Content
- A dog's first food is his mother's milk
- Can you wait a little longer?
- During and after weaning - New textures
- Feed or homemade food?
Your little dog has just arrived home and is worried about his food? You should already know that you must have a responsible attitude to cover all your pet's needs, and food is one of the most important.
A puppy needs a high concentration of nutrients so that its full development can take place without problems, but it also needs these nutrients to be present in foods that adapt to its chewing possibilities. What do puppies eat? If you want to put an end to all your doubts, be sure to read this PeritoAnimal article.
A dog's first food is his mother's milk
Sometimes and due to various problems it may be necessary to feed puppies prematurely weaned, however, when we talk about everything that concerns the well-being of a dog, the first thing is to clarify that we should never rush to take it to our home, a forced weaning is a very serious mistake.
In order for the puppy to get all the nutrients it needs, it can carry out a maturation of its immune system and also start to socialize properly, it is essential that it be with its mother at least 2 months.
Can you wait a little longer?
The ideal would be for the puppy to come to your house at 3 months, remember that the better breastfeeding has been, the simpler it will be to properly take care of your dog and feed him.
During and after weaning - New textures
As soon as the mother starts to leave the puppies alone for a longer time, thus starting weaning (between the third and fifth week of life), she should start offering the puppy specific food for this stage.
The foods that are given to a puppy must have a smooth texture, not only during the first months but also from the fourth month of life onwards, because this is when the change for permanent dentition usually starts. For this, it is recommended that you progressively introduce different textures in the following order:
- Popes
- wet food
- Solid food with water or moistened
- solid food
Each dog lives a unique rhythm and therefore there is no calendar that fits all, you can see for yourself, by observing how your dog eats, when it will be necessary to experiment with other textures.
Feed or homemade food?
A hungry dog can eat a wide variety of foods, but he certainly wants to oversee this process to try to provide you with the best, and this is our most sincere recommendation.
Do you believe that it is best to feed your dog only commercial pet food? Several veterinarians who are experts in canine nutrition take positions against this unique feeding model. While it is true that puppy food contains all the nutrients they need, its exclusive use cannot be synonymous with good nutrition.
On the other hand, even knowing that a puppy mainly needs foods rich in proteins and fats, carrying out exclusively a homemade diet requires the supervision of a professional. Sometimes a bad diet can be the answer to the question "Why doesn't my dog grow?".
On the other hand, always adapting the texture to the dog's chewing, it is advisable to feed it with good quality specific food and also with homemade food, never mixing both types of food in the same meal, as they have very different absorption times.
