How and what to feed a puppy from one month to a year

Frequency of feedings per day

Puppies need a specific number of meals based on their age. The smaller the baby, the more food he needs. When the puppy is about a month old, he is allowed to feed himself, gradually moving from milk to regular food.

You can get acquainted with the approximate plan using the following table:

From night until morning, the puppy should have a break in food. At this time of day, his gastrointestinal tract should not be loaded with food, so it is better not to feed the baby, even if he begins to whine and howl. And so that the pet does not cry from hunger, he needs to be given hearty milk porridge or meat at night.

Expert opinion

Anna Abramenko

An avid dog lover. Experience in veterinary medicine since 2009.

Ask a Question

If one day the owner violated the schedule and missed one feeding of the puppy, there is no need to treat him with a double portion next time.

Nutritional features of one-week-old puppies without a bitch

Sometimes a person has to in some way replace the mother for newborn puppies. They need to be fed every 2 hours, the temperature of the artificial mixture should be no more than +40 degrees. To do this, you will need to purchase a baby bottle with a nipple, a pipette or a syringe with a rubber nozzle.

It is better to feed one-week-old puppies with special milk powder, which can be purchased at pet stores. The composition of this food is most similar to dog milk. In addition, you can prepare a mixture at home based on goat's or cow's milk. For 1 liter you need to take 3 yolks, a pinch of salt, 2 tablespoons of liquid vitamins and a spoonful of corn oil. Mix all this and bring to a temperature of +35 degrees. and feed the baby using a bottle or syringe.

This is interesting: At what age do puppies' eyes open?

Expert opinion

Anna Abramenko

An avid dog lover. Experience in veterinary medicine since 2009.

Ask a Question

At 3 weeks, the puppy should begin to be fed with regular crushed food, monitoring the condition of the four-legged cub.

Regardless of the type of feeding, babies need water. It can be given starting from a two-week period.

Diet depending on age

Some owners or breeders teach little pets to eat from a bowl without human assistance by 3 weeks. But most often, first feeding, and then teaching puppies to feed themselves occurs at about a month or a little earlier.

Feeding at 1 month

The basis of a pet’s diet up to one and a half months of age, regardless of breed, is mother’s milk. Therefore, the question of what to feed a small one-month-old puppy does not pose any particular difficulties. During this period, it is very important to follow a nutritional schedule. If the bitch has a large litter, but little milk, or the owner is caring for newborn dogs, then veterinarians recommend introducing early complementary foods - at approximately 2-3 weeks.

When your pet turns 1.5 months old, he will be happy to try other dairy products - low-fat kefir, sour cream, fermented baked milk, cottage cheese. For such a puppy, porridge cooked in milk is also good, which can then be cooked in meat broth.

This is interesting: Cereals approved for feeding dogs

Expert opinion

Anna Abramenko

An avid dog lover. Experience in veterinary medicine since 2009.

Ask a Question

It is important to monitor your pet’s weight gain, which will show how beneficial the chosen diet is for him.

2 months

A puppy at this age is very different from what he was just a month ago. You can already expand the menu, but at the same time you need to carefully and gradually introduce new food. It is recommended to feed your puppy dairy products for at least another 2 months. But their volume should be gradually reduced.

The table below will help you create and diversify a sample menu for a small 2-month-old puppy.

In addition, from 1 to 3 times a week you can give a two-month-old baby boiled chicken or raw quail eggs. Fruits will also be useful for a growing body.

Expert opinion

Anna Abramenko

An avid dog lover. Experience in veterinary medicine since 2009.

Ask a Question

Meat for pets without heat treatment should be frozen for at least 3 days, and before serving it is recommended to scald it with boiling water. It is forbidden to combine this ingredient with milk in one feeding.

3 months

From three months, the puppy is transferred to four meals a day. To keep your teeth and bones strong, you should not exclude dairy products from your diet. Food should be varied and rich. If the owner previously treated the furry baby only with natural products, you cannot suddenly switch him to dry food - this will adversely affect the gastrointestinal tract.

A three-month-old puppy's teeth begin to change and his bite begins to form, so it is recommended to give him crackers and soft, non-sharp bones. Don't forget about hygiene.

Feeding from 6 months

At about six months old, small pets begin a stage of enhanced physical development. Because of this, they require much more protein food.

