Feeding Schedule
Our advice for ensuring an optimal puppy diet.
Our dogs have had a constant supply of food day and night, this has helped remove all of the demanding behaviour that you would normally expect.
Once you have collected your puppy, the urge for food may change as some of the motivation and competition from their siblings has been removed.
Optimal Diet Structure
Initially a puppy’s meal schedule must include 4 meals a day, preferably at a similar time every day, but avoid exact feeding times. Giving food at an exact time each day will create a routine. This may result in the puppy demanding instead of being patient. The best time for your puppy’s first meal is what works for you and them.
We recommend a structure of morning breakfast, lunchtime, early evening and last meal. The last meal again should always be around what works for you but relatively late, bare in mind that they will need to toilet afterwards. Stick to this schedule until the puppy reaches 14 to 18 weeks old, at which point the meal schedules should change to three meals and then two meals a day (unless you think otherwise because of their metabolism).
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The meals should consist of a healthy and well-balanced diet that has been designed for puppies or adult dogs, dependant on age. This means refraining from cheaper dog foods that contains fillers and sugars, instead seek high quality nutrients. While cheap foods will make your dog appear to be full and satisfied, they are not giving your dog all the nutrition their growing body requires and they may feel the need to eat more as they try to meet those needs.
Lesser quality foods can undoubtedly affect the long-term growth and overall health of your puppy as well as cause constipation or diarrhoea, which makes house training that much more of a challenge. Personally we would recommend a meat diet with vegatables and chews. Also make sure not to over feed your puppy, even if he is begging for more. This is especially tricky with some breeds, who always appear to be hungry and who are predisposed to becoming overweight as a result.
If you have any questions regarding exactly how much food your puppy should be eating in the course of a day, talk to us the breeder rather than guess. Do your research on the ingredients that go into different dog foods if you are thinking of a kibble diet and how labels are written so that you can make the most informed choice on which foods you will buy.
If your puppy appears to be reluctant about eating his food, you should try feeding him inside his crate so that he can eat without feeling threatened or distracted.
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Additional Advice
Don't be in a rush to make your puppy look like an adult dog. Golden Retrievers are generally slow growing like most large breeds, it might be as late as 9-12 months of age before all of the skeleton has fused.
With this in mind keep your dogs weight balanced, their weight will rise and fall similar to us. Instead of aiming for a constant weight, it's ok to correct their weight when necessary. Hopefully with the food choice you use allows you to have a good roll of skin without excessive weight. Maintain their natural confirmation which includes a deep chest and a waist.
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In the first stages of house-training your puppy, it is best to take him outside to toilet every 1.5 hours. Give him some water to drink about fifteen minutes before taking him outside. As the house-training progresses, the puppy will be able to last for longer intervals without feeling the need to toilet.
Right before bedtime, after the puppy has done their toilet outside, spend a few minutes playing gently with your puppy – nothing that will get him too excited. Congratulations. You are on your way with a well trained puppy that sleeps well all night.
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