The fluffy little furballs known as puppies come in all shapes, sizes, and colors. But every puppy has one thing in common: the need for healthy, complete nutrition.
The fluffy little furballs known as puppies come in all shapes, sizes, and colors. But every puppy has one thing in common: the need for healthy, complete nutrition.
All dogs need good food to help their coats stay shiny, their teeth remain strong, and to give them all the energy they need to live a happy life as man’s companions. Puppies need excellent nutrition for all of those reasons but their nutritional needs are actually greater than that of a full-grown dog. So what nutritional needs does a puppy actually have?
Creating a well-rounded diet for a puppy is not altogether different from making sure growing kids are consuming a complete diet. According to WebMD’s Healthy Pets, puppies need a balanced diet to ensure they grow healthy and strong. Every puppy needs each of these in their puppy food to stay healthy and grow up to be vigorous, happy dogs:
Growing puppies have specific nutritional needs and should be fed puppy food formulated for them instead of regular dog food. Walking down the puppy food aisle at the local pet store can be overwhelming with all of the choices claiming to be the best or most complete puppy food available. So following the American Kennel Club’s puppy food timeline, use our puppy food guidelines to help make sure your puppy gets enough nutrition during the critical first year of a puppy’s life. Breaking down the puppy’s first year into growth stages will help you to feed the right amount of puppy food, too, as a growing puppy will rapidly have different needs as they transform from helpless tiny puppies into robust and hungry dogs.
A puppy’s best and main source of nutrition during the first 6 or more weeks of life will be from his mother. If your puppy has been separated from his mother at this vital stage, make sure to consult your veterinarian to make sure the puppy gets exactly what he needs to thrive and grow at this young age based on his specific situation.
At this age, all dog breeds should be fed moistened puppy food specially formulated for puppies instead of full-grown dog food to make sure that they are receiving complete nutrition. Adding a little water to their food makes the transition from mother’s milk to food pellets easier, especially as puppy teeth begin to break through tender gums. At around 12 weeks, smaller breeds can wean off of moistened food while larger breeds can transition to totally dry food at the age of 9-10 weeks.
At this stage, the roly-poly look of puppies begins to wane. Puppy food will continue to be the best option for your puppy but its newly erupted puppy teeth will no longer need moistened food. A puppy may increase the amount of water he drinks each day to compensate for eating completely dry puppy food.
A puppy who is in the last half of its first year will still need to be fed puppy food specially formulated for growing pups. During this time period, your puppy may be spayed or neutered and so their energy level may decrease slightly as a result. Once this procedure is complete, you can switch your puppy over to adult dog food. Smaller breeds can make the swap to dog food at around 7-9 months while larger breeds may need to wait until up to 14 months. However, err on the side of caution when switching a puppy onto an adult dog food since puppy formulations are specially made to make sure that growing dogs get all of the nutrition they need. If a dog still has growing to do, keeping them on puppy food longer can only benefit them (and certainly won’t hurt them) for a few extra months. At this time, you can slightly reduce the amount of food in your puppy’s bowl as long as he doesn’t seem hungrier than normal – gulping down their food quickly or standing by their food bowl before every meal may be a hint that the puppy’s food volume needs should be reconsidered.
Small breed puppies that have reached one year of age have usually stopped growing. This means that they can continue to be fed adult maintenance dog food unless a health issue arises that indicates a change from regular food or nutritional needs. Larger breeds may continue a month or two beyond their first year to fully transition to adult dog food due to extended growing times for big dogs.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional consultation or advice related to your health or finances. No reference to an identifiable individual or company is intended as an endorsement thereof. Some or all of this article may have been generated using artificial intelligence, and it may contain certain inaccuracies or unreliable information. Readers should not rely on this article for information and should consult with professionals for personal advice.