How much to feed a puppy

However, more important than feeding frequency is meal portion size. Portion size may vary based on breed, age, and health condition, and settling on the right amount can be tricky. Dog meal delivery services can make it easy to serve your canine companion delicious, nutritious, and appropriately-portioned meals that even humans can eat. Ollie works with vet nutritionists to formulate a perfect plan specifically for your dog based on weight, breed, and allergies.

Veterinarians recommend feeding a dog at least twice per day. Dogs with medical issues or dietary needs may require specialized feeding schedules or restrictions on what they eat. Breed plays a large role when deciding how often to feed your dog. Common large breed dogs, for instance, will often require more feedings and more calories per day than medium and small breed dogs.

Age is also another important consideration. The caloric requirements for a two-month-old Yorkshire Terrier varies greatly compared to a two-year-old Yorkie.

Since puppies are growing rapidly, they need more food than adult dogs. Puppy nutrition is crucial for developing a foundation for future growth, as well as their bone and organ development.

Puppies must have a specific amount of calcium in their diet, otherwise, they can develop metabolic bone disease or orthopedic conditions like early-onset arthritis. Toy-breed puppies , in particular, are prone to hypoglycemia. Puppies need small, frequent feedings.

Starting around four months, puppies can begin eating about three times a day, and after that, puppies will quickly graduate to twice-a-day feedings. Feeding them three or four times per day makes it easier for puppies to digest and help keep energy levels consistent.

Toy-breed puppies will need 4 to 6 meals per day for the first three months of their lives. Medium-breed puppies will require three meals per day, and large-breed puppies typically need 3 to 4 meals per day.

Though the breed is an important consideration, metabolism and energy levels can vary by up to 30 percent. Puppies use fewer calories for growth as they become older. This comprehensive puppy feeding chart has vet-recommended guidelines on how much and how often to feed your puppy.

Furthermore, we recommend purchasing a puppy-sized meal bowl for your new pet. If your puppy seems to be eating their food too quickly, you can give them a puzzle feeder to slow them down. Once your puppy is six months old, depending on their size and breed they may now be approaching adulthood, which means it is time to start the gradual transition to fewer, but larger meals.

A good practice is to think ahead. When would those two meals a day make sense to your future timetable, while allowing your dog a healthy breakfast and afternoon meal? Use those times to familiarise your puppy with when to expect food. You can find more information on when to feed your puppy here. So long as the food is nutritious and suitable for puppies, it should be sufficient to help your puppy grow properly.

There are a whole host of different types of dog food available to choose from: wet; dry; grain-free; food with fish, rice and vegetables; and food for small, medium and large breeds. James Wellbeloved offer a whole host of different puppy foods which will encourage your puppy to build a healthy appetite and to grow up fit and strong. Weaning normally takes place at six to eight weeks, after which it is safe to transition to solid food.

If your puppy has only just finished weaning, feed them wet food or soften dry food with some water, so it is easier for them to eat. Wet food can often be more palatable and easy to eat while your puppy still has soft teeth. However, dry kibble is generally better for helping develop teeth and gums. If your puppy is still struggling to eat dry food, you can try mixing it with a little warm water to make it softer, until their teeth get stronger.

Lastly, wheat and grain are fine for puppies to eat and grain-free food is just as nutritious an option as other types of dog food. This is because modern dogs have evolved to be able to digest grains more easily compared to their ancestors. That being said, like a small percentage of humans, some dogs are intolerant to grain in their diet, so grain-free food is a healthy and delicious alternative.

Whatever you decide to feed your puppy, unless all the food is consumed in one sitting, remember to pick it up and keep it fresh. While dry food can be left out for up to a day, wet or moistened food can go mouldy and should be removed after no longer than half an hour.

You will need to ensure your puppy constantly has fresh water anyway, so we recommend always feeding your puppy fresh food too. Most pet food should be formulated to be a complete diet, meeting all the nutritional and calorific needs of your pet. Puppy food is no different and so you should keep your new family member on a diet of their food only. However, we understand that training your puppy is an important part of helping them to become a model citizen and increasing your bond together.

Traditional dog treats are a great way of encouraging your puppy to learn, but these should be given sparingly in order not to disrupt their balanced diet. Always make sure you are using treats that are suitable for puppies. As a general rule, traditional dog treats should not make up more than of their daily calorie intake. Better still, you can use healthy alternatives to treat your dog. While some fruits and vegetables are unsafe for dogs to eat, many can be consumed safely and make great substitutes for traditional treats.

However, be advised that while some fruit and veg are healthy alternatives, they can be quite hard on young teeth and could even be choking hazards for puppies, so should be given with caution. Unfortunately, while some human foods can be consumed safely by puppies in small quantities, there is an exhaustive list of toxic and even life-threatening foods which should be avoided at all costs.

Here are just some of the more common ones:. It is best to only give your dog food which has been specifically manufactured for dogs to avoid any potentially harmful foods and be careful of leaving toxic food and drink where your puppy can reach it. Roughly, toy, small and medium dog breeds mature between six to 12 months, while large breeds, who have much more growing to do, mature at 12 to 18 months, although some can take longer.

If your dog liked the food you had been feeding them as a puppy, it is a good idea to stick to the same flavours when transitioning to adult dog food.

Then, once you are sure your dog is eating their food without any problems, you can gradually increase the ratio of adult food to puppy food over the course of a week or two. While puppy food should have many of the same ingredients as adult dog food, puppy meals tend to have higher concentrations of essential nutrients.

This is because puppies have different requirements to older dogs; just as human babies have different diets to adult humans. How can I make mealtimes engaging and fun? Normal dry kibble can be soaked to make stuffing easier. To increase the level of difficulty for your dog, you could even store the stuffed Kong in the freezer overnight or go the extra mile and mix a few tasty vegetables with the kibble to make your stuffed Kong more interesting.

If they are in an area other than the healthy zone you need to contact us. Training Bites - Training Bites. Secure Checkout. More hints, tips and advice Where to Start? Puppy Products Find out more. Join Today!