First, a quick update –
Finnegan is just shy of 6 months old. We are calling his “birthday” May 1st, however we really cannot be positive. And, actually, I think May 7th is probably a bit more accurate. He was just fixed a couple of weeks ago, and he is doing fantastic. We have been working on his shyness, and he has come SO far with it. He is still wary of strangers, but far less apprehensive than he once was. Additionally, while he does not particularly like his crate, he is now – finally! – crate trained. A relief, to be sure.
Finnegan had his two week post-op check at the vet on Thursday. Other than a mild case of Swimmer’s Ear (which, I believe, he may have acquired because he got water in his ears when I bathed him last weekend – something I’ll have to keep an eye on in the future, as I get the impression he’ll be prone to ear infections), the vet was impressed with what good a shape he is in. Though they didn’t weigh him at the vet this week, but he’s probably around 50lbs. I think he’s going to end up being around 80-90 lbs – long and lean. He’s almost as tall as both his Uncle Max (my mother’s Shepherd/some sort of shaggy dog mix) and his Aunt Abby (Chris’s parent’s German Shepherd). He’s muscular and slim because he gets a lot of exercise. Worth noting, I am constantly getting compliments on how shiny his coat is. One person said while I was walking him one day, “Now, THAT’S a well-cared for dog.” My vet has said similar things of my cat, Roscoe. It makes me feel good to know that it outwardly shows that I am a responsible pet owner.
Anyway, I had overheard the vet techs talking about when to wean puppies off of puppy food. I naturally assumed 1 year, but apparently for large breed dogs, it should be more like 6-8 months. It seems there is conflicting reports on this (some people say the opposite, 18 months), but the evidence toward sooner is stronger. My vet did say he wanted him off of puppy food in the next month or so. It may be a little longer, as there’s almost a full bag (15lb) at my mother’s apartment that I am going to fetch this week when I pick up Roscoe, and I’ll transition him when that bag gets low. He is currently eating Innova Large Breed Puppy, supplemented by Wellness Just for Puppy canned food.
I feel pretty strongly about wanting to eventually transition Finnegan to grain-free (and am leaning toward doing the same for Roscoe – I have him on Wellness Indoor Health right now, which is a high quality food, but not grain-free), however it seems that all of the grain-free foods are also high in calcium, which, particularly at his age, is not good for him being a large breed. I think I will have to wait until 1.5-2yrs before I can give him one of those foods. The lesser problem, of course, will be what to pick – Wellness CORE and Innova EVO seem to be so comparable, with conflicting reports on which is the “best.” I’ve actually been told Orijen is the best (and my research seems to back that up), however there have been recall issues in Australia. This is supposedly due to their quarantine/irradiation process and is not affecting North America, but when EVO and CORE are so comparable (and a hair cheaper to boot), I would rather not tempt fate. At any rate, I have some time to decide, as none of them are ideal for Finnegan right now because of the high calcium content.
So, after much deliberation, I’ve decided on the Wellness Large Breed Adult, and I’ll supplement with the EVO canned food. Not grain-free, but still high quality, and the calcium content is formulated specifically for large breeds. Additionally, it has glucosamine-chondroitin supplements in the food, something that will help with his overall skeletal health. I got the Innova Large Breed Puppy when I got Finnegan, because I didn’t realize Wellness had a large breed option at the time. Turns out, they DO, and according to dogfoodanalysis.com, it is a better formula. Though that site has not reviewed the Adult version, it is not a leap to think if the Wellness edges out Innova in the puppy food, it will in the adult food as well. It only seems to be Innova’s large breed formula that is weaker – the rest are all comparable. This, of course, makes my decision that much easier, at least in the short term.
As I was thinking about writing this entry, all I could think of was my friend AJ’s Twitter tag, #firstworldproblems. So very true, and I admit that I feel a little bit ridiculous blogging about something that seems so trivial – what expensive boutique food to feed my animals – on the surface. However, on the other hand, as a part of the privileged upper middle class in this country (which, when compared to the entire world, makes me rich, and I try very hard not to take this privilege for granted), I truly believe that it’s only right and responsible of me to feed my animals the best food that I can. I am very conscious of what I put in (and, for that matter, on) my body; shouldn’t I be just as conscious of what I feed my animals?
Ill end this post with a recent picture, as I realize I have been lax in not only blogging about Finnegan, but also posting pictures of him!
October 31, 2009
irisira
Ms., not Mrs. 
3 responses to “On feeding”
WrigsMac
December 7th, 2011 at 15:22
(Found your blog via AoA) – how goes the feeding? I’m in a similar position and recently blogged about some adventures in raw feeding my dog. I adopted a 2 year old German Shepherd rescue in May and started her out on Blue Wilderness before coming to the conclusion that I wanted to feed raw. First world problems indeed! But I am in total agreement that feeding your pets high quality food is really important. Her coat is gorgeous, she looks nothing like the scrawny dog we originally adopted.
I adopted two cats in October. I’m not feeding them raw, but I do have them on Origen. The Origen that you buy in this area is made from a Canadian source (I think all of their food is somewhat regional).
irisira
December 7th, 2011 at 23:01
I would love to feed Finnegan raw. It’s simply not in our budget right now. I’m hoping it will be in the future, because I really think that’s the way to go.
We alternate foods for Finnegan, mostly the high quality brands. Right now it’s a combo of Before Grain and Taste of the Wild. I’ve found that he gets bored and disinterested with his food if there’s not enough variety.
Roscoe (the cat) is currently on Before Grain, which he loves more than anything to date (and he did like Wellness Core and Innova Evo quite a lot!).
WrigsMac
December 8th, 2011 at 14:43
Your dog can get bored on a raw diet too if you don’t provide variety. My old cat was the same way too. I’ve only had my kittens a couple of months and they’re still loving the Origen but who knows how long it will last. I’ll have to keep those brands you mentioned in mind. I fed my old cat Wellness from time to time. Towards the end, her favorite was Dave’s (which I’ve only ever found at Benson’s). It’s not the best, but cats, unlike dogs, are far more picky and sometimes she preferred crap to high quality and no amount of arguing could convince her otherwise. Ha.
I have been raw feeding on my own but just this week I found a group out of Ballston Spa that buys raw in bulk and they get a serious discount. It’s going to cut my food costs in half, I can’t believe it. I found them via the AoA archives (I clicked on the dog tag!): http://alloveralbany.com/archive/2009/11/17/rrrawsome. I figure with the costs of the higher quality kibble, the prices I’ll be getting through the group will end up being about the same. Of course, you don’t necessarily want to start raw by buying in bulk, you’ve got to do some trial and error first to see how he takes to it. But if you ever can switch to raw, a group is totally the way to go.
Your Finnegan is so cute, he even LOOKS like a Finnegan. I want to scratch his floppy ears.