To give your precious puppy the best start in life, it’s vital that they are fed a highly nutritious diet with a precise balance of nutrients tailored to support their developing bodies and growing systems. Ultimately, puppies require food made just for them! Not only do they need maintenance nutrition to support their active puppy lifestyles, but they also have higher caloric needs and require higher ratios and quantities of specific vitamins and minerals to support the development of their strong and healthy puppy bodies.
A nutritionally complete and balanced puppy diet should have the following features:
Size specific
With such a great variation in the size of different dog breeds and their growth rates, it’s no surprise that the specific nutritional requirements amongst the breeds also differ and need to be met to lay down the best foundation for your puppy’s healthy future. Without a breed or size appropriate puppy formulated diet, pups are far more susceptible to joint and other musculoskeletal issues, to the extent that it can even impact their overall health. Larger dog breeds are more prone to dog arthritis so additional joint support and essential fatty acids need to be worked into their diets to keep their joints mobile and healthy! Meanwhile, smaller dog breeds have smaller jaws than larger ones and therefore need kibble that is designed for their little mouths, rather than struggling to chew large kibble tailored for much larger jaws!
Provide an energy boost to support their crazy puppy routines
Since puppies grow so quickly (puppyhood is such an intense phase of growth and development), burn a massive amount of energy and have much higher metabolic rates, they may need as much as 2x to 4x the energy intake as their adult equivalents! For these reasons, they also need to eat measured amounts more frequently at regular feeding times, generally 2-3 times a day, based on their body condition and age.
Puppies of all breeds need the appropriate amount of calories during growth, which is essentially the quantity required to support steady growth, whilst maintaining them at an ideal lean body condition. Overfeeding puppies is a big no no, particularly in large and giant breeds, as this can lead to rapid weight gain and excessive strain on their developing bones and joints. Whilst dietary fats serve as the most concentrated source of energy in a balanced diet, carbohydrates, such as fibre and starch, are also a useful and easily digestible form of energy to fuel growing puppies.
Optimal Protein
Is your puppy getting the right amount of protein for growth and development?
Quality protein plays a vital role in healthy puppy development by providing energy, and building strong muscles, bones and joints. Similar to energy, puppies also need more dietary protein than adult dogs to support their developing bodies, with protein requirements at their highest immediately after weaning. The recommended protein range for healthy puppy growth is 22-32% on a dry matter basis.
Aid in healthy development of your furry family member
As you can imagine, puppies require additional nutrients and care to support their developing bodies and systems during the early months. Along with providing energy, fats (also known as lipids) deliver essential fatty acids that are vital to body functions, a beautiful shiny coat and a healthy nervous system. Essential fatty acids are so called ‘essential’ because your puppy’s body is unable to produce them on its own. DHA, often obtained from fish oil, is a particularly important omega-3 fatty acid that supports brain and eye development in puppies and should be incorporated into any quality puppy diet. A tailored balance of vitamins and minerals is also super important to help your puppy thrive, with optimal levels of calcium, phosphorus and magnesium required for proper bone growth and strong little chompers, and B group vitamins to benefit brain function. Each vitamin and mineral has an important part to play in puppy health!
Quality food matters
Your energetic little puppy is constantly growing and requires the best nutrients, so look for a good quality food, which cuts out the fillers like preservatives, sugar, salt and other poorly digestible components. Higher quality foods are more easily absorbed by your pup’s digestive system, meaning better nutrition for your puppy, and the reduced likelihood of puppy diarrhoea and stinky puppy poo. The inclusion of limited amounts of dietary fibre such as inulin and pectin, which act as puppy prebiotics, can also be useful in the prevention of diarrhoea and the unpleasant scenario of a constipated puppy.
Enhances puppy immune health
Last but certainly not least, a nutritionally balanced diet should support your puppy’s immune health. Just like human babies, they have very poorly developed immune systems at this stage of life and need all the help they can get! Antioxidants are vital in supporting puppy immunity, with addition in diets shown to improve responses to vaccines. Vitamins and our all- essential nutrient DHA, also have their parts to play in enhancing your puppy’s immune function.
Where to now?
With plenty of complete and balanced commercial foods currently available, consult your veterinarian for more advice on a vet approved puppy diet. Having said that, if your puppy is unwilling or unable to take a nutritionally balanced diet for whatever reason, or you’d simply like to give your puppy that extra little boost, PAW by Blackmores Digest + Protect Puppy Care is now available to support every pup in their growth and development!
Introducing PAW Digest + Protect Puppy Care
PAW Digest & Protect Puppy Care is a quality fish and chickpea chew, formulated specifically for puppies’ unique nutritional needs and to support the healthy development of your puppy’s digestive and immune systems.
Formulated by veterinary experts at PAW by Blackmores, these tasty chews for puppies contain:
We accept
