Food

Q: recently purchased a male maltese from puppy Ave. We were told to feed chicken breast , cesar puppy food for two weeks. And for every 2-4 hours. after 2 weeks, how often should we feed him and how do we transition into dry food? Should we still feed him the others? Also. someone told us that we should use a grain free food to help with tear stains. We were given royal canin puppy food which I understand has grain.I was also told that giving him distilled water and using the angel eyes product in his food will help. What are your thoughts on this

A: YOU CAN CERTAINLY TRANSITION HIM TO DRY FOOD AT ANY TIME NOW. JUST BE SURE THAT YOU MAKE THE CHANGE GRADUALLY OVER 5-7 DAYS. THERE SEEMS TO BE A TRENDY MOVE TOWARD "GRAIN FREE" FOOD OVER THE LAST COUPLE YEARS. PERSONALLY I DO NOT THINK IT IS A BIG DEAL EXCEPT POSSIBLY FOR THOSE ADULT DOGS WITH ALLERGY TO A GRAIN. CERTAINLY CANINES, ALTHOUGH THEY HISTORICALLY INGEST A LOT OF MEAT THEY NEVER REALLY HAVE BEEN TRUE CARNIVORES BUT RATHER OMNIVORES. SO FAR AS THE TEAR STAIN PROBLEM IT IS ASSOCIATED WITH GENETIC PREDISPOSITION RELATED TO THE pH OR ACID LEVEL IN THE TEAR. I DON'T FEEL THAT GRAIN OR MEAT DIET IS A FACTOR. USING DISTILLED WATER WILL NOT HAVE ANY EFFECT. ANGEL EYES CONTAINS A LOW LEVEL OF THE ANTIBIOTIC TYLAN WHICH ACTUALLY DOES CHANGE THE pH OF THE TEAR AND CAN BE QUITE EFFECTIVE. IF YOUR PUPPY ALREADY HAS TEAR STAIN IT CAN TAKE A COUPLE MONTHS OF CONTINUOUS USE BEFORE YOU SEE THE BENEFIT.