We will send you home with your 1st small bag of Life's Abundance dog food when you come to welcome your puppy.

Food and Water It is important to keep your pup on the same food for awhile. Puppies' little bodies can be stressed when there are too many changes at once. If you can order Life's Abundance for your puppy... that would be best. We do send the 1st small bag for your puppy, so if you can't feed Life's Abundance, then you can follow the food transitioning schedule (using a high quality food!) located below, on the bag, or in your puppy folder.

It is best to use bottled spring water for your puppy to drink in the first 2-3 weeks (Unless you have reverse osmosis filtered water, since that is what your pup is used to here) and then transition to your water. The reason we suggest this is because they are not used to the chlorine used in city water, and the chlorine isn't very good for your puppy, or even your adult Lab.

Again, the more that you can keep the same for your pup for several days - several weeks, the easier it will be on your puppy's body.

The most important thing is to be sure your pup is drinking, and to make sure your pup's stools stay fairly firm. You don't want pup to stress and become dehydrated. This is generally not an issue, but we want you to know what to watch for, because he/she is a very small puppy, and can have issues.

If you watch your pup carefully, and you are unsure or concerned, please call us, and we will help you with our suggestions. We have fresh water accessible and available for your pup all of the time, as well as giving them water in their food at mealtimes.

Food Transitioning Even if the label looks similar ingredients are probably really different between the diets, so switching the animals slowly between the two diets, taking 7-10 days to make the switch, would be the way to prevent transitional problems.

Start with a 25% new, 75% old food ratio. Feed that for several days, and move up to a 50:50 mix if the stools are normal, and no other problems noted. Hold for several days, as before, and move to a 75:25 mix.

When should I switch foods? If for some reason you do not choose to use Life's Abundance, you can choose another food, but definitely choose to use a high quality food! Research brands that have no recalls attached to them. We have found that dogs do respond differently to different foods. Make sure that you use a high quality food, which is actually more economical, because you will feed a lesser amount, and get great nutrition, instead of great amounts of filler. Watch their stools, feel their sides, and watch their coat. Be sure to transition when switching foods, so they don't get stressed.