Tips on Feeding Your Puppy

Dogs need to be properly taken care of and trained from birth if we want them to grow into healthy adult pets. Among the most important aspects we need to focus on are their eating habits and overall nutrition. Giving them puppy food to make sure they get the right amount of protein they need is just one of the many things you need to do. You also have to know other essentials to maintain proper diet and health of your pet.

When buying food for your puppy, see if the label says "complete" or "complementary." Dog food that's marked as "complete nutrition" is something that you can give to your puppy as its main source of nutrition. You can find this type of pet nutrition in dry and canned formulas. Complementary nutrition, as the term says, cannot be the sole food of your pet, but should be given with a "complete nutrition" product.

Complementary dog food doesn't mean that it's totally fine for you to give table scraps to your puppy. Table scraps won't guarantee that your pet will have a good balance of the nutrients it needs to grow healthily.

You shouldn't also abruptly switch brands, formulas, or recipes of dog food. Especially for those breeds that are prone to stomach upset and other illnesses of the digestive system, this should never be done. If it's necessary for you to change the product you're giving to your puppy, making sure that you introduce the new one gradually. You can mix some kibbles from the new product with those of the old one. You should then reverse the proportion bit by bit until your puppy is eating a full bowl of the new kibbles.

You need to ensure clean handling of your puppy's meals. Leftover canned or wet dog food should be stored in the refrigerator. To feed the refrigerated leftover to your puppy, you need to wait until it goes back to room temperature before giving it to your pet. Never leave leftover food in your pet's bowl as this may be spoiled easily due to heat, insects, and other factors.

Remember to keep in small quantities the meals that you give to your pet. Just give them a serving three times a day. Your puppy may be overflowing in energy, but its stomach is too small to accommodate food that will give him energy the whole day.

To make sure that you feed your puppy just right, always check that its ribs should still be felt when you hold its body. Once you can already see the ribs even without feeling them, you might not be feeding it enough. But if you find it hard to feel its ribs, it might be getting too much food in a day.