Nutrition- 3 Ways To Feed Your Puppy
– by Mortimer Shoemacher
To meet
the continual nutritional demand of your puppy's growing body,
he must have food available to him all day long. There are 3
common techniques to feed your new puppy.
These are:
Meal feeding, portion-control feeding, and free feeding.
Meal
Feeding:
This
method of feeding is usually done with mixing solid food and
canned food and is ideal for puppies that are being trained to
housebreak. With this technique, your puppy gets his meals at
different times during the day. Many owners prefer the three
meal a day program while others are more comfortable with giving
their puppies four meals a day.
Whether
you're feeding your puppy three or four meals per day, the
important thing to remember is to divide the meals equally
within a 24-hour period and without having to get up at night.
With three
meals a day, you have to feed your puppy every eight hours.
Four meals a day, food is given to your puppy every six hours.
Keep in mind, however, that you shouldn't give your puppy two
meals a day until he is at least five or six months old.
Portion
Control Feeding:
This
method of feeding is probably the most common way that puppies
are fed today, especially for owners who work during the day and
have to leave their puppies alone. It is done by measuring the
exact amount of food that he requires (depending on his age and
type of breed). This amount of food should be modified as a
puppy gets older. The portion is then placed in his food bowl
once a day, preferably the same time everyday. This way your
puppy will be able to nibble on his food throughout the day.
Most
puppies ration out their meals throughout the day and eat only a
small portion at a time, while some puppies will empty their
bowl in one sitting. Studies have shown that puppies that are
brought up with this feeding method will not over eat when they
turn into adult dogs. However, if you are having a difficult
time housebreaking your puppy, then this method of feeding will
probably not work for you.
Free
Feeding:
With this
feeding technique, you have to make sure that there is food in
his bowl and let him nibble on it throughout the day. Although
this is the simplest way to feed your puppy, this method is also
the least recommended by most vets and breeders. Feeding your
puppy will make it more difficult to house train him because you
do not know exactly when he eats. In addition, it is also
difficult to know how much he eats on a daily basis.
Be sure to
visit
www.HighestQualityPetFood.com for your free dog or cat food
sample!
