Mary Allen
The time has finally come and the new puppy is moving in. What an exciting and life-changing moment, which you certainly looked forward to with anticipation but also with fear and perhaps even with a little skepticism. No wonder, because getting a dog should always be well thought out and, if you are lucky, will affect many years of your life.
Now, of course, completely new tasks are waiting for you and your family. In addition to the upbringing, the many wonderful hours of cuddling, and the great adventures, the new family member must of course also be looked after.
Especially when they are still small, they are dependent on special puppy food. In this article, you will find out what is important when it comes to feeding your new puppy and what you should urgently consider when choosing the food, along with other important nutritional tips.
Rely on quality right from the start
The use of the right puppy food is particularly important and supports the healthy development of the animals. Thus, it provides the prerequisites for good growth of the animals, but at the same time lays the foundation for the health of your pet, which continues into late life.
Since young dogs are very susceptible to various diseases and deficiency symptoms during their growth, it is important to always access the right food, which is also convincing in terms of quality.
Since the dogs not only grow very quickly but of course also gain weight at the same time, the puppy food should contain a lot of energy as well as proteins and minerals. Even if the animals are still being cared for and consuming their mother’s milk, you as the breeder should feed them special puppy food in order to get the animals used to this diet as quickly as possible and to prevent any deficiency symptoms.
Do not change the food directly
If you have gotten a dog, it is advisable to ask the breeder about the current food. If you switch directly to another food, it can quickly happen that your dog gets diarrhea and does not tolerate the food. If you have already decided on food, change the old food very slowly to the new food. So you can be sure not to overwhelm the dog.
If you don’t yet know which food to choose, you are of course not alone. Because the first question from dog owners who get their first dog is, of course, which diet is best for the puppy.
But what kind of food should it be? You have the choice between wet food, dry food, or the self-prepared food.
However, if you now ask experts for their opinion, you will get numerous, because here the spirits are clearly divided. Of course, this also means that you have to know what is best for your dog. For this reason, many dog owners opt for a combination of different types of food. But that only after the dog has grown up.
At the beginning you should decide on a diet variant. This is mainly due to the fact that your puppy’s digestive system is still very sensitive.
Too much variety in the diet can cause you to overload the dog. Many animals react to this with diarrhea, which in the worst case must be treated.
In addition, it can happen that some animals become very fussy when it comes to feeding. So many dogs decide to only eat what they like best and leave the other food behind. So he decides for himself what he eats and will continue to demand variety in the future.
This applies above all to the so-called boorish period. This is puberty, so to speak, when the young animals test their limits and are guaranteed to drive one or the other dog owner crazy. So it can quickly happen that your dog refuses food during this time, which requires a lot of sensitivity from you. In the case of refusal, you as the dog owner must now determine whether he is really just speculating on getting something better or whether there are other reasons that cause a food refusal. There can also be health reasons as well as a possible heat in bitches or in males a lady in heat in the neighborhood.
So choose either the dry food for puppies or a wet food variant. But give this until your darling is grown up.
If you would like to prepare the food yourself, you should be very familiar with this area, so that it is definitely not recommended for the layman. Especially not when it’s a puppy. So it is very difficult to put together and optimally combine all the nutrients that the puppy depends on by oneself. However, the ready-made products already contain all the important vitamins as well as the numerous nutrients and minerals that the dog depends on, so that you no longer have to worry about this. Here you only have to pay attention to the healthy ingredients and choose a feed that is really high quality and has the highest possible meat content.
Tips at a glance:
- choose either dry food or wet food;
- only use special puppy food;
- do not feed the animals home-cooked food;
- be sparing with treats;
- don’t let your loved one wrap you around your finger;
- reach for high-quality feed without sugar.
Important: The calcium-phosphorus ratio in puppy food
If you have already informed yourself about the right puppy food in the past, you are guaranteed to have stumbled across the calcium-phosphorus ratio. This is different for puppy food than for adult dogs. When buying future puppy food, it is absolutely important that the calcium content is covered. If the calcium content in the feed is too high, adult dogs will be excreted in the feces.
