When we look at our furry friend, who a few months ago came home, we ask ourselves: When did he grow so much? None of us like to see our little puppy grow, but it’s the law of life, something inevitable. With this growth come great changes in our friend, with his teeth, his hair and also his diet. When do we stop giving products meant for puppies?
It’s been a few months now and you’re not quite sure if your puppy is still a puppy when it comes to food or not. In this article, we will help you identify the signs that it is time to change your friend’s diet. There are influential and unique factors that mark this change in age.
At what age do you change products for puppies?
Although age is the factor that indicates when to change the feeding of the puppies, it will not be the same age in all puppies, since depending on the size, some still need nutrients that are only provided in the feeding for puppies. Here are some tips to know if you should change your dog’s diet or not.
Small breeds: You will have to change your puppy’s between 9 and 12 months. This will be the same for very small, average and medium dogs.
Big breeds: If your dog is a large breed, for example, a Labrador, the change in their diet will happen between 12 and 15 months, because they are large, and they need to strengthen and develop their bones much more.
Giant breeds: For the dogs of giant breeds, for example, Great Danes, St. Bernards, Giant Schnauzer, etc., you will have to change its diet between 18 and 24 months of age.
The feeding for puppies contains nutrients and other favorable elements for the growth of your dog. Depending on the size and speed the dog grows at, it must continue feeding on puppy food for more or less time.
However, there are other aspects regarding the feeding of your dog that you should take into account. For example, how many times should your dog eat?
The correct feeding for my dog
There is a myth that all dogs, regardless of breed, size or age, should eat three times a day. This is not entirely true. According to dog food experts, depending on the age of the animal, the amount of food should also vary.
This applies equally to people: a baby does not eat the same amount as a child, and a child does not eat the same amount as an adult. On the other hand, an adult could survive to eat only once a day, while a child would hardly survive.
The recommendations according to a well-known brand of food for animals are the following:
Up to about two and a half months, a puppy needs to eat between 4 and 5 times a day. The amounts will not be excessively large. In the brand of food you buy, on the back of the bag, they will give you recommendations that you can follow when determining the amount.
Between two and a half months and five months, the number of times will be reduced to 3 a day.
Those over five months old will only need two meals a day. When the dog is over one year old, you can choose to keep two meals a day or even reduce it to only one.
Keep a fixed meal schedule
What’s important is that you always have the same meal schedule for your puppy. That is part of a good diet for him. A piece of advice would be to give him food after you have eaten at home. This way, the dog will adapt to your schedules, will know which ones are yours, and you will mark yourself before him as its leader, showing him that first, you eat and then him. This tactic can also help you avoid having your dog ask for food at the table.
Although if at first, your dog doesn’t eat when you serve him, do not rush to remove his plate. Leave it for at least half an hour. There are some dogs that are somewhat modest and like their intimacy at mealtime.
We hope that as always, our tips will be useful and help you provide good nutrition for your dog.