Puppies and dogs - a suitable diet

Puppies

When should a puppy start to eat solid food?

Puppies are usually ready to eat solid food when they are about five weeks old.

How often should I feed my puppy?

Initially, puppies need four meals a day but this can be reduced to three a day at about 12 weeks. At six months, they can have two meals a day, which can continue for the rest of their life.

Dogs

What should I feed my dog?

Your dog needs a healthy, balanced diet that meets all their nutritional needs.

Feeding a complete, commercial dog food is normally preferable to a homemade diet. It’s not easy to achieve the correct balance of nutrients if you make your dog’s diet yourself.

Do dogs of different ages need different food?

One of the best ways of making sure you give your dog the necessary nutrients is to feed according to ‘life stage’. This means feeding a different diet depending on whether your dog is a puppy, adult or senior dog, because dogs of different ages have different nutrient requirements. For example, puppies need more calories in their food because they are so energetic.

Several leading brands of commercially available dog food offer different foods for different life stages.

How much food should I give my dog?

Follow the packet feeding guidelines so that you know how much to feed. Weigh the food out to check you’re getting it right. Feeding the right amount of food is important because obesity is the commonest nutritional problem seen by vets and causes health problems such as diabetes, heart disease and arthritis.

How often should I feed my dog?

It’s generally best to feed an adult dog twice a day. Avoid feeding your dog immediately before travelling, to avoid travel sickness, or within an hour before or after vigorous exercise as this can lead to a dangerous condition called ’bloat’.

What treats can I give my dog?

Most dog foods these days are complete, meaning they contain all the nutrients that a dog needs, in the right amounts. If extra food is given, as treats, your dog must do something with the extra calories. If your dog isn’t being exercised enough, the calories will be turned into fat.

The only time you should really give food treats is when you are training your dog using rewards (please visit our puppy and dog behaviour section for more information). If your reward is a food treat, try to use something healthy such as small slices of carrot. However, if your dog is only interested in less healthy food, such as small pieces of sausage, reduce the amount of food given in the main meal so that there  aren’t too many calories on training days. Dog obesity is a big problem and causes health problems.

At other times you can show your affection for your dog in ways other than food. Dogs enjoy games, walks and affection. You don’t need to use food to show dogs that you love them.

Your dog will need constant access to fresh, clean water from a clean bowl.