How much raw food should be given to puppies?

It’s a good thing to follow set guidelines when it comes to feeding your pet, but it’s best not to get too dependent on it. Allow your dog to guide you more than the weighing scales. A well-fed puppy means you should be able to feel its ribs but not see them. And make sure your furry friend has a waist. As the second article in our series of feeding raw to puppies, here’s a quick guide on how much raw food should be given to puppies. It is recommended that a puppy’s daily quota of food should be equal to 2-3% of its expected adult weight or 10% of its current weight. So if you know which breed of dog you have, you can take an estimate of what size your dog will be when grown up and feed accordingly. However, there is nothing like an ‘average’ puppy. Just like humans, all puppies are different and have their own eating preferences and growth speeds. You will need to watch and adjust feeding accordingly.

Fat puppies

Puppies brought up on a raw diet rarely grow to be fat because it’s very difficult to overfeed them. They naturally stop when they are full. So if you think that your puppy is still a little hungry give her a little more; it won’t hurt.Do keep an eye on her waistline though, and cut back if you notice her starting to gain weight.

Thin puppies

Is your puppy too thin, despite you feeding her the right amount of food? The problem could be that of intestinal worms. Schedule regular deworming for your puppy and get the medicines from your vet. You might even find some in veterinary pharmacies. Puppies fed on raw are as likely to get worms as pups fed on a kibble or a homemade diet. Do not pick up medicine without checking with your vet first. The right medicine and dosage is very important.

Deworming your puppy

Deworming your pup regularly is a critical responsibility of keeping a pet. Dogs can get infested with all kinds of worms, including roundworms, tapeworms, hookworms and whip-worms. You must get your dog’s feces checked by the vet to determine what kind of deworming is required. The first known symptom of worms in a pup is weight loss, but besides that, it may also vomit or get diarrhea. After deworming, you pup will mostly pass dead worms in her feces. There could be mild vomiting in some cases.

How often should you feed your puppy?

A full grown dog might eat a day’s or two day’s food at one shot, but that’s not how it works for puppies. They need more regular and frequent feeding than adult dogs. Divide the daily food allowance into four portions if your puppy is under three months. Make three portions for puppies that are between three and six months. And finally, for pups aged six month to 1 year old, you can make two portions. Spread these meal times over the course of the day, at an interval of three to four hours. There’s nothing rigid about these hours and you might need to make adjustments according to your puppy’s hunger. If your three-month-old puppy is happy to eat only twice or thrice a day and is healthy, don’t worry too much.

How can I start using raw food for my puppy?

You are possibly feeding your puppy kibble and want to shift to raw. Let’s get started on this exciting journey. Start slow, one step at a time. Don’t start to offer a bunch of different foods as that might lead to a tummy upset. Start with chicken, one of the easiest and most well-tolerated foods. Feed a small quantity and see how the puppy takes to it. If all seems well, add a little more in the next meal. Do this for a few days and if puppy takes to it well, start adding new foods – eggs or tripe. Remember the rule: one food at a time, small quantities at first and increase it gradually over each meal. Yes, people talk of variety but your puppy won’t suffer from deficiencies in just a few days of eating one type of food. In fact, this slow and gradual introduction will give time for her stomach and digestive system to get used to these new foods.

Conclusion

These are simple and effective tips to keep in mind while starting your puppy on raw food. Let us know how these ideas worked in the comments section below. We’d love to hear from you.