However, this protection does not work in growing puppies. If the feed contains too much calcium, this calcium oversupply can unfortunately lead to malformations in the skeleton. Of course, this also means that this can also cause problems for the dog later in life.
Various reasons for an excess of calcium:
- Using the wrong feed. For example, when you give adult food to your puppy
- You use additional preparations, although you use a complete feed. That
- However, complete feed ensures that your dog gets everything it needs.
- The feeding of bones. Feeding bones, which are very rich in calcium, can also lead to an oversupply.
- The feeding of extra meat. On meat it contains a lot of phosphorus and shifts the calcium-phosphorus ratio of a complete feed ration, which of course in turn would result in developmental disorders
The differences between puppy food and adult dog food
Inexperienced dog owners in particular often wonder what the difference is between adult dog food and puppy food. Many do not differentiate here and do not take the needs of the puppies seriously.
So it’s not uncommon for new dog owners to reach for the food for adult dogs and think that it’s not that bad. Especially if the puppy was brought to an adult dog as a second dog.
However, this is a mistake that the dog could pay for with serious health restrictions.
As mentioned above, the nutrients that dogs depend on during the growth phase differ from the needs of adult dogs. For this reason, a suitable calcium-phosphorus ratio is very important and should under no circumstances be underestimated. Of course, the products for the adult dog are not designed for growth, as is the case with puppy food. Puppy food ensures that the animal’s skeleton is properly cared for from the start. This supports its growth so that joint problems don’t stand a chance. For example, glucosaminoglycan, which is extracted from the New Zealand green-lipped mussel and is found in many puppy foods, can prevent such problems.
Of course, after your dog is an adult, you can put the puppy food aside and switch to a regular dog food. However, be aware that the growth phase varies greatly from dog breed to dog breed. Larger dog breeds grow longer than small dog breeds. The final weight of the dog plays an important role. However, make sure that you do not change the dog food completely overnight, but change it slowly. In plain language, this means that the new food must be mixed with the old food so that your dog slowly gets used to his new diet.
How much food can the puppy eat?
In addition to the question of which food is right for your puppy, the amount of food also plays an important role. The amount of food controls the growth of your pet. Unfortunately, however, it is still the case that even today numerous so-called dog specialists, such as breeders, have experience of dog age or even doctors advise switching to adult food. This should be done so that the puppy does not grow too quickly and that no bone problems occur. However, this thesis is false and has been refuted since the late 1980s. This excess of energy alone would make the dog grow far too quickly. In plain language, this means that the dog takes in more food or, of course, more calories than it actually needs.
The amount and its energy content determine the growth of the animals. The size of the dog is determined genetically by its parents alone. However, how quickly this size is reached is influenced by the feed rations or the amount of feed consumed. This also means that your darling will reach this size even with moderate feeding. Due to the fact that puppies and young dogs have to form a lot of new tissue during their main growth, which takes place in the first 6-8 months. It is important that the right puppy food is chosen. Because this supplies the energy required for this.
Of course, consistent growth without starving your dog would be the perfect way to go. Here in Germany, puppy food with a good fat and protein content is common, but has a lower energy content, so more of it has to be fed to meet the dog’s needs. Of course, it is also possible that you use food with a high protein and fat content so that the quantity can be limited.
If you give your dog too much food, or if you give your dog free food and he can always help himself, he will consume more energy than he needs. As a result, the weight is reached faster than if you feed him in balanced rations. Nevertheless, fat deposits are rarely visible, because the puppies naturally grow taller than wide. Unfortunately, with rapid growth, problems can arise with an immature skeletal system. So it is a fact that your pet’s bones and organs may not mature as is important for your dog’s size. Of course, these effects are very bad, especially for the large dog breeds.
Also, if the puppy has grown too quickly due to overfeeding, you should never transition to adult food too quickly. Be sure to reduce feeding amounts now while he is still growing.
