Food for Monty (14 weeks old).

Hi guys,

This is the only thing we're having trouble with at the moment. Finding him the right food.

When we had him, the owners told us he is on WAG with a bit of mince meat. We put him on this and he would eat it, but could see he was getting bored with it. We gave him treats when I started the attempt to training this playfull little pup, and ended up getting his own little 'treat box' with all different treats, so would use them where neccessary ! My dad at one point gave him a treat too often (which my dad got a telling off about). He started going to the toilet out the garden (not my dad ... Monty !) and noticed he started having bits of blood in his stools. Speaking to friends of my family who have bred dogs or are breeding dogs, I was assured this was quite normal for puppy's. My sisters litter (that you seen in one of my videos) all had blood in their stools for quite a number of weeks when born, which later dissapeared.

Me being me was slightly worried and contacted the vet. They too said it's quite common, and if Monty's mood hasn't changed in anyway, he is fine, but just keep an eye, and perhaps feed him some rice and chicken .. which is did, for a while, and my boy loved it ! A few days went by, still could see blood in his stools. Rest assured from aformentioned people, I still worried (he's my boy, I'm bound to worry !) so I phoned the vet, took him up, he had an anti-infamatory (sp?) jab and some 5 day antibiotics. Vet also said it sounds like a possibility of Cilitus ... just keep an eye, if it gets worse, to go back up.

I've done some research on the Internet to check this out, I personally don't think it is what the vet says, but he is still pooing with bloody stools. Only little amounts. Some poo's he doesn't have any, some times he does, and sometimes he strains. I took him to a friend who's been a bully breeder for many years, he gave me loads of good advise, but I also took Monty to see him. My friend said he knew straight away what was the issue .. by looking at his bum ! he said he had a blocked anal gland, so he got some tissue, and did whatever .. the rest of the day he didn't pass any blood, but nice firm poo's !

Although it has started again. I'm not sure whether it's due to food or what, because my friend (the bully breeder) suggested put him on tripe and mix with the wag. So I've done that, and my boy loves .. but obviously his poo has changed (runny, but is now more mouse like while his body is getting used to the food). I'm still not convinced tripe is good for a puppy ? how long does it take for a food change to settle in his little body ? Also, about his bloody stools ? Any advice ?

Thanks all.

Any food change should be taken slowly. Start with 80% of the old food and 20% of the new and adjust slowly depending upon the reaction.

On occasion larger breeds will need their anal glands squeezed. I'd have a vet do it as it is not pleasant for you or for Monty.

wag?! I cant believe a breeder would sugest wagg.....no offense but its a rubbish food! Take a look at the food reccommendation list for a list of high quality foods and stay away from anything u can buy in supermarkets as its all awful stuff (bakers, pedigree, wagg, own brands, iams, etc )

Cheers. The vet told me also that WAG is ideal for Monty as it is good for his teeth and it's food that help him grow ...

http://staffy-bull-terrier.co.uk/dryfood.html

here are a list of dry food recomendations, i feed raw to billy

Great, I will check that out later : )

BullyMonty wrote:Cheers. The vet told me also that WAG is ideal for Monty as it is good for his teeth and it's food that help him grow ...

I agree with Carly, Wagg's not a good food at all! And to be honest, no commercial food is 'good' for the teeth, although the dry food is better than the tinned. The only food that is 'good' for the teeth is a raw food diet with raw meaty bones, but you might not want to go down that route. If you want to read up on it, have a look at this site...
http://www.rawmeatybones.com/petowners/whatisrmb.php
or this one...
http://preymodelraw.com/how-to-get-started/

If you feed commercial dog food you must be prepared to clean your dog's teeth at least once a month, and preferably once a week.

There's absolutely nothing wrong in giving a pup tripe. But if you are going to feed it, just a little at a time is advised because it will lead to softer poos. It's best given raw, both for the nutritional content and the smell - when you cook it, it smells disgusting - and you should always use the green (or dirty tripe as it used to be called) and not the whiote tripe that is for human consumption. The white tripe has been bleached, has virtually no goodness in it and may still contain some of the bleaching agent!

P.S. BTs do very well on raw!

Thanks very much guys - do you think any of this is linked to his bloody stools ?

Well, I don't always agree with vets, but I'd say that it's quite unusual for a pup to have blood in its stools! I would personally link it more to food, or constipation/diareah(sp!).

Anal glands can cause a problem with some dogs, but wouldn't normally result in blood in the stools as the gland is only just inside the anus.

It's obviously nothing too serious or he wouldn't be feeling well. I'd try changing the food over about a week or so, and see if it continues.

It could be. If you change a diet to quickly it can make them go too much which could result in bloody stools.

Thanks all : )

Maria, for what its worth, I was advised by my breeder (also an international BT judge) back in the day when I got my bull terrier, to feed him on pradominantly green tripe/granary bread mixed !! it is truely awefull stuff , but I will do anything that benefits my dogs , and jeez ... what a fit bully he was!!

Cool thanks Andy !