Re; My 4 month old puppy

Question
Hi,

I have a 4 month old Shih-Tzu puppy. Just got her 3 weeks ago. I had 2 more. I love this breed of dog. My question is when is it the right time to spay my female puppy? Also I have my puppy on Dry Nutro Natural Choice Lamb & Rice Formula. She likes this food. The vet said to try Purina One Dry Food, she doesn't seem to like this as much as the other. I'm currently in Florida visiting and soon will be going back home to NYC. What would you recommend I feed her if I don't find the Dry Nutro Natural Choice food? When would be the right time to change from puppy food? It's been so long, as both of my doggies have past away. One a year ago to cancer and no chance or option to treat her, from one week to another. The other passed away 5 weeks ago to a heart attack. They were both going on 11 years old. I think to young to die. The one who recently passed at the age of 1 year old was prone to bladder stones. The vet gave her 3 operations and 2 fluses, and that's not why she died. What I'm saying is I treat my babies very special and in no way rich, but I wanted her to live.
I hope you can answer my questions.
Thank You

Answer

Hi Carmen,

I'm sorry for the loss of your two other dogs. The loss of a pet is always a very sad thing to go through. Even though they were on the young side of the breeds life expectancy, I'm sure they knew how much they were loved, and had very happy lives. I'm glad you were able to open up your heart and home to a new puppy. I'm sure she's nothing but pure delight.

The right time to spay a female dog is before the onset of her first heat cycle. Most dogs have their first heat somewhere between 7-8 months of age. Being 4 months old, it's safe to have your puppy spayed within the next month and a half, but you wouldn't want to put it off much longer since there's no way to predict when your puppy will begin her cycle. The American Medical Veterinary Association now advocates the spaying of female puppies from as early as 7 weeks, though waiting until the puppy is 5-6 months of age is very common. You may have to wait to get an appointment, so talk to your vet's office and make the appointment now, or to see what their schedule is like.

Two foods: Nutro Natural Choice Lamb & Rice Formula and Purina One Dry Food (both puppy diets I will assume), are pretty comparable as far as quality goes. If your puppy seems to prefer one more than another it's probably easier to go with the one she will eat. Since you asked about which food I'd recommend, I'll have to say neither the Nutro of the Purina. I'd be more inclined to go with:

Wellness Puppy Supermix 5
Wysong Growth
Eagle Pack puppy formula
Holistic Select puppy formula
Innova Puppy food
California Natural puppy Food
Healthwise puppy Food
Blue Buffalo Longevity for puppies

You can compare different brands of dog/puppy foods by the ingredients they contain here:

http://www.naturapet.com/tools/comparison.asp

After your dog is a year old, is when you would transition her to an adult dog food. Anytime you change your dog's diet, you should do so gradually over a period of 5-7 days. Changing a dog or puppy's diet too quickly can cause diarrhea or an upset stomach.

If you'd care to read more about how to select dog or puppy foods based on the ingredients they contain, go here:  http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=betterproducts


I hope I've been a help.
Best of luck!

Patti