Need food help here. please

[silver_loba]

Our new baby(Lily) she is a shih tzu and 7 weeks old is home and the person we got her from is feeding her puppy chow. We want to change her from that because we know that is not the greatest food for puppies.
People are telling us that Royal Canin is very good but I thought we would change her to Wellness. Which one is better or are they the same?
Also by changing her food I know we have to do it gradual to make sure she adjusts to it right?
thanks for all your help

[Prin]

Wellness is better... If you need the ingredients, I think I posted them here: http://www.pets.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=28044
(unless you were looking for another opinion).

To switch, just do it gradually over 1 to 2 weeks. If the stool gets really soft on any particular day, go back to the previous day's proportions. If after you've totally switched, the stool is still soft (but not diarrhea), try reducing the amount you feed by a small amount (1/8th of a cup) and see if it firms up.

[BMDLuver]

7 weeks is rather early for a shihtzu pup to be removed from the litter. Although they were not feeding great food, I would not introduce another food until she has spent at least 2 weeks with you. She's going to have enough to cope with getting used to being alone and in a new home. Switching foods at the same time will add additional stress. JMHO.

[OntarioGreys]

Originally Posted by BMDLuver

7 weeks is rather early for a shihtzu pup to be removed from the litter. Although they were not feeding great food, I would not introduce another food until she has spent at least 2 weeks with you. She's going to have enough to cope with getting used to being alone and in a new home. Switching foods at the same time will add additional stress. JMHO.

I tend to agree, too many changes in a short period of time can very hard on spme dogs

[rainbow]

We got our lab at a very young age as well (no choice) and he was also being fed a crappy food from the start....Old Roy !!! The closest Walmart was a 45 minute drive so I just switched him completely onto his new food. Although, I don't recommend this, we didn't have any problems.

[silver_loba]

I am so sorry I forgot about the board I had made.
thanks for all your help. I went out and bought the wellness and will wait to give it next week. i hate giving this puppy chow but we will tough it out.
Yes I thought 7 weeks was early also but she is eating on her own and she uses the paper so the woman let everyone take thier puppy. I made an appointment with the vet for next week to get first shot and make sure everything is alright/
thanks again

[technodoll]

you could use the next 2 weeks to slowly introduce Wellness, mix in a bit with her old food, gradually increasing the wellness and decreasing the puppy chow, so that the gradual switch is easy on her and in 2 weeks the switch is complete. congrats on your new puppy, where are her photos?

[PetFriendly]

This warm weather can also make a pup's stools softer, especially if they are running around lots.

[Prin]

It's not about paper training and eating- keeping the dog past 8 weeks is for socialization. You're going to have to socialize this little one a ton (when she gets her shots). Otherwise, she might end up either too fearful or aggressive with other dogs (or just have really bad manners around other dogs).

[silver_loba]

You're going to have to socialize this little one a ton (when she gets her shots).

yes we know its going to be tough, but we are going to get her training already looking in to kindergarten class. I am hoping she will do well.

I will post photos as soon as I can figure out how.
we picked her cause she was the odd ball of the bunch, all the rest were lite colors and she is dark colors. she is beautiful