As a veterinarian, I can confirm that good nutrition is the best prophylactic medicine.
Your dog's health depends heavily on meeting its nutritional needs, and the cornerstone of giving your dog the best growth possible is to feed it the right diet as a puppy.
Puppies And Growth
Your puppy’s growth rate is the result of the interaction between its genetics, environment, and—most importantly—nutrition.
From the age of one week to eight weeks, puppies grow between 5 and 10% every day!
Smaller breeds mature earlier than larger breeds, with puberty occurring at roughly 6 months. At around 8 to 10 months of age, larger breeds experience another growth spurt, following which they also achieve their full size.
How will the right nutrition help my puppy?
It is clear from the growth rate that puppies need the best nourishment during this phase of their lives to:
- Optimise their digestive system
- Improve immunity and protect from infectious diseases
- Prevent deficiency diseases
- Prevent developmental diseases
- Ensure strong teeth and bones
- Ensure optimal growth rate
- Ensure good vision
- Optimise the development of the nervous system
- Ensure thick and lustrous coat
Why Do Puppies Need A High-Calorie Diet?
Due to their quick pace of growth, puppies need around twice as many calories per pound of body weight as adult dogs do!
From the time they wean until they achieve around 40% of their adult body weight, this is how high the calorie requirement is. In general, larger-breed puppies mature more slowly than smaller-breed puppies and require fewer calories per unit of body weight. Even then, the demand is still far higher than that of an adult dog.
According to their breed and weight, puppies under 4 months old need approximately 300 to 1200 kcal per day. Depending on the breed, this amount can increase to anywhere between 400 and 2800 kcal per day when they are over 4 months old.
You must feed your puppy high-calorie food.
Keep in mind that choosing a calorie range in this manner is not a rule of thumb. Every dog is different, so it's important to keep an eye on your dog's overall health and weight over time to make sure the calorie range is appropriate for both your dog's size and amount of activity. Excessive calorie consumption will result in obesity and hamper joint growth.
What nutrients should I look for in the puppy food?
The nutritional health of pups depends on providing them with the right ratios of the six basic nutrients: water, protein, fat, carbohydrates, minerals, and vitamins.
On a dry matter basis (which means what remains of the food after you remove all the moisture), the recommended protein range for puppy growth is as high as 22–32%.
Puppies should have a dry matter-based fat content between 10 and 25%. Any surplus can lead to obesity.
Although no particular quantity of digestible carbohydrates has been found to be best for growing puppies, it is thought that 20% on a dry matter basis is close to ideal.
Calcium is crucial for pups. Puppies under 5 months old are unable to utilise calcium efficiently, so an excess or deficiency might be detrimental, requiring the food to have the right amount of calcium. The ideal ratio for calcium and phosphorus in your puppy's food is 1:1 to 2:1. Among minerals, puppy food must also contain selenium and zinc. In addition, determine if your dog's diet contains DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and vitamins such as vitamin E, vitamin B, vitamin D, and vitamin A.
What is the importance of these nutrients?
Puppies receive important nutrients from properly balanced puppy food, and these nutrients have specialised roles to play in the growth and development of puppies.
Protein:
Proteins provide the framework for muscle development and overall growth. They allow their little bodies to grow quickly and effectively. Amino acids also play a very important role in the development of their immune system.
Fat:
Puppies with high levels of energy use fat as a fuel source. They require more essential fatty acids for quick growth and development. Fat also guarantees the body's optimal absorption of fat-soluble vitamins.
Calcium:
Just as it does for us, calcium aids in the development of strong bones and teeth in pups. Large and giant breeds have different calcium needs than toy, small, and medium breeds. Bone fractures can result from inadequate calcium intake.
DHA:
This omega-3 fatty acid helps in the development of puppies' brains and eyes. DHA is first found in a puppy's mother's milk. They depend on their diet to provide them with this crucial nutrient after weaning.
A healthy metabolism depends on vitamins as well. Vitamin B is vital for nerves, the immune system, stamina, and the management of anxiety; vitamin D is essential for bones; and vitamin A is important for vision. Vitamin E protects the skin, strengthens the immune system, and supports eye health.
Why can’t I feed my puppy adult dog food?
Age-appropriate feeding is vital to the optimum growth of your puppy.
While puppy food is made to give enough calories for growth, adult dog food is only meant to maintain a dog's physical condition. The nutritional requirements of a puppy change extremely quickly in the first six months or so. This leaves minimal margin for error. Puppy diets must have easily digestible protein, a properly adjusted Ca:P ratio, DHA, and essential vitamins. The quantities of these nutrients required for puppies are not adequate in adult dog food.
At Perfekt, we understand the importance of age-appropriate feeding. Our pet food (insert name) is specifically formulated with the special nutritional needs of puppies in mind. With (insert some values, for eg. high caloric density, 3.5 times the selenium, and the perfect calcium balance), it is the ideal food to ensure that your puppy grows into a healthy, well-nourished dog.
