# Switching puppy over



## Buildthemskywards (Jun 16, 2012)

The puppy I'm getting on Saturday is only a kibble from Pets at Home, I don't know if she meant its their own brand or what, but I'll be getting some from the breeder to wean her onto my food. I currently feed ZP and one raw meal per day. Should I just slowly switch her onto ZP and then add in raw later or give raw from the start? And if so, do I start her out on just chicken? Should I give chicken wings or just bits of chicken chopped up? 

Thanks


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## michele (Jan 12, 2009)

Don't know about raw,but i did Z/P slowly,i used to give a square as a treat then added a few with the breeders and increased it


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## Buildthemskywards (Jun 16, 2012)

Thanks Michele. I'll do that with the ZP, just not sure whether to wean her over to that first before adding the raw or do it all at the same time.


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## 20887 (Mar 16, 2011)

If it were me, I would probably wean her over to just ZiwiPeak to start, and then add in the fresh raw. It would be easier than trying to switch her over to two different foods at the same time.


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## MChis (Oct 13, 2009)

If it were me I'd put her on Venison ZP from the get go. I can't stand kibble poos so little soft poo the first few days is worth it. LOL Some dogs don't even get soft poo with an immediate transition.

When they are settled on ZP then I would add a small amount of raw in here/there. I always found it incredibly difficult to get puppies to GROW feeding prey model raw so I am hesitant to recommend that. I mean...it's entirely possible. Just may take a lot of food to get them to grow properly. Marley required 6oz a food daily while he was growing & he was still a bit on the thin side until he hit a year old. It's much easier with ZP.  But maybe splitting will be ok.


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## Wicked Pixie (Oct 14, 2011)

That's interesting about puppy growth on raw Heather. Can you tell us more?


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## Buildthemskywards (Jun 16, 2012)

I find it too hard and confusing to do completely raw. I tried it for two weeks while I couldn't get hold of ZP and Mylo wouldn't always eat what I wanted him to eat. For example he wouldn't eat bone when I gave it too him so his poo was too soft. He will only eat chicken liver (thanks for the tip Stella ) and it's just over all annoying. Plus I have a tiny freezer and meat is very expensive here and in big quantities. I just hope that ZP and a bit of raw is best of both worlds. 

I'll get her settled on ZP then and then add in bits of raw.


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## MChis (Oct 13, 2009)

Wicked Pixie said:


> That's interesting about puppy growth on raw Heather. Can you tell us more?


Well...I don't know if growing was the right term. LOL Marley was 5lbs at 5mo when we switched to raw & 5.5lbs at like a year old...or something to that extent. He grew but it was a struggle feeding him enough that he didn't look emaciated. And we were feeding him lamb, pork & other higher calorie proteins. He is one dog though--and while I have heard the same about others--I've also heard of some puppies doing well on raw. Just depends on the requirement of each specific dog. But to play it safe--I would personally feed ZP until the majority of their growing is done & then slowly start switching them to raw.


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## Buildthemskywards (Jun 16, 2012)

I just plan on feeding both for the foreseeable future because it means I don't have to worry about the balance and it makes raw a bit cheaper and more convenient. Thanks for everyone's input


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## Kirby's mom (Apr 11, 2012)

When I first got Oreo, she was 14 weeks and 1.5 lbs. She was the runt of the litter, looked fragile, have eyes that looked half asleep. She was on royal canin, and her wonderful breeder gave her baked chicken and cottage cheese to tempt her to eat more. After 5 days of the same food, I tried giving her zp, she had bad constipation and when she finally had a bowel movement, it was black soft poo. She did not looked good. I then tried mixing in zp little by little in her old food. After a few days, it was the same black soft poo. Things got better when I decided to introduced raw chicken for 1 of her 3 meals. She had small perfect poos. Oreo also developed a healthy appetite and is doing very well on zp and raw chicken. She is now 8 months old, weighs 2.5 lbs, has bright eyes, soft, shiny fur and as playful as any puppy can be. 

I read somewhere on this forum that zp's calcium is too high for puppies and now I am wondering if I should continue with the ziwipeak. Would appreciate if anyone has any advice on this.


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