Kibble

I use and rotate several different blends of dog and puppy kibble. My iggies deserve the benefits from a variety of foods, which can, long term, improve nutritional balance- and they enjoy the variety of flavors. I recommend you also rotate, but always mix the old and the new food half/half for 10 days during the transition. Below are links to my recommended foods. (I must mention here that I do NOT use or recommend Hill's Science Diet. The ingredients are cheap and low quality, but priced higher to cover the sales commission.) ProPlan Puppy- https://www.chewy.com/purina-pro-plan-puppy-toy-breed/dp/52429 or https://www.chewy.com/purina-pro-plan-puppy-small-breed/dp/52427 or https://www.chewy.com/purina-pro-plan-puppy-sensitive-skin/dp/249504 Purina ProPlan Performance All Life Stages- for athletes and sporting dogs as well as puppies; it meets the minimum recommended fat percentage of 20% for IG pups https://www.chewy.com/purina-pro-plan-3020-chicken-rice/dp/158929 Purina ProPlan Performance Beef and Bison- also all life stages https://www.chewy.com/purina-pro-plan-sport-performance-all/dp/358044 NutriSource- a very good brand but sometimes difficult to find except onlinehttps://www.amazon.com/Nutrisource-Small-Medium-Puppy-15Lb/dp/B07D5D2SY7/ref=sr_1_3 Diamond Naturals Small Breed Puppy- good protein/fat levels but the beet pulp in it can sometimes cause tear stains. https://www.chewy.com/diamond-naturals-small-medium-breed/dp/34907 Always read ingredient lists! Call me if you have questions about any particular food you are looking at. There are several other good brands out there but these are the ones I use most.

Freeze-Dried or Frozen Raw Food

For those of you who would like to feed raw/fresh but don't enjoy meal prepping, here are some freeze-dried or frozen alternatives. Stella and Chewy Freeze Dried Puppy https://www.chewy.com/stella-chewys-perfectly-puppy-beef/dp/175018 Mixers- very versatile; they can be used as a topping over other food, as a treat, or as a meal alone (wet or dry). https://www.chewy.com/stella-chewys-freeze-dried-raw-meal/dp/842070 Bravo Chicken Basic (frozen raw)- good ingredients, best protein/fat ratio in this line. https://bravopetfoods.com/dog_frozen_basics_chicken.html

Potty Training Treats

It's hard to find good, nutritious prepackaged treats at the grocery store, as most of them contain artificial colors/preservatives, high sodium, etc. Here are some great single-ingredient options: https://www.chewy.com/pupford-chicken-training-freeze-dried/dp/394476 https://www.chewy.com/pupford-cheddar-cheese-limited/dp/2266854

Chew Treats

The urge to chew and bite is very strong; these are a nutritious way to keep your iggy entertained and satisfied. Freeze dried trachea- provides necessary glucosamine and chondroitin- https://www.chewy.com/bravo-bag-o-chews-8-beef-trachea/dp/107992Freeze dried duck necks- good for extra calcium- https://www.chewy.com/raw-paws-pet-food-freeze-dried-duck/dp/910710

Feeding Raw

Here is a question I get a lot: Do I approve of a BARF (bones and raw food) diet for a puppy? The answer is yes; as a matter of fact, I have been feeding bones and raw food to my dogs for years. Your puppy has already been fed this way before reaching your home! Here are a few things that your pup has certainly already eaten by the time it leaves here: raw chicken wings, including the bones, raw hamburger balls, brown rice cooked with chicken broth, and a teaspoon daily of unsweetened plain yogurt. Now, don't get worried, I am not one of those fanatics about raw feeding; however, I do feel strongly that there are many benefits to a varied diet that includes raw bones and meat. I encourage you to try it too. It's really not that difficult to implement, and you will enjoy the benefits of a very healthy pet for many years to come. When grocery shopping, it's easy to stock up on items for the dog, too. Beef stew cubes on sale? You can just repackage into portion sizes in Ziplock bags, label with a magic marker "Dog Food," and pop it into the freezer. Cooking vegetables for supper? Save a few for the pup. It's also a good way to utilize leftovers after supper: have an extra chicken breast after everyone is done eating? Cut it into appropriate-sized pieces, put it in a Ziplock bag, and freeze it for dog food later. Just remember that the dog is NOT the garbage disposal system; there is a lot of junk food or processed foods that should never be given to your pup. Remember that only fresh foods, or those prepared in a healthy manner in your kitchen, should be given to your pup. Some of my dogs' favorite foods include chicken, turkey, venison, sardines, cooked deboned fish such as tuna or salmon, beef, rabbit, scrambled eggs, turkey tails/necks, raw unwashed "green" tripe, steamed or raw baby carrots, steamed green beans, watermelon, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, cantaloupe, baked potatoes, berries, oatmeal, brown rice, and barley. Organ meats include gizzards, hearts, and liver. However, the liver should be portioned out in small amounts to avoid loose stools. Do not let it exceed 5% of the dog's intake. Raw edible bones can comprise 10% of their diet, as the calcium/phosphorus ratio should be 1:5:2 on an overall average. Here are a few tips to remember when feeding your dog a natural diet: 1. To avoid gassiness, don't mix kibble, vegetables, grains, and raw meat all in the same bowl. It digests differently, so it should be fed at separate meals. (Example: Day One- kibble for breakfast, meat for supper. Day Two- meat for breakfast, kibble for supper.) 2. Use only human-grade meats and vegetables that have been handled and stored in a safe manner. Although the high acid content and short intestinal tract of a dog will handle most bacteria quite easily, it's better to be safe than sorry. Always rinse poultry before feeding it to your iggy. Here is a partial list of things that you should never allow your dog to eat: pork, raisins, chocolate, apple cores, onions, avocados, grapes, cow's milk, macadamia nuts, uncooked eggs or fish, mushrooms, rosemary herb, or diet foods containing xylitol. All of these items are unsafe and potentially fatal. Here are some things that are not technically poisonous, but certainly not healthy. Don't feed them this: Anything with white flour or sugar. This includes bread. Processed meat products, such as weenies or lunchmeat. They do NOT need salt, seasonings, preservatives, or any food colorings. We should be much pickier in feeding our dogs than we are in feeding ourselves. :) If you are interested in chatting with others who feed raw, kibble, or a combination thereof, you may want to join the Facebook group "Raw Feeding Unlimited" at https://www.facebook.com/groups/250875675304291 . For a group that does home-cooked dog meals (not raw), you may want to join "Home Cooked Diets for Dogs" at https://www.facebook.com/groups/1651729598373140/ . Please read the Group Files before posting. Another similar group is "Homemade Dog Food Recipes" at https://www.facebook.com/groups/3811403639186117 .