A significant part of the diet consists of lean meat. The puppy's menu also includes vegetables, cereals, grains, boiled or raw eggs. You can give fish a couple of times a week, but due to the low protein content, it needs to be distributed twice as much. Only marine species are suitable for this - cod, hake, pollock.

Interesting article: Which vegetables and fruits can be given to dogs and which cannot

Expert opinion

Anna Abramenko

An avid dog lover. Experience in veterinary medicine since 2009.

Ask a Question

You cannot feed your puppy minced meat. Most often, dogs simply swallow it without chewing - the pet may have problems with the gastrointestinal tract due to the accumulation of undigested residues.

Cultivating a sense of proportion and discipline

A puppy who has arrived in a new apartment hurries to inspect the room for interesting things, new smells, etc. This is understandable; dogs, without exception, are incredibly curious. Puppies, like children, rush to get into secluded corners, find out, taste. The new owner must find out what is best to feed a dog of a particular breed in order to prevent the occurrence of stomach and gastrointestinal diseases.

Each of the many breeds has characteristics and unique characteristics. Regardless of size, metabolic rate and other factors, the dog is fed twice. Portion size is individual.

A dog requires training. And regardless of breed and size. Both giants and dwarfs are trained. When it comes to nutrition, any dog ​​certainly requires education.

Learn how to properly feed a dog of the chosen breed from dog handlers or workers at the nursery where you plan to buy a puppy. Let's note the main points:

1. The puppy needs to be shown a place to rest and both bowls on the first day of arrival in the apartment or house.
2. The bowl of water always remains in the same place, do not move it. The water is changed at least once a day. In extreme heat, monitor the amount of water and add as needed.
3. The food bowl is not on the floor. It is lowered only during feeding. 20 minutes after the start of the meal, the owner checks the remaining food in the bowl. Regardless of how full, the bowl is removed until the next feeding.
4. Do not give your dog the supplement. Feed is given as much as required for a specific weight and breed of dog. Often breeds are prone to overeating; special attention must be paid to the amount of food.

The listed points allow you to develop discipline and understanding in your dog: you need to eat at a set time, without delay, and in a certain amount. Animals should not be restricted in water. Most dogs have a fast metabolism. Therefore, “in a big way” they walk as many times a day as they eat: 2 times. Exceeding or decreasing the specified amount indicates difficulties with the intestines.

Properly feeding a large dog is not an easy task. A number of important points and nuances must be observed, but small dogs require more attention in this matter, since they often exhibit a weak stomach and intestines.

Dry food in a puppy's diet

Another food option for a growing dog is dry food. It is healthy, properly balanced, and has all the necessary substances and minerals. Such food is divided into the following categories:

• economy - the cheapest food with low energy value and a minimum of beneficial properties;
• premium - middle-priced class, the composition is significantly better than the previous one;
• superpremium - mixtures similar to natural products;
• elite (holistic) - expensive and healthy food with many additives and ingredients.

Veterinarians do not recommend economy food for puppies. Due to the lack of microelements necessary for growth and development, the pet may grow weak and often get sick.

Some tips for feeding puppies prepared food:

1. Do not choose food at a low cost - the desire to save money can lead to much greater expenses for treating your pet.
2. The best place to find good pet food is in veterinary pharmacies. It must be in a closed package.
3. Do not forget to regularly pour clean water for drinking.
4. Dry food should never be given together with natural food. When combining such products with different compositions, the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract is greatly disrupted.
5. You should not often change brands of food and mix different varieties with each other in one container.

Puppies should be given finished products no earlier than 4 months. Before feeding, it is soaked in warm water half an hour before feeding.

What else can you give?

In addition to natural products or ready-made dry food, separate vitamin and mineral supplements and treats are often introduced into the diet of two-month-old puppies. They not only make the animal’s menu more varied, but also have a positive effect on its health, although for maximum benefit it is worth knowing about some of the features of issuing each supplement.

We recommend reading how to feed your dog dry food, feeding features, benefits and harm.

Vitamins and other supplements

When using high-quality premium or holistic food to feed puppies, you don’t have to buy separate vitamin and mineral formulations, since the animal already receives all the nutrients it needs. Excessive amounts of vitamins and minerals in the diet will lead to hypervitaminosis, so it is better to include nutritional supplements only when puppies are fed a natural diet, which is much more difficult to balance.

There are two main types of vitamin-mineral complexes:

• ready-made mixed products, the best among which are considered to be the compositions “Excel Multi Vit 8 in 1”, “Beaphar for puppy”, “Canvit Junior”, “Biori” products;
• natural - feed sulfur, brewer's yeast, bone meal, calcined cottage cheese, fish oil.

