Feeding a puppy dog is usually a task that at first glance seems simple; however, it is slightly more complicated than feeding a standard dog.
A puppy is a dog between the ages of 0 and 18 months, a complicated age in which the dog has not yet developed and in which most of the changes take place.
This stage is very difficult, since as dogs have a shorter lifespan than humans; dogs have a faster development than ours, with the puppy stage being much more compressed in a few years.
A puppy dog has to grow up strong and healthy and for this, feeding is a key factor. Knowing how to feed a puppy properly can make the difference between a healthy development and a development with obesity and rickets.
For example, a dog that is able to grow up with healthy and strong bones will always be more likely to lead a life without bone or joint problems. However, a dog that has been poorly fed during its childhood will grow up with weak bones and lack of nutrients, which will weigh down its physical condition and cause various problems such as osteoporosis and arthritis at a very early age.
We know that you are an animal lover, just like us, and we also know that you want the best for your dog. For this reason, we want to offer ourselves as a guide for this difficult task of feeding a puppy dog.
That is why we offer you this article, teaching you all the ways I know to feed a puppy dog, breaking down a little the different stages and the type of food they should eat.
Instructions for feeding a puppy dog
- Growth stages: The dog puppy stage is a very complex stage in which the dog’s development takes place. This stage, which lasts 18 months is divided into 4 parts, similar to how childhood is divided in a human, only instead of years as in humans, here it goes by months. From 0 to 2 months the puppy is a newborn baby, who has just been born and who depends on his mother, from 2 to 4 months he is like a preschool child, a child who is already beginning to think for himself and do things like eating solid food, from 4 to 8 months I would be like a primary school child, with a lot of energy and a very fast metabolism and from 8 to 15 months I would be like a teenager, who is already in his growth stage. We are going to explain them in depth below, so pay special attention if you haven’t already.
- Age from 0 to 2 months: This is the newborn stage of the dog, which has practically just been born. As with humans, the dog needs to be suckled and drink breast milk, especially from the mother in order to survive. If the dog has been weaned before 2 months (something not recommended at all), you should give it your own milk in the form of a bottle, so that the dog grows healthy and strong, since it is not yet fit to eat any solid food.
- Age from 2 to 4 months: This is already the age equivalent to a preschool child, a complicated and hard age, but fortunately short-lived. The dog has undergone changes, such as a somewhat larger body and the appearance of its first little teeth to eat. Here you should start giving him solid food in the form of 3 daily meals abundantly. As for the amount, give him enough but without going through the issue of obesity.
- Age 4 to 8 months: This is the stage equivalent to an elementary school child; the dog has grown a lot and already has a bigger and stronger body. This is the stage of greatest growth; therefore, you need to increase the amount to 4 meals a day, so that the development to adult is carried out in the most correct way possible. It is also the stage in which more energy is spent; therefore, the dog should go for a walk more than normal and run a lot to exhaust his strength, thus preventing obesity.
- Age from 8 to 15 months: This is the adolescence of a dog, which has changed a lot; it already has almost an adult body and is already capable of doing many things by it. Now we have to lower the food a little, so that it is only a little higher than that of an adult dog over 15 months. We will see how the dog is much calmer and will have already learned to behave correctly, so he no longer needs so much walking.
- Give him quality puppy food: Now we are going to talk about what type of food you should give the dog. Try to ensure that it is of quality, such as an ideal feed for puppies, since it contains the vitamins and minerals necessary for the dog to grow healthy and strong, also containing iron and other elements necessary for optimal development. If you give him normal food, try to make it of the highest quality possible, as if he were a person, giving him, for example, and chicken for the protein issue as I do with my dog. Do not stuff food as I have said before, since both the defect and the excess of it in a puppy’s diet (and in the diet of any living being I must say) are bad.
- Take into account the size of the dog: The size of the dog is also a determining factor when deciding what we are going to feed it. Obviously, a large dog does not eat the same as a small dog, just as a dog that spends a lot of energy like a greyhound does not eat the same as an English bulldog that sits all day. Give the dog more food the heavier it is, as he needs more food to stay healthy. If the dog is a greyhound and does a lot of exercise, give him more food than if he were a sedentary dog, since he will obviously spend much more energy than a sedentary dog.
Tips for feeding a puppy dog
- Meal times: Get your dog used to eat in a fixed way every day, that is, always at the same time. Dogs are like people and do best eating on a set schedule, which you shouldn’t try to change. If you constantly change the dog’s meal times or give him everything he asks for, it could cause serious long-term problems, such as bloating or eating disorders such as lack of vitamins. For this reason, you should use common sense to feed your dog in the most correct way possible, avoiding both spoiling him and leaving him without eating, since as I said before, excess is just as bad as defect.
