Feeding puppies is an exciting and important time for all animal parents! Giving your puppy the best possible start in life will affect their long term physical and emotional health. This guide is a basic introduction to some key points, and is not intended to be a comprehensive guide to everything needed for feeding puppies. It will tell you why and how Rocketo can be an important part of your puppies diet, and how to use it.
Puppies, on the whole, have stomachs and intestinal tracts that are constantly developing as they become older. This therefore reduces the efficiency of their digestive tract in extracting the nutrients from the food they ingest. Puppies therefore tend to eat a lot and hence poop a lot! Basically, young puppies should be allowed to eat almost as much as they want. Monitoring their weight, activity levels and appetite will guide you as to their individual needs. Luckily Rocketo food has a perfect moisture ratio which really helps puppies (and all dogs).
Basic Needs
Puppies need ‘more’ of everything to build up healthy tissue as soon as possible. Since Rocketo is a fully balanced food, as long as you cover their energy needs (which will change as they grow), you can relax and know that all their other nutritional needs will also be covered, including proteins, vitamins and minerals.
Calculating how much food a puppy needs
As a general guide to meet their nutritional needs please feed as per the guidelines shown below, and always check each packet. It is very important to check the feeding guidance on each pack of Rocketo. As we only use natural, raw ingredients, and produce in small batch volumes, the kcal/kg may differ by up to 10% between recipes and batches. This is always tested and reflected on the packaging label, so please always check that for each bag. Just like in the wild, the amount of meat and liver size etc. on each rabbit will vary, so will the content of each bag. Only standardized, man made artificial foods can provide the same ‘nutrients’ and calories in each bag. This is not how nature works!
An average puppy will need 70-90 kcal/kg body weight, depending on their activity and size. Smaller breeds need more kcal/kg body weight, closer to the 90, whilst larger breeds like St. Bernard would need closer to the 70 range, as their size is 3x bigger at 3 months than a fully matured chihuahua.
- Puppies need on average 1.5 – 2.0 times the energy per body weight kg compared to the adult in the same weight.
- The period for this need varies according to the size and growth characteristics of the breed.
- After weaning, the 1.5x ratio should be kept until the dog ends its major growth phase.
- Once the puppy reaches sexual maturity, it should transition to the normal amounts
- Some breeds such as Turkish Shepherds, Rottweilers and Dobermanns need longer time to grow. In this case, we keep the extra feeding to 1.2 x between their 9th month and 18th month.
So basically:
If a 10 kg , adult Manchester Terrier needs between 80-100 grams ROCKETO Beef Recipe, a 10 kg Saint Bernard puppy would need approx. 120 grams Rocketo Beef recipe, to grow and thrive.
This is basic feeding guidelines according dog sizes:
- 🟡 For miniature breeds, feed 72-75 kcal/body weight kg
- 🟡 For small breeds feed, 67-72 kcal/body weight kg
- 🟡 For medium breeds feed, 63-67 kcal/body weight kg
- 🟡 For large breeds feed, 59-63 kcal/body weight kg
- 🟡 For the giants breeds feed, 55-59 kcal/ body weight kg
If in doubt, when feeding Rocketo, feed 1.5 – 2.0 x the amount shown for an equivalent weight adult dog. You will need to weigh your puppy often as it will be growing quickly!
After the weaning period, a puppy has a very small and flat stomach, which does not have enough volume or time to digest a big amount of food. Since the energy needs are 1,5x that of an adult dog, but the rest of the system is not capable of eating this much in one meal, it is important to feed the puppy several times a day (usually 3-4 times per day). The puppies must have freedom to eat whenever they can and wish to. It is vital not to underfeed your puppy – like children they will all grow at different rates, so monitoring this daily is crucial. We therefore recommend keeping enough food in stock so you can add extra if your puppy needs it. As long as you are feeding at least the amount above, it is very safe to feed more if needed, but do check regularly the consistency of their stools, their body condition and energy levels.
Once your puppy has reached about 6 months (for smaller breeds) and 7-9 months (for larger breeds), it is fine to reduce feeding to
twice a day. After 12th months, for any breed, once a day, preferably in the evening before sleep, is the safest way to feed properly.
Snacking
Snacking is very positive for puppies, to help their jaws and teeth grow and get stronger.
Raw, soft bones like ribs are the safest and most nutritious way to get there. Never feed cooked bones and always seek expert advice to ensure size and age-appropriate bones are fed.
CAUTION! Never leave your puppy unattended with bones or chewing articles, supervision is necessary
Overweight puppies
If your puppy is overweight, it doesn’t move enough, grow enough or is fed too much, just reduce the food by 10% and observe over a few days.
Enjoy Your Puppy Being an Individual!
Feeding the correct amount for your individual puppy is really common sense. Feeding a variety of excellent quality food, and balancing their nutritional needs, is key to healthy physical and emotional development. Monitoring your dogs weight, growth and energy levels, will tell you all you need to know about getting the quantities right, and this will vary as your puppy has growth spurts. Enjoy this special time.
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