hiya, im picking up my shorkie puppy on fri & im looking for a little advice on what to feed him on. the breeder has told me to get some lactol & wet dog (not puppy) food. to be honest ive never heard of lactol before & im wondering if i should buy some or not. also i thought adult dog food would be to much for puppies delicate stomach! please help.... any advice would be brill!!!

When pups go to their new homes its very stressful leaving mum and litter mates and finding themselves in a strange place, so its not uncommon for them to suffer upset tums and loose motions at first just from the stress.
Sudden abrubt changes to an entirely different food can also cause stomach upsets and loose motions, so I deffinately wouldnt advise changing the food completely as soon as you bring her home. On top of the stress it could cause a really bad upset. Best to keep her on the same for a week or two until she is settled and then change. Even then you need to do it gruadually over a week or so, adding a little less of the old and a bit more of the new day by day. The pup should eventually be on a good quality puppy food, with listed ingrediants with a good level of meat. Avoid supermarket ones like bakers, and others, they are just full of fillers, bulking agents and additives.
The more natural food and contents the better.

You really need to ask the breeder exactly what she is feeding. Any good breeder should really give you are full diet sheet, stating what and when to feed and should even really give you a couple of days at least amount of the food they are on. Puppies should have started being weaned at around 4 weeks I believe and should be on a good quality puppy diet before they leave to go to their new homes.

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It's best to keep the put on whatever the breeder is feeding until pup is settled with you. Then switch food over gradually.

I personally don't believe in puppy food, 30 years ago it was never heard of and pups did just fine. I think once you're talking good food the ingredients are so similar in the adult and puppy foods that it's not worth spending the extra £10 per sack on puppy food.

If you want to be able to go and get it yourself pets at homes wainwrights is about the best you'll get offline, or Arden Grange from waitrose. Obviously I've no idea what your local pet shop sells.

Online the following foods are great. Arden grange, burns mini bites, skinners, simpsons, orijen, arcana, taste of the wild, fish4dogs.

If you're looking for wet food. Wainwrights, nature diet, natures menu, natures harvest are all great and can all be bought in pets at home.

Rule of thumb is if you can buy it in a super market, it;s crap. So stay away from wagg, pedigree, IAMS, bakers, harrigntons etc.

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What on earth is a Shorkie? A Yorkie crossed with what?!

Ask the breeder for the excat name of the food the puppy is currently eating and stock up on that. Regardless of what food you want to feed him eventually it is essential he stays on what he is use to for the first couple of weeks at least, once he is settled in then you can think about changing it if you want or need to. Lactol is a milk replacement, he shouldn't need that at 7 weeks old, although can I ask why you are getting him at 7 weeks? 8 is recommended.

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''Dogs are like chocolates, you can never have just one!''

Generally a breeder will give you a supply of dog food for your puppy.. Then if you do decide to change it.. Then you will have some so you can slowly do the transition.. Will the pup be 7 weeks when you get him?

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What in god's name is a 'shorkie'? clearly a cross breed of some description (WHEN will people stop giving these dogs 'fancy' names - they are x-breeds plain and simple) - bringing into question the breeders knowledge, experience and reasons for breeding

I always send my pups home with a 3kg bag of the dried food I am using - and give them within my puppy packs a lot of information on 'good quality' wet and dry foods - and how to switch them over if they don't want to continue feeding what they have started off with.

A lot of pups do get dicky tummies when they first come home because of the upheaval and also often different water (obviously more so if the pup is moving a long way from home).

I see absolutely NO reason on this earth why you need to get Lactol for pup if it is 7 weeks old (and as others have advised, 8 weeks really is the optimum age for bringing a puppy home - particularly if you are not experienced with pups).

if the breeder gives you some food to take home - stick with it for a short period until the puppy settles in, and then look to change onto a food of your choice - decide whether you want to feed wet or dry - and then gradually switch the foods over.

There are a lot of good quality wet and dry foods on the market - wet usually requires you to give more and works out pricier - but a lot also depends on the size of the dog and how much it eats - a small dog, the price won't be significant - feeding a large breed dog on wet food and biscuit can work out very pricey

Dried foods such as Pro-plan, Royal Canine and Arden Grange are worth considering. You can soak it for a short period if his teeth are not good - moving on to dried (I always add water but not soak my dogs food).

Wet foods, Nature Diet, Natures Menu and I believe Wainwrights come highly recommended - personally if feeding wet, I would add a biscuit.

If you notice a change in toileting habits when switching the foods - don't panic un-necessarily - rice and chicken or fish can be very good for settling a dicky tum - as is good old rice pudding.

Don't be tempted to switch food to food etc if it doesn't work - give it time to 'bed in'.

I have, on more than one occasion had to change both my pups and adults foods without any type of switcher - getting a 'bad' bag of the food the breeder recommended - I had no option but to switch to a food I had in the house - and had no adverse problems - but some dogs do.

Surprisingly - adult food is lower in fat and protein than puppy food - the risk however is that you generally need to give more adult food - and this can lead to an increased calcium intake which can impact on growth and joints.

I always start mine off on puppy food - switching to a good adult food between 6 and 9 months.

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What you need to know before buying a Labrador puppy

Thanks for the advice! A shorkie for those who are asking is a shitzu x yorkie. They are abousletly gorgeous!!

The breeder assures me that he are ready to leave their mum at 7wks so im trusting her opinon & knowledge.

Thanks again for the advice... really appreciate it!!!

The law is actually 8 weeks - there is NO SUCH THING as a SHORKIE - it's a cross breed - plain and simple - I hope the breeder is charging a fair and reasonable price accordingly and not trying to sell them as some sort of rare breed. ALL puppies are gorgeous - it's no indication of how they will grow.

They are both small dogs, but you have absolutely NO idea how these pups will grow - will they look like a Yorkie or a Shitzu - which size will they be - how will their coats be - NONE of these are questions you or the breeder can answer as every single pup is likely to grow differently.

I would also ensure you get very good insurance for this pup to guard against future health problems particularly so if the pups have not been raised on good diets. Don't believe the myths about cross breeds being healthier - and hybrid vigour - as there is increasing anecdotal and empirical evidence to show that actually, the contrary is true.

What were the breeders reasons for producing this cross? Sorry - but I find it very hard to trust any breeder who deliberately produces these dogs.

I have NOTHING against Cross-breeds - sadly I cannot say the same for the majority of people who breed them.

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To anyone reading this thread who wants a cross-breed of any type - go to rescue - there are hundreds of the poor little loves from oldies down to puppies, just desperate for some love and affection and a forever home.

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What you need to know before buying a Labrador puppy

Hi there, Shorkies are beautiful dogs, I have seen a few around here, I wouldn't give the Lactol as it is a replacement milk, it really should'nt need it at all, I never let my pups go before 8 weeks and have two here that are going on friday and they will be 9 weeks old. Both eating and drinking and toileting brilliantly. Good luck with your puppy, ask the breeder to give you some of the food the puppy have been weaned onto and over two or 3 weeks gradually change the food over, dont do it all in one go its tummy wont be able to hack it. If you put it onto dry mix then make sure it have water at all times to drink ok. good luck and have fun with little one.

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Ditto!! Very well put Swarthy

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