>>Congratulations on your new puppy!!! I'm so jealous!! But with 3 of my own already, my husband as put a limit on me!
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>>I know with our "twins" we didn't switch them to adult food until they were about 2 years old. We have always feed them Eubkanuba food. And they adjusted well to the different food after we got them home just fine!
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>>Let me tell you first off - it's going to hard to leave the little booger home!! I was worse than a parent with a human child and leaving them for the first time!! But it does get easier! We worked full time and they did just fine. We came home at lunch each day. We've always had a doggy door so potty training them was never an issue. And I think because we had 2 at the same time, they entertained each other. But that doesn't mean we didn't have mishaps!! I've been through 4 couches, 3 drywall patches and 2 coffee tables! We don't believe in crating so that's what we got instead. But the way I've always looked at it is that it is just material things. But definitely make sure your puppy has lots of toys!
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>>Once again, congratulations and my kids send lots of puppy kisses to yours!!!
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>>Sincerely - Lexi, Nicademus, and Wundt!!
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Talk to your breeder and your vet about the food. Siberians may have special needs. I know they can have a zinc issue, and I think they may need a little more A than other dogs--but a multivitamin could handle those things. Just without more specifics, I'd suggest keeping the pup on the original food for at least a week, and if the pup gets sick in any way, continue the old food through the illness and two weeks beyond before starting the changeover.
To change foods, I'd suggest 2 weeks, or more if the pup seems prone to soft stools in the least. Start by going to 75% old food and 25% new. For a really fast change, we do each of these steps for one day, but with a young puppy or any dog not 100% healthy, I go a lot slower. So, continue that level a few to several days, and then go to 50% of each food. After a few to several days of that, go to 25% old food and 75% new food for several days. Then to 100% new food.
As to when to switch to adult food, never past a year of age with large breeds, due to the increased incidence of bone problems in dogs who get puppy food for too long--or in some situations, get it at all when they are ready for new homes. Many now recommend having puppies on adult food by the time they go to their new homes. Another recommendation is 3 months on puppy food and then go to adult food. There are large breed puppy foods to consider, but I wouldn't. My dogs get a food that's for all life stages, plus they get vitamins.
It's very individual. Find out from the breeder if any foods have caused problems or been particularly good for her bloodlines of dogs. And the final authority would be your veterinarian, at least while the pup is so young.
Dogs are highly dependent on the friendly bacteria in their intestines to digest their food--otherwise they get diarrhea, it shoots right through, they do not get the nutrients from it, it keeps the intestines irritated, and friendly bacteria are further kept from setting up the colonies the dog needs in there. So you want to make this transition slowly in order for the pup's intestines to have time to develop the correct bacteria to digest the new food.
Another thing to know is to be very quick to add friendly bacteria to your dog's diet whenever there is diarrhea or the dog has to take antibiotics. Yogurt has far too few organisms to fill this need fast enough. Get to a good health food store in the refrigerated section and buy a superdophilus, acidophilus, multidophilus or similar name, in capsules, with the largest number of organisms per capsule. It takes a lot, it really does! Keep it in your refrigerator.
It tastes good, so when your dog needs it you can just open the capsule and dump the contents on the food, or some dogs will crunch up the capule and eat it as a treat. I think we would have far fewer long-term intestinal problems in dogs if people would just do this simple thing.
Of course if you have any doubts about giving the friendly bacteria supplement, ask your veterinarian. There's a reason we call these bacteria friendly! They are not yeast and they don't cause disease. But your dog does not need the supplements all the time. Only when on antibiotics (and probably for awhile after completing the antibiotics) and whenever the dog has diarrhea.
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Kathy Diamond Davis, author, "Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others," 2nd edition, and the free Canine Behavior Series articles at http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=SRC&S=1&SourceID=47
