Best food for puppies -- natural?

Hi all...

We are getting a golden retriever puppy next week. Our current golden
is 10 plus years old and I've had him on a natural diet for about 5
years. It includes chicken, green beans, potatoes, sometimes rice or
carrots. He's doing quite well on this diet.

My question is about the puppy. Do we need to keep the puppy on some
sort of kibble for a while before putting it on the meat diet?
Obviously I'd put all the stuff in the processor for a while so there
are no big lumps, but I'm curious... haven't been able to find a good
website to address the issue of when is a good time to start feeding
puppies a natural diet?

Thanks.

"Auntie Mame" wrote in message
...
Hi all...

We are getting a golden retriever puppy next week. Our current golden
is 10 plus years old and I've had him on a natural diet for about 5
years. It includes chicken, green beans, potatoes, sometimes rice or
carrots. He's doing quite well on this diet.

My question is about the puppy. Do we need to keep the puppy on some
sort of kibble for a while before putting it on the meat diet?
Obviously I'd put all the stuff in the processor for a while so there
are no big lumps, but I'm curious... haven't been able to find a good
website to address the issue of when is a good time to start feeding
puppies a natural diet?

Thanks.

I guess natural would be ok, but ask the breeder and vet how they feel about
adding vitamins, calcium etc.
You might not have to do that, but it's always better to ask, and also ask
for what signs to look for if the puppy isn't getting enough of something.
I fed half n half, kibble and porridge with meat and yoghurt, and I added
calcium and phosphor to his food, half the amount that was mentioned on the
jar, and when he got 2/3 kibble 1/3 porridge, he got 1/3 of the recommended
dose etc... i'm sure you see what i mean. I cut down a bit on it too the
days i fed him cartilage and bones.
So basically, get as many opinions as you can handle and then decide which
advice you liked best =)

Rosa

"Auntie Mame" wrote in message
...
Hi all...

We are getting a golden retriever puppy next week. Our current golden
is 10 plus years old and I've had him on a natural diet for about 5
years. It includes chicken, green beans, potatoes, sometimes rice or
carrots. He's doing quite well on this diet.

My question is about the puppy. Do we need to keep the puppy on some
sort of kibble for a while before putting it on the meat diet?
Obviously I'd put all the stuff in the processor for a while so there
are no big lumps, but I'm curious... haven't been able to find a good
website to address the issue of when is a good time to start feeding
puppies a natural diet?

Thanks.

Most people will just switch the pup right over. No need for the kibble.
Even though your pup will most likely be past the age these two websites
deal with, it may be a good idea to read them anyway:

http://www.naturalrearing.com/J_In_L...ngPuppies.html

http://64.177.71.150/Sep2002.php

This one might be better for you:

http://www.raw-connections.com/index.htm and click on "transition".

Congratulations on getting a new pup! I'm getting one soon from a breeder
that feeds raw, so the pup will come to me on a raw diet already.

René