Proper Puppy Feeding
Proper puppy feeding is vital, if you want your pup to develop into a healthy adult dog. Puppies develop and grow very rapidly in their first year of life, and they need to be fed a quality puppy food for that full year.
Adult dogs don’t require as much protein, as a rule. Most dog food makers will have a special puppy formula that will offer your puppy all the special nutrition he needs.
When you being your puppy home, leave him on the same food he got at his old home for a few days, and then gradually switch him over to the feed you have selected for him. This is a vital part of puppy feeding, because you may upset your pup’s system if you switch foods all of a sudden.
If your dog doesn’t like the brand you selected for him, gradually switch to another until you find one that he likes. All the vitamins and minerals in dog food aren’t helping your puppy if he won’t eat the food.
If your puppy gets sick with the new food, slow the rate at which you are switching him, or gradually switch to a different type, until you find one that agrees with his system.
There are three main types of puppy food you can buy: dry food, moist food, in plastic packages, and canned food. Most of the trainers you will speak with recommend dry food, as soon as your pup is old enough to eat it. Puppy feeding of younger dogs who don’t have their adult teeth yet should be in the softer forms.
Canned foods usually have a high fat content, and may be as much as eighty percent added water! That means you’re paying a lot of money for water, since cans can run from sixty cents to well over a dollar per can.
The moist feeds, that usually come in sealed plastic packaging, have roughly fifty-five percent water, and they also include a lot of sugar and salt, as preservatives. This is also an expensive manner of puppy feeding, and your dog doesn’t need the extra sugar and salt in their diet.
Dry foods only have about ten percent water, and they have many quality ingredients. They are also easier to feed, cheaper, and in most trainers’ opinions, just as good for your puppy.
As long as your puppy has his adult teeth, feeding dry food is a good way to stimulate your pup’s gums and teeth. When they eat dry food, they create an abrasive action that you won’t get from canned or moist feeds.
Plaque and tarter buildup are two things you can largely avoid by feeding your pup dry food. Bad breath is another. Dry food is also a lot easier to store than the other types of food.
If you buy a cheap puppy food, you are probably getting what you pay for. The companies that do the most research correspondingly charge more for their food. And the ingredients are also more pure and digestible if you buy a higher quality food.
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