How to Feed Your Dog and Puppy
Your puppies first 12 to14 months are absolutely critical for establishing a foundation for a healthy life. Inadequate nutrition can stunt growth, impair mental development and adversely affect their personality. Fortunately, it’s easy to provide top-notch nutrition to them.
Make sure the first ingredient in your puppy food is a source of high-quality animal protein
Dogs are omnivores — they’ll eat things like berries and grass, but they prefer meat. So give your puppies and dogs food with a first ingredient that provides a source of high-quality animal protein, such as chicken meal or lamb meal.
Feed puppies a food specifically formulated for their special needs
Puppies require a certain percentage of protein and fat and optimal levels of particular minerals and vitamins (which differ from the ideal levels for adult dogs). It is extremely important that these nutrients be consistent. That’s why high-quality puppy foods like MAX®, ULTRA™ and NATURAL CHOICE® puppy foods are ideal.
While your puppy is teething, moisten the food
That will make it easier to chew. Your teething puppy’s gums are quite sore, and bleeding gums are common
Always have plenty of fresh water available regardless of your dog’s age
Don’t forget to refill the water dish often.
Reduce feeding frequency to two or three times a day for puppies who are 3 months
After a puppy is three months old, they won’t need to eat as frequently.
Feed a mature dog once or twice a day
Feeding times should be the same from day to day. Remember, puppies and dogs thrive on consistency
Don’t be tempted by the many lower price varieties of dog food
Price is not a measure of quality. Typically, the brands you see in the supermarket can be less digestible, which means your dog may have to eat more to get enough nutrition.
If you give your dog superior dog food nutrition, you’ll have less clean up to worry about
Feeding your dog or pup NUTRO® dog foods will result in smaller, more compact stools. That’s because when food is easy-to- digest, it’s less likely to be expelled as waste.
Look for foods that contain sunflower oil, soybean oil or poultry fat
These are good sources of linoleic acid, the essential fatty acid that helps promote healthy skin and a sleek coat. You’ll find that MAX®, ULTRA™ and NATURAL CHOICE® dog food consistently provide among the highest linoleic acid levels available.