What Should a Puppy Eat? (What to Avoid And What You Should Feed Them)

What Should a Puppy Eat? (What to Avoid And What You Should Feed Them)

Awww! You’ve got a new bundle of joy in the form of a puppy, and you’re enjoying smothering them with love and affection.

If you are a first-time puppy owner (or if it’s been a while since you got one), then you might be a little anxious about what to feed them.

Puppies grow fast, and they require the right amount of all vital nutrients to maintain a healthy life, free of diseases. A proper diet within the growing stage is crucial for building muscles, bone density, strong teeth, healthy gum, shiny coat, and energy for an active life.

So, What Should Your Puppy Eat?

Should you prepare them homemade food?

Or can you buy them food from the local supermarket?

In this blog, we’ll discuss all the questions you might have regarding your puppy’s diet. What food is good for them, and what you should avoid feeding them?

What Should My New Born Puppy Eat?

When a puppy is born, it will likely be around its mother and will live off of their breast milk for around 6 weeks.

If you have a puppy that is not around its mother in the early days, then you can feed them puppy formula. But we do recommend that you contact us before doing this.

Avoid feeding your pup with cow’s, goat’s milk or any other animal milk as this may not react well with your pup’s digestive system and cause diarrhea.

What Should You Feed Your Puppy?

After week six, you can start feeding your puppy solid food. Although their mother’s milk is essential for continual healthy growth, they don’t get all the required nutrients from milk alone, so a wholesome diet should be introduced from this point onwards.

Can’t you just feed a puppy what a grown dog eats?

Adult dogs have a much stronger immune and digestive system, and they are used to the regular food they eat. Whereas puppies have not yet developed a tolerance for the food that adult dogs eat.

Puppies are young and need extra nutrients as they are growing and cannot digest dog food the way adult dogs do. 

During the first 6 to 7 months, your puppy’s nutritional needs are constantly changing, so it is always a great idea to consult us to understand how exactly your pup’s diet chart should look.

Remember, feeding your puppies too much will cause stomach sickness as they are new to food and will take time to adjust. Moreover, overfeeding can lead to obesity and a picky nature later in life. 

There are certain foods that you need to avoid feeding your dogs in the early stages. Before you purchase any food, be mindful of the ingredients they have listed out and see that it doesn’t have any ingredients that your puppy cannot digest.

Which Food Should Not Be Given to Puppies?

There is some food that you shouldn’t feed a dog, whether it’s an adult or puppy.

These foods can cause diarrhea, and can later lead to other health conditions in dogs.

1. Grapes and Raisins

While some dogs can digest grapes or raisins, many cannot. Eating them may cause diarrhea and vomiting, which will usually present within 12 hours of eating them.

If they remain untreated, symptoms can lead to dehydration and loss of appetite, and they can suffer from increased urination. Other fatal symptoms can be kidney-related diseases or even worse, kidney failure. 

If your puppy eats grapes or raisins we recommend you to visit the vet immediately.

2. Chocolates and Caffeine

Chocolate is dangerous for dogs no matter their age. It will increase the toxicity in dogs and your puppy can experience vomiting, increased thirst, diarrhea, muscle tremor, abdomen pain, apathy, irregular heartbeat, and high temperature. At worst it can also lead to seizure and death.

Darker chocolate also often contains caffeine, which is also toxic to your dogs. So you should also keep caffeinated drinks away from your pup.

If your pup ingests either of these products you should seek a vets help immediately.

3. Onions and Garlic

As much as they bring flavor to our own food, onions and garlic are a no-go for your puppy.

Avoid them as whole foods, and any food that includes them as ingredients. Even shallots, scallions, and chives should be removed from your pup’s diet.

Onions and garlic can cause anaemia and gastroenteritis, damaging the red blood cells in dogs. What’s alarming is that the symptoms may not show up to several days later in your puppy. So if they ingest onions or garlic you should seek advice from a veterinarian immediately.

4. Xylitol

An artificial sweetener, xylitol is widely used in sugarless candies and bakery items. They are also found in tubes of toothpaste, cough syrups, mouthwash, etc. 

Ingestion of any of these items can be damaging to your dog, as it can cause a quick drop in the blood sugar level of puppies and lead to liver failure. 

Vomiting is the first symptom that you should watch out for if your puppy has swallowed any of these items. Other symptoms include lack of coordination and seizure. These symptoms can transpire anytime between a few minutes from ingestion to some hours after ingestion. 

Seek advice from your veterinarian if your dog ingests any of these products or something with Xylitol in it.

5. Yeast

Yeast is another harmful item that you might want to avoid feeding your pup. 

Yeast in the raw dough used in many baking products and expands. If your puppy eats it they can experience difficulty in breathing, bloating and tissue damage. 

So be careful if you are baking, and make sure your puppy doesn’t get in and eat your cake mix. If they do then seek advice from your vet immediately.

6. Nuts

Nuts might be healthy and nutritious for you, but they are not good for your pup.

Nuts such as walnuts, pecans, almonds, macadamia nuts are dangerous for your pup’s health as they have a high concentration of fats and oils in them, which can lead to abnormal fats in your pup and later trouble them with obesity. Increased fats can cause issues in your puppy including diarrhea, vomiting, and pancreatitis in dogs.

And some types of nuts, such as macadamia nuts can cause depression, weakness, vomiting, and muscle tremors in your puppy.

If your pup ingests nuts then speak to your vet immediately for further advice

7. Salty Snacks

Salty snacks might be among your favorites; however, they can cause sodium intolerance in dogs. So, foods such as potato chips, salted popcorn should be avoided for your pup. 

Salt also leads to excessive thirst and urination that can cause other body ailments. 

Symptoms that your pet has taken too much salt in his diet are vomiting, diarrhea, tremors, and rise in temperature, depression, and seizures. If your puppy eats any salty snacks then you should consult with your vet.

So, What Should A Puppy Eat?

Your puppy grows quickly and so its nutritional needs will constantly change over the early months of its life. 

Early on, puppies will live off their mother’s milk, but after around 4-6 weeks you will need to supplement with some solid food. Remember your puppies digestion system will not be as tolerant as older dogs so you need to be careful with what you feed them, and there are certain foods that you should avoid. 

It’s also a really important stage of their nutrition so it’s important that you feed them nutritious food that will help them lead a healthy and happy life.

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