What Should Be in Your Puppy Food and Dog Food?

How you should be feeding your puppy is perhaps one of the first
concerns of the new puppy owner. After all, you want the little
guy to grow up big and strong, or at least as big as he will
grow. So just how will this puppy feeding be carried out?

First off, realize that your puppy is not just a miniature
version of an adult dog. He has his own nutritional requirements
that go into puppy feeding. Pound for pound a puppy needs about
twice the nutrition of the adult dog. What the requirements are
for feeding an adult dog varies with breed, size, activity
level, etc.

And although you may have thought dogs were carnivores,
understand that they are really omnivores just like us. This
means they can and will eat more than just meat. In fact to have
a balanced diet, they require more than just meat. So, first
off, don’t begin your puppy feeding with just meat. (Have I
repeated that enough?)

Dogs, like humans to some extent, require protein, fat, minerals
and vitamins. Studies have shown that dogs seem to have no need
for carbohydrates although many prepared dog foods and puppy
foods may be up to 50% or more carbohydrates. This is why it is
very important to read puppy food and dog food labels.

When feeding puppy, realize he usually requires about 28 – 30%
protein in his diet. Protein can, and should, come from more
sources than just meat. Include milk, eggs and cheese along with
meat when feeding your puppy.

When considering feeding fat to your dog, the amount you feed
varies by the requirements of the dog. An inactive dog may only
need 5% fat. A very active working dog may need up to 20% fat.
Going with puppies needing generally twice what adults need, you
can see you need quite a bit of fat when feeding your puppy but
it does vary. Best thing to do when adding fat to your puppy
food is to keep an eye on your puppy. Don’t let him start
getting fat.

Just like with humans, too many carbohydrates can be bad for
your puppy. Usually carbs are used to bulk up a prepared dog
food with 50% or more of the food coming from inexpensive
carbohydrate, and especially starchy, sources. This is not
necessary for dogs and studies have found that dogs do not need
carbs as an essential part of their diets.

Reading puppy and dog food labels you may find carbohydrate
sources such as grains, potatoes, rice, milk and even sugar in
some form. As these usually have been cooked, a dog can digest
them somewhat. Give a dog a raw potato or whole grains and you
will find a dog that will not be able to handle these. In other
words, you will have a dog with an upset digestive system. Some
uncooked starches cause diarrhea and some, such as whole grains,
pass right through untouched by his digestive system. Not a good
thing when puppy feeding.

So read your dog food labels and make sure the puppy food or dog
food you buy has these elements within it. Don’t buy anything
with too much carbohydates in it as dogs just don’t need it. But
do buy puppy food and dog food with protein sources, fat and
vitamins and minerals. Some green vegetables in the mix won’t
hurt at all.

copyright 2005. Sandra Dinkins-Wilson