oil. Or cook for your puppy – ground hormone free beef with sweet potato, squash, kale, spinach, whatever you have on hand in gass free vegetables.
Quantities of food to feed are detailed in our attached feeding guide.
If your puppy will eat sardines, they are great source of Omega, so you can add those once a week, or fried egg sometimes… not leftovers, most stews contain onions and onions are very bad for dogs.
You will feed 3 times a day, starting with about 1/2 cup each feeding + canned + oil/coconut and if your puppy finishes everything, add couple of tbs. more to the next feeding. They should leave few kibbles in the bowl, if they were fed enough. We also put on probiotics to promote healthy digestion. They will eat 3 x per day till they are at least 6-7 months old, but it depends on the puppy.
Please DO NOT read feeding recommendations on the dog food bags – these test are done on beagles in cages for 24 hours a day… please follow our guide.
Very important is to add Omega 3 oil to the food. It promotes healthy growth, strong bones and good coat. This is the most importnat addition to your puppy food. We alternate it with Coconut Oil on their food daily for optimum nutriotion.
Our preferred brand is Grizzly Wild Alaskan Salmon Oil. You can get it at Amazon, Doggiedogfood and others:
Probiotics and vitamins:
Coconut Oil:
http://www.naturesfarmacy.com
Please make sure the coconut oil is cold pressed and extra virgin.
We are here to consult on any food issues. Your puppy may not eat a lot or even not at all for some time after arrival, it is normal. Please email or call with any questions.
Puppy treats:
DO NOT Purchase any dog treats in the supermarket. Any Alpo, Purina… etc. They are made in China or contain lots of chemicals – things like Bacon bits, Beggin strips…. (do not buy anything for your dog including plastic toys made in China!!!!) Use Kong toys and toys and chewies made in Canada or US. Dogs died from toys and treats made in China. NO JERKEY TREATS or STRIPS!
Suitable treats are SOFT, not hard biscuits at this time, not until they are at least 12 weeks old. We lost a puppy when owners gave it a hard cookie outside and she spooked, jumped, cookie went into her breeding tube and she could not be saved. NO HARD COOKIES until 12 weeks.
Good treats are: Zukes – http://www.doggiefood.com/ or Liver treats. Any treats that have no chemicals or coloring added. I usually read the ingredients, and if there are more than 6-8 I put it back on the shelf. Do not overfeed with treats, they won’t eat their food!
Use Zukes, dry pieces of cooked liver, small piece of cheese, or if in the bind, nuked chicken hot dogs or pieces of steak. You can also use the kibble as a reward, if your puppy responds to that…. we call the kibble low reward treats and all the others high reward treats. Do not overfeed your puppy with treats, they may not eat their food.
Always have filtered human quality water available for the puppy, unless you are preparing to go to bed, you can pick up the water dish ½ hour before bedtime.
DO NOT FEED YOUR DOG PEOPLE FOOD AND NEVER, EVER FEED IT FROM THE TABLE. If you do not enforce this rule with your family, especially with your children. You may end up with your dog begging at the table, jumping, barking and being a nuisance. Make sure you do not keep food laying around on the counter tops, please put all food items and chips, bread…. away and do not leave food out where dog can get at it. They learn to jump up on the counter real fast and the “counter-surfing” habit is hard to break – they got reward surfing the counter and they will try again!
Good nutrition is essential for your puppy – for reward when job well done, for even growth and immune system development. Please pay close attention to your dog’s condition, muscle tone, coat condition – shiny… eyes clear, energy level high. Any changes, please email us or call.
There is much more on nutrition and feeding, but this will get you started. 🙂 Please contact us for advice on feeding, food issues or any information on dog food and supplements that you need.
Czech