Many Choices Of Dog Foods, What Should I Feed My Puppy?
Many Choices Of Dog Foods, What Should I Feed My Puppy?
Your dog needs a well-balanced diet to stay fit and healthy as well as constant access to fresh, clean drinking water at all times.
How much your dog needs to eat will depend on things such as age, how active it is and it’s general health.
If your dog eats more food than necessary, it will become overweight and may suffer from many health complications.
A Good Diet For a Good Health:
Always ask your vet for advice on what, and how much, to feed your dog.
Dog food can be wet or dry and what is suitable will depend on your individual dog’s needs.
Meal times should always be supervised and always make sure plenty of clean, fresh drinking water is available, especially if you choose a dried food, as it can make your dog very thirsty.
Whatever prepared food you choose, always read the manufacturer’s instructions.
Once you’ve found a balanced diet which suits your dog, then stick to it, changing diets suddenly can lead to upset stomachs, unless advised otherwise by your vet, feed your dog at least once a day.
Ask your vet for advice if you need to change your dog’s diet for any reason (such as age, activity levels or health problems).
If your dog’s eating or drinking habits change, talk to your vet as your dog could be ill.
Be aware that most human meals don’t provide dogs with the nutrition they need and some foods, such as chocolate, onions, grapes and more that can be poisonous to dogs.
Weight
Watch:
There are a few simple regular checks you can make to help prevent your dog from becoming overweight.
Make sure you can see and feel the outline of your dog’s ribs without excess fat covering.
You should be able to see and feel your dog’s waist and it should be clearly visible when viewed from above.
Your dog’s belly should be tucked up when viewed from the side.
If your dog doesn’t pass all three checks, or if you are in any doubt about his/her weight, always talk to your vet.
What Should I Feed My Puppy/Dog?
Try choosing a PET STORE QUALITY FOOD made by a national or international dog food company (not a generic or local brand), and a form of food MADE FOR PUPPIES.
This should be fed until your puppy is between 10 and 18 months of age depending on the breed.
Make sure your dog’s diet is some what restricted in calcium and calories, following this diet has been shown to reduce some orthopedic problems in rapidly growing, large breed puppies.
Feeding dry, canned or semi-moist food is acceptable, each has advantages and disadvantages.
Dry food is the least expensive, yet the quality brands of dry food are just as nutritious as the canned diets and can be fed as the sole source of nutrition.
Semi-moist and canned diets are considerably more expensive than dry food, and are often more appealing to dogs’ taste but they are not more nutritious as they are high in sugar.
Additions of cooked green veggies (broccoli, leafy greens, green beans) or some clean (not fatty or bone filled) proteins to your dogs diet is ok in amounts up to 25% of their total fed amount, this will allow for some healthy whole foods and still maintain a good well balanced diet.
If you choose to give your puppy table food, be sure that at least 90% of their diet is good quality puppy food and that the table food be very low in fat.
Fatty foods are the biggest culprit in vomiting and diarrhea disorders in dogs that eat table food.
Dog food commercials can be misleading, most commercials promote dog food on one basis, TASTE. Most of the “gourmet” canned foods are marketed to appeal to owners who want the best for their dogs; however, they do not offer any nutritional advantage over a good quality dry food and are considerably more expensive.
If your dog eats a gourmet food for very long, it will probably not be happy with other foods, and if your pet needs a special diet later in life due to a health problem, it will be very hard for your dog to accept this diet change after getting used to the gourmet food.
Dangerous Foods For Your Pet:
We often think of our pets not as an animal, but as a person.
After all, they have personalities just like we do, likes and dislikes etc…, and just as their human counter-parts, pets will often consume things that are not so good for them.
Some people foods are not safe for your pet to eat, while we all probably know someone who has routinely fed their pet one or more of these unhealthy and possibly toxic foods with no apparent adverse affects yet vets agree that you should avoid feeding these foods to your pet.
Dangerous Foods:
Alcoholic beverages – Avocado – Chocolate (all forms of chocolate) – Coffee (all forms of coffee) – Fatty foods – Macadamia nuts – Moldy or spoiled foods – Onions, onion powder – Raisins and grapes – Salt – Yeast or any raw bread dough – Garlic – Products sweetened with xylitol (used to sweeten some sugar-free candies and gum).
Other Dangerous Substances to Pets:
Cleaning agents – Citronella candles – Compost piles – Fertilizers – Flea products – Outdoor plants and plants bulbs – Swimming pool treatment supplies – Pesticides – Batteries – Any choking or intestinal blockage hazard.
If you suspect your pet has ingested something that may be hazardous, or if your pet suddenly shows any change in behavior, appetite, or overall appearance, you should contact your veterinarian immediately.
How Often Should I Feed My Puppy?
The most popular feeding method and the one we recommend is called “meal feeding”, this means that the puppy is fed at specific times of the day.
A measured amount of food should be fed three times per day to puppies between 7 and 12 weeks of age, what is not eaten in 30 minutes should be taken away, however if the food is eaten within five minutes, the quantity is probably not sufficient and should be increased.
Puppies fed in this manner generally begin to cut out one of the meal times between three and four months of age. If a feeding is ignored for several days, it should be discontinued.
