Best Puppy Food – 6 Considerations To Help You Get It Right – The Wrong Puppy Food Can Cause Problems
He or she is fun, playful, and mischievous, and hopefully you and your pup will enjoy many years to come together, which you can do by following a few simple steps early in your life together.
Few people realize the importance of starting a puppy on the right food, for better health and fewer complications in the dog’s later life, yet it’s so easy with just six main considerations.
First consideration: solid foods too soon.
If your new puppy has only had mother’s milk, then you should make a transition switch using a special puppy formula. These formulas are available at specialty pet food stores and also online.
The change from formula to solid food should be done gradually, introducing the puppy to the new food in small increments over a couple of weeks, until the formula is completely replaced with solid food.
2nd Consideration: Feed what has been fed.
It may be that your pup has already started on solid food, and if that’s the case, continue to feed him the same style and preferably the same brand of food. If you want to change the brand or type of food, she makes the change on several foods and in small amounts at a time.
If it doesn’t change slowly, your pup is likely to have an upset stomach, which could easily cause vomiting, diarrhea, or both. This will be very upsetting to the pup and could make him wary of the food bowl if he thinks he has unwanted results after eating.
Third consideration: Feeding “adults” food immediately, or too soon.
As they grow, puppies need a different formula in their food composition, which in most cases will be their first year. Yes, 12 months, and even longer for larger breeds, that time frame will be around 18 months or so. A general rule of thumb for defining a “large breed” is whether the dog’s adult weight will fall in the range of 50 lbs (23 kg) or more.
Some foods will rev up the “body building system” too quickly, causing the real danger of major joint and skeletal problems in later life, and that’s a common factor for dogs of all sizes.
Buy food that says it’s puppy-safe and look for the notation if it’s NOT large-breed, if that’s the category size for your puppy. Many puppy food manufacturers will specify whether or not they are suitable for large breeds on the label or on their website. If in doubt, call the manufacturer’s customer service department or even choose another product.
The quality of the ingredients is vital in this period of “formation” of the puppies. You need to make sure they get the right balance of food and vitamins to meet their nutritional needs.
Puppies should be fed 3-4 times a day for the first six months, if possible. Then the amount of food can be divided into one less meal, and then a few months later it can be reduced to two meals per day. Many people will then again reduce feeding to once a day, although as it is better in recent years, in a dog’s lifetime, to feed twice a day, perhaps this would be a preference to maintain throughout life.
Fourth Consideration: “Proof” of Food and Candies.
Many new owners are tempted to give a puppy a piece of food to see if he likes it, or the food is given as a “special treat.” This is too bad because puppies will chew anything and everything. A grape or a piece of chocolate, in addition to many other “human” foods, can have a dramatically bad effect on puppies (and adult dogs), some of which are fatal.
Puppy food is the only food that should be given to your puppy.
Fifth consideration: Variety is the spice of life.
Let your pup enjoy the different styles of food such as dry, canned, raw, etc. and two things will happen, you won’t be a picky eater and every meal will be an adventure for your pup! There is certainly nothing better than a twinkle in the eye and a flick of the tail to improve feeding time for the owner!
Changing brands and styles of food has the added benefit of preventing any vitamin or mineral “build-up” that may occur if only the same brand and style are a consistent source of food.
There is no better time to encourage acceptance of all feeding styles than during a puppy’s life. However, he remembers that when you change the food, do it in small steps, and that way you should get acceptance, not rejection.
Consideration 6: Do not impose your lifestyle food preferences.
His diet may be protein or carbohydrate-enriched or he may be vegetarian, but these feeding regimens should not be forced on your pup. Any preferences you may have should only be entered when the dog has reached adulthood, and only after consultation with your vet or, preferably, a canine nutritionist.
As stated above, this puppy period is very important in joint and skeletal development, as well as long-term health, so the best puppy food is one that provides all the necessary essentials.
Puppies are a delight and will bring endless hours of fun and excitement to you, your family, and those around you.
Your starting point is just six simple considerations when it comes to puppy food.