Bones

Important info about feeding raw bones; please read this carefully, as it's very important. Fresh or frozen bones are fine, but DO NOT EVER FEED YOUR PET ANY BONES THAT HAVE BEEN COOKED. The heat/cooking process causes the bones to be dry and brittle, which causes indigestible splinters that could pierce the intestines. However, uncooked bones are completely chewable and digestible. (Although they may not look "soft", they are actually soft enough to be completely ground into digestible pieces by their strong teeth and easily digested by the high acid content of a dog's intestinal tract.) For the best size for a pup's small mouth, avoid poultry thigh and leg bones- but wings, necks, etc are easily consumed.
Raw bones contain highly digestible calcium and minerals of a sort that are not found in kibble. The calcium added to kibble is not always easily assimilated or digested, thus inferior to raw bones in effectiveness. (As you know, IGs need all the calcium they can get to maximize the strength of their long, slim leg bones.) The poop produced by these raw bones is chalky/crumbly/white and has a very low odor. Very easy to clean up, as it doesn't leave a sticky residue behind, and it doesn't smell. Another bonus of feeding raw bones: clean teeth. Kibble containing much corn or carbohydrates (fillers- the cheaper dog foods have a lot of it) will stick to the teeth. (You know how your teeth are full of "dough" after eating a saltine cracker, and you have to use a toothpick to get it all out of the cracks?) When they say to 'give your dog a hard doggy biscuit to chew on' to clean their teeth, that is nonsense. It would be like saying, "If we don't want to brush our teeth, we can just eat a hard cookie or hard cracker instead to clean our teeth." You know that just makes it worse! But when your dog chews on a natural bone, it actually does clean the teeth; it scrapes off tartar buildup and actually freshens their breath. Disclaimer: All of the information contained in this section is based on my own experience. Please do your own research when choosing your pet's feeding regimen. I will not be responsible for any dog's diet except my own.

Natural and Herbal Remedies

Ginger for car sickness or an upset stomach. Purchase the fresh ginger root at the grocery store in the produce section. Slice and chop a little piece- about the size of a sugar cube, blend or soak it in a cup of water for about 30 mins, then pour into an ice cube tray and freeze, then take the frozen cubes out and put them in a ziplock bag in the freezer. Whenever I plan to do any traveling, I give one "ginger popsicle" to each dog traveling with me. Sometimes I have to mix it with a very small amount of warm broth and serve it to them about an hour before travel begins.

NuVet Plus K9 Wafers- http://www.nuvet.com/90085 This immune booster produces the best results that I have found anywhere. I will extend your pup's health guarantee to four years if you keep your pet on this high-quality formula for those four years. Ingredients: Blue Green Algae, Brewer’s Yeast, Cat’s Claw, Evening Primrose Oil, Shark Cartilage, Oyster Shell, Alpha Amylase, Beta Carotene, Pine Bark, Papain, L Methionine, Alfalfa, Chicken Liver, Vitamin B1 (Thiamin), Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin), Vitamin B3 (Niacin), Vitamin B5 (Pantothenic Acid), Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine), Vitamin B12, Vitamin D, Vitamin K, Manganese, Magnesium, Iron, Copper, Amino Acids (Tryptophan, Threonine, Isoleucine, Leucine, Lysine, Methionine, Cystine, Phenylalanine, Tyrosine, Valine, Arginine, Histidine, Alanine, Aspartic Acid, Glutamic Acid, Glycine).