Posts Tagged ‘Health’
Dog Health – 3 Ways To Feed Your Puppy
To meet the continual nutritional demand of your puppy’s growing body, he must have food available to him all day long sustaining proper dog health.
There are 3 common techniques to feed your new puppy that affect dog health.
These are: Meal feeding, portion-control feeding, and free feeding.
Meal Feeding For Optimal Dog Health
This method of feeding is usually done with mixing solid food and canned food and is ideal for puppies that are being trained to housebreak.
With this technique, your puppy gets his meals at different times during the day.
Many owners prefer for optimal dog health the three meal a day program while others are more comfortable with giving their puppies four meals a day.
Whether you’re feeding your puppy three or four meals per day, the important thing to remember is to divide the meals equally within a 24-hour period and without having to get up at night.
With three meals a day, you have to feed your puppy every eight hours. Four meals a day, food is given to your puppy every six hours. Keep in mind, however, that you shouldn’t give your puppy two meals a day until he is at least five or six months old.
Portion Control Feeding Affects Dog Health
This method of feeding is probably the most common way puppies are fed today, especially for owners who work during the day and have to leave their puppies alone.
It is done by measuring the exact amount of food he requires (depending on his age and type of breed). This amount of food should be modified as a puppy gets older to ensure proper dog health.
The portion is then placed in his food bowl once a day, preferably the same time everyday. This way your puppy will be able to nibble on his food throughout the day.
Most puppies ration out their meals throughout the day and eat only a small portion at a time, while some puppies will empty their bowl in one sitting.
Studies have shown that puppies that are brought up with this feeding method will not over eat when they turn into adult dogs.
However, if you are having a difficult time housebreaking your puppy, then this method of feeding will probably not work for you.
Dog Health And Free Feeding
With this feeding technique, you have to make sure that there is food in his bowl and let him nibble on it throughout the day. Although this is the simplest way to feed your puppy, this method is also the least recommended by most vets and breeders because of it’s possible affect on dog health..
Feeding your puppy will make it more difficult to house train him because you do not know exactly when he eats.
In addition, it is also difficult to know how much he eats on a daily basis, so becoming consciously aware of this will promote good dog health.
Puppy Training – Teaching Your Dog To “Leave It”
Along with many crucial commands used in puppy training, there is one command that your puppy needs to learn for his own protection, and that is the safety command of “Leave it.” You are out for a walk and puppy comes upon a roadkill or carelessly discarded garbage.
For the sake of his health, you puppy training command, “Leave it!” and you will need to enforce it with a gentle snap-and-release of the leash.
If he does not hear (or understand) the “Leave it” command, get his attention followed by “Leave it.”
————————————————————–
————————————————————–
This one is so important that at four to six months of age you can even use an entrapment as a teaching tool. When the puppy cannot see you do it, plant a piece of trash, maybe an empty cereal box, on the floor and stick around until the pup goes to investigate. As he goes to sniff it, shout “Leave it!” and as he retreats at the force of your voice, say “Good dog.”
It is an extremely versatile and useful command. It also has an amusing side effect. Many young puppies respond to the extreme urgency in your voice and not only “Leave it” but do an instant Down flat on the ground! It’s a two-for-one in puppy training!
Teaching Your Puppy To “Leave It”
There is one command your puppy needs to learn for his own protection, and that is the safety command of “Leave it.”
You are out for a walk and puppy comes upon a roadkill or carelessly discarded garbage. For the sake of his health, you command, “Leave it!” and you will need to enforce it with a gentle snap-and-release of the leash.
If he does not hear (or understand) the “Leave it” command, get his attention followed by “Leave it.”
This one is so important that at four to six months of age you can even use an entrapment as a teaching tool.
When the puppy cannot see you do it, plant a piece of trash, maybe an empty cereal box, on the floor and stick around until the pup goes to investigate.
As he goes to sniff it, shout “Leave it!” and as he retreats at the force of your voice, say “Good dog.”
It is an extremely versatile and useful Puppy training command. It also has an amusing side effect.
Many young puppies respond to the extreme urgency in your voice and not only “Leave it” but do an instant Down flat on the ground!