What to feed your puppy?

Adopting a puppy comes with a whole lot of responsibility and rules. The first question that comes to mind when you get your puppy home for the very first time, is what food would be suitable for your puppy for the first few days or weeks?

Therefore, when it comes to feeding puppies, special care needs to be taken. It's important to ensure that certain essential nutrients are included in their diet to promote the healthy growth of bones, nervous system and coat.

Puppies have fragile digestive systems. To avoid disturbing their particularly fragile digestive system, give him the same food he ate before coming to your house. Gradually, over a one-week transition period you can mix the old and new food.

What to give

It is essential to include foods that help in promoting cellular and nervous system health, supporting bone development and strengthening cardiac muscle function. What you feed your puppy must supply him with energy, build and maintain the body's cells to support your puppy's digestive, joint and aging functions. To fulfill these objectives, his diet must be precisely formulated to meet his specific nutritional needs. Quantities of proteins, minerals, vitamins, fats and carbohydrates must be exact, neither too much nor too little. A high-quality, nutritional food, meeting the demands of Health Nutrition, will combine just the right amounts of all of these nutrients.

What not to give

Certain foods such as chocolate, candy, almonds, etc. are toxic for your puppy. Make sure you check the contents and labels of any food you are about to feed your puppy.

Size matters

Size is an important part of deciding what the serving per meal should be. Your puppy's diet should be specific to his age, size and breed.

Avoid giving your puppy snacks and table scraps in between meals. It may upset the balance of his diet, which leads to excessive weight gain. If the table scraps contain highly poisonous foods like chocolate, cheese or bread, it can have a severe impact on your puppy's overall health. Treats should be an exception, low calorie kibbles can be used as treats or rewards for your puppy.

Kibble for nibbles

There is special kibble available for puppies, suited according to their age and growth needs. The advantage of kibble is that it is easier to use and stays fresh for longer periods of time.

Premium puppy food manufactures such as Royal Canin prepare kibble, which caters to all your puppy's unique requirements.

Home food or packaged food?

If you are considering homemade food, keep in mind; you need at least 30 nutrients to prepare a balanced diet for your puppy. It is extremely difficult to prepare a home cooked meal that is fully adapted to suit your puppy's nutritional needs.

#FeedFact: Avoid giving your puppy milk, as it is difficult to digest.

As your puppy grows older, his nutritional requirements change with age. Highly digestible nutrients form an important part of a healthy nutritious diet.Make sure your puppy's diet changes with age to suit the nutritional requirements demanded by your puppy's changing body.

Love your puppy, keep him active and feed him properly and he will gain a healthy life he deserves.