Like every other creature, the dog requires well-balanced nutrition to grow properly and keep being healthy once it is adult. At different stages of life, the dog’s nutritional demands vary substantially. Puppies need a lot more nutrient and energy intake per unit mass than grown dogs.
Nutritional deficiency at an early age always causes a chain of problems including growth retardation, noticeable weight loss, abnormalities in hair and skin condition, gastrointestinal disturbances, and impaired reproductive performance. Well-fed puppies are always funny, visually pleasant, socially active and constantly curious. A few fundamental rules of their feeding, that help grow puppies healthy and therefore happy, are described below.
Nutrition of puppies from 1 month
Surprisingly many people ask how to feed 1-month-old puppies. In general, at the age of one month puppies are not yet weaned, so the only correct answer here is that puppies should stay with their mother to keep being fed naturally, because an early separation can cause issues in both health and behaviour. If a puppy is abandoned or orphaned, then you have to utilize a canine milk replacer – this would be the best food for puppies of this age.
Make sure that you only use one specifically designed for puppies and never use cow’s milk since this can lead to diarrhoea. The weaning of puppies begins by six weeks and once your puppy has reached this age, you can start gradually introducing them to dry food. Mix dry food with a warm milk replacer and feed this liquid porridge over the next few weeks, progressively replacing milk with water and finally reducing its amount. By the age of two month a puppy should be able to completely digest dry food.
General principles
Puppies grow incredibly rapidly. During the second month of life a puppy can easily double its weight and then triple this number by the end of the sixth. This impressive growth obviously requires high-calorie and protein-rich ration to ensure the successful development of muscles and organs. Increased quantity of nutrients like well-known magnesium, zinc, calcium, iron, and vitamin D are crucial in the development of bones and teeth.
Usually, specially formulated for puppies foods are considered to be the ideal choice. This food is well processed and balanced; therefore, you do not need to bother with preparing food yourself and, at the same time, can always be sure that a puppy receives everything it needs.
Raw and fresh meat is preferable to feed puppies, but if you are not sure that meat is of good quality you may boil it. Raw meat, chopped into small pieces, hardly ever causes any troubles such as disordered stomach. Feeding puppies animal or chicken fat should be avoided, but adding a little vegetable oil to meat is acceptable – 0,5-3 teaspoons, depending on the size of a puppy. Vegetables for puppies should not be boiled. Instead, they are to be grated or mashed fresh and then mixed with pieces of meat.
A regular feeding routine is highly important for steady growth so you should permanently bear in mind when to feed the puppy. In general, puppies require feeding five times a day until they are three-month-old.
During this period you have to feed them, for example, at 7:00, 11:00, 14:00, 18:00 and 21:00.
Starting from the fourth month, the number of feedings is to be reduced to four. This rigid schedule requires you to be patient and disciplined, but this is what feeding the puppy is.
Notice, that puppies “by design” always ask for more than their stomach can actually store. It is their nature and you should always consider this while feeding. Never believe their sorrowful eyes. You risk overfeeding them.
Food to avoid
There are things that are very dangerous for puppies and cannot be fed even to adult dogs. Never give boiled bones and bones of birds, no matter boiled or not. They can damage the digestive tract and cause internal bleeding. Feeding raw eggs and fish can result in poisoning. Fat pork meat as well as cow’s milk are not welcomed by a puppy’s stomach and can cause diarrhoea.
