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My Mom just got a Irish WolfHound Puppy
this puppy is VERY skinny just from the breeder
the Breeder told us to feed her ONLY Adult food
never to give her any form of Puppy Chow
please reply
I M worried about this Puppies Nutritional Status
and yes she is going to the Vets
I would just like to hear from Owners, not just the Vet

ecb

Hi! I don't have an Irish Wolfhound but when in doubt listen to your breeder, they know best. This is a breed that can have an explosive growth rate and feeding is one of the major concerns. Therefore they would need the nutrients available in adult food over puppy food. In 6 months your pup could weigh up to 100lbs and over 150lbs when fully grown. Your pup should be fed a high quality food and also in suffcient amounts especially while a pup due to the large bone structure of the breed. Continue to consult your breeder it sounds like they are right on, your vet may also concur with her instructions.
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If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.

I was just reading an article in Today's Breeder regarding an Irish Wolfhound Breeder. She mentioned the same thing as your breeder - that the breed does not do well with rich foods (and a puppy food is probably too rich for a Wolfhound). I would think that the absolute best thing for such a large breed is for them to grow VERY slowly. BTW, this breeder fed Dog Chow - her hounds were gorgeous!
Also, this pup may not be skinny at all. Can you SEE his ribs protruding or feel pronounced bony prominences along the spine/hips? Many people mistake ideal weight for being too thin, but in actuality, roly polly puppies are not healthy. If you can FEEL the ribs, but not see them, this pup is fine, weight wise.

This follows what I have always heard and what we have practiced for our dogs.

Our most recent pups have been a Pharaoh Hound (now 3yrs old) and our Rhodesian Ridgeback boy (currently 9 months old).

We feed the pups the same as an adult, just more of it. We have not had any growth spurts (knock on wood that our 9 month old never does) and they have always grown nice and slow. Keeping them lean is good, not underfed, but lean. As they are growing they don't need to be carrying around a lot of extra weight, that can be as hard on the developing bodies as over exercise.

We do feed raw, not kibble. But there are times (like when we moved a few weeks ago) that raw was just too much work. Our RR boy ate the new Innova Large Breed puppy for three weeks and did not experience any growth spurts. Innova specifically modified the formula to keep from causing growth spurts in the large breed puppies. I don't know any one else who has tried it though, so we could have just been lucky. None the less, I would try it again as we did have good results.

Please give us an update.

Good luck!!

.
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tabitha
Kayo, Kahla, and Dante'

When you say very skinny, remember that this is a sighthound and will not be shaped like a lab or other type of dog. Their body shape is vastly different from non-sighthound dogs. Everything tells me to fatten up my greyhounds, but I just tell them they have little body fat and they are suppose to be this way. I would follow the advice of your breeder and feed a good adult food.

Do you have photos of your puppy?
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Melody/PHFasDog

My furkids:
Shadow, Jadzia and Lyta.
Kira waiting at the bridge.

Dogs come into our lives, and too quickly go leaving pawprints on our hearts, and we will never be quite the same again.

I'll go a step farther and say to listen to the breeder over the vet about the best food for your pup.

I would feed a large breed puppy only adult food also.

>>My Mom just got a Irish WolfHound Puppy
>>this puppy is VERY skinny just from the breeder
>>the Breeder told us to feed her ONLY Adult food
>>never to give her any form of Puppy Chow
>>please reply
>>I M worried about this Puppies Nutritional Status
>>and yes she is going to the Vets
>>I would just like to hear from Owners, not just the Vet
>>
>>ecb

Two of the latest ideas making the rounds with dog lovers are:

1- Dogs shouldn't be allowed to exercise vigorously until they're well over a year old

2- Large breed puppies should be fed lower protein content food to prevent fast growth.

I'd think twice about believing these unquestioningly.
Research it on your own and give the most credence to opiniions that reference specific DOUBLE BLIND SCIENTIFIC studies to back those opinions up.

My personal belief is that while it is BAD for any puppy to be FAT, it is GOOD for them to eat food jam packed with top grade ingredients and high protein content (Yes I believe in high protein content). Also, the food should have little or no chemical additives or preservatives.

Mostly, I believe that eating super duper food in smaller quantities is much better than eating food deliberately concocted to have lower protein, vitamin and mineral levels.

Don't believe me, though. Read up on it yourself.

May I suggest the attached link?

Best of Luck on your Mum's dog.
Link