Posts Tagged ‘Dog Nutrition’
|Friday, October 16th, 2009
Whether a newborn puppy is fed by his own mother or by his owner, he must eventually be taught to depend on something besides milk for his food. This learning process is called “weaning”, and represents the changing of a puppy’s diet from liquid to solid. At about three to four weeks of age, as soon as their eyes open and they are able to move about with some ease, most puppies will begin to experiment with the solid foods being fed to their mother. When this happens it is time to begin to teach the puppies to eat from the pan.
Instituting such an early feeding procedure accomplishes four important things. First, it allows you to feed the puppies a dog food that is more satisfactory for them than the food you are feeding their mother. Second, it speeds up the weaning process because the puppies will learn to eat solid food at an earlier age. Third, it begins the social interaction between the puppy and his owners. And finally, it allows you to reduce the mother’s intake of food at the same rate you increase that of her puppies. The latter prevents the mother from overeating as the early feeding of her pups promotes reduced lactation.
Weaning is a learning process in which the pups’ digestive system is trained to eat solid foods. Before the puppy is born, he is fed by his mother with pre-digested nutrients. When he is whelped the puppy drinks the mother’s milk. The mother’s milk contains some of the most digestible nutrients that a puppy can eat. At weaning the puppy’s digestive system must learn to handle each new food in turn, as it comes to him. Similar to all learning processes, the weaning process cannot be taught faster than the puppy’s ability to learn.
In formulating the dog nutrition diet, the ingredients that make up the food fed to a puppy that is starting to wean must be highly digestible and non-irritating. An excellent weaning diet can be made easily by preparing slurry using a specialized dietary animal foods designed to be fed to patients with gastro-intestinal disorders, mixed into equal parts of the mother’s milk substitutes. “Half and half” coffee cream can also be used. High-quality ration-type commercial foods also make adequate solid foods to mix with the liquid part of the diet. In all cases, ¼ to ½ tablespoonful of grated, raw liver should be added to each can of food just before it is mixed. The slurry can be either beaten with a fork or mixed in a blender.
For larger breeds, it may be more practical to use the higher quality, expanded dry foods in combination with the canned foods to blend with the liquids. Addition of dry dog foods may also help these larger, faster-growing puppies to get sufficient nutrients in the quantity of food they are able to consume in. Whatever the mixture used, the quantity of milk substitute in it is gradually reduced, so that when the puppy is about six or seven weeks old, he is only eating pure, solid dog food.
Tags: Dog Food, Dog Nutrition, Weaning Puppy
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Thursday, October 8th, 2009
You just brought home your new puppy, now, what should you feed him? There are a million types and brands of dog food, from canned to kibble. How do you know how much you should feed your puppy? For medium to large size puppies, they need to be fed a well balanced, quality, dry, puppy formula, 4 small meals a day, up to 4 months of age. They are growing so fast and using up so much energy, they need to be refueled frequently. From 4 months to 8 months of age, they should be fed 3 meals a day, and from 8 months to 12 months, feed 2 times a day. If puppies are started on dry kibble from the time they are weaned, they will have no problem eating dry puppy food.
Treats can be given in moderation, especially small treats for reward during training. Table food and leftovers should be avoided, although the occasional piece of apple or carrot is okay. Certain foods are not safe for puppies or dogs to eat. Most people know chocolate can harm dogs, but raisins, grapes, onions, garlic and certain nuts are also harmful.
It is important for large breed puppies to be fed a dry puppy food specially formulated for large breeds. Also, do not overfeed your puppy to increase or speed growth. This is especially important for large breed puppies because rapid growth causes improper skeletal development, which leads to bone and joint problems. A slower, steady growth rate is better. You should not encourage your puppy to become an oversized adult to make him look more impressive.
There are some key ingredients important for your pups diet. DHA, which is a fish oil has been shown to promote faster learning in puppies. Protein is important for muscle, skin, coat and organ development. Calcium and Phosphorous are needed in the proper ratio for teeth and bones to grow correctly. Omega-3 fatty acids help develop a healthy immune system.
