First and foremost, you want to buy high quality ingredients. What does that exactly mean? Well, the best puppy food that is dry will contain the right amount of calories, the right balance of digestible healthy proteins along with important vitamins and minerals. It is important not to buy a puppy food that has a high amount of bone meal on a percentage basis because too much calcium can interfere with proper bone growth, especially for the larger breed of dogs.
After a puppy has been weaned, approximately about 8 weeks old to about 14 weeks old, puppies nutritional needs are about 2 to 4 times more than an adult dog of the same breed. For this stage of puppy growth, the type of puppy food one should buy should contain a high quality protein with absolutely no fillers, it is important to buy this type of best puppy food. Puppies can develop dog food allergies too.
From about 3 to 5 months old to adult hood, a puppy will have the need less calories than when he was 8 weeks to 14 weeks old, about 1 1/2 times the nutritional need of an adult dog of the same breed. The puppy food that is dry should contain no filler and about 25% protein along with the correct balance of vitamins and minerals.
Quick Summary Of What Type of Dry Best Puppy Food To Buy
It is always important to read the list of ingredients on the dry puppy food bag or package. Make sure the puppy food contains real meat, vegetables, and grains and avoid bone meal and by-products. Remember to limit the protein to about 25% and don’t buy food with a lot of fillers.
How Much and When To Feed Your Puppy
Smaller breed of puppies will need to be fed 4 times a day until they are about 12 weeks old. After that they will need to be fed 3 times a day until they are adults. Since smaller breed of puppies have smaller stomachs they will need to eat more often in order to get the proper amount of nutrition. Larger breed of puppies, just need to be feed 2 times a day until adulthood.
Let your puppy have about 5 to 10 minutes of time to eat his puppy food. Then take away any remaining puppy food. If you happen to have more than one puppy, give each puppy his own separate space for meal time, so they each get their proper amount of nutrition.
Healthy nutrition is an essential factor that affects a puppy’s health, because they are growing. So, it is important to take the time to carefully read the label of the puppy food package.
The best puppy food is a quality one that contains more meat when compared to the other content that is not meat. Precisely what you most likely do not understand is the listing of dog food ingredients are organized based on the amount of each ingredient is in the puppy food, which means if you take a quick look at the first 3 dog food ingredients, you are able to easily figure out which puppy food product is best. A product that contains chicken, duck and lamb is definitely superior compared to ground corn, oatmeal and chicken by-parts.
Important Nutrients Needed In The Best Puppy Food:
- 10 amino acids
- 11 vitamins
- 12 minerals
For more information about dog food and puppy food guidelines, visit the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) website.