Hi! My name is Milda (Lithuanian name) and I have a 6 month old Pomeranian puppy. I have two questions about him. 1. How do I get him to stop barking when the doorbell rings and stop jumping on the guests when they enter? They are really getting scared of coming over at all. 2. What is the best food to give my Pomeranian puppy? I heard dog food like Science Diet, Pedigree, Purina, Iams and others are really unhealthy for my dog because they are full of preservatives, by products and other things my dog doesn鈥檛 need. Even though my vet recommended all of these dog food brands, the workers at Petco told me those brands or dog food is the worst choice for my puppy. Instead they recommended foods with no preservatives or by products but with ingredients like we by for ourselves such as lamb, chicken, fruit. She said the best choices were Solid Gold Puppy Food, Blue Holistic Dog Puppy Food or any others with real food ingredients. Are these really the best choices for my dog or do I just listen to my vet? What would you recommend? I am looking forward to your answer. I want my puppy to live a long happy NUTRIOUS life. And I know you would want that for your dog so please help me and give me some advice!
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Answers:
Your puppy needs to go to doggie training school. You can check your local PetSmart or PetCo for puppy training classes or AKC has referrals for your local animal club for dog training courses.
The best dog food is to make your own dog food and mix it with their dry kibble food. Because animals just like humans also need a variety of vegetables, fruits and meats for their body. You need to stick with the brand name of dog food that the breeder fed him. Then if you want change to a different brand name of dog food, then you do it gradually.
You need to continue feeding your new puppy the same brand name dog food. It's not good to change dog foods ever. If you want to change the dog food to another brand name, then you need to do it gradually.
When buying dry kibble food, make sure the first ingredient is either chicken, beef or turkey and avoid meat-by-products on the ingredient label. Here are some healthy dry kibble dog food brand names that I recommend:
1. Castor %26 Pollux Natural Ultramix Puppy Formula
2. Castor %26 Pollux Organix Puppy Formula
3. Nutro Natural Choice Puppy Chicken Meal, Rice and Oatmeal Formula
4. Hill's Science Diet Canine Growth -- ask for prescription version from vet's office
5. Eukanuba Small Breed Puppy Formula
If he is a picky eater, then try making him some homemade dog food: which can be 1 source of vegetable (carrots, peas, corn, broccoli, potato, sweet potato, cabbage) and 1 source of protein (boneless chicken breast, eggs). The vegetables should be steamed to preserve the nutrients. The chicken and eggs should be boiled. The homemade food must be served cold. I feed my dog some bananas as treats or part of their meal. It is a lot of work making your own homemade dog food, but it is worth it in the long run, so they will live longer. Here are some websites to avoid feeding your dog:
1. Foods Which Are Dangerous for Dogs:
http://www.dogchatforum.com/foods-not-fo...
2. Foods You Should Not Feed Your Dog:
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?...
I recommend feeding dogs with organic or holistic foods because it has no preservatives compared to the big brand names.
Don't listen to your vet when it comes to dog food.. Rarely do they suggest people feed a quality food.. I think they prefer people to feed poison food so that they end up with sick pets, or pets with chronic problems.. It is to the vets benefit that your dog eat bad food.. Listen to the girl at the petfood store, or do some research on dog foods and choose one without cancer causing preservatives, dyes and sugars, wheat, corn, fillers etc.
Solid Gold is an excellent food so is Wellness. I'd check both of these out.
As far as the jumping thing goes you have to train your pup not to do this. I suggest some obedience training for him. He's not to young and it's fun too.
Good luck with your pup!
For food I would suggest canidae or innova. They're both good foods but the others the petstore suggested are fine too. The other foods aren't horrible but they are definately not as good as the others you'd find at a pet store. The only thing I would be careful of with Solid Gold is the protien content. Protien is good for your dog but if the dog isn't active and using all the fuel the protien gives him he'll just start to gain weight.
As for the jumping, every time he jumps cross your arms in a defensive manner and turn your back to the dog with a firm "no". It'll tell your dog the jumping isn't appreciated, just be consistant, telling it no sometimes then letting it jump all over you another will just confuse the poor thing.
The barking, just try saying "no" and having the dog sit. When the dog sits and ignores the bell or knock give him a treat as a reward. Barking equals a "no" and no reward.
Plus obediance training is always a good idea.
Hello Milda. We have a Pomeranian that is just over a year old and he still has yet to stop barking when there is a knock at the door or he sees someone walking by on the sidewalk. This is a complaint that I have heard from a lot of Pomeranian owners. I think the best solution is just when the doorbell rings pick him up and he won't jump on them. I know this because it is what we do. As for food...don't listen to the vet. they will tell you to get the food from their office so that it will be more expensive. If you want to go with the natural stuff there is always Benetful...we give our dog Purina One and he does just fine.Poms are really apt to getting diabetes as well so be sure to always keep his dish full so he can eat when he wants and he will stay healthy. that is what the breeder told us to do...I hope that this helps you...
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