Feeding Your Puppy
In all good puppy foods, the first ingredient should be a specific meat (chicken, salmon, beef, etc), not the word meat. Some choices will include chicken, beef or lamb. Try to stay away from dog foods that contain corn or soybeans. Rice and barley are normally more digestible. Next look at the protein % and the fat %. In a large breed puppy food, you should look for a product in the mid to high 20’s for protein, and the mid to high teens for fat. Your puppy should be eating twice a day already. If you notice your puppy is a little too skinny or is dry heaving/ throwing up bile, then please add a small midday meal if possible. Ridgebacks will do this if their stomach is empty. For the average puppy is it NOT recommended to only feed wet food unless there is a specific reason for it (i.e., the vet said so).
Also, make sure your puppy is chewing his food. It not only will clean his teeth but also, eating slower won’t allow for him to swallow as much air. He will have less gas this way and will have to strain some to poo and will therefore expel his anal glands on his own. I add water to my dog’s food to help slow them down and ensure they are drinking enough.
Be sure to feed your puppy somewhere quiet and out of the way where he can eat slowly and without being disturbed. NEVER feed your puppy from the table or counter as this develops bad habits. Also, most human food is bad for dogs. If your puppy doesn’t eat all his food in 15 minutes, pick up what is left, feed this to him at the next meal. Lower the amount you are feeding per meal. Allowing your puppy to eat and drink all day will just encourage him/her to have to potty all day long too. I recommend not feeding your puppy after 7:00 pm so hopefully he/she will sleep all the night. As your puppy ages, you will need to increase the amount of food you give at each feeding.
Adult Dog Food
I recommend that you switch your puppy from Puppy to Dog food at about 5-6 months of age. Adult dog food has a lower fat %. This will help your dog grow slowly and correctly. Always mix the old and new foods for a few days when you switch to help keep the digestive tract from becoming alarmed.
Choose an ADULT dog food using the same basic criteria as the puppy chow:
1) First ingredient should be a specific meat (chicken, salmon, beef, etc), not the word meat. Some choices will include chicken, beef. My lines generally do not handle lamb very well. It is very rich for them.
2) Protein % should be in the mid to high 20's (same as puppy)
3) Fat % should be in the mid to low 10's (much lower than puppy)
Do NOT allow your dog to get fat!! It is hard on your dog’s bones and joints.
AGAIN, I recommend a GOOD quality dog food!!! The price may be a little higher per bag, but you will feed much less and your dog will be much healthier. Remember to look for the above criteria on the back of the bag as almost all pet foods have different levels of quality!!!! Remember to buy Quality not a NAME!
Contact me anytime with questions or concerns!!!! Always consult your veterinarian.
Your puppy is currently on Royal Canine Large Breed Puppy. You will be given a small bag just in case you can’t find/ don’t want to feed this product. It is enough so you can slowly change them over as they will be making big changes in their life adjusting to your family already. The key to feeding is, if you find something and your dog is doing well with it and you are satisfied with the results then feed it. My adult dogs are fed either Wholesome Sportsmix Fish and Rick or Royal Canin Large Breed Adult food alternating throughout the year.