Breeds and Diet Variations During Puppy Weaning

Another in a series of articles extracted from Barb Schaefer's recent

teleseminar to help explain and answer questions on the puppy weaning

process.

L: Does it matter what breed to which you apply this puppy weaning system? I

mean does it all work exactly the same for medium and large breeds like

Labrador Retrievers and Great Danes, as well as small and toy breeds like

Beagles, Yorkies or Chihuahuas?

Barb: The system is the same. The 7 steps that I go through in the Foolproof

Puppy Weaning System remain the same. Yet, WHEN and HOW you start will be

slightly different depending on the breed and the specific litter, because

the litter of puppies needs to be at certain developmental stages in order to

begin the weaning process so you'll want to ensure they're at the proper

stage before starting this process.

L: Ok, so that does vary and your system goes over that.

Barb: Yes, it does matter. And it not only matters when you're weaning a toy

breed like a Chihuahua or Yorkie, it also matters when you are weaning a

large breed, such as Great Danes or Mastiffs. The type of food that you would

start weaning those puppies with is different than the type of food that you

might use for Golden Retrievers or Labradors, and even different than what

you might start with for Yorkshire Terriers or Chihuahuas. And also when you

start will be different, but the process itself is the same.

L: So there's a lot of little nuances that are covered in all the details

in the system ?

Barb: Yes.

L: Got it. You mentioned feeding. I guess the other question I had then is

does the feeding - either the process or the actual food itself that you

use during weaning - does that vary also depending on the adult diet you

want the young dogs to end up on? In other words...does it matter how you do

the weaning depending on what type of food you're using? I have some

friends that feed raw, for example a raw diet. I have some other friends that

feed kibble...does it matter what you end up feeding in terms of doing the

weaning?

B: Yes. More so the big difference has to do with is whether you are feeding

your adult dogs kibble or whether you are feeding your adult dogs a raw diet,

also known as the biologically appropriate raw foods. If you are feeding

those two different diets then there are differences in the weaning

process...you'll start with the same food when you being the weaning

process but there is a difference...at a particular point you will start to

introduce the biologically appropriate raw food.

L: So during the 7 step process is when you point out where to make that

transition.

Barb: Exactly! During the 7 step process if you happen to be feeding raw I

will guide you through the appropriate time and way to start feeding the raw

food.

We'd love to hear from you! Do you feed raw or kibble (or a combination) to

your adult dogs? Why? Have you had a variety of breeds and sizes of dogs over

the years, or have you stuck with the same breed or size? What prompted you

to make those choices?