By Mitu Paul
It’s festive time again, when every household is bringing in their gifts of joy. Getting a new furry puppy into your family can be a very exciting and loving way to celebrate the occasion, but along with that excitement come a lot of decisions to make on how you will raise your puppy. Other than deciding on your closest vet, and to building a cushy bed and chewy toys, one of the most important decisions that you will make is deciding what to feed your new puppy. With this article, we hope we can guide you through this decision and to help you understand your puppy’s nutritional needs.
With the humanization of pets across globe, our new age pet parents are interested in pet foods that boast safety, variety, and dietary value, similar to those of human food.
Every commercial dog food has a nutritional adequacy statement on the label that says the food is formulated to meet the requirements for a certain life stage (growth, lactation and gestation, or adult maintenance). You should find a puppy food that is intended to be fed for growth. Dry kibble or wet food (canned), both are equally detailed with all required nutrients and have no particular advantage over the other and so this choice is only based on your personal preference.
Quantity Matters: We want our puppies to grow into healthy adult dogs, but we do not want to over feed them. Food bags contain feeding instructions on the label according to the weight of your puppy. This can be a good place to start but remember that these are average requirements and are not individualized for your puppy. Hence it is best recommended to get a heads up from your vet. Remember that as your puppy grows, his or her energy needs will also grow and so you will need to continually adjust the food dose based on body condition and weight.
Most puppy owners choose to also feed their puppy treats – especially during training sessions! The important thing to remember about treats is that they all have different calorie amounts per piece, so be sure to read the label. Treats and snacks should make up no more than 10% of your puppy’s calorie intake per day.
Puppies sometimes get diarrhoea and it can be caused by a number of different reasons. The most common causes for puppies are dietary indiscretion (when they eat something they were not supposed to eat) or parasites. If your puppy has diarrhoea, the best course of action is visiting your vet.
Mind the transition if you are switching foods. Generally, the best time to transition to adult food is when your puppy reaches about 12 months of age.
Lastly, prioritize your vet visits. Preventative Care is preferable to curative care, because it is the first step towards your puppy’s health: stopping a problem even before it arises.
The trust in our manufacturing quality and safety standards, combined with product diversification, innovation and continuous development will keep us ahead of the curve. As a company we encourage pet parenting for all our staff as that naturally infuses the love and care that’s much needed today to bring in the best in terms of product or services rendered. We aren’t just another pet product on shelves. At Signature, we are our consumers trusted aid for their nutritional needs. Vocal and wise, we are always listening to our counters and constantly evolving to deliver better – says Mitu Paul (Brand Head of Signature Pet foods)
