Feeding Your New Puppy

Usually the breeder will provide you with a serving or two of puppy food. They will usually tell you the brand. Ultimately what you use will be up to you. I recommend the name brands. Find one that has been around for a long time and is a quality product; most pet stores carry several brands. Puppy food should be used for the first year; it contains the necessary nutrients for your rapidly growing pup. Many breeders do not feed their puppies puppy food for the entire first year. I think in many cases it is simply because puppy food costs more than regular adult food. Nowadays there are puppy formulas that are made just for the larger breeds, that is what I use.

You may find your puppies stools to be lose for the first few days after you get them. This is not unusual, they are in a new environment and it will take a few days for them to acclimate. This can also occur if you chose to feed them something different than what the breeder was feeding. Anytime you change your puppy or dog's food, you need to slowly introduce the new food alongside the old food. If the lose stools go beyond a few days, you should probably seek advice from your veterinarian. Your puppy could have worm problems, maybe an allergy, are their vaccinations current?

Some breeders add hamburger, stew meat, or table scraps to the dog food. This is not necessary if you use a quality dog food. Puppies will need to be fed four to five times a day, a cup to cup and half at a time. This is just an approximation and you will have to adjust for what works with your puppy. I do not recommend having a dog food bowl out at all times, this can lead to overeating. However, if you are not going to be around during the day, you will have to leave dog food in a bowl. Fresh water should always be available to your puppy or dog. As the weeks pass you can cut the number of feedings down to two or three times a day. Your puppy's total dog food consumption during a day will range from four to seven cups; this amount will vary from dog to dog. Contrary to what most people think Saint Bernards will not eat you out of house and home.

Some people feed their dogs raw food, the Barf Diet. I have never fed my dogs or puppies raw food. This is a personal choice. If your breeder uses the Barf Diet, make sure you understand what you are suppose to do.

BRANDYKEGS will continue with more information on tomorrow's blog.