Dog food

Dog food: homemade, canned, commercial, holistic, organic, all natural and the like. So what should you be feeding your small breed puppy? Most of you will feed your dog commercial dog food. Making an educated choice on what brand to feed your puppy also involves realizing the difference between small, medium, and large breed dogs. Your small breed puppy has the shortest growth period of these three, spanning only 10 months. A small breed puppy needs a diet high in energy, where in a large breed puppy too much energy from fat can contribute to the acceleration of muscle and tissue development without enough skeletal growth. Large breed puppies also have a much longer growth rate than small breed puppies, about 18 months. Medium breed puppies do not differenciate that drastically in their growth periods with small breed puppies. Medium breed puppies need to have their protein content cut a little from what the small breed puppy gets because of a longer growth period.

Small, medium and large breed dogs also need different levels of calorie content. As puppies large breed dogs need the least amount, 413 kilo calories per cup, medium breeds need about 440, and small breed puppies 469. This changes in adult dogs, large breed dogs need only 385 per cup, medium 397, and small 338.

So now you see why feeding blanket puppy and adult dog food is not a good idea. Your different breeds have different fat and protein requirements and a blanket puppy food is made to try to touch all of those different areas. In the puppy stage it is the most important to give your dog feed that is formulated especially for a small breed dog. Protein content should be around 33% and fat at 20%. In adult dogs your protein/fat content does not differ that much, small breed specific food has essential fatty acids that help contribute to a beautiful coat and healthy skin. Large and meduim breed dogs have a smaller digestive tract than small breed dogs and therefore need a more concentrated diet that is easier to digest. The size of the kibble is also changed to accomodate your breed size. Small kibble for small dogs, larger for large dogs, etc.

Okay, now you know you need to use a dog food that is breed specific, do you jump for the ones that are supposedly "all natural", or what about premuim, super premuim and gourmet? Premuim, super premuim and gourmet labels are only used by the manufacturer to promote their food, these products are not required to have different or higher quality ingredients. They are also not held to higher nutritional standards. Food labeled "all natural" only means it contains no artificial flavors, colors or preservatives. Although all food must have some preservatives to have any shelf life. "Natural" and "organic" are two different types of food. "Organic" refers to the conditions under which the plants were grown or the animals raised. The only rules regarding organic foods are the ones the U.S. Department of Agriculture is developing limiting the types of pesticides, fertilizers, and other substances that can be used in organic farming.

In short, read the label. Don't go for the gimicky, eye catching labels, your dog needs a well balanced diet containing high quality proteins, fats, fibers, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals. Just a note here about homemade foods. Homemade foods are foods you make yourself from rice, meat, and vegetables. Not only are these expensive and time consuming, it is difficult to obtain the proper amount of protein, fat, fiber, and carbohydrates in each serving. Manufactured foods on the other hand, must provide a guaranteed analysis of crude protein, crude fat, maximum percentage of crude fiber and moisture.

I feed my dogs dry small breed specific dog food. Canned food is alright, once opened it has a much shorter shelf life, costs more than dry food and you will have to brush your dogs teeth regularly if you feed it. So what food do I recommend? Royal Canin brand dog food and also Eagle Pack are two very, very good dry dog foods. Royal Canin puts their money into research, not advertising, which do you think benifits your dog more? Their food has the proper amounts of nutrients, minerals, and vitamins your dog needs.

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