Are you expecting a new litter soon? Or perhaps you want to adopt a puppy and have no idea what to do concerning feeding the puppy? Here are five tips to help you with feeding puppies:
1. Allow Their Mother to Feed Them
If their mother is available, allow her to nurse them until four to six weeks. Puppies are to be fed exclusively with breastmilk (dog breastmilk) for four to six weeks or with formula. If you’re allowing their mother to do the feeding, consider increasing her food. Ensure there’s always enough water available too and monitor the dog. Some dogs have been known to crush their puppies.
2. Create a Workable Feeding Schedule
Puppies under four weeks should be fed at least three times a day. If you’re feeding them yourself, you must create a feeding schedule that’s not too tedious for you. Calculate eight hours from your typical sleeping time and kick off from there. If you go to sleep at 10 pm daily, plan to feed them by 10 pm. It means that your next feeding time would be 6 am, and this should be close to the time you wake up. The next feeding is by 2 pm, and you’re back at 10 pm again.
You may be tempted to alter the feeding schedule, but resist the temptation. You don’t want to wake up by 3 am and disturb your sleeping schedule because you want to feed your puppies.
3. Prepare to Graduate their Food
Between four to eight weeks, wean your puppies off formula or breastmilk. The best way to do so is to introduce pureed dog food into their diet. Start with introducing small amounts of dog food into their formula, and graduate to complete dog food.
Make sure strong bones are removed from their food. Cut the meat into tiny chunks if you want to feed your dogs with meat. You should preferably only feed cartilage in small pieces to your puppies.
4. Prepare to Clean Shortly After Feeding
Puppies tend to relieve themselves shortly after eating, so be ready. Get fresh sheets ready, or hold off changing them until they finish eating. It can be frustrating for dog owners sometimes. A safe bet is to wait 30 minutes to an hour with the puppies after feeding them to clean up after them.
5. Don’t Let Your Puppy Get Too Fat.
Healthy muscle and adequate body fat are essential, but avoid making your puppy too fat. Allowing the puppies to determine their feeding ration may be a bad idea. Puppies can overeat. Know the amount of food you’re supposed to be feeding your puppy and stick to it. Lay off fatty foods. You should always be able to recognize the waist of your puppy.
Conclusion
Feeding your puppy can be a demanding ordeal, at least until when they’re old enough to eat adult food just twice a day. You can always consult with your vet regarding how best to feed your puppy. Nevertheless, these five tips would help guide you.