Feeding Your Puppy: What Kind Of Food Should You Use?

 Puppyhood is a phase when growth and development is very rapid. The puppy needs a lot of important nutrients to meet the demanding nutritional requirements of the puppy. Feeding your puppy with food that contains a special formula is very important. These foods contain the right amount of protein, calcium and phosphorus.  It is therefore important that your puppy only receive special puppy food for its first year of life.

Introduction of New Puppy Food

Feeding your puppy will require a lot of care. You have to slowly introduce the food variety to your pup instead of instantly changing it. This is advisable to prevent intestinal or stomach upset which may lead to lack of appetite, loose stools, constipation and vomiting. Upon the arrival of your pet, make sure that you continue feeding him with the same type and brand of food that his breeder or previous owner used to give him. Then you can slowly introduce a new formula, based on what the breeder or vet instructed you. The introduction of new food should be done for 7-10 days.  Mix the old food with the new food that you want him to get used to. For example, on the first day, the mixture should contain at least 75% of the old food and 25% of the new food. Do this for a day or two and then proceed to 50:50 ratio. Afterwhich, slowly change it to 75% new food and only 25% of the new food. Once your puppy has gotten used to this without exhibiting any side effects mentioned above you can start giving him 100% of the new food. 

Types of Puppy Food

There are three types of puppy food. First is the dry kibble, then moist (canned) and the semi-moist (sealed packages). All of the food mentioned are commercially produced and are readily available in your local pet or online stores. However, between the three, dry kibble is highly recommended because it only contains 9-11% of water and it contains the same nutritional value as the other brands. Moist or canned food, on the other hand, contains as much as 83% of water and has higher fat content.  Moist food contains as much as 55% of water and has a high salt and sugar content. These two puppy foods are more expensive and contain substances that your puppy  doesn’t need.

Reading the label at the back of your dog food is not that much of a help because it will not tell you the entire story. You won’t know other vital information, such as digestibility percentage and the likes. It is, however, encouraged that you visit and talk with your vet about the best food to give your puppy.

Can I Give Cow’s Milk?

Cow’s milk is not advisable because it contains sugar lactose. Lactose is fine but the problem is puppies don’t have the enzymes that are responsible for the digestion of the said sugar.  Feeding puppies with cow’s milk often results in loose stools or diarrhea.

Feeding Schedule

Feeding your puppy should happen three times a day. After 6 months, you may feed him at least twice a day. Never overfeed your puppy because you don’t want them to gain unnecessary weight that is detrimental to their health. Remember not to leave his food out, doing this will make your puppy eat anytime he wants.  During feeding time make sure that you are there to supervise him or her to make sure that he has consumed the desirable amount of food and at the same time so you can set his entire body on a set schedule. Don’t play with him after each meal. Give him enough time to rest to prevent intestinal upset.

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