A measuring cup is a perfect solution for dosing the feed optimally. These are available from various manufacturer brands directly for the selected feed or can be ordered in special online shops. But the kitchen scales are also a popular tool to divide up the rations and make sure that the puppies are not getting too much or too little food. Ultimately, how much puppy food your new family member needs depends on the breed. The bigger the dog eventually gets, the more food it needs per day. But the puppy’s activity also plays an important role. Here, however, there is dosage information from the various manufacturers, which were primarily determined on the basis of the final weight of the animals.
Controlled growth with high-quality food is particularly important for large dog breeds, such as the Newfoundland dog or the Bernese Mountain Dog. However, if you feed too large amounts of food, it will quickly lead to an oversupply of energy. This in turn means that the skeleton grows very quickly and the calcium deposits cannot follow the process so quickly. Unfortunately, in these cases, injuries to the articular cartilage and growth zones are not uncommon.
The different dog sizes and the right feeding
When choosing the right dog food, not only the manufacturer’s brand is very important. You should also consider the breed of dog and its associated weight and final size. As already mentioned, you have to keep an eye on the amount of food with medium and especially larger dog breeds. Because it happened so quickly and the much too high weight weighs on the not yet finished and still quite an unstable skeleton, which will not be the case with the small dog breeds. Nevertheless, you should not feed the small dogs indiscriminately, but give them special puppy food in small rations. In addition, it should be noted that large dog breeds grow much longer. It can even take up to 20 months, while the little puppies can be fully grown after six to eight months. In the case of medium-sized breeds, on the other hand, which reach an average weight of 14-20 kilos, the growth phase is around 12 months.
When should puppies start eating dry food?
Of course, the little puppies cannot be completely switched to dry food overnight. It should also be noted that the newly born dogs really get everything they need to start life through their mother’s milk. The first dry food should only be made available from the fourth week of life. You can also enrich this with special puppy milk so that the puppies accept the food and tolerate it better.
The change in diet to dry puppy food should be completed by around seven to eight weeks. At this point, the mother begins to separate from her children. At this time, new families are often sought for small dogs. However, mediation and thus separation from the mother before the eighth week is not recommended. In fact, it is best not to let the little ones out until the tenth week, and some breeders even choose to keep the animals with them until the twelfth week.
Of course, the breeders of the dogs are responsible for feeding the puppies until they are handed over to the new owner. In the best case, this responsibility also includes informing the new owner of the current product. Most breeders even give the new owner the first packet of food so that the animals don’t have to change immediately. Of course, the baby dog should be completely switched to dry food when it leaves mom.
An overview:
- Beginning of the introduction of dry food from the fourth week of life;
- Enrich the first feedings with special puppy milk;
- Complete the change in diet by the 8th week;
- A feed package handed over to the new owner avoids stress and intolerance.
Find the perfect feeding rhythm
In addition to choosing the right food and the optimal dosage of the different rations, the feeding rhythm is also very important and should therefore not be underestimated. As soon as the animals stop getting breast milk, the recommended amount of food should be divided into several meals a day. As a result, the animals do not overeat and do not get too much at once or are very hungry in the evening because they ate everything in the morning. Experts advise giving three to four meals a day. Afterward, meals can be reduced to two or three. Adult dogs, on the other hand, should be fed twice a day.
Important to know: Fixed feeding times support healthy digestion of the animals and should therefore be observed.
Puppy nutrition – should there be variety?
In contrast to us humans, the four-legged friends do not necessarily need a varied diet and tastes that change every day. If you feed too much in a jumble, it can also quickly happen that you irritate your pet’s digestion and also breed a very demanding and fussy eater.
Avoid stomach torsion
In the case of animals with a fairly deep chest, in particular, incorrect feeding can cause stomach upsets, which in the worst case can lead to the death of the animals. Here are some tips on how to avoid them:
- Make sure that the dog does not drink too much after eating;
- Never feed just before playing or before going for a walk;
- By adhering to the feeding times, your pet’s digestive system can adjust to the upcoming food intake;
- Include rest periods before and after feeding;
- Distribute the amount of food over several meals a day (three to four meals for young dogs and two meals for adult animals);
- Make sure your dog doesn’t eat too quickly.
