Soaking Puppy Food

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ukfirefighter U Hello all. When I picked up our Toyah on thursday I was given a puppy pack which included some complete puppy food which she has been eating by a company called Techni-Cal also some frozen tripe, again she had been brought up on this. Her mum and dad are both working dogs. The breeder recomended soaking the food before giving it to her. How long should I be doing this for before I can give it to her dry without soaking? I have been giving her this techni-cal as rewards and she doesn't have a problem crunching it up. Also I have stopped giving her the tripe as I want her to eventually eat just dry, and the wife hates the smell!! I have also started introducing some Wainwrights puppy food into her dinners (only about 10 Peices) as this is what I would like her to be on. (Techni-cal is hard to get hold on). Her Pooh's are a bit runny/sticky but I'm not going to worry about that too much just yet as she is still only a baby. #1 · Jan 12, 2009 Hello all. When I picked up our Toyah on thursday I was given a puppy pack which included some complete puppy food which she has been eating by a company called Techni-Cal also some frozen tripe, again she had been brought up on this. Her mum and dad are both working dogs. The breeder recomended soaking the food before giving it to her. How long should I be doing this for before I can give it to her dry without soaking? I have been giving her this techni-cal as rewards and she doesn't have a problem crunching it up. Also I have stopped giving her the tripe as I want her to eventually eat just dry, and the wife hates the smell!! I have also started introducing some Wainwrights puppy food into her dinners (only about 10 Peices) as this is what I would like her to be on. (Techni-cal is hard to get hold on). Her Pooh's are a bit runny/sticky but I'm not going to worry about that too much just yet as she is still only a baby. Sort by Oldest first Oldest first Newest first Most reactions #2 · Jan 12, 2009 hi, ryleighs breeder recommended that we soaked her food, what i used to do was make it up the night before ready for the next day, she used to have puppy food (tin) mixed in but used to turn her nose up and would not eat it , ryleigh is on pro plan and she seems to be thriving on it,and you can get from good pet shops, #3 · Jan 12, 2009 We wetted Lucy's dry food when she was little, just so it was a bit easier on her puppy teeth, but we didn't soak over night, just for a few mins with hot water until it took most of the 'crunch' away. She was pretty much on it dry quite soon after she lost all her puppy teeth. She was originally on BETA for puppies until about 7-8 months, but when we switched her onto the adult version is didn't agree with her that much (constant sloppy poos) so she is now on Whites Premium, dry, and doing very well. She gets a tin of sardines in tom sauce added twice a week, which keeps her joints supple and her coat shiny

#4 · Jan 12, 2009 Young pups need relativly large quantities of food to sustain the fast growth. Dried food, by it's very nature is dry! When eaten it needs moisture to soften and make the food value available and if there is not enough moisture available it will absorb the moisture from the stomach. Not good for the pup! In the early stages, when on 4 meals a day I soak for an hour or so before feeding. At about 12 weeks I go over to 3 feeds and start just pouring some water over the food at feeding time, and ongoing over to 2 meals at around 6 months I start feeding dry. But do make sure there is water always available. This is so VERY important with dried food. Regards, John #5 · Jan 12, 2009 Soaking the dry food not only helps to release the nutrients for easier absorption, it also helps reduce the speed at which they can bolt their food down, as they have to munch it a bit more (and lets face it, labs are notorious food bolters :lol: ). In turn, this reduces the possibility of choking. That was something I was worried about, so in the last couple of months I have been soaking Charlie's food and he is now four years old. He now eats at a much more sensible pace, although I don't think he is impressed with having to wait a few minutes longer whilst I prepare it. :roll: :lol: Helen. #6 · Jan 12, 2009 I've found this thread useful as I didn't realise I should be soaking Moles food, I've been adding a little water to her bowl and then giving it to her like that (she's 9 Weeks old) #7 · Jan 12, 2009 Tins were the first "Manufacturered" dog food Sarah, and tins have a moisture content of around 80%, so water was not anything like so important in those days. But then the very first dried complete foods came along, something no one had any experience of! Sadly in many cases people simply did not appreciate how much moisture their pups had been getting from the tins and there was big problems at that time with stomach related troubles, to the extent that the dried complete food got such a bad it dissapeared from the shelves for several years! Personally, I was late getting into complete foods and it's only over the life of the last 3 or 4 dogs that I moved into the 20th century. (Then, just as I did some damn fool turned the calendar over and it became the 21 century!) Regards, John #8 · Jan 12, 2009 Me too. I've been soaking Harry's food but he's no longer having the breeder's stuff mixed in (which had to be mixed with water) so I was wondering whether to stop, now I won't! Thanks G #9 · Jan 12, 2009 Thanks John, Mole seems fine, growing well and she does have free access to water all day which she takes full advantage of, I will however start to soak her food for her for a few weeks like you have suggested.

#10 · Jan 12, 2009 I've soaked Roxys food after advice from the vets (at her first check up ) cause she bolted her food so fast. She is now almost 5 months but I think I shall probably always soak it, well at least add some water to it. When you add the water it really swells and I think fills her up quicker (thats if a lab could ever be full :lol: ) I do give it to her dry as treats, I feel a bit mean not buying her treats but she will do just about anything for one tiny bit of kibble :lol: #11 · Jan 12, 2009 Indy has her lunch soaked in boiling water, then her breakfast and dinner have a quarter of a tray of Nature's Harvest mixed in. She's been having this combo for a while and eats all her meals each day so am not going to change this until she moves over to adult food. I do tend to vary her meals a little, she'll have sardines or mackerel in tomato sauce mixed in with one of her meals twice a week (not with the wet food though), I'll mix natural yoghurt in occasionally for her, or the most recent delicacy, a little bit of chicken liver

Whilst pups are tiny, then it's good to have a routine with food, but as they start to get a bit older I don't think there's any harm adding new things in one at a time. I'm hoping to move Indy over to BARF at some point soonish, so finding the things which she likes and which agree with her now is going to make my life easier in the long run

#12 · Jan 13, 2009 Molly is fed Royal Canine (Junior 32), she is 15 weeks old. It's dry food but I soak it in warm water for about 15 minutes before feeding as I was told that if you don't soak dry food it can cause a twisted stomach as it expands in their tummy. Insert Quotes Post Reply

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