Mary Allen
The puppy and young dog phase is a very exciting, intense, and educational time for the dog. Although puppies sleep most of the day, they are very active during the waking phases and later in young dogs and want to discover the world with you. To do this, four-legged friends need an optimal diet with good energy suppliers. In this text, you can read what to look for when feeding a puppy and a young dog.
Puppies have special food requirements. They are in the phase where they develop and grow. The main growth phase of puppies and young dogs occurs until 6-8 months of age, depending on the dog’s breed and final weight. But even after this, the growth process is not yet complete but ends at the earliest at 10 months, and in large breeds only at an average of 18 months. At this stage, pay special attention to optimal nutrition for your puppy, so you can lay the foundation for his continued health. Because many diseases and irreparable harm to health are caused by feeding errors in puppyhood.
Diet While Growing
Puppies are breastfed at different times, depending on litter size and the milk production of the mother dog. From the end of the third week of life, puppies can begin to eat on their own. To support the female and cover the increased energy requirements of the puppies, supplemental feeding should be started at this point. You will be puppy accustomed to oatmeal and then to solid puppy food in small steps parallel to breast milk.
This additional feeding should be incremental and should be completed between the 6th and 8th weeks of age, that is, well before the puppy moves into the new home. To make it easier for the puppy to switch from tasty breast milk to a new diet, the mother dog’s milk production is gradually limited, giving her less energy through food.
Special Requirements for Energy and Nutrients
But nutrition also plays a decisive role in the development of a young dog after the suckling and rearing phase. Particular attention should be paid to the power supply required. As puppies are still growing strongly, they have an increased need for energy and nutrients. If there is insufficient supply, stunting and other growth disorders can result.
But you should also urgently avoid excessive energy supply. The excess energy will speed up your young dog’s growth, but his bones and joints are not yet able to cope with the increased weight. The result can be bone malformations and joint diseases that occur later in life.
Therefore, pay attention to the adapted energy supply and therefore to the moderate growth of your puppy. With the breed-specific growth curves, you can also easily compare your dog’s size and weight to the recommended values. Due to constant development, your dog’s energy and nutrient needs are constantly changing. This must be taken into account in order to maintain the health of the puppy.
Puppy Diet: Protein Source and Calcium / Phosphorus Ratio
In addition to having an adequate supply of energy, your dog also has an increased need for protein during the growing phase. Protein is needed by the body to build body tissues such as muscles, organs, and bones. Your dog food of choice should contain a protein source that is particularly digestible for the puppy and is high in essential amino acids. For example, muscle meat from poultry, beef, or pork has a good amino acid composition. Connective tissue-rich by-products such as cartilage, tendons, and intestines are difficult to digest.
Calcium supply is also very important for bone mineralization. It must be in the correct ratio with phosphorus consumption (optimal Ca / P ratio is from 1.2: 1 to 1.5: 1). If a puppy does not get enough of these two nutrients from its diet, its bones may not be strong enough and its skeleton will not develop optimally.
Each Puppy Has an Individual Need
The energy and nutritional requirements of puppies and young dogs depend on the breed and other individual factors. There are also large differences between the individual developmental phases during growth. For this reason, single puppy food for all dogs may not optimally meet their needs. In particular, an oversupply is to be expected. Therefore, general information about the optimal composition of the diet cannot be given.
To give your young dog the best possible support for its development, it needs a diet that provides it with protein, fat, and carbohydrates for energy, as well as the minerals and trace elements it needs. With the help of a professional ration calculation, you can accurately determine its needs and create an individual diet for your puppy. The diet can be determined either by a veterinarian or by a pet food manufacturer who specializes in individual feeding dogs.