The appearance of a puppy in the house is new joys, but at the same time new chores. Most questions arise around feeding: what exactly, how much and when to give? The easiest and most reliable way to provide your baby with all the necessary nutrients is a ready-made industrial diet. It already has everything you need in optimal proportions, which minimizes the likelihood of errors in the diet. It remains only to decide on the dosage of dry dog food for the puppy. Let's talk about this in more detail.
Why is it important
Dry dog food differs from natural food not only in appearance and texture, but also in composition. This is a kind of concentrate that has a high energy value and contains the optimal ratio of vitamins, minerals and other substances useful to the dog. Therefore, the question of the dosage of dry dog food for puppies is of great importance.
Sometimes the owners do not control this moment and feed the pet “according to appetite”, believing that this will only benefit the growing body. In fact, this does not always work out: even a one-time overfeeding can provoke an indigestion in an animal, which is manifested by vomiting, abdominal pain, and impaired stool. If the puppy receives an overdose of dry dog food systematically, he becomes overweight, which is always easier to gain than to lose.
Owners of Pugs, Dachshunds, Bulldogs, Rottweilers, Labradors, St. Bernards, Bernese Mountain Dogs should be especially careful, as representatives of these breeds are genetically prone to obesity.
No less dangerous is the chronic lack of nutrients during the period of rapid growth. It is at this time that the backbone, teeth, coat are formed, key hunting and working skills are developed. Due to poor nutrition, rickets often develops, paws are swollen, visual impairments, and the coat grows dull and deteriorates. If the puppy is malnourished, he will never be able to fully realize his hereditary potential and grow into a beautiful healthy dog.
We determine the dosage of feed according to the table
To understand how much food your puppy is required in this or that period of development, you can, having checked with the table, which each manufacturer without fail places on the packaging of his food. Please note that the norms of BestDogFood.Expert products of different brands can differ significantly due to the difference in composition and calorie content. Good feed in composition, as a rule, is needed less in comparison with economy-class products.
Let us consider as an example the full-line food of Orijen Puppy Dog with a chicken, turkey, fresh eggs and whole sea fish.
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To determine the dosage of dry dog food for the puppy, it is enough to familiarize yourself with the presented table. But inexperienced owners still sometimes have doubts and questions. In order not to get confused, remember that the weight of the animal in the adult state (expected) is given in the table of the table, and the body weight is indicated in the left column that is relevant for today. Knowing these two indicators, you will easily find the norm of feeding for your pet.
How to find out the expected weight of an adult dog
Some popular breeds are indicated directly in the table of tables: for example, the Yorkshire Terrier is included in the weight category “miniature and small” (up to five kilograms), and the golden retriever belongs to medium and large breeds (up to thirty kilograms). You can check data on other breeds with your breeder or on thematic sites on the Internet.
If your puppy is purebred, take the weight of his parents as an adulthood point, the baby will be approximately the same in the adult state. It is more complicated when the pet is taken from the street, and not from friends, and you have no data or assumptions about its origin. In this case, the appeal for advice to the veterinarian will help: an experienced specialist will be able to determine by the teeth, paws, a knuckle, which the puppy will grow and choose a dosage of dry dog food.
How to weigh the pet
You can weigh a large puppy on special scales that are in every veterinary clinic. In the case of a small puppy, there will be enough ordinary floor scales: for this you need to take the pet in your arms and hang yourself with it, then repeat the measurement without it and subtract the second from the first indicator. It is desirable to update data on weight at least 1 time per month, and if the pet is prone to obesity or, conversely, poorly gains weight on dry feed, then weekly.
Examples of diet for puppies of different breeds
Take as an example of a puppy Cocker Spaniel. It belongs to small and medium breeds (up to 10 kg). With the current weight of 5 kg, the fooding rate for the cocker will be 130 grams. This is a daily dosage, not one-time, so it must still be divided into 3-5 parts. The younger the puppy, the more often he needs a “refueling”.
A small labrador of the same weight category (5 kg) needs more feed – 160 grams, because it refers to large breeds (up to 30 kg).
What to do if the pet does not eat
When the puppy sweeps the proposed food in seconds and looks plaintively in anticipation of the additive, the owner either goes to him or restrains, but feels guilty. In fact, moderation when feeding the puppy is part of the concern for it, playing a huge role in the prevention of obesity and related diseases.
In cases where the puppy regularly asks for additives, first of all, attention should be paid to its behavior and complexion: if it is active and looks well-fed, do not increase the dosage of dry dog food.
When the puppy needs more food
It should be understood that the dosage indicated in the table is not a dogma, but a recommendation that does not take into account all the individual characteristics and conditions of the content of a particular animal.
Enhanced nutrition requires a puppy:
- In the autumn-winter period when maintaining on the street or in an unheated room;
- With active training and many hours of walks;
- When there is a clear shortage of weight: the baby grows poorly in comparison with the peers of the same breed, looks skinny, he has been visible ribs.
In all these cases, the dosage of dry dog food for puppies can be increased by 10–20%. If the pet does not gain poorly on an enhanced diet, we recommend that you seek advice to a veterinarian to exclude health problems.
