Puppy feeding guidelines
Puppies should be fed a % of their actual body weight SEE CHART BELOW until approximately 6 months or so (Breed dependent), split into 3 or more meals per day depending on age. Puppies require a great deal of food for good bone & muscle development and a little extra edible bone as they are building their adult teeth. It is important not let puppies get too thin at this age as their energy demands are tremendous when cutting new teeth.
After the age of 6 months refer to our Adult feeding guidelines
| Weight Of Your Puppy In Kilograms | 8 to 16 weeks 10% of body weight fed daily | 17 to 20 weeks old 8% of body weight fed daily (reduce to 7% last 2 wks) | 20 to 24 weeks old 6% of body weight fed daily (reduce to 5% last 2 wks) | 25 to 30 weeks old 4% of body weight – continue until full grown |
| 1kg | 100g | 80g | 60g | 40g |
| 2kg | 200g | 160g | 120g | 80g |
| 3kg | 300g | 240g | 180g | 120g |
| 4kg | 400g | 320g | 240g | 160g |
| 5kg | 500g | 400g | 300g | 200g |
| 10kg | 1000g | 800g | 600g | 400g |
| 15kg | 1500g | 1200g | 900g | 600g |
| 20kg | 2000g | 1600g | 1200g | 800g |
Puppies can be fed raw straight from weaning and can progress to fish/wings/carcass etc from 6 -8 weeks. Minces and minced carcass are similar to the regurgitated food they would get from their mothers in the wild. Build slowly onto chunkier meats and soft bone – meaty chicken ribs, necks or chicken or duck wings are good to build their jaw strength.
For puppies – Chicken wings should have the wing tip cut off at the third joint, as, should the puppy be tempted to swallow it whole, the double joint of the wing is a major choking hazard for pups.
Puppies cut teeth between 4 & 6 months so, good meaty bones of a suitable size Turkey, Lamb, Chicken necks or Lamb flat rib or breast bones are fantastic for them to gnaw on.
Weight bearing bones such as marrow bones or legs should not be fed until 1yr of age
I suggest starting gently by choosing a puppy formula if available or 1 simple protein – either tripe or chicken mince is a good starter – at around 4-5 months (smaller breeds) & 6 -7 months (larger breeds) 9 – 12 months (giant breeds), after being on raw for a month you can start to introduce another protein – repeat this process every 1 or 2 weeks or so still checking stools, until he/she is receiving a balanced variety of different meats/offal/organ meats and meaty bones. A pup/dog needs at least 5 different proteins (over time, not daily) to maintain a balanced diet
Eggs (whole and shell) as well as natural yoghurt are a great added supplement to their diet.
We would love to hear how you are getting on with your puppy feeding, please feel free to drop us a line and post pictures on our Facebook page