# Need help with changing pups food.



## samanthas004 (Sep 23, 2013)

I've had my 11week old toy Maltese for 1 week now and have been anxious to get her off the Royal Canin food her breeder had her on. So after I was sure she was completely acclimated to her new home & eating regularly I went out & purchased some NOW Fresh grain free puppy formula by Petcurean. I began slowly incorporating it into her meals along with a tiny bit of pumpkin to help with digestion. After 3 days I noticed she would eat around the new food in her bowl, only eating the old RC. I noticed the Now kibble is much larger & harder than the RC and my pup doesn't have very many teeth yet, so I thought this may be the reason she didn't eat it. At her next meal I made a batch of the Now kibble cut in half, soaked in water to soften, along with RC but she did the same thing. Only ate the RC. So I'm convinced she just doesn't like Now. She is constantly scratching her ears with leads me to believe that she is allergic to something in the Royal Canin and that's also why I am so eager to get her on something healthier. I returned the Now Fresh last night and the pet store gave me some samples of Natural Balance LID sweet potato & duck small breed, Lamb meal & brown rice small breed bites, and sweet potato & chicken small bites. She also gave me some Zignature in Lamb and a few others. So last night I gave Yuki (my pup) a little of the NB sweet potato and duck mixed in with her RC and once again she ate around it. This morning I tried the Zignature Lamb and she didn't touch it. So for lunch this afternoon I gave her just the Royal Canin and she scarfed it down, as if she was starving. At this point I am frustrated and don't want to starve my poor baby trying to figure out what she'll eat. But I feel so horrible allowing her to eat the RC because of it's terrible content. I don't know if I should wait until she's a little older and try to change her food or just keep at it now. I'm hesitant to wait because I really don't want her allergies to get worse. Please help! If any of you can tell me when you weaned you pups from the food the breeders gave them( how old they were) and your experience doing it, that would be helpful. Also if you have an recommendations on brands that seem to be easier to transition to after RC. The salesperson at the pet store seems to think my dog likes the sugar that is in RC and that's why she's so reluctant to change. Maybe she's too young. IDK... HELP!! Thanks in advance.



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## aprilb (Jul 9, 2010)

You said that you have only had her for a week. She needs time to settle in to her new life, everything is new and different. The RC is familiar to her ...I would wait a few weeks before making a change. Once she feels secure in her new home, she should be more open to a change in diet. Have you taken her to the vet yet? I doubt at 11 weeks that the ear scratching is because of allergies..


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## silverhaven (Sep 6, 2009)

I see you got the NOW puppy formula. There is a NOW small breed that is for all ages, so I a presuming puppy also, and the small breed one comes in teeny tiny clover leaf sizes. Mine liked that. Also one they always really enjoyed was Acana grasslands, it is bigger but it seemed a little flakier and even when Penny was under 2lbs she ate it with no problem. You could also try grinding up and wetting a little bit, mixing gradually with the royal canin. With Acana and NOW you can just get the very small trial sizes and see if she likes them.  I agree with April that she should probably be checked by a vet if she hasn't already though. I homecook now for them but those were the kibble we settled on when they did kibble.


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## StevieB (Feb 2, 2012)

Have you had her checked by a vet for an ear infection? Not uncommon for these babies to come with one. I think 11 weeks is too young to have allergic reactions to food but others would know more about this than me.


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## samanthas004 (Sep 23, 2013)

aprilb said:


> You said that you have only had her for a week. She needs time to settle in to her new life, everything is new and different. The RC is familiar to her ...I would wait a few weeks before making a change. Once she feels secure in her new home, she should be more open to a change in diet. Have you taken her to the vet yet? I doubt at 11 weeks that the ear scratching is because of allergies..


Thank you for responding. She was checked by the vet on the 8th of September when she received her 1st set of shots. She was given a clean bill of health then and will be going again October 5th for her next round of shots. I will definitely call them Monday and see what the doc says. I'll also wait another few weeks before trying to change the good again. I really appreciate your help


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## eiksaa (Jun 8, 2012)

StevieB said:


> Have you had her checked by a vet for an ear infection? Not uncommon for these babies to come with one. I think 11 weeks is too young to have allergic reactions to food but others would know more about this than me.
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


I agree. It might be an ear infection unrelated to the food. 

At this age it's more important that the puppy eats. Gustave came to us at 12 weeks old and I let him eat Royal Canin for 2 weeks, then only introduced Fromm kibble (gamebird flavor) on week 3. Gustave transitioned from RC to Fromm without a fuss. I did 25% new food for 7 days, then 50%, then 75 % and finally all Fromm. 

Good luck!


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## dmsl (Jan 26, 2013)

We love fromm also....you can get it at chewy.com and it comes out cheaper with free shipping that what I was paying for a lesser quality food at our local petco! That is the only food Booboo will eat from a bowl without me hand feeding him! We wet it with warm water & let it soften a bit. He loves alot of the different flavors...and if you have a local store that sells Fromm, they have sample bags of flavors to try!


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## maggieh (Dec 16, 2007)

Your puppy came to you a few weeks too early and as you said doesn't even have a good mouth full of puppy teeth to use to chew. Right now because of the age and size, it's more important for your puppy to settle in and eat. Give it another week or so, then transition to something very yummy and soft - canned puppy food, even. Put her on a feeding schedule of 3 - 4 times a day for the first month then you can gradually switch it to a 2 a day schedule. 

With our little ones, one way to develop a picky eater is to free feed dry food. You'll have better luck switching if you put her on a set schedule.


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## samanthas004 (Sep 23, 2013)

dmsl said:


> We love fromm also....you can get it at chewy.com and it comes out cheaper with free shipping that what I was paying for a lesser quality food at our local petco! That is the only food Booboo will eat from a bowl without me hand feeding him! We wet it with warm water & let it soften a bit. He loves alot of the different flavors...and if you have a local store that sells Fromm, they have sample bags of flavors to try!


Thanks for the info. We have a nice boutique pet supply store near me that will provide samples. I'm going to give it a break for a few weeks and then try it again.


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## samanthas004 (Sep 23, 2013)

eiksaa said:


> I agree. It might be an ear infection unrelated to the food.
> 
> At this age it's more important that the puppy eats. Gustave came to us at 12 weeks old and I let him eat Royal Canin for 2 weeks, then only introduced Fromm kibble (gamebird flavor) on week 3. Gustave transitioned from RC to Fromm without a fuss. I did 25% new food for 7 days, then 50%, then 75 % and finally all Fromm.
> 
> ...


I decided to go back to giving her just the RC for a few more weeks. She is eating more now that i stopped adding any other kibble. However, She has begun chewing her paws, which I hate.


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## samanthas004 (Sep 23, 2013)

StevieB said:


> Have you had her checked by a vet for an ear infection? Not uncommon for these babies to come with one. I think 11 weeks is too young to have allergic reactions to food but others would know more about this than me.
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


I took Yuki to the vet today for her second round of shots and GUESS WHAT? She has an ear infection. I really appreciate your advice because without it I probably wouldn't have even mentioned the ear scratching to my vet. Hopefully he would have found it on his own through the exam. Nevertheless, I thank you. 


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