Feeding schedule
The puppy's feeding schedule will be somewhat dictated
by your own personal schedule. We don't want to leave food out for the puppy so that it can eat it whenever it wants.
You need to be there for the feedings because you want the puppy and its entire body on a set schedule. This is best accomplished
by feeding the pup what it will eat at specific times on a specific schedule. Puppies under six months of age should be fed
three times daily; between six and twelve months old, two times daily; and once per day after twelve months of age. Puppies
maturing into adults will naturally decrease the number of feedings per day on their own.
By feeding on a set
schedule, the dog will then go to the bathroom on a more set schedule and make housetraining easier and faster.
Make it a habit to give the puppy some quiet time after the meal. Don't let the children romp and play with it for the
first hour to an hour and a half after eating. This can lead to some stomach upsets that can sometimes be very serious. The
puppy will probably need to go to the bathroom, however.
Amount to Feed
The amount of food given with each meal should never be dictated
by what is on the back of the dog food bag. From our experience, these people obviously want to sell a lot of food. With our
own pups, we place an ample amount of food down for them and then after 10 to 15 minutes it is picked up. You'll soon
learn to judge how much they need and, depending on how fast they clean it up, when they need more. Remember to have water
available with or immediately following the meal.
One of the biggest complaints that veterinarians hear from dog
owners, especially those with animals less than 18 months of age, is that they never eat enough. The owners feel the dog isn't
putting on weight or growing as fast as they think it should. They are tempted to somehow encourage their animals to eat more.
Don't do it. The growth rates and appetites of young animals on a good quality food are primarily dictated by their genetics.
Don't try to make your dog grow faster than it should or into something it isn't. This will only cause problems. Artificially
accelerated growth leads to bone and joint disorders. Feed them the amounts they want and let their bodies dictate their needs.
Treats
Treats should never account
for more than 10% of your puppy's caloric intake (which isn't much in Toy breeds). Your puppy's food is its sole
source for the nutrition it needs so don't "fill up" your puppy on treats before meal time.
Liver
products are great treats because they provide nutrients your puppy is unlikely to obtain from any other food source.
Hard chew treats keep your puppy entertained and improve dental health by exercising the gums and scraping the teeth.
It also satisfies your teething pup's need to chew.
Treats can be used during training to reward good behavior,
but be careful not to overdo it.
Rawhide
Bones
Pet owners have a lot of questions about rawhide.
The first question commonly asked is about quality. Better quality white rawhide bones generally come from the United States
or one of the beef producing South American countries. However, country of origin is no guarantee of quality. There are some
bones made in the USA that we refuse to recommend. We have confidence in the bones we recommend only because we have inspected
the factories that produced them. We have witnessed the manufacturing process, have seen the methods used to treat the hides,
and observed each step in their production. This has given us the assurance to confidently stand behind the bones we recommend.
The second question is whether or not
chewing rawhide is healthy for puppies. A few years ago, one of the major medical schools in this country conducted a laboratory
test to answer this question. The results showed that in groups of test dogs, even in those fed an almost exclusive diet of
rawhide, there were no ill effects. On the other hand, the chewing of rawhide had the beneficial effect of removing plaque
from the animals' teeth and keeping them cleaner. This is significant because periodontal disease is a real problem in
many adult dogs.
Therefore, buy quality rawhide from a source you can trust. It will not only satisfy your pet's
natural urge to chew, it will also help keep him healthy.
Water
Puppies may seem to drink large quantities of water. They need it
and it cannot be deprived of it. A dog or cat can starve and lose almost all of its body fat and half of its protein mass
(muscle) and still survive. However, if this same patient loses 15% of its body water, it will die. Water is the most important
nutrient of all.
For dogs of any age that eat dry food, water will be needed to rehydrate it in their stomachs
for digestion. Puppies also need more water per pound than adults do because they are growing. Growth comes through very active
metabolism at the cellular level. These processes produce many wastes and by-products that are excreted into the blood. It
requires plenty of water to carry these substances to and be flushed through the kidneys. It is okay to schedule when your
puppy drinks, but on a daily basis you must allow them to consume what they want and need.
Providing fresh water
is important. Infectious agents and diseases such as leptospirosis, Giardia, E. coli, and Cryptosporidium can be transmitted
through contaminated water sources. Providing fresh water greatly reduces the risk of disease and therefore keeps your pet
happy and healthy.
*This information all taken from the Doctor Foster’s and Smith Website*
