Puppy food

If you decide you want to try your pup on different puppy food for whatever the reason, what kind of food should you buy for your puppy?

Avoid canned puppy food as they are made up of mainly water, salt and sugar. Your pup does not need any salt or sugar so avoid the canned and the semi-moist puppy food. Plus soften food can also cause teeth problems down the line for your dog. Stick with a dried puppy food. To be more specific stick with a dried kibble food that has a meat protein source as one of its first two ingredients. Included in this kibble should be at least 28% of protein for your puppy to help they grow big and strong. Not only that but the kibble will help the puppy’s teeth. Puppies’ teeth are notorious for being sharper than adult teeth. Puppy kibble is designed for these teeth. You will notice that puppy kibble is a little smaller and sometimes harder than adult kibble. This is for your puppies’ teeth and to help his adult teeth come through.

How to swith your puppy to a new food

If you choose to switch your puppy food, do not switch suddenly, meaning do not give your pup the food it is used to one day and then a completely different puppy food the next day. This will wreak havoc on your puppy’s stomach. Not only that your pup might not take to the new food so kindly. Your best bet is to mix the food in slowly to get them use to the new puppy food. It can take up to a week to completely transition the pup from one food to the next but in the end it is worth it for your dog.

How often you need to feed your puppy

Any puppy under the age of six months should be fed at least three times a day. By the time they are six months, they should eat twice a day, and once they hit a year, they should eat only once a day. Of course that is all depending on the breed and the amount of activity your dog gets. A dog that gets a lot of activity and is a larger breed dog might benefit from being fed twice a day instead of once. It is not a good idea though to leave your puppies or your dog’s food out all day for them to eat whenever they may feel like it. This can lead to unwanted behavior down the line and obesity in some dogs. Since you are feeding three times a day, which means once in the morning, afternoon and night. This does mean that if you work full time, either yourself or someone you know and trust will have to come to feed your puppy its lunch and make sure they are taking out immediately. A puppy’s intestinal tract is still developing and they can not hold off on doing their business as long as adult dogs can. Make sure though you stick to a feeding schedule with your puppy.

Always limited the amounts of table scraps you give your pup in fact try not to give him any. Instead go for the puppy designed treats if you must give him something. By practicing good nutrition and diet right from the start you are creating an excellent blue print for your dog to follow through his life.

• Puppy nutrition from birth to 4 month old
  
  Your puppy nutrition is very important starting at his birth. Puppy nutrition in the first 24 hours consists of the colostrum.
• Dog food after 1 year old
  
  After your puppy reached 1 yaer old, you have to choose between dry dog food, semi moist dog food, or canned dog food. Learn what kind of food you should feed your dog