Royal Canin Babydog Dry Food Review

There's just never a dull moment in my house.  We currently have 8 four-week old puppies here with their momma.  They came from the shelter about a week ago.  They are still nursing but the momma dog isn't really a great mom and won't allow them to nurse for much more than a couple of minutes at a time.  I wanted to make sure that they were getting enough nutrition so I started putting out a pan of softened kibble for them to eat.  I am using Royal Canin Babydog Dry Food. 

This puppy food is designed to be used during the weaning process up to the age of 8 weeks.  The kibble pieces are small, thin triangles that are suitable for very young pups.  According to the bag, Royal Canin Babydog Dry Food contains easy-to-digest protein and nutrients that may stimulate the development of a puppy's immune system.  This food comes in two versions: "mini" for dogs that will be under 20 pounds and "maxi" for dogs that will be between 55 and 100 pounds when full-grown.  The momma dog is about 30-40 pounds but we have no idea what the father was.  To make matters more difficult, puppies in the same litter can have different fathers so trying to estimate their adult size is a total crapshoot at this age.  I don't really know that it's necessary to get so specific with food at such a young age so I just grabbed the "mini" formula even though I'm 99% sure they are going to be over 20 pounds when mature.

I have been taking about two cups of this food and soaking it in warm water to soften it up a bit more for the puppies.  The bag gives feeding instructions for puppies between the ages of 5 and 8 weeks.  My crew is just 4 weeks old now and they're still getting their teeth so they aren't quite ready for dry kibble pieces.  When Babydog is softened, though, they happily dive into the bowl (both figuratively and literally) and eat their fill.  It's a relief to see them eating food already because I was really getting worried about the momma dog pushing the pups away and running away from them. 

Their stools range between yellow/watery and brown/solid.  I don't attribute the digestive issues to the Royal Canin Babydog Dry Food, though.  I've dewormed them twice and have found roundworms in their stools both times.  I also strongly suspect that they have coccidia which is infamous for causing sour-smelling diarrhea.  I'm going to have to get a stool sample to the vet to be examined but I'm 99% sure its coccidia.  These things aren't uncommon when you are dealing with shelter puppies.

I paid about $10 per 2-pound bag for this food.  It's definitely more expensive than Puppy Chow but it contains much better ingredients than the super-cheap, gross stuff.  I don't believe in feeding animals by-products or mystery "meat" products so I am happy to spend the extra money for a higher-quality food.  Royal Canin is sold in most pet supply shops including PetCo, PetSmart, and PetValu.  You also can order it online from many pet supply sites.

Overall, I have been very happy with Royal Canin Babydog Dry Food.  Our 4-week old puppies are happy to eat it which is extremely important since their momma doesn't let them nurse much.  I plan to continue with this formula until they are adopted out when they are 10 weeks old.