What's for Dinner?
Puppy Feeding Schedule
Your puppy has been eating puppy food that has been soaked in either warm water or chicken broth mixed with yogurt or cottage cheese along with the BARF diet. All puppies under 2 pounds must continue to be fed the BARF diet until they reach 4 pounds or your guarantee is void. More information about the BARF diet can be found here.
Continue feeding ½ to 1 cup of softened puppy food two or three times daily until your puppy is 9 weeks old then you can switch to dry puppy food that is not soaked in warm water or broth. I do not leave food down all day but I do leave water down all day. Give your puppy about 20 minutes to eat all she wants then take the food bowl and put it away. Any small puppy (under 4 pounds) who refuses to eat for more than 12 hours is at risk for hypoglycemia…please call me or your vet immediately.
If you have purchased a teacup puppy it is your responsibility to be familiar with hypoglycemia,
its warning signs and treatment. If you don’t know, please call me, research it on the internet or ask your vet BEFORE bringing your puppy home. The first week is the most dangerous for small (under 3 lbs) puppies.
Here is the schedule your puppy is on now:
6:30 AM –go potty
7:15 Breakfast-BARF meatball partially frozen
7:45- go potty
10 AM-go potty
12 PM (noon) hard crunchy food –whatever brand you want to use
12:20-go potty
2 PM –go potty
4 PM-go potty
5:45 PM -Hard crunchy food mixed with a tablespoon of yogurt (good for digestion and has calcium)
6 pm-go potty and play in the yard
8 pm-go potty. I pick up the water bowl at this time and puppies do not get any more food or water
10 pm-go potty & give small treat to puppies under 4 pounds (piece of meat- hot dog, turkey, etc.)
4 AM- my husband gets up for work, lets the puppies go potty and get a drink then they go back in the crate/cage until I get up at 6:30 am.
If it looks difficult, it really isn’t. Basically take your puppy outside when you wake up, feed her breakfast, take her outside again after she eats and do the same thing for lunch and dinner. Pick the food and water up a couple of hours before “bed time,” and that’s about it.
At 4 to 6 months of age, you can drop the lunchtime meal and just feed breakfast and dinner.
Your puppy has been eating puppy food that has been soaked in either warm water or chicken broth mixed with yogurt or cottage cheese along with the BARF diet. All puppies under 2 pounds must continue to be fed the BARF diet until they reach 4 pounds or your guarantee is void. More information about the BARF diet can be found here.
Continue feeding ½ to 1 cup of softened puppy food two or three times daily until your puppy is 9 weeks old then you can switch to dry puppy food that is not soaked in warm water or broth. I do not leave food down all day but I do leave water down all day. Give your puppy about 20 minutes to eat all she wants then take the food bowl and put it away. Any small puppy (under 4 pounds) who refuses to eat for more than 12 hours is at risk for hypoglycemia…please call me or your vet immediately.
If you have purchased a teacup puppy it is your responsibility to be familiar with hypoglycemia,
its warning signs and treatment. If you don’t know, please call me, research it on the internet or ask your vet BEFORE bringing your puppy home. The first week is the most dangerous for small (under 3 lbs) puppies.
Here is the schedule your puppy is on now:
6:30 AM –go potty
7:15 Breakfast-BARF meatball partially frozen
7:45- go potty
10 AM-go potty
12 PM (noon) hard crunchy food –whatever brand you want to use
12:20-go potty
2 PM –go potty
4 PM-go potty
5:45 PM -Hard crunchy food mixed with a tablespoon of yogurt (good for digestion and has calcium)
6 pm-go potty and play in the yard
8 pm-go potty. I pick up the water bowl at this time and puppies do not get any more food or water
10 pm-go potty & give small treat to puppies under 4 pounds (piece of meat- hot dog, turkey, etc.)
4 AM- my husband gets up for work, lets the puppies go potty and get a drink then they go back in the crate/cage until I get up at 6:30 am.
If it looks difficult, it really isn’t. Basically take your puppy outside when you wake up, feed her breakfast, take her outside again after she eats and do the same thing for lunch and dinner. Pick the food and water up a couple of hours before “bed time,” and that’s about it.
At 4 to 6 months of age, you can drop the lunchtime meal and just feed breakfast and dinner.
I feed a mixture of dog foods which include Blue Buffallo, Royal Canine Mini Puppy, and 4Health Chicken and Rice (available at Tractor Supply) along with the BARF diet so your puppy get a wide variety of choices each day. I mix all the brands together in a bowl and they generally scarf it down!
When you are looking for a good food, ideally find one that is 30% protein and 15% fat. You can spend hours doing research, and lots and lots of money on a very high quality dog food, or you can get as close to perfect (30% protein/15% fat) as you can and supplement with the BARF diet like I do.
Here are some links to dog food rankings if you want to check them out:
http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/best-dog-foods/best-puppy-foods/best-dry-puppy-foods-5-star/
http://www.petfoodratings.org/best-dry-dog-food/
http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/frequently-asked-questions/choose-dog-food/
http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2010/10/21/selecting-the-best-cat-pet-and-dog-pet-food.aspx