11 week old pup. Feeding questions.

[bulldogmama2200]

Hi. I'm a new member to the forum. Our family was proud to include a male bulldog who died at a ripe old age in 2011. We loved him so much & we miss him dearly. It wasn't until this month that we finally decided to have another bulldog join our family. Right now we have an 11 week old female bulldog who has been with us for 10 days. She's doing great, and I'm very, very, very pleased with the breeder, but the one thing I'm not comfortable with is the puppy food she is on (we continued with what the breeder was using for continuity as she adjusted to our home, but we'd like to make a permanent change after this bag is gone -- with the gradual switch over of course). Her current puppy food is a 1-star food, purchased at PetSmart, with chicken as the main ingredient (yes, I know all of those things are frowned upon, and we have no intention of keeping her on this -- she is having frequent, fairly loose, and large volume stools, and her gas is atrocious).

I have read through much of the dog food ratings, as well as the top 5 recommended foods, and many of the forum topics here. Most of them seem to be focused on adult dog foods, though - am I correct?

At 11 weeks old, what food would be highly recommended for a bulldog PUPPY. We are very willing and happy to get the best possible for her. I see Fromm mentioned often. Should we start her on a puppy formula of Fromm? Which one? Continue with feedings 3 times a day until what age? And when we switch her to an adult Fromm formula (if that works for her), which one has been found to be most successful for bulldogs? (I understand it varies by dog). What age to switch to the adult recipe?

Thank you in advance for your patience with my questions, and for your replies to all the things I asked. I greatly appreciate it.

 

[JAKEISGREAT]

Welcome! :D. We have many members with pups..let me tag a few and the food guru around here too [MENTION=2291]cowsmom[/MENTION]..many feed Fromm Puppy ...I'm so happy you joined us and can't wait for pics!
[MENTION=2]desertskybulldogs[/MENTION].. [MENTION=2071]Davidh[/MENTION].. [MENTION=1034]BruceP[/MENTION]. [MENTION=983]LariP[/MENTION]

 

[bulldogmama2200]

Thank you. I'm not very forum-savvy; sorry. This is all a bit confusing to me, but I really want to get her settled on something good and do it the right/best way. Thanks again for the welcome, and the help with the tags. Very grateful.

 

[bullmama]

Fromm four star is great, I used to switch at around 16 weeks from the Fromm puppy (pink bag ) but now I've noticed it is so much more lean so I tell everyone to stick with the puppy formula if its working good unless they start getting chubby. It's also about $15/$20 cheaper and 4 more pounds of food. But even if you go to the four star sooner, they will just be a little leaner and you know you are giving the best kibble you can give for healthy growth.


Sent from my iPhone 5 using Tapatalk

 

[JAKEISGREAT]

I should tell you that our Jake went on An All Stage food at 11 weeks. My vet likes a slower growth on Bully's trying to lessen stress on hips and joints. We started on Fromm Surf n Turf..but it has chicken so Jake didn't do well..changed to Beef Fritatta and did much better. We have ended up on Earthborn..bison..because Jake is sensitive to so many proteins, but does well on Bison. It is an All Stage Food too. Just an FYI!

 

[bulldogmama2200]

Thank you both for this input. I'm sure I will have many more questions to come. And I would appreciate continued input & opinions on this thread. Thanks so much.

 

[bulldogmama2200]

Reading more about the Fromm Four Star foods. Some are grain-free, some are not. And the puppy food had both chicken and grains. I'm a bit confused & overwhelmed by the choices. If I start her on the Puppy Gold Pink with chicken and grains in it, then change her to an adult Four Start -- should she continue on a similar protein/grain formula, or it's okay to just drop the grains then, and change the protein source (drop the chicken too)?

 

[JAKEISGREAT]

Reading more about the Fromm Four Star foods. Some are grain-free, some are not. And the puppy food had both chicken and grains. I'm a bit confused & overwhelmed by the choices. If I start her on the Puppy Gold Pink with chicken and grains in it, then change her to an adult Four Start -- should she continue on a similar protein/grain formula, or it's okay to just drop the grains then, and change the protein source (drop the chicken too)?

