Why does a puppy need special food?

Puppy Needs

Starting from three months, the puppy develops very actively, consuming a significant amount of nutrients.

His body needs 5,8 times more calcium, 6,4 times more phosphorus, 4,5 times more zinc than an adult dog.

Even after two months, gaining three quarters of adult weight, the puppy does not stop. During this period of life, it is important for him to receive 1,2 times more energy than an adult. Therefore, ready-made food for adult dogs will not be able to meet all of his nutritional needs. Puppies need to be fed special food designed specifically for them.

Benefits of prepared meals

The gastrointestinal tract of a puppy in the first months of life is especially vulnerable. He has hypersensitivity and is not able to cope with all food.

To avoid overburdening your puppy’s digestive system and causing health problems, it is important to provide him with a specially formulated food that is high in calories and easily digestible. Experts recommend combining dry and wet diets, since each of them has certain benefits. For example, dry keeps the mouth healthy, and wet saturates the pet’s body with water.

Such diets contain a balanced amount of nutrients necessary for the normal development of the dog.

At the same time, do not forget that a pet receiving dry food should have constant access to fresh water.

Harm of homemade food

Home-cooked meals can contain both excess and insufficient amounts of nutrients. For example, a lack of calcium causes lameness, stiffness, and constipation. Chronic deficiency leads to pathologies of the musculoskeletal system, the risk of spontaneous fractures, and tooth loss. Excess calcium leads to growth retardation, decreased thyroid activity, and so on. A lack of phosphorus leads to a deterioration in appetite and the manifestation of the same symptoms as with calcium deficiency. Too much phosphorus can cause kidney damage. Zinc deficiency leads to weight loss, growth retardation, thinning coat, scaly dermatitis, poor wound healing, and so on. Excess leads to a deficiency of calcium and copper, which is very important for maintaining a healthy liver.

That is why veterinarians and dog handlers recommend preferring a balanced ready-made diet to a dish from the table.

Opportunities for Savings

Some owners tend to cook their own food for their animal. Even if they manage to create a dish that takes into account all the needs of the pet, these efforts lead to a significant waste of time and money.

For example, even when cooking takes no more than 30 minutes a day, in 10 years there are already 1825 hours, or 2,5 months spent at the stove. The ratio of money spent per day on self-prepared food and industrial rations can be as follows: 100 rubles for the first, 17–19 rubles for the second. That is, the cost of keeping an animal per month increases by at least 2430 rubles.

Thus, it turns out that ready-made feeds not only provide the animal with good nutrition, but also help its owner save their time and money resources.

14 2017 June

Updated: December 26, 2017