The best food for a newborn puppy is his mother’s milk. In addition to nutrients, it contains a huge amount of antibodies that babies need to protect themselves from the disease. But time goes on, they are growing rapidly, and mom’s milk is not enough. Usually a bitch feeds them up to 1.5-2 months. But puppies need to be fed much earlier, from about the third week of life.
Basic knowledge
The average fat content of milk in a bitch is 9-10%. Exactly the same fat content or a little less should be the substitutes you choose. Often the owners make a common mistake and start feeding their puppies too soon. Often this is not necessary. If puppies sleep most of the time and gain weight normally, then everything is fine and you do not need to get up at night with the intention of feeding them out of the bottle. Do not forget that the bitch produces as much milk as her puppies drink. That is, by feeding you will stimulate a decrease in its amount.
When to offer puppies a saucer
It depends on the specific situation. There are objective reasons why you need to feed earlier. If the mother has little milk or the litter is very large, goat milk is the best choice. It is advisable to use raw, whole. You can add one yolk to a glass of milk. Before reaching four weeks of age, it is best to use quail eggs, and then add chicken.
Feeding puppies makes sense to start at the age of 14 days if weight gain has slowed. If they continue to recover well, then you can delay the introduction of additional feed for another week. Or you can wait another week and go on to accustom to solid food from four weeks of age.
First solid food
Closer to a month, you can start giving babies "adult" food. Feeding puppies with solid food before this age is useless because the digestive tract is not formed and cannot digest anything other than milk. Closer to a month old, you can start giving them meat (beef and veal), natural cottage cheese.
Eggs are added per 1 pc. 200 g of food per day. One chicken is added per 700 g of the main food. On this diet, babies live up to five weeks.
Second month of life
The beginning of feeding puppies marks a new stage in the life of babies. Now they are less and less dependent on their mother and spend more and more time studying the world around them. Starting from week 5, additional foods can be added to the diet, one every three days. It is very important to give priority to the assortment of meat. Veal is a choice for the first feeding, but not the only one. The only limitation is fatty pork, as well as slices of mutton with fat tail fat. By the way, fat chicken also falls under the ban, you need to choose a young bird or remove excess fat.
At this age, milk ceases to play a paramount role in the life of babies. Now it is gradually being replaced by dairy products. It is best to cook them for puppies yourself. In this case, you can be sure of the quality of the finished product. At the same time, raw calcined products are better absorbed, so you should give them preference.
The first lure for puppies is an introduction to the main products. Therefore, consider the delicate stomachs of babies, give them food in small portions. This will prevent stomach problems, bloating and diarrhea. Like a young child, the puppy's gastrointestinal tract is still imperfect.
Vitamins and Minerals
When to start feeding puppies, each owner decides independently, focusing on his wards. If the mother feeds them well, then calmly enjoy a carefree life until they turn 3-4 weeks old. But if the bitch does not have milk or, even worse, she fell ill or died, then she will have to take care of feeding the crumbs.
From 6 weeks old, puppies begin to be offered raw fish. It is a source of phosphorus and calcium. From this time, you can begin to introduce vegetables and fruits into the diet. These are apples and carrots, lettuce and cucumbers, zucchini and pumpkins. Fish and meat bones can be fed to the puppy in the grinded form, mixed with meat. Do not forget that their share should not be more than 15%. You can and should give babies large beef bones. This is a toy and a treat, and also a necessary thing in order to scratch growing teeth. But bones should only be given to well-fed puppies at night. At this age they are fed 6 times a day, and by 8 weeks they reduce the number of feedings to 3-4 times a day.
From 8 weeks
By this time, the digestive system manages not only to form, but also to get stronger. Puppies can start giving offal. But you need to choose them carefully too. For example, a puppy will swallow chicken necks and nibble on its backs. You can give a scar in the proportions recommended for adult animals. Gradually, the number of feedings is now reduced, but the portion is increasing.
The kid at this age eats, as much as an adult dog of the same breed, if you take the daily amount of food. Males always eat more than bitches. For normal digestion, be sure to add chopped fresh herbs. By this age, the number of feedings per day decreases to three, but as before, sour-milk products should be included in the diet.
Yorkshire puppy feeding
Depending on the breed, the rules for introducing complementary foods may vary. This is especially true for miniature animals that are bred artificially. Tiny Yorkies often experience digestive problems. The stomach is often simply not able to digest as much food as the body needs because of its size. Therefore, special feeds are used for them, which, with a small volume, provide a good supply of nutrients.
Therefore, feeding York puppy is most often carried out using soaked dry food “Pappi Starter”. It is kneaded with a fork to the state of gruel. And when the kids grow up a little, they eat already just soaked and washed down with water. From two months you can go to the "Mini Junior". Most breeders agree that feeding is the best for Yorks.
Large Breed Dogs
The most popular can be considered a German shepherd. Sheepdog puppy feeding starts from 18-20 days of life. These puppies are quite large, they need a lot of calcium and nutrients for growth and development. From this time, calcined cottage cheese can be introduced. He showed himself very well in a bunch of "cottage cheese - milk - raw egg" or "cottage cheese - egg - carrot juice". From day 22, you can add lean beef. To do this, scrape it or grind it in a blender. A good option would be a mixture of milk, cottage cheese and minced meat.
From about the 26th day of life, milk porridge can be introduced into the diet. Grits must be grinded in a coffee grinder. Start with one cereal, and when the baby’s stomach gets used to it, you can add the following.
How much food does a puppy need
For puppies of medium and large breeds there is a clear formula: they need from 5 to 8% of their own body weight. Moreover, this portion is adjusted once a week. But the main guideline remains the condition of the puppy. He should not get fat or look thin. You can focus on the ribs. They should not protrude, but palpation can be easily felt. If the puppy is cheerful, runs a lot and is interested in the world around him, he will definitely have a good appetite. At the same time, it is imperative to provide it with quality food, complete sources of all the necessary nutrients.