Dry food for your puppy – what you should keep in mind
Your puppy will soon be moving in with you and of course you’re already thinking about which food to give your little four-legged friend so that he is optimally cared for and full of energy for the day. You’ve probably already noticed that there is a huge selection of dry food with various ingredients. This can raise a lot of questions, such as: Which is →healthy food? This article is sure to give you some clarity.
What exactly is dry food?
Dry food, like wet food, is generally considered a complete food. This means it contains everything your puppy needs for a healthy and balanced diet: juicy meat, combined with select fruit and vegetables. Plus nutritious oils and fresh herbs. Dry food has a moisture content of about 10%. Since dry food is basically “highly concentrated energy”, the portion sizes are also much smaller than, for example, with wet food.
In the beginning, all puppies need special puppy food
Which dry food is best for puppies?
A puppy is not yet a fully grown dog. Accordingly, he also has a different nutritional requirement than an adult dog. Special →dry food for puppies and young dogs covers these nutritional needs perfectly and provides a foundation for a long and happy dog life. Specially developed recipes with high-quality ingredients are perfectly tailored to your furry friend’s important growth phase.
Dry food from Pets Deli
At Pets Deli you’ll find in our range our poultry dry food with salmon, sweet potato and flaxseed, and our turkey dry food with duck, sweet potato and chamomile. Both varieties are perfectly matched to the nutritional needs of puppies and young dogs and give them enough energy for the day.
The tastiest for the little ones – our puppy food
When can puppies start eating dry food?
From the 4th week of life you can start to feed a puppy in addition to mother’s milk with dry food. Gradually, the mother will wean the puppies and you can feed more and more dry food, so that by about 7 - 8 weeks your puppy can easily eat dry food as a complete food. This means your dog is basically already able to chew dry food when he finally moves in with you. However, since dry food contains only a little liquid contains, you should make sure that your dog always has access to fresh water access. This will also ensure his fluid requirements are optimally covered. If your pup doesn’t like eating dry food, you can also soak it with a little lukewarm water.
When your puppy moves in with you, everything is of course still new for him and he doesn’t yet know all the new smells and unfamiliar faces. Therefore, it’s advisable to feed your dog with the familiar food for a few days before you then step by step →switch to new food can. This will spare him unnecessary stress.
A slow food transition is very important for your puppy!
How much dry food does a puppy need?
When →your dog has just moved in with you, he can receive 4 meals a day at first. From the 6th month of life you can reduce the frequency to two or three meals a day.
Attention: When feeding, don’t forget that dry food contains much less water than, for example, wet food. So you need to feed your puppy much smaller portions than you would with wet food. Be sure to check the →feeding recommendation on the packaging of the dry food to be sure, and always provide enough water.
Advantages of dry food at a glance:
contains all important nutrients for a balanced diet
easy to transport and to store
easy to portion
perfect for on the go and during training sessions
very economical and therefore often more cost-effective
long shelf life
