When feeding puppies, here you can read more about the most important things to remember!
Puppies grows fast! The puppy’s stomach is small, and the digestive tract is not fully developed. Therefore, feed for puppies must be concentrated and easily digestible to compensate for the low volume of food the puppy can eat.
Adaptation to dry food
In the period up to weaning, the puppy’s nutritional needs will be covered by the mother’s milk. It is important that the bitch has enough milk and this is especially true with large litters. The puppies must have «easy» and free access to clean water in addition to mother’s milk. From the puppies, are approx. 3-4 weeks old, you can start carefully by giving food adapted to puppies. Normally, the puppies will seek the bitch food bowl and start eating there. For the puppies, it is therefore an advantage that the bitch gets the same dog food as the puppies. But mother’s milk will still be the most important thing for a couple of weeks to come.
After weaning
The growth period lasts until the puppy is 10 – 24 months old, depending on the breed. Small breeds can reach adult weight already at 8 – 10 months of age, while large breeds can be growing up to 24 months of age. The highest daily growth is usually seen at 3 – 5 months of age, and some breeds can then grow by up to 400 grams per day.
Dog food for large breeds
If there is too much protein and energy in the dog food, the growth rate can go to fast and at the same time might the puppy become overweight. Being overweight is a burden on the skeleton and bones and can, in the worst case, increase the risk of bone and joint disorders. Appetitt Puppy Large Breed therefore has a moderate protein content and perfectly adapted to large breed puppies.
Differences in growth of breeds
Dogs are normally referred to as small, medium and large size breed. This corresponds respectively to adult weight up to 10 kg, between 10 and 25 kg and above 25 kg. In addition to different growth rates, it is also a fact that small breeds have faster metabolic processes than large breeds. Therefore, small breeds need more energy and nutrients per kg body weight than large breeds.
It is recommended to feed Appetitt Puppy until the puppy has reached approx. 90 -100% of it’s adult size. For large breeds, this corresponds to approx. 16 – 18 months of age and for small breeds approx. 10 -12 months. of age. It is during this period that the puppy’s skeleton and muscles develop. You can then switch to a dog food for adult dogs.
How much dog food should the puppy have
Ideal amounts of feed are very individual, and we recommend to use the feeding guidelines on the bags or in the product data sheets as a start and regularly check the puppy’s body condition score. Always remember free access to fresh drinking water.
Appetitt Puppy includes three puppy food mixes adapted to breed size. The most important difference between these is energy content, the ratio between energy and protein, content of calcium and the ratio of calcium and phosphorus