Every year there seems to be more different dog foods, how do I know which one is right for my dog? Dog food trends continue to follow human food trends. Dog owners are interested in feeding there dogs (puppies) better foods, including foods low in fats, vegetarian foods and more natural foods. The specialty dog food market includes foods for different life stages, foods for specific purposes (such as dogs with allergies) foods made with certain ingredients (lamb, rice, turkey, barley) and foods designed to support dogs with a medical problem (such as dogs with a heart or kidney disease).

What do puppies eat?

Puppies need a well balanced food made from quality ingredients that are easily digested. The food must be complete with vitamins, minerals, proteins, fats, and other nutrients that will promote good health and growth. Some authors of canine books believe that a newly weaned puppy’s nutritional requirements for growth and development maybe as much as six times that of an adult dog of the same breed. This means that a six pound puppy may need as much nutrition as a 60 pound adult. The puppy’s need for good quality nutrition is highest between weaning (around 6-8 weeks) and when the puppy gets about 5 months of age for most breeds (approximately 50 percent of its adult weight). This means that a puppy food should be nutrient dense compared to an adult-maintenance dog food. How fast and big a puppy grows can be determined by many things, including the puppy’s genetic heritage and the puppy’s health. Proper nutrition has a big influence on how well a puppy grows and develops. Whereas food cannot make up for a poor pedigree or health, without good quality nutrition, the puppy cannot live up to its genetic heritage .Nutritional deficiencies that occur during puppy hood have a more significant impact then similar deficiencies that happen when the dog is mature. Correcting a deficiencies in a puppy’s diet may prevent further damage, but may not always reverse the damage that has been done. To meet the nutritional requirements of puppies, puppy foods are higher in calories, fat percentages, and the protein level should be no lower than 22 percent. With the food having a higher concentration of nutrients this allows the puppy to get the energy needed for growth development, instead of having to consume vast quantities of food.

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