Puppy Feeding and Rearing
Puppy Feeding and Rearing
In two previous newsletters l wrote about the feeding of our dogs and what l thought was the best for them. It is only a guide to what l think and l know of many other people who feel the same. One point l would like to make is that over feeding is harmful for your dog.
Once again the decision to feed natural foods to processed foods is to be considered & also raw against cooked. So what l suggest is if you have not read the first 2 newsletters go & read them & see what you feel is right for your puppy & come back & then read this next section. (if you have not seen the other two let me know & l shall re-publish them).
Many people are saying that now dogs are living longer than they used too & that in the wild they would have died earlier. There is a lot of debate right here, survival of the fittest, no crippling diseases & a shorter life expectancy, we could go on, but everything now is at our finger tips to use & along with that comes added costs. Vet bills & the cost of different foods, grooming, bedding etc.
What we expect from our dogs & what we use them for is all different & relative to our own life styles. So for our rearing of a puppy to be a healthy & happy one this is a guide that you may wish to consider. The foundation we set is for later in life as young dogs are resilient as we are but as they age the the problems arise through poor feeding.
The puppy we have bought home is 8 weeks old. The feeding program to start on is to try & give the pup 4 small meals a day until it is 16 weeks old if possible. Have plenty of fresh water available at all times. All puppies of different breeds have a different appetite capacity & the food should be warm (tepid) not hot or cold!
1st meal; This is mainly a milk feed. Use a puppy milk & strengthen it with pure honey (not refined), raw cow or goats milk is the best but hard to come by & add some whole grain flaked porridge oats, or any other flaked whole grain cereals. l have used a small amount of puppy kibble as well, out of necessity not choice. Sprinkle with bran.
2nd meal; Use whole grain flaked porridge oats or again any other whole grain cereals & make sure they have been soaked in your milk product & add chopped raisins, apple & banana with a teaspoon of desiccated coconut & 2 or 3 slices of stale whole grain bread (multi) with a teaspoon of sesame or sunflower oil. Sprinkle with bran. This is the meal to add a small amount of cottage cheese & natural yoghurt.
3rd meal; This is a Raw meat meal of shredded meat not minced as we want the puppy to utilise its stomach muscles in the meat digestion. At the end of this month we need the meat to be chunky to help in the chewing of the food. Meat such as chicken, beef, lamb, roo (small amount) turkey, rabbit are all good meats to use & sprinkle with a little bran.
4th meal; This Raw meat meal we add some bone & that can come in chicken frames, necks, wings & even lamb flaps or other bones that are of a good size for a puppy. Still give some shredded meat mixed with 1 teaspoon of wheat germ, 1 tsp. cod liver oil, or 1 tsp. olive oil & a sprinkle of seaweed powder (rich in iodine) it promotes hair growth & strengthens nerves. Introduce some finely chopped green vegetables (include leaves) & once a week add a whole egg with the shell grounded. In this meal l add a small amount of crushed garlic.
After 16 weeks reduce the meals to 3 a day by getting rid of the first daily meal. The portions of the other meals are increased to still satisfy the pup. After 8 months of age reduce the meals to 2 day. If possible one lunch time & that to be the cereal based meal & the evening meal the meat based one.
Never force or coax your puppy to eat as you may end up with a fussy eater or the pup may need a break, so take that food away & wait for the next meal time. Whenever feeding your pup or dog never leave any food out for it. Once it’s had enough remove anything that’s left over. This can be the animal giving itself a natural fasting which we shall talk about at a later time. It is good for them to eat grass & forage in the garden as they may be cleansing themselves out.
At 12 months of age refer to the first 2 newsletters again & from them establish your dogs diet & add your own variations. Cereals & grains are good for all dogs & remember that they are ground first & then treated with warm to slightly hot water so the dog can process them.
Since this first part of the article was written, l have now introduced a museli (which l sell) for puppies & mature dogs. Some other additives are given with this & l have found it is time saving, cost effective & excellent for the health of the dogs.