Diet change in puppies
When the puppies move to their new home, this new situation is pure stress for your darling. If you have already decided on a food before purchasing your dog, please continue to give it the puppy food you are used to for the first few days, so as not to further stress the dog.
You should give this until your new family member has completely settled in. On average, the adjustment period is about two weeks. After your sweetheart has arrived properly, you can start with the changeover to the new food. However, make sure that you plan a longer conversion phase and do not take too radical a step. In plain language, this means that the old type of feed is gradually being replaced by the new one. So it is recommended that the old food is replaced by a maximum of a quarter of the new food in the first two days.
The proportion is now increased further and further until a complete meal is achieved. Please note that the intestinal flora of dogs is very sensitive.
For this reason the dietary changes should actually be avoided as if fed your quality food it would only lead to unnecessary stress and strain.
Puppies should never eat this
Always make sure that the complete food you choose for your puppy is enriched with all the important nutrients, minerals and proteins that the animal needs. For this reason, you do not have to give your puppy any additional food. You are not doing your darling any favors by doing so. On the contrary, because everything that you feed to the normal food weighs down the digestive system of your four-legged friend. In addition, you might spoil your dog too much so that he no longer eats the normal puppy food.
Of course, there are also things that your puppy should definitely not eat. For example, the intestine cannot completely break down a high content of milk sugar or lactose. If he gets too much of it, affected animals can react with diarrhea, which can of course also be dangerous in puppyhood. For this reason, dairy products are off-limits for your pup.
You’ve probably heard that chocolate is poison for dogs. This is due to the ingredient theobromine. This affects the central nervous system of the animals and, in the worst case, can even lead to the death of the dogs. Of course, this also applies to foods containing cocoa.
Of course it’s always tempting to feed the animals from the table when the little ones give you that famous dog look. However, feeding from the table is accompanied with many problems. In this case, it is recommended to avoid these problems from the beginning and to avoid these types of treats.
Even if you mean well, of course, you can harm the dog. The additional feeding of yogurt, meat, or bones can cause the calcium-phosphorus ratio to become unbalanced and lead to health problems again.
- No chocolate or products containing cocoa, these are pure poison;
- No Yoghurt, Meat, or Bones – Lead to an imbalance in the calcium-to-phosphorus ratio;
- No feeding from the table;
- Feeding alone is sufficient.
How do you find the perfect puppy food?
Many dog owners choose dry food when choosing the right puppy food. This offers the dog many different advantages. Due to the firm consistency, the dental plaque is rubbed off when chewing, so that the dental health of your dog is promoted. However, when choosing the right food, you should always make sure that this product does not contain any sugar. Furthermore, the list of ingredients should not contain any coloring, flavoring, or preservatives.
Instead of these, high-quality and natural ingredients are the right choice. In addition, wheat, for example, is not well tolerated by dogs and should therefore not be included in the feed if possible. Furthermore, there are always products with milk ingredients, which contain lactose and can therefore lead to diarrhea. On the other hand, a high proportion of meat is of particularly good quality and should always make up the majority of the feed. In addition, of course, the dosage of dry food for puppies is much easier than with the wet food variants.
If your darling suffers from dental or chewing problems, you can soak the dry puppy food in lukewarm water. This also ensures that the dog drinks enough liquid. On top of that, dry food is easier to store and has a longer shelf life.
Conclusion
Of course, every dog has very individual requirements for its dog food and nutrition. Of course, this not only applies to adult animals, but also to small puppies. So pay attention to an optimal ratio of fats, carbohydrates as well as vitamins, minerals, trace elements, and proteins.
By using high-quality complete food for growing puppies, you ensure that nothing stands in the way of a healthy life.
Thanks to the optimum nutrients in the feed, you do not need to feed any additional products and ensure that both the animals’ skeleton and slow growth are taken into account.
With the right puppy food as well as the optimal dosage and fixed feeding times, you can prevent later illnesses and lay the foundation for a long and healthy dog life.