Puppy Feeding
Specific dietary needs depending on size
As a general rule a puppy's diet must take account of:
- the diversity of sizes and growth rates,
- the dog's ability to digest his food.
The choice of food
To satisfy your dog's nutritional requirements, you can choose between several types of foods: home-made, or ready-to-use commercially manufactured petfoods which come in biscuits, or kibbles, (dry) or tins (wet).
Home-made food You can make your own food at home, using rice, meat and vegetables. The disadvantages are that it is expensive, time consuming, and especially the fact that it is difficult to produce a balanced mix containing the correct proportions of proteins, lipids, calcium and phosphorus and the recommended daily intakes of fibres, vitamins, and trace elements. If the diet does not contain sufficient quantities of these nutrients to meet your puppy's requirements,it can lead to severe nutritional dietary deficiencies.
Ready-to-use commercial petfoods
Manufactured foods are complete, balanced and contain all the nutrients that your puppy needs during his growth. They must also comply with similar food safety regulations as human food.
Dry food contains less than 14% water (from 8 to 10% for the more expensive dry foods). They are a complete balanced food providing all the nutrients that your dog needs (proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, minerals and vitamins).The quality of the raw materials and careful control of the manufacturing process result in highly digestible foods with great nutritional precision, needing no extra preparation at home, easy to measure out and with little or no waste.
Wet food contains an average water content of 80%. Once opened, it does not keep for long, and over a year costs at least twice as much as dry food.
The right way to feed your puppy- Give several small meals
- If he doesn’t eat it all at once, take the bowl away after a few minutes.
- If you want to give kibbles as treats, decrease the amount of food at meal times in proportion.
The dog is naturally a pack animal and needs to know his place in the pecking order. Therefore, you should feed your puppy after the rest of the household has eaten, to reinforce your dominant position within the household pack.
Don't leave food down if it is not eaten at meal times, as this can make the puppy difficult to control.
Don’t overfeed
Only give the amount recommended on the pack, and weigh your puppy once a week to make sure he is gaining weight at the right rate for his size and breed (for example, a large breed puppy should weight around 50-60% of its adult weight at six months old).
You should be able to feel the puppy's ribs through its skin, not a layer of fat. Don't give scraps, or sweet foods such as chocolate, which are nutritionally unsuitable and can lead to problems with skeletal development as well as obesity in later life.
Fresh water on tap
Your puppy must always have access to a bowl of drinking water. Change the water regularly, as puppies tend to play with it.
Weigh the puppy regularly
To be sure that your puppy is growing at the correct rate you should weigh him regularly. An easy way to do this is to weigh yourself first, and then again while holding the puppy. The difference is the puppy's weight.
Good manners
Teach your puppy that you can move his bowl or touch him during mealtimes, without him growling.
Small Sized Puppies
Short, fast growth period, so the puppy needs all the proteins, carbohydrates and fats required for skeletal and muscular growth in a short length of time.
Sensitive digestion: small dogs need a highly digestible food to prevent problems such as loose stools or diarrhoea which can affect their well-being and health. Always provide a special food for small dogs suited to their age. This will ensure a regular intestinal transit and a better assimilation of nutrients.
Small teeth:adapt the size and texture of the food to your puppy's small jaws and teeth. Some biscuits have been specially designed to suit their size and in addition are particularly tasty, to appeal to the sometimes fussy appetite of puppies, especially just after weaning.
Medium Sized Puppies
During growth a medium-sized puppy increases his birth weight by 40 to 60 times. During this period, he needs a high intake of energy and nutrients as well as balanced amounts of calcium and phosphorus for good bone mineralization and harmonious growth.
This is also the time when the digestive system is most sensitive. It is important to choose a very highly digestible food that will ensure a balanced intestinal flora and a regular intestinal transit.
Large sized Puppies
The weight of large puppies increases 70 to 90-fold from birth during a growth period lasting from 15 to 18 months. This long period means the puppy needs a controlled energy intake food with a moderate fat content to guarantee ossification of the skeleton without excessive weight gain.
This is also the time when the digestive system is most sensitive. It is important to choose a very highly digestible food that will ensure a balanced intestinal flora and a regular intestinal transit.
Giant Sized Puppies
It takes 18 to 24 months for the giant breed puppy to reach his adult weight, during which his birth weight is multiplied by 80 to 100 times. During this long period, weight gain must be controlled, in order to ensure steady growth. How the joints develop is also critical, because as adults, giant breed dogs' joints are under pressure.
Digestive Sensitivity: during growth, food must ensure an optimal digestive safety to help limit digestive troubles. If the food is poorly assimilated it can damage the giant puppy's development.
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