What should I feed my one year old ...?

Question

Weimaraner since this breed could get hip dysplasia? The vet will not check him till his is 2 yrs old. He is fine shows no problem now but I would like to know how to provent it.

Answer 1

Instead of feeding puppy food, feed an all stages food. I realize your dog is nearly grown already but a high quality food can make a BIG difference, in ALL aspects of your dog's health.

Explanation as to why puppy food is BAD for puppies: It contains WAY MORE protein than needed. It causes rapid growth, rapid growth then leads to future bone and joint problems. Feeding a high quality all stages food will promote a more desired slow growth, and thus lessen the chances of bone and joint problems later. Puppies should grow up slowly, not spring up like weeds.

In my opinion "puppy" foods should only be fed to pregnant and lactating dogs who actually can use all that extra protein and calcium.

Nothing you find at a grocery store is going to be a good food. High quality foods can be found at large pet store chains, or online. A couple of foods I like are Nutro Natural, Innova, Innova Evo and Cannidae.

There are other high quality dog foods. Here's how to spot them:

A high quality food will have little or no fillers such as corn, wheat or soy. These aren't very digestable for dogs, and are common food related allergens. Since you were seeing corn meal in the first few ingredients, those are not high quality foods. Foods list ingredients by content, with the ingredient it contains most of at the top.

A high quality food will not contain BHT, BHA or Ethoxyquin, these are all chemical preservatives that have been linked to cancer.

A high quality food will not contain by-products of any kind. Meat meals are ok as long as the source of the meat is listed, such as Chicken Meal.

A high quality diet should have meat as at least the first ingredient., and be made from human grade ingredients. Foods that don't use human grade ingredients often get their ingredients from less than desirable sources, such as meat from animals that were diseased, or euthanized.

There is another diet option other than dog food. Some people choose to feed a raw diet. This involves feeding the dog raw meaty bones and organ meat. However it is not as simple as throwing a couple chicken bones in a bowl everyday. If you wish to feed this type of diet, do lots and lots of research first. Switching to this diet without knowing what your doing can lead to nutritional problems for your dog. I'll give you some links as a starting point in research if you are interested in this type of diet.

http://www.willowglen.com/barf.htm.........

http://www.bestfrisbeedogs.com/diets.htm...

http://www.rawlearning.com/rawfaq.html.....

http://www.rawfed.com/myths/index.html.....

http://www.rawdogranch.com

What's Really In Pet Food
http://www.api4animals.org/facts?p=359&m...

Kimmie, if you x-ray a dog under 2 looking for hip dysplasia, you're wasting your money, They aren't acurate until AFTER 2 years old. Do some research.

Answer 2

Find a new vet, first of all. Its a simple Xray.
Keep his weight in check and keep him exercised daily. Check his genetic tree and see if dysplasia is in his family anywhere.
The vet has no say in when YOU want him checked for hip problems. You request it, they do it.
Use a premium line of dog food that doesnt' contain grain, by products, pork fat, ground grain sorghum, peanut hulls, etc.
Ideas that come to mind are Natural Balance, Nutro, Royal Canine, Innova, Solid Gold, etc.
Make food changes gradually and don't give treats etc until the change is complete.
Good Luck

Answer 3

Hip Dysplasia and food don't really have a lot in common, however if the dog becomes overweight, it can make it worse on the dog if it does have it.

I'd keep it on regular food and if it's not limping, then I'd just not let the dog get overweight.

I'm using Purina One, and I like it, but I also recommend Kirkland (COSTCo) brands of food.

You want to keep exercising your dog. Keep his/her joints active and healthy.

If it is congenital dysplasia, you cannot prevent it.

Good luck...

Answer 4

i think you should give him organic hard food( good for teeth) like canadae...but if you do change it...slowly switch foods

Answer 5

ask your vet

Answer 6

ask yur vet.

Answer 7

soft mushy food it depends . does he still drink milk like baby formula