Most breeders supply a diet sheet with a new puppy, detailing what the pup has been fed, how much, and at what times of the day. Follow this, at least for the first few days, since an abrupt change in diet can cause digestive upsets.
(Check out Dog Life Stage Feeding.)
Pups up to six months of age require twice as many calories per pound of body weight per day as do adults. Protein requirements are also higher. After six months, these requirements begin to decline as the puppy’s growth rate decelerates. These requirements are best met by feeding a product labeled for growth of puppies.
The information on the label should show that on a dry matter basis the product:
- Has at least 25% protein
- Has at least 17% fat
- Has less than 5% fiber
- Has 1.0 to 1.8% calcium
- Has 0.8 to 1.6% phosphorus
- Is 80% digestible
- Provides 1,750 metabolizable calories per pound of food
Labels provide recommended daily puppy feeding amounts. They are useful as guidelines, but are not applicable for every pup, or for every stage of the puppy’s life. Puppies should be fed at least three times a day from weaning to 6 months of age. After six months, puppies can be fed twice a day. Do not feed puppies snacks between meals, as this will unbalance the diet. Feeding regular meals will also help with housetraining.
(Check out Planning Your Puppy Diet.)
Overfeeding is a much more common problem than underfeeding. Do not leave a bowl of food down all day for puppies! Overfeeding can lead to obesity and may worsen the symptoms of hip dysplasia and other inherited bone diseases. Overfeeding is particularly undesirable in heavy-boned, rapidly growing puppies of the large breeds. In fact, in larger breeds a slower growth rate has been found to be healthier, because it allows the muscles and tendons to develop at the same rate as the bones.