Puppy Feeding

Puppy feeding is an important part of physical and mental development of your puppy and getting it right means you are providing your puppy with all the essential vitamins & minerals needed for the development. These essential parts of the puppies diet need to be provided in the correct amounts as too much of a good thing can lead to serious problems.

 

Puppy feeding can be separated into 3 options

•  Dry Complete
• Tinned Meat (semi-moist)
• Homemade
   

   

 

As it is very difficult to control the correct balance of the diet, homemade puppy feeding is not recommended. It should not be attempted before professional advise has been obtained.

Semi-moist or tinned meat only provides part of the nutrition needed by a puppy and so a dry mixer food needs to be added to provide the rest of the balanced diet required. This option may be easier for your puppy to move onto after weaning because of the moist nature of the food. The number and size of meals needed will be given to you in the information on the packaging but has it has to be mixed it is not as easy to measure. It is made in different formulas to specialise in all ages of a dogs lifecycle so it is important to buy the correct product. Tinned meat does need to be discarded of if the puppy has not eaten it after 10-15 mins, so some can be wasted

Dry complete is a very good option as it is made to provide everything required by your puppy in one easy to manage food stuff. It is made of dry biscuit like pieces and is also good for keeping the puppies teeth clean. It lasts longer and can be brought in large quantities to reduce cost. Due to it being dry some puppies may find it hard to move onto straight after weaning, but it can be softened by adding water. As with tinned food you need to buy the food that is specially formulated for puppies to get all the nutrients in the correct balance.

Which puppy feeding method you choose is down to personal preference. It is important that you buy the best food you can afford as you do get what you pay for. Premium foods are better for the puppy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is also very important to always provide fresh drinking water for the puppy.

It may be a little overwhelming at first but if you buy the best you can afford and follow the manufacturers guidelines then you are pretty much there.