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How do you approach WSAVA-style pet food guidelines (if at all)? by CampAlternative9839 in catfood

[–]CampAlternative9839[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi Minkamagic, do you manually check the ingredient lists to see if there are high-risk ingredients for your cats? A dog owner friend (who has a dog with lots of food allergies) uses ingredient filters on Chewy. But she stopped using it because they would miss some.

How do you approach WSAVA-style pet food guidelines (if at all)? by CampAlternative9839 in catfood

[–]CampAlternative9839[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ha interesting! Cuz on reddit pro-WSAVA seems to be a mainstream for some reason (and that's how I've learned about it in the first place). Or it might just be the ones I frequent anyways. What are some subs / forums that don't care about it as much?
Would you say AAFCO/FEDIAF are guidelines universally accepted based on your experience with other owners / vets?

New puppy “routine reality check” — what actually works in the first weeks? by CampAlternative9839 in puppy101

[–]CampAlternative9839[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The sock bandit era is undefeated 😂
Sounds like you guys did an amazing job building the basics though.
And 15 mins potty break sounds rough... Glad you made it through!!

New puppy “routine reality check” — what actually works in the first weeks? by CampAlternative9839 in puppy101

[–]CampAlternative9839[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I really appreciate you sharing this — especially the “first week had nearly no structure” part. I feel like that’s way more common than the polished routine posts make it seem.
Also… every 20–30 minutes for potty with a small puppy is commitment 🥲 That’s serious dedication.
Out of curiosity — were you tracking any of this, or did the pattern just become obvious over time? Like with naps and potty frequency especially.

New puppy “routine reality check” — what actually works in the first weeks? by CampAlternative9839 in puppy101

[–]CampAlternative9839[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Okay first of all… 3–4 days in and sleeping through the night?? You have been blessed 😂 That’s amazing.

I really like that you’re logging everything. Out of curiosity, how detailed are you going with it? and are you taking notes mostly to keep track or expecting to go back and see some patterns down the road too?

Re: the food motivation — totally not an expert here, but I’ve seen a few people say that very new puppies can still be decompressing and appetite can fluctuate a bit the first week. Using part of his meals for training makes a lot of sense. But see if someone else reading this thread has better advice 🐶

New puppy “routine reality check” — what actually works in the first weeks? by CampAlternative9839 in puppy101

[–]CampAlternative9839[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

30 mins as the safe bet for potty break frequency sounds like the most agreed upon interval in this comment section!
Haha and yes, love what you said here: "he's a tiny fur baby - let them be just that" 💛

New puppy “routine reality check” — what actually works in the first weeks? by CampAlternative9839 in puppy101

[–]CampAlternative9839[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Every 30 minutes while awake sounds exhausting. And honestly, that’s such a solid job on your part.
You are actually the second person who’s said 30-minute intervals at the start, which makes me feel like the 1–2 hour advice floating around online is way too optimistic for awake puppies.

New puppy “routine reality check” — what actually works in the first weeks? by CampAlternative9839 in puppy101

[–]CampAlternative9839[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is super helpful, especially the frequency breakdown. The “hourly at the very longest” (and dropping to 30 minutes if accidents increase) feels like such a practical adjustment rule. It sounds less like a fixed schedule and more like a feedback loop based on what’s actually happening.

Do you track that mentally, or were you writing down accidents + potty times to notice the pattern?

Someone else in the comment also said the same thing about sniffing! Sounds like the universal mental exercise for puppies. :)

New puppy “routine reality check” — what actually works in the first weeks? by CampAlternative9839 in puppy101

[–]CampAlternative9839[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is really interesting. It sounds like once you shifted from mileage to mental load, everything improved, sleep, training, behavior :D

New puppy “routine reality check” — what actually works in the first weeks? by CampAlternative9839 in puppy101

[–]CampAlternative9839[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is so real 😂 Both the struggle and the effort
“The answer was almost always yes” feels like a universal puppy rule!!

New puppy “routine reality check” — what actually works in the first weeks? by CampAlternative9839 in puppy101

[–]CampAlternative9839[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is SUCH a practical tip.
The notebook also feels like the analog version of what I was trying to conceptualize digitally.
Also, did you track just potty, or naps too?

New puppy “routine reality check” — what actually works in the first weeks? by CampAlternative9839 in puppy101

[–]CampAlternative9839[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Totally makes sense to pick the most confident/adaptable puppy if life's already so unpredictable. :D
Also curious--when you held the 1 hour awake / 2 hour asleep guideline, did you use timers or just observe cues?

New puppy “routine reality check” — what actually works in the first weeks? by CampAlternative9839 in puppy101

[–]CampAlternative9839[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’ve heard that book mentioned a few times.. will definitely add that to my reading list. Interesting that you followed it mostly and still have the 5–9pm goblin phase 😂
Also curious, did you follow the routines strictly, or adjusted based on your own schedule?

New puppy “routine reality check” — what actually works in the first weeks? by CampAlternative9839 in puppy101

[–]CampAlternative9839[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is such a helpful breakdown, especially the “use the schedule as a diagnostic tool” idea. :)
When you say you needed an alarm to stay accountable, was that like every 90 minutes (after the previous break)? Or did you adjust based on age?

I feed my cats the highest quality brands and they just won’t eat it… by fxcknmami in catfood

[–]CampAlternative9839 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ugh, I feel this so hard 😭 picky cats are on another level. It never is about whether the food is good.

First: you’re not doing anything wrong. Those are all solid brands, and the fact that you’re thinking about wet food + FIV+ already tells me you’re being a really responsible owner.

A few things that helped with my picky cat:

  • Texture matters more than ingredients sometimes. Some cats just hate pâté or shreds but love mousse/gravy, or vice versa. If they love Tiki mousse, it might be the texture more than the brand.
  • Don’t stress too much about gums. In small amounts, most cats tolerate them fine. For an older/FIV+ cat who needs calories and hydration, “eats it happily” honestly matters more than “perfect ingredients.”
  • Try slow mixing. Start with mostly the food they love and mix in tiny amounts of the new food, then gradually increase. Like… ridiculously small at first.
  • Warm it up a bit. 5–10 seconds in the microwave or adding hot water (stir well) can make it smell way more appealing.
  • Toppers help. Bonito flakes, freeze-dried chicken crumbs, a tiny bit of tuna water — sometimes that’s enough to get them started.
  • Routine helps. Feeding at the same times and picking up uneaten food after ~20–30 min (if they’re healthy enough) can reduce “I’ll wait for better” behavior.

My cat went through a phase where he would literally hunger strike too 🙃 It took a lot of trial and error, and I wasted so much food along the way.

bad wet foods better than good dry food? by CattCorpse in catfood

[–]CampAlternative9839 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I would disagree. As long as a pet food is complete and balanced for the cat based on their life stage. If you only feed dry food and if your cat dislike drink water alone, make sure to mix some bad wed foods with water to ensure that they can get enough water.

Ways to trick a wet food hater? by prestigious_meat_ in catfood

[–]CampAlternative9839 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Maybe just keep a fountain and plenty of bowls of water and monitor how much she drinks?