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Dogs need a well-balanced meal for their adequate growth and development. Different breeds and sizes of dogs require a different amount of nutrients. Puppies are at their growing stage, and hence they require more energy for overall development. Nutrients like fat, protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, and water help the puppy nourish into a healthy dog. Choosing a puppy food is a crucial decision to make as the type of puppy food you choose directly affects your fur baby’s development in the initial years.
IAMS™ is one of the leading puppy food brands that is known for offering food packed with energy and nutrients to support a puppy’s growing age.
Pet parents often face the dilemma of how to choose puppy food for their fur baby. Puppies often need twice the amount of nutrients compared to an adult