Can I safely switch my 9-week-old puppy from raw to dry food?

No, I strongly urge you not to do it and you'd be hard pressed to find any vet who would recommend it. It's a fad and it's dangerous for both Kingston and you. Raw food diets contain bacteria like E coli and Salmonella, which poses a risk of poisoning him and you. You can get sick from handling it, and even sick from him licking you because the bacteria lives on his tongue for hours afterwards. In addition, these diets are often imbalanced nutritionally, and it's so vital to have a balanced diet for a growing puppy. I have a vet colleague that just saw an 8 month old puppy who was fed a rad diet and due to the nutritional deficiencies had broken his hip and had severe bone deformities. There is no scientific evidence it's beneficial at all, and all there are is bad things with it. You should feed him a dry puppy food such as Royal Canin, Hill's Science Diet, Purina Pro Plan, and Iams. I hope this helps.

I actually prefer commercial dog food as it includes the proper balance of nutrition that they need. A lot of raw food diets don’t have the proper studies to back it up and they don’t have the proper nutrients in them. Also, dogs who eat raw food diet are st higher risk for bacterial infections like salmonella. I think as long a syou are giving a high quality large breed or giant breed puppy food like science diet, Iams, or royal canin then he should grown normally. I hope this helps!

Hello again! Royal Canin is a high quality food, so if Nova is doing well with it, I'd recommend continuing to feed it. There are conflicting opinions about feeding a raw diet, but most veterinarians recommend against it as there is an increased potential for gastrointestinal illness in both your dog and you (the preparer) from handling raw meats, and the benefits don't tend to outweigh the risks. If you'd like more information on safely feeding raw diets, here's a link to the FDA's recommendations for handling raw and undercooked foods meant for pet consumption: https://www.fda.gov/AboutFDA/Transparency/Basics/ucm206814.htm Remember, it's always best to consult with your vet before making a diet change, as your pet's individual needs should be taken into consideration. Best of luck, and I hope Nova grows up to be a happy, healthy dog!

I agree with you. A raw diet is not a good idea. You should be able to switch straight over to the cooked diet. It may give her some diarrhea as you indicated. If that happens the diarrhea should be self-limiting and go away on it's own in a few days.

Good question! I recommend either Royal Canin Puppy food or Hill's Science Diet puppy food. Both of these companies do a lot of research and quality control and they utilize the expertise of veterinary nutritionists in formulating their diets. If you do transition Jax from one diet to another please make sure to do it gradually (over 4-5 days) to ensure he doesn't get an upset stomach. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach and best regards to you and Jax!

I recommend a large breed puppy food for your GSD puppy, and a medium breed puppy food for the 10 month old puppy. I can understand it may be a pain to have two separate foods, but large breed puppies have different nutritional needs due to their size. Brands I recommend include Royal Canin, Hill's Science Diet, Purina ProPlan, and Iams. I feed my own dogs Iams, and they love it. Good on you for taking them off the raw food diet! Best of luck.

I personally do not like raw diets. They are hard to get balanced correctly, and there is a risk of salmonella and E.coli poisoning to both the dog and owner. Patches would be fine on dry dog food. Brands I recommend include Royal Canin, Hill's Science Diet, Purina ProPlan, and Iams. I hope this helps!