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Feeding a Puppy, Hints & Tips!
Feeding a puppy isn’t quite as hard as you might think, however it is important to make sure you get it right. This is the stage in your new dog’s life where they need the right nutrition in order for them to grow up healthy and strong.
Providing the right food for your pup will ensure they are great on the inside as well as looking gorgeous on the outside. What your dog eats plays a major role in how good their skin and coat looks, how clean
their cute puppy teeth are whilst also
improving their digestive and immune systems.
So first thing you need to think about when feeding a puppy is, what exactly should you feed your new family member? Should you go with the food on the supermarket shelves, home cook for your pup or provide a premium puppy food? Visit our puppy kibble page to find out the advantages and disadvantages of these different options.
Once you have found the right food for your loving pup, you may be asking yourself…
How much should you be feeding a puppy?
All of the quality diets on the market have a feeding chart usually on the back of the packaging. This usually requires you to know your dog’s weight or age and will give you measurements as a guide to feeding your pup.
If your puppy is highly active and doesn’t seem to be putting on enough weight, sometimes you may have to increase the amount of puppy food from what is recommended. This can work the same if your puppy is a touch lazy and tends to put on weight easily, you may need to feed below the recommendations. Once again veterinary advice in this circumstance is always recommended.
How long does your puppy need to stay on a puppy specific diet?
 If you have a smaller breed with an adult weight under 55 pounds (25kg), they should usually remain on this until around 12 months of age.
If your new best friend is a larger breed, they can require puppy designed diets for up to 18 months of age or longer. This can also depend heavily on what your veterinarian recommends for your growing pup.
Once your puppy is old enough, it is best to remain on a premium diet aimed for your puppy’s age or size. These diets will help keep your dog’s skin, coat, teeth and joints in top condition compared with many lesser quality brands that may fall short of providing this nutrition.
How often should you be feeding a puppy?
If your puppy is between 8-12 weeks, they tend to need 3 to 4 feeds per day. This amount then reduces to 2 to 3 a day up until 6 months of age and finally reducing it down to twice daily. Morning and night feeding is best from this age and right throughout your dog’s life. This helps them maintain a healthy weight whilst providing them with enough energy throughout the day.
Knowing what you should be feeding a puppy is one thing though, what about the things you shouldn’t feed your lovable pup? To help you out we have developed a list of toxic foods for dogs. You may be surprised to see how bad some things really are to your adorable pooch.
Return from Feeding A Puppy to Suitable Puppies
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