Selecting the best food for your new puppy may seem a daunting task. Every puppy starts off with the best food possible, mother’s milk. This means that your new puppy comes to you with the best dietary system they will have in their entire life. As the owner of a new puppy you will want to make sure you support that system. This provides a general guide for identifying the best foods for your new puppy.

Things to stay away from would be the semi-moist and the canned dog foods. Most often these include significant amounts of salt, sugar and often water, while providing very little health benefits. While providing little to your puppy to grow from, the softer food may also lead to gum disease and other dental concerns. Once weaned a new puppy should be transitioned onto a dried kibble. The kibble should be at least 28% protein, to help the puppy grow strong and healthy. A puppy kibble is designed to help the dental health of puppies as well. So with your new puppy you are looking forward to selecting a puppy kibble where the top three ingredients include a protein. This will provide the appropriate portions and be easily identified.

If you are switching from one puppy food to another, perhaps the food the breeder was feeding them to the healthy kibble you have chosen, there is a specific method of doing this for the health of your puppy. It is crucial for you to transition him from one puppy food to the next. This is done by mixing the puppy food each day, starting with mostly the first with just a little of the second, and adjusting that mix each day. By the end of a week you should have transitioned from one puppy food to the next.

The next important question you need to ask about your new puppy’s diet is, how often do they need to eat? Most puppy breeds need to eat at least 3 times a day until six months old. From six months to a year the puppy’s meals should go down from three to two times a day, and roughly a year old they should go to once a day. This does however vary by the activity and size of the breed. Obviously if you have a larger breed of dog that is fairly active he will require more food than a smaller breed.

With a puppy a feeding schedule is key to their intestinal development. Maintain the plan for 3 times a day, if possible, to the moment. This will enable the puppy to manage their ‘business’ appropriately, for their growing system.

As adults with appropriately mature intestinal track, they will be able to hold their business for times appropriate for your family schedule where as with puppies that simply is not the case.

As most puppy and dog owners are already aware, a limited amount of table scraps should ever be given to a puppy or dog. Keep it in their bowl if you do, and only after you have finished your meal, not during your meal.

If you would like to treat your puppy to a special reward, a puppy treat is more appropriate. They are targeted to the health of your new family member. By practicing good nutrition for your puppy from the start you are able to develop a long happy life for your puppy.

Author Bio: Bruno is blogging about Pomeranian and Mops (pug dogs) at Hundefeber.no.

Category: Pets
Keywords: pets,animals,dogs,dog food,puppy dog,puppy food,advice