Dogs do not naturally produce all the nutrients they require so a quality dog or puppy food is crucial for healthy growth and development. An all natural, human grade pet vitamin is also beneficial because it provides an important digestive enzyme lost during the processing of dog food. A quality pet vitamin also provides Essential Fatty Acids not produced in the body. A good pet vitamin also helps protect against allergies and immune disorders, such as Irritable Bowel Disease.
With the proper care and nutrition, your puppy will grow to be strong and healthy. You will be able to enjoy your new best friend for a long time.
Joseph M. Sabol is a world class Doberman breeder. Please go to http://petvitamins4u.com or to http://theroadhousedobes.com for further information
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Joseph_M_Sabol
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Tags: Doberman Nutrition, Doberman Puppy, Dog, Dog Health, Dog Nutrition, Dogs, Puppies, Puppy, Puppy Health, Puppy Nutrition
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Sunday, October 4th, 2009
These days, the development of successful hand-rearing methods has made it so much easier to raise orphaned or abandoned puppies. Dog owners who enjoy a high degree of success raising newborn pups pay careful attention to the three following principles: Giving a suitable environment; feeding a nutritionally complete formula; and having a regular feeding schedule.
1. Giving a suitable environment: Regulating the right environment such as providing warm temperature, humidity, and keeping the puppy comfortable, quiet, and undisturbed are the three most important requirements for a puppy’s proper environment.
2. Dog nutrition is very important when preparing dog food. We all know that the ideal food to feed to newborn puppies is their mother’s milk. However, any replacement for the mother’s milk should approximate it as closely as possible. Milk from cow is too dilute for puppies and should only be used as an emergency food. Every effort should be made to replace it with a more suitable substitute as soon as possible. However, a much more suitable emergency formula can be made from evaporated canned milk. This can be achieved by mixing three parts of evaporated milk, as it comes from the can, with one part of warm water. With this mixture, milk with 20 % solids will be formed. This mixture will have the amount of dog nutrition that is close to that of the mother’s milk. In addition, commercial formulas designed to be used for feeding orphaned or abandoned puppies is also a good substitute. These products closely resemble the mother’s milk in content so make an ideal starter dog food..
3. Regular feeding schedule: If their formula resembles the mother’s milk closely enough, newborn puppies of small and medium-size breeds do not need to be fed more than four times per day. For larger breeds however, this number may need to be increased to six meals. Using these measurements with a formula of proper content, the total daily quantity required will divide into four to six equal feedings that will leave the puppy with a moderately distended stomach following each feeding.
The exact quantity to be fed must always be left to the discretion of the owner feeding the puppy. Remember that common sense is still one of the most important aspects of successfully raising infant puppies. Although dog nutrition is key to a healthy pupppy always keep in mind that it is better to underfeed than to overfeed.
Tags: Dog Food, Dog Nutrition, Hand-rearing Puppies
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Monday, September 28th, 2009
When bottle feeding your puppy, start by filling the bottles with water and then put on the nipples and invert them to see if they leak. By squeezing the bottle slightly the increased internal pressure aids in discovering leaks. If the stream of water from the hole in the nipple is less than the diameter of a straight pin, heat a needle and enlarge the hole a little. Wash all the bottles and nipples in hot, soapy water and then sterilize them. Pour just enough dog food formula into the bottle that will provide a single feeding and warm it to room temperature. This can be done by holding it under hot tap water, while turning the bottle.
Once the dog food formula is warmed, hold the puppy in a normal upright position and poke the nipple into his mouth. Some pups will get the hang of it right away while others are less perceptive. Squeezing a little drop of dog food formula on to the tip of the nipple before putting it into the pup’s mouth may encourage some pups to start sucking on the nipple. Never squeeze milk out of the bottle while the nipple is in the puppy’s mouth! This is one of the quickest ways to strangle him with dog food formula.
If you are having difficulty in getting the puppy to suck and swallow voluntarily, put the pup back and try another. Use a separate bottle for each pup. There are three reasons for this. First, you know exactly how much you are feeding each pup and can measure precisely how much that pup drinks. Second, if you get a disease outbreak you will reduce the chance of spreading it from puppy to puppy with an unclean nipple. Third, if you need to go back and try to get him to drink a little more, you do not need to keep close track of how much he already has eaten because the amount he still needs is what is left in his own bottle.
