Healthy
Top 10 Tips for Deciding which food to feed your Puppy
We have a section on puppies on our website but as this is the time of year when many of our customers choose to bring a new puppy into the family, we thought it might be helpful to have a little more information on how to look for a suitable food.
- Is the food nutritionally complete and balanced, meaning is it designed to meet all of the FEDIAF’s minimum levels for growing puppies and avoid exceeding maximums. If the puppy is fed the right amount of food to meet their energy needs, then all of their nutritional requirements (for protein, vitamins and minerals) will be met.
This can be determined by reading the nutritional adequacy statement on the label. - If your puppy is a large breed, you should feed a large breed puppy food because these foods are designed to have a lower calcium level and are usually lower in calories than typical puppy foods. This is to support a gradual rate of growth and support healthy development of bones.
- Has the puppy food undergone feeding trials? To check whether a food is complete and balanced it needs either be used in feeding trials or have the formulation analysed. Feeding trials are the gold standard, but a formulation analysis is fine too.
- Kibble size and shape – most puppies can eat standard size kibble but smaller breeds and those with shortened snouts (brachycephalic) may prefer a smaller kibble size.
- What is the calorie density? Calories per serving can vary considerably so it really depends on the individual puppy. For example, a puppy who is not very active would need a lower calorie food while a very active puppy who struggles to maintain their weight would be better on a food that provides more calories per serving.
- Start as you mean to go on – weigh their portion but you may need to adjust this up or down from the guidelines on the pack to cope with growth spurts. It’s worth remembering that there is a wide range of recommended amounts so some brands will be closer to your puppies true requirements than others.
- If your puppy has been spayed/neutered their calorie requirements will be up to 30% less so this will need to be adjusted post-surgery. They will still need a puppy food until they are 12-18 months of age.
- If your puppy has a medical condition and require a therapeutic diet, it may be helpful to work with a nutritionist to ensure that the puppy still meets their requirement for growth.
- Don’t worry about the percentages of different nutrients such as protein for example because if you have selected your food according to the first four steps above then you can be assured that the food will have the right amount of nutrients for healthy puppies.
- Don’t forget that the nutritional value and quality of the food is not necessarily related to the cost of the food – not all of the expensive options are the best for your puppy