At SwanValley Dobermanns we feed and recommend a "Natural Diet" for all dogs, regardless of age. We believe that this best mimics what dogs eat in the wild and thus their bodies are designed to cope with this type of food. Good, natural food will reduce health problems i.e. poor teeth, gum disease throughout its life.
We believe that puppies should be “plump” until they have almost reached their adult height. This is because puppies expend a lot of energy when they are awake as well as when they are asleep.
In the first few months of life your puppy will grow at an almost exponential rate. This slows after about 6 months. During this time it is vital that the puppy receives good quality food and enough of it. By the time puppies reach about 5 months it will eating almost double the amount when compared to an adult (i.e. between 1.5-2 kg of raw meat in one day).
We recommend that puppies are fed 4 - 5 times a day from when you take them home until 5 months of age. Between 5 - 12 months feed your puppy 3 times a day and from 12 months onwards, twice a day. Some studies suggest that feeding 2 smaller meals rather than 1 larger meal can reduce the chance of the dog developing bloat (twisting of the stomach, which is largely fatal).
Until the age of 6 months we also give our puppies free access to dry (pellet) food throughout the day to “graze” on. This may not be possible if you have another dog. We use the Pedigree Advance® range of products for this purpose.
All of our dogs (regardless of age) also get one fresh bone per week.
|
Dog’s Age |
Type of Bone |
|
2 - 3 months |
1 to 3 Raw chicken wings per day |
|
3 months + |
1 x Raw lamb shank/flap, or 1 x Beef marrow bone (cut in ˝ to get access to the marrow) |
The marrow in marrow bones is pure fat. It is an excellent source of energy for puppies and helps produce shiny coats. However, if puppies are not used to this it can produce temporary diarrhoea. Therefore, start by scraping some to marrow out and slowly increasing the amount left in the bone over about a week.
In adult dogs, this marrow can often be an unwanted source of calories. Therefore, scrape most of the marrow out and only leave a small amount.
Chicken wings are an excellent source of calcium for puppies to help the skeleton grow properly.
NEVER feed your dog COOKED BONES of any sort (BBQ chops, lamb roast, chicken). These bones splinter easily and can cause intestinal perforation (often fatal). Only feed raw bones.
For our "Natural Diet" sheet click here.