While the puppy is nursing he should have a bowel movement and should urinate. If either fails to occur it usually can be provoked by a little stimulation by gently rubbing his anal area or sponging the groin and buttocks with a little warm water. Some owners place their pups on a warmed, folded, terry-cloth towel while they feed them. The roughness of the towel helps stimulate the elimination. The danger in bottle feeding is in the possibility that a puppy will suck some of the dog food formula down his windpipe and strangle. If enough dog food formula is sucked down, the pup will drown outright. Even if the amount sucked in is too little to drown the puppy, it will still injure his sensitive lungs.
When the lungs are injured, pneumonia is almost always the result. Between 12 to 24 hours after strangulation the puppy will refuse to eat, begin to experience breathing difficulty, produce bubbling and gurgling sounds as he breathes and very shortly, die. You must prevent this from happening by every means possible. When a puppy gags or strangles and milk starts coming out of his mouth and nose, take the bottle away immediately. Place the pup between your palms, head outward, and use your fingers to hold its head and backbone in a straight line. Place the pup between your legs, at arm’s length, and swing it up and down. The centrifugal force produced by this will sling the dog food formula out of the puppy’s mouth and nose and, with luck, out of the windpipe as well.
Tags: Bottle Feeding Puppy, Dog Food, Dog Food Formula, Dog Nutrition
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Friday, September 18th, 2009
The growing puppy should be weighed once a week for the first six months of his life. The weekly growth rate, which starts from weaning to six months, should be very constant that it forms a straight line when plotted on a graph. (more…)
Tags: Dog Food, Dog Nutrition, Feeding Procedure Puppy
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Tuesday, September 8th, 2009
So far, we have discussed the first three steps for tube feeding a puppy. Listed below is the four remaining steps on how to properly administer the procedure.
Step 4: With the puppy’s mouth open, insert the end of the tube into the groove formed by the top of the tongue. Carefully push the tube back into the pharynx. You have to push the tube straight in until it reaches the depth of the pre-determined mark. If it does not go down smoothly to the depth of the mark, it is not where it should be. If the tube is accidentally inserted into the trachea, healthy puppies will cough and struggle violently. In addition, a tube that is inserted into the trachea will usually stop about half-way to the mark where it encounters the division of the trachea. Once the tube is successfully inserted to the depth of the mark, slip your thumb and forefinger from the cheeks to the tube, and hold it firmly in the mouth at the level of the mark. Slide your other fingers up and around the puppy’s head, leaving the little finger behind the front legs to give it a steady hold.
Step 5: While the tube is held firmly in place, stick the open end of the tube into a small jar of water. If a series of bubbles are produced in the water, it is likely an indication that the tube has slipped into the trachea. It may also indicate that the puppy has a little gas in his stomach. In any case, however, the tube should be removed and blown clear of water, then reinserted until no air bubbles appear in the water.
Step 6: Once the tube is safely inserted in the stomach, continue to hold the tube firmly in the puppy’s mouth with the thumb and forefinger. With the other hand, place the open end of the tube between the forefinger and middle finger of the hand that holds the tube in the puppy’s mouth. Once again, with the opposite hand, pick up the previously filled syringe and insert it snugly into the open end of the tube.
Step 7: With the syringe firmly attached, apply gentle pressure with the thumb to the syringe plunger and deliver the substitute mother’s milk. Continue to deliver the food until the correct amount has been administered. Then, draw back slightly on the plunger and gently slip the tube out, still attached to the syringe.
Tags: Dog Food, Dog Nutrition, Tube Feeding Puppy
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Friday, September 4th, 2009
A puppy always tells his dog owner whether he is getting too much or too little dog food in several ways. Crying is one of the most often recognized, but least likely to be always accurate. Although hungry puppies do cry, so do cold puppies, hot puppies, puppies that were disturbed from a nap, lost puppies, sad puppies, etc. Crying is simply nature’s way of giving a puppy a means of telling everybody that he is unhappy. (more…)
Tags: Dog Food, Dog Nutrition, feeding your puppy, Puppy Health
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