Puppy Food Advice (Specific Questions)

[EmkayN]

Hi everyone,

I am new to this forum and I must say I am so glad that it exists! It has an enormous amount of information and it is awesome to know there are a lot of Rottweiler lovers out there!

I have read a ton of threads regarding what to feed a Rott puppy, but I have a couple of specific questions that I did not find the answer to (or maybe I did not look hard enough).

I have a 9 week old male, which I have had for two weeks now. He is beautiful (but aren't they all). The breeder that I got him from gave me instructions on what to feed him:

Breakfast: 3/4 to 1 cup of Wellness Puppy Dry food mixed with scramble eggs
Lunch: 3/4 cup of Wellness Puppy Dry food mixed with cooked chicken
Dinner: 1 cup of Wellness Puppy Dry food with cooked chicken.

At approximately 3 months of age, it was recommended that he is fed 2 times a day.

At approximately 4 months of age, it was recommended that he is switched to Wellness Adult Dry food and to supplement it with "SURE Grow" (The Calcium Supplement).

I have read a few threads about NOT giving a Calcium supplement, and I am fine with that, but do I switch him to the Adult kibble at 4 months WITHOUT the supplement?

He seems to do well on Wellness. His stools are nice (can stools be nice? ) although he has about 3 to 4 BMs a day. Is that too much?

My very good friend who is one of the best vets and receives nothing from me or anyone else for his recommendations says that Science Diet Puppy Large Breed is extremely good food and highly digestable (I brought up the fact that the number one and two ingredients are corn meal and chicken by-products and he said that is true but it is still fine for them to have). He does, however, say that Wellness, Innova, and several of the other Premium is great if the puppy is thriving.

But now I am concerned if he does not get enough Calcium when he is a puppy (if he does goes on Adult food at such a young age) that he won't develop properly. I guess I am just paranoid.

Should I keep giving him Wellness? If so, should I switch him to the adult food at 4 months? If not, what should I give him?

I am sorry this message is so long. I am just so confused. So if anyone could help me, I would greatly appreciate it! Thanks!

[spidey]

Wellness is a great food (substantially better than Science Diet). Switching to adult at 4 months is fine, just remember to feed the amount for puppies, not adults. No calcium supplement!

[Cherry Heart]

From what I have read and understand Wellness is a very good Super Premium Food to be giving your pup. I personally will be switching my pup to an All Stages food starting when she gets here, I have heard that starting them on an adult food young is fine as they need to grow slow, where some puppy foods may incourage rapid growth. I don't beleive that many, if any Super Premium foods need to be supplemented with much of anything, and after reading a recent thread, I wouldn't use the calcium. If your feeding your pup 3 times a day then I would think that 3 or 4 stools a day would be normal, after all they do tell us to take them out after each meal, play, or nap.

[EmkayN]

Spidey,

Thanks so much for your response. I think I will stick with Wellness since he is doing so "well" (no pun intended) on it!

[EmkayN]

Cherry Heart,

Thanks so much to you, too! As I told Spidey, I will stick with Wellness with NO calcium supplements.