The fact that you are looking for tips on puppy feeding means that you probably have a new one to take care of. This is a very critical stage of your dog's development, one that has immense impact on his future.
Puppies grow up to ten times faster than fully grown dogs and therefore have high nutritional demands. Unfortunately, few masters understand how best to feed their puppies. Perhaps a look at the following 5 important tips on feeding a puppy will be of help.
1. How much and how often?
The question all puppy owners asks is how much and how often they need to feed their pets. The confusion arises because pups need to eat a lot of food but have very small stomachs. This is because after just a few bites, the recently hungry puppy will abandon his plate. For this reason, you are advised to feed him frequently throughout the day but in small bits.
2. Complete and complementary feed
Puppy feed can be generally classified as either complete or complimentary. These are often legibly marked on the packages so you can't afford to make a mistake.
Complete feed has all the necessary nutrients and can therefore be used independently. However, complimentary feed should only be used to supplement what is obtained from the main diet.
3. Processed food over home-made
With everyone keen to avoid new strains of cancers, many people these days avoid industrially processed food. However, the same will not apply in feeding a puppy.
Get out of the habit of feeding your puppy solely on remnants from your kitchen. Commercial puppy feed has been tried and tested as good for your dog. Furthermore, they come with all the essential nutrients required for proper growth and development.
4. Avoid rapid diet changes
Your puppy could be adjusting to a new home, but food will always demand more time. If you start the pup on any market diet, try as much as possible to stick to it. This is because his alimentary canal is not yet developed to adapt to rapid dietary changes.
If time has come to get him started on solid foods, make sure the change is gradual. Do not try to force your puppy into eating the wrong type of food by starving it.
5. Clean water should be available
For any puppy feeding process to be a success, clean and fresh drinking water should be available at all times.
Commercially made wet food serves as another water source for your dog. However, this should not come as a substitute to fresh drinking water. If you have placed your pup on a dry diet, do not forget to provide drinking water.
Conclusion
It is disappointing that many pet owners who claim to care about their puppies only provide table scraps as food. If you want to watch your puppy grow into one of the healthiest and consequently happiest dog in your neighborhood, this will only be achieved with proper feeding habits. There are countless tips on feeding a puppy, but the 5 discussed here should be enough for a start.
You have now been briefed on how to properly feed a puppy, and you probably want to find out more on how to keep puppies from biting.
To access an article that will let you gain specific understanding on getting your puppy to stop biting, click on the link.
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