Guide to feeding your puppy

Whilst dogs are largely carnivores, they also will benefit from eating other foods.

Basic guidelines

• Do provide some variety to your pup
• Always ask your Veterinarian for advice
• Only feed RAW bones, never cooked ones
• Don't feed supplements to a growing pup - let's decide on a balanced diet, it is much safer
• Find out what the breeder was feeding your pup, and listen to their advice on feeding
• Don't make sudden changes to a puppies diet
• Think of a puppy as you would a baby - feed them puppy food, they are easier to digest and have a different nutritional balance designed for fast growing pups
• Feed your puppy smaller amounts more often

Guide to foods

The following list are all great foods for a puppy:

Main Foods

• High quality commercial foods:
  • ensure the foods you choose are appropriate to your pups age - you will change foods for your pup as he grows
  • use high quality dry foods more than wet canned foods
  • check that the food you choose is appropriate to your breed - eg are you raising a pup from a large or a small dog breed? The makeup of their foods will differ.
• You can feed some raw meat that is human grade, but don't make this the basis of your pups diet as there are many nutrients that your pup needs that will not be found in meat alone
• Meaty bones are the best way to provide some raw meat whilst promoting chewing actively which is so helpful whilst the permanent teeth are erupting, and keeps the gums and teeth clean and healthy (make sure they are large bones, and won't fit inside the pups mouth and are not brittle

Occasional foods

• A little boiled meat can be offered but you don't need to specifically cook for your pup
• Throw an extra carrot, potato and pumpkin in the pot at dinner time and mash lightly and add to your pups meal some days
• Tinned fish is a great source of nutrition for your pup - tuna, salmon or sardines are usually well received by a pup. I would suggest a fish meal once or at most twice a week.
• Your pup will benefit from a little milk, cooked egg and occasionally cheese, but feed in small amounts with other foods and not too often - your pup is weaned from mum and doesn't need a milk diet anymore
• Ceareals such as rolled oats can be fed to a pup, however if you choose any human cerals, do check them carefully as they are often too high in salt and sugar to be a real benefit

Foods to avoid

• Onions and garlic
• Chocolate and caffeine
• Mushrooms
• Bread and doughy foods
• Nuts and stone fruit seeds
• Cooked bones
• Avocado, grapes and raisins

THINK before scraping all your leftovers into your puppies bowl - if you are eating foods high in fat, salt and sugar, or with high levels of onion, galic, mushrooms and the like, then you are not doing your puppy any favours!

Whilst your pup will welcome variety, don't feel that every meal you prepare must be different from the last.
Read on next for how often and how much to feed you puppy.

Introduction to raising a pup	How can this site help you choose and raise your puppy?
Foods for your pup	What foods are and are not suitable to feed puppies
Feeding routines	How much and how often do I feed my pup?
Bonding your pup to livestock	What does it mean to bond to livestock? Is this not training a pup?
Socialising your pup	How to socialise your pup with people, other dogs and animals
Socialising LGD puppies	Specifics of socialising when you have a livestock guarding puppy
Training your pup	Basic behaviour training for your puppy
Obedience training your pup	How to obedience train your puppy
Caring for your pups health	How to tell if your pup is healthy and what to do if there is a problem
More useful resources	Other helpful resources for raising puppies