|
|
|
|
By the time a puppy is ready to move to their new home, they will be fully weaned onto solid foods. The puppy is now entirely dependent on you to provide a fully balanced diet that will meet all of its nutritional requirements.
A nutritionally balanced diet is crucial for the healthy growth and development of a puppy in order to prepare him for an active, long and healthy life. Puppies thrive on the same basic nutrients as adult dogs, but owing to their rapid growth rate, these nutrients are needed in proportionately larger quantities.
All puppies grow very rapidly in the early stages of their development and, in general, most breeds reach about half their adult weight by four or five months of age. During this early, very rapid growth phase, all puppies should be fed a puppy food specifically designed for growing dogs.
 A puppy needs between two and four times as many calories as an adult of the same size - growing is an energetic business! They must have more protein than adults - this must contain all the right building blocks (amino acids) for growth. They also need just the right amount of minerals for healthy bones and teeth. Puppies therefore have to eat large amounts of food in relation to their body weight, but, like human babies, their stomachs have only a small capacity. To compensate for this, puppies at this stage should be fed several small meals a day. It is also helpful if their diet is designed to meet a number of useful criteria:
- the food should be concentrated to ensure an adequate intake of nutrients before the puppie's stomach is full
- the food should be easily digested to maximise its nutritive value
- the diet must be balanced to provide the right amount of nutrients to meet the puppy's particular needs
- it should also be tasty so that the puppy will enjoy it
Pedigree puppy foods are calorie dense and contain the right amount of high quality protein, as well as vitamins and minerals at the appropriate levels to ensure healthy growth.
|
|
|
