Basic Dog Care - Feeding
- Puppies who are 8 to 12 weeks old need meals every
4 hours. They should not be separated from their mother at this age. If
they are separated for some reason, they should be bottle fed with special
puppy weaning formula.
- Puppies at the age of 1.5 to 2 months learn to eat
themselves. Introduce puppy gravy food or a well balanced soft home cooked
meal at this stage.
- Transitioning puppies from soft food to kibble diet
should be done gradually and not overnight. Add small quantities of the
new food to the old food on a daily basis. Keep reducing the amount of the
old diet with each meal and replace this with larger quantities of the new
diet.
- Feed puppies of age group three to six months old
at least three meals a day.
- Any change in diet or decrease in the number of
meals should be gradual and not sudden.
- Feed puppies of age group six months to one year
two meals a day.
- For most dogs, it's better to feed two meals a day
for adequate growth and nourishment.
The food you give your dog should provide a well balanced diet. This can be either home cooked or packaged food.
Home Food – Make sure you include fruits, vegetables, pulses, meat which provide adequate amount of vitamins and minerals in your dog’s diet.
Packaged
Food
- Premium quality packaged food provides a well balanced diet for adult dogs.
You can choose to go for Dry food or Canned Gravy food.
It
is advisable to feed your pet one meal of nutritious home cooked food and one
meal of a well balanced packaged food in a day.
Tidbits
& Treats - Chew sticks and other fun treats should be kept to a minimum
and must not exceed one a day. Maintain a healthy snacking behaviour for your
dog using natural food such as fruits, vegetables, cottage cheese & cooked
egg. Carrots, Apples (without seeds) & Green Beans are an all time
favorite. Replace the processed chew stick with a carrot or bean if possible.
These additions should not total more than ten percent of your dog’s daily food
intake.
Avoid feeding your
dog with table scraps, because it develops the bad habit of begging in the pet.
Moreover, table scraps do not find any place in the balanced diet and may cause
harm to your pet's smooth bowel movement.
Water – Clean &
fresh water should be available at all times.
Hygiene - Be sure to wash
food and water dishes frequently.