Two-month-old puppies of large breeds with significant body weight are additionally included in the menu with calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus, which ensure proper formation of the skeleton and prevent rickets. Fish oil, vitamins A and D, given to dogs during the cold season, will be especially useful for prevention purposes.

Treats for dogs

Treats are the easiest way to encourage your puppy to behave correctly, especially if the baby has just begun to get acquainted with the rules in the house. If possible, it is better to give preference to completely natural treats in the form of cured and dried meat and deer antlers. An alternative solution would be ready-made pellets and stringy bones from a pet store. Products from and “Orijen” are deservedly considered a good example of such products, but you should not abuse them. Like food, treats contain a significant supply of calories, so treats should take up no more than 10% of the total daily food intake. A budget option for homemade delicacies would be bread crumbs and oven-dried cheese.

Important! When preparing any type of treat for a two-month-old puppy, you cannot use salt, pepper or any other spices.

Vitamins

As a dietary supplement, natural-fed puppies should be given vitamins for general strengthening of the body. Their norm is determined depending on age and breed. But even if the owner took a mongrel puppy, he needs useful supplements no less than a purebred representative.

Among the vitamins recommended for growing dogs, A and D are the leaders, especially in the autumn and winter seasons. They contribute to the normal development of the musculoskeletal system and the prevention of rickets.

Expert opinion

Anna Abramenko

An avid dog lover. Experience in veterinary medicine since 2009.

Ask a Question

If puppies eat dry food, they do not need extra vitamins. In this case, additional substances will only harm him.

How and what to feed a yard dog at home?

A dog's nutrition is one of the main conditions for its good health, vigor and good appearance. The genetic characteristics of outbred yard dogs, such as a strong immune system, good health and natural intelligence, made them very “convenient” for owners. But this does not mean that they do not get sick at all, and they can be fed low-quality food.

Prohibited Products

Newly-made owners are often afraid to make a mistake and feed their furry baby food that is harmful to him. In addition to the fact that you should not give puppies cold and hot food, there is an important list of foods prohibited for them:

• bread, loaf, sweet pastries;
• candies, chocolate, honey, jam;
• everything that causes flatulence and bloating - cabbage, grapes, peas, beans, plums;
• pork;
• River fish;
• fried, spicy, salted, smoked;
• sausages;
• ketchup, mayonnaise, various sauces;
• bones.

?

Food from a human table is unacceptable and dangerous for puppies.

General recommendations

Veterinarians usually emphasize how harmful overeating is for a dog. But lack of food can also cause her health problems. To avoid this, be sure to follow a few simple tips:

1. The puppy should always have access to clean water at room temperature. The drinking bowl should be washed regularly.
2. It is necessary to create a feeding schedule and not violate it.
3. Portions should be calculated based on weight parameters.
4. If your pet has eaten much less than usual, there is no need to increase the amount of food at the next feeding.
5. There is no strict schedule for the diet, but you cannot replace one product with another that is unequal in composition and nutritional value - for example, put more cereals in a dish rather than meat.
6. If you refuse a certain product, you should not worry or force your pet to eat - it is better to give him what he likes.
7. Each meal should last no more than 15 minutes. If during this time the puppy has not eaten everything, the owner needs to put the remaining food in the refrigerator.
8. Plates with food are placed so that the dog does not have to bend over to them. Otherwise, this will lead to improper formation and development of skeletal bones. An adjustable stand with a tripod will help avoid this.
9. You can’t have an active pastime immediately after eating - you should wait 1-2 hours and then start walking, playing and training with your four-legged friend.

Providing proper and balanced nutrition for a growing pet is not difficult. You just need to remember which foods are recommended for the puppy and which are strictly prohibited, and also strictly follow the feeding schedule. If your four-legged friend is cheerful and cheerful, his coat is smooth, shiny, and his teeth are healthy, then all this indicates the right choice of food for his pet and the owner’s care for him.

How does diet differ between breeds?

First of all, it is worth knowing that small dogs have small stomachs, but their energy needs are very high. Here we are talking about the following breeds:

• Spitz;
• Chihuahua.

Toy terriers, Yorkies and other small dogs have the same problems.

Therefore, they need high-calorie food. The situation is approximately the same with medium-sized animals (husky, fox terrier, etc.).