Tips For Feeding Your Puppy

A puppy owner will be told when a puppy is hungry by its whining, it also lets him know when it has had to much or to little food. This is the most recognized, but it is the least likely to be accurate. Even though a pup does whine when its, hungry or full, so does puppies that are cold, hot puppies, and puppies that get woke up from their nap, this also includes lost puppies, and sad puppies, etc. Whining is simply the puppy's way of telling their master that he is not very happy.

It doesn't take much to make a puppy unhappy, a puppy will whine when his tummy is too full. So, to say that your puppy is whining because it is hungry is miss leading on the owner's part. We can't think as a puppy does, so we need to judge a puppy by his reactions to determine if it is getting enough food to eat.

When your feeding a puppy there should be two things you need to watch for. The first thing that should happen is, he should immediately have a bowel movement then he should urinate. This part is going to sound a little gross, but your puppy might need your help to go to the bathroom by rubbing his anal area. If everything is working right he should perform both after eating his meal. Also, you should check the makeup and amount of his feces and urine, this gives you clues to how well your properly feeding your dog.

Your puppy's stool should naturally be formed as it is expelled, and its consistency should be semi soft and pasty. Its color should be a pale tan to a light mahogany brown, but this is not to be consistent. Stools that are green, clear orbluish-white in color signal trouble. If a stool is hard, watery, or lumpy could mean something isn't right. Whenever this occurs you should skip the next meal to see if it will fix the problem.

Begin the puppy's next meal with the puppy's food diluted one-half in boiling water. Make sure to feed the puppy the same quantity of food as you did before. If this doesn't create an improvement in your puppy's stool, you should reduce the quantity that you are feeding him by at least 25 % at every feeding. If there is still no change, consult your vet.

One way to tell your puppy's water balance is from his urination. It should be a little pale yellow, to pretty much clear, and the amount should be the same each time the pup urinates. A puppy's urination should never be a deep yellow or orange. It should never be like syrup, but should smell like urine, and always be similar to water.

If your puppy's urine is scanty, dark in color, or syrupy, this is indication that your puppy is not getting the right quantity of water. If this occurs you should add more water to the puppy's formula, or it should be given to the pup separately. If your puppy's urine seems to be a lot, or thin, the water amount should be checked to make absolute sure that the puppy is not getting too much. You should take the pup to his vet as quickly as possible if he stops urinating for longer than three feedings.

Visit Dani's blog and discover more great information about puppy care, dog training, dog grooming, dog food and much more. You also can download his ebook "The Secrets to Raising a Happier Dog: Common Questions & Answers!" for free.

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Puppy Feeding Schedule - A Daily Routine is Best

A new puppy that you bring into your home as a family pet will require special attention with a puppy feeding schedule for the first year of his life. A growing puppy needs approximately double the quantity of nutrients per pound of food than do older dogs. Because of these special requirements, your puppy should only be fed puppy food for the first year of his life.

When you first get your puppy you should transition him to the puppy feeding schedule and puppy food of your choosing over the period of one week. You should feed him the same old food he has been fed at a 75% mixture with a 25% mixture of his new food for a couple days. Then a 50%-50% mixture for a couple days, 25%-75% mixture for a few more days and finally 100% of the new food.

This transition is important so that a puppy gets used to his new food without having any major gastrointestinal upset. If at any stage of the food transition the puppy begins vomiting has loose stools or has constipation, back off the transition to an earlier ratio for a few more days.

Most veterinarians agree that a puppy should be fed on some sort of time schedule that fits in with your daily routine. It is best not to leave food out for the puppy to eat at his own timing because you need to be present to get the puppy and his entire body on a set schedule. This is best accomplished by having a puppy feeding schedule that adheres to specific feeding times regimented daily.

The standard advice from most veterinarians is that a puppy under six months of age should be fed 3 times a day. Puppies between six months of age and twelve months of age should be fed 2 times a day. Puppies over one year of age should be fed once a day. Puppies should have fresh water available to them at all times during puppyhood and adulthood. If you feed your pup dried puppy food, water is especially important because it rehydrates the dried food in the puppy's stomach.

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