The four Star are all grain free..and the only one that is chicken free is Beef Fritatta...And maybe the new lamb one. If Phoebe is sensitive to chicken..I would go straight to the Beef Fritatta. It's an All Stage Food and just fine for pups. Then you don't have to change her again down the road. If you decide to go with the puppy formulas ..you will need to do a slow transition. The Four Star Formulas are all interchangeable..because they are all grain free.

 

[Jennifer Clark]

I have gone through this recently myself and just now found a combination that works for Sheldon. I feel like the food is a trial and error kind of thing because you have to find out what protein your bully can withstand if any first then work out from there.

 

[fastmatt613]

Rocco is 12 weeks old now and I recently just put him on the beef frittata. I was going to use the puppy pink as well but I've noticed he has sensitivity to chicken so went straight to beef frittata. Again, it's an all stage food and I've read of many others doing the same with no issues. He loves the food and his stools hardened up after the first few days. He's been on strictly beef frittata (no more mixing the old stuff) for about a week now and I am very pleased as is he.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Davidh]

We always put our pups on FROMM Puppy Gold until about 6 months of age. This time we had a picky eater and at 12 weeks of age she didn't like the puppy food so we switched her to the FROMM Pork & Peas, and then a week later switched her sister to the Pork & Peas too and they are doing well on it. So you could go with either one. Feed three times a day for about 6 months and then switch to 2 times a day, feeding the same amount but twice a day.

 

[bulldogmama2200]

Now I'm more confused, LOL. I'm on the Fromm page, and they have quite a few four star recipes listed. Half are listed as grain-free: pork & peas, salmon tunalini, game bird recipe, beef frittata veg, surf & turf, while half are listed as containing grains: chicken a la veg, duck & sweet potato, pork & applesauce, salmon a la veg, whitefish & potato.

Also, I don't see chicken in the pork & peas one. Am I wrong, and missing a lot here? It's very possible, as tired as I am right now

 

[Ashleym]

Hi and cant wait to see pictures of your new baby. You got some great info so far. We did a slow transition from Royal Canine Bulldog puppy formula (breeder food) to Fromm 4 star no grain beef Fritatta when we got Fergus at 10 weeks old. Gave him 1 cup 3 times a day until he turned 6 months. We then cut his food down to 2 1/2 cup divided into 2 servings. He rotates between the Beef and Pork and Peas grain free Fromm. We also add to his kibbles 1 tbs of coconut oil in the morning and 1 tbs of fish oil for dinner. He also gets fruits and vegi as treats. If you intend to add toppers to her kibbles introduce slowly and one at a time to see if she has any reactions.

 

[Ashleym]

Now I'm more confused, LOL. I'm on the Fromm page, and they have quite a few four star recipes listed. Half are listed as grain-free: pork & peas, salmon tunalini, game bird recipe, beef frittata veg, surf & turf, while half are listed as containing grains: chicken a la veg, duck & sweet potato, pork & applesauce, salmon a la veg, whitefish & potato.

Also, I don't see chicken in the pork & peas one. Am I wrong, and missing a lot here? It's very possible, as tired as I am right now

Pork and Pea and Beef Frittata are the only formula with no grain and no chicken. You can rotate between all the grain free without having to do a slow transition. The food cost more but it is worth it. Fergus has no issues with Yeast and when he farts lol they dont smell so bad :D

 

[JAKEISGREAT]

Now I'm more confused, LOL. I'm on the Fromm page, and they have quite a few four star recipes listed. Half are listed as grain-free: pork & peas, salmon tunalini, game bird recipe, beef frittata veg, surf & turf, while half are listed as containing grains: chicken a la veg, duck & sweet potato, pork & applesauce, salmon a la veg, whitefish & potato.

Also, I don't see chicken in the pork & peas one. Am I wrong, and missing a lot here? It's very possible, as tired as I am right now

The four Star are the grain free ones. I don't think the pork and peas has chicken..it's a new formula, we didnt try. Only the four Star are interchangeable proteins.