Do I feed my puppy special Puppy food?

What do you feed your puppy?

What a treat you have picked out a puppy and then you get to pick it up. Everything has been prepared at home to welcome the puppy. The breeder has given you food for a few days, so at least there will be no changes during the first few days. Because it will be very different for your pup to suddenly be at home with you, instead of with its mother and littermates. Once your puppy is feeling comfortable at home, you will start on your chosen puppy food.
Before you pick up the puppy, it is useful to already think about what you want to feed the puppy, so that you can start offering the new food after just a few days. In the beginning, it is of course important to mix it with the food the breeder gave it. A little more of the new food each time to reduce the risk of digestive upset. Too sudden food changes can lead to temporary digestive problems.

Puppy food is different from dog food for adult dogs.

Pups need a well-balanced well-composed diet for healthy growth, they really have different needs from adult dogs. This is not only in terms of the amount of energy, but also the composition of minerals and vitamins. Puppy food contains more energy and more protein than foods for adult dogs. In addition, the size of the pellets is adapted to the puppy's teeth, so the pellets can be chewed and swallowed properly.

Why puppy food contributes to a healthy adult dog.

When you feed a food formulated especially for puppies, it will benefit you for the rest of his life. Pups grow very fast, but a well-balanced diet ensures, that they do not grow too fast, so that the bones are firm and well formed. Especially in larger breeds, this is very important to reduce the risk of joint problems in adult dogs. The better brands therefore also have puppy food for smaller, medium and large breeds. When choosing this, look at the size of the adult breedmates, in the case of a crossbreed, you can consult with your vet what he expects. Apart from the size of the kibble, puppy food for larger dog breeds contains lower energy density and lower calcium content compared to a puppy food for smaller dog breeds.

Puppy food pffff but which brand then?

Which dog food and wet food (canned food) are especially suitable for puppies? There are loads of different brands and varieties available in our country. So many that sometimes you can't see the wood for the trees. Some brands offer much more than others, there are puppy foods with added sugars, some have very good protein compared to others, certain brands make sure the stool is nice and compact, certain foods for puppies have omega 3 and 6 fatty acids to support the coat. In short, there are many differences between them and so are many others. So it is sometimes very difficult to choose and compare both in terms of price difference and quality. In any case, the puppy foods of Hill�s, Royal Canin, Sanimed and other veterinary brands have a good composition and puppies do not need to eat a huge amount to get enough protein and energy. This does not always make them more expensive than other brands that seem much cheaper on the face of it, but at least they provide quality food. These are some examples of well formulated puppy food, of course there are many others:

• SANIMED Puppy
• SPECIFIC Puppy CPD/CPW
• TROVET Puppy CPF
• Do you prefer organic? Then you can choose Yarrah Organic Puppy Dog Food With Chicken

Puppy and fresh food

Unfortunately, not all fresh products on offer are equally suitable for puppies. This may have to do with the size of the product offered (puppies cannot yet eat bone parts) and with its composition. Even with fresh meat, it is important that the available calcium is not too high and the energy level is sufficiently high. If you like to feed raw to your puppy, it is advisable to choose Raw Veterinary Diets, for instance, which is available from your vet. The All Life Balance variant has taken into account the calcium content and the calcium : phosphorus ratio, so this food is also suitable for puppies even those of fast-growing dog breeds.

Brand chosen, calculated how many grams per day but how often do I feed my puppy?

A puppy's stomach and intestines are still developing. Therefore, 4 meals a day are offered to young puppies until the age of 3 months. After 3 months of age, food is still given 3 times a day. Then, from around 6 months of age on average, the pup is sufficiently developed to be fed twice a day. If the amount of food at two meals still seems too much to eat, you can of course continue feeding three times a day for a little longer.

-This is an automated translation-