Isla and Soffia - diets and health

Isla - behind the crate taking a nap after eating, and her litter-sister Soffia inside the crate head leaning out, also exhausted from eating.

Although they still nurse, of course, all the puppies are also eating solid puppy kibble three times a day, around 7:00 a.m., 11:30 and 4:30 p.m., now. When they arrive at their new home, they will adjust to your feeding schedule.

To begin with I soak the kibble in water to soften it. At that point the teeth have not erupted and yet they are still ready to eat solid food.

Now their puppy teeth are "out", have erupted, and they can actually chew their food, even hard kibble. It takes them a while to do that and it must be tiring but they eat a good sized meal. When they are finished, I remove the bowl.

It is not a good idea to let puppies (or adults) "browse", i.e. eat food at will all day long.

Some history: Dogs are descended from wolves. When a pack of wolves makes a kill, the pack members gorge themselves. It may be a long time between meals, between kills. Their metabolism evolved to accommodate that feast or famine behavior. Leaving food in the bowl encourages over-eating which can lead to putting on too much weight. It can also lead to tooth problems, erosion of the gums, decay, bad breath, etc.

For puppies I encourage the new families to feed initially three times a day. After a few months, puppies usually cease being interested in the noon meal. When they do that, wean them off that feeding time. I give my adults a few carrot strips for lunch - it's good bulk and won't add weight on them. (They also like broccoli stems, cabbage leaf ribs, cauliflower stems, etc.)

Puppies should have their puppy food replaced with adult food almost as soon as they arrive in their new homes. Gradually replace the puppy food with adult food. I feed Eukanuba Lamb and Rice adult food (and puppy food). I think, however, their diets should be up to the new owners. When you switch food, do it gradually to avoid possible upset stomachs.

Scientifically controlled studies have shown that a rich diet causes rapid growth and that is not a good thing. A rich diet makes soft tissues (muscles and organs) grow fast. Hard tissue (bones) grow more slowly. The extra weight of the soft tissue puts stress on the skeleton. Those studies have shown that feeding a rich diet is more likely to cause future hip problems. (Hip problems are not a problem in Icelandic Sheepdogs - - and we'd like to keep it that way.) Switch to lower protein adult diets soon after arrival, please. The puppies may grow more slowly but they will eventually reach their genetically determined size.

In fact, our Icelandic Sheepdogs have few genetic health problems although it's always possible that some long-hidden recessive genes carried by the ancestors of both parents will surface in a particular breeding. (The same thing can happen in humans too.)

Both parents of this litter have very nice temperaments and it seems like the pups have inherited the great personalities of mom and dad. They are now beginning to play fight and have "found" a few toys and are exploring them. They all love being picked up and held and talked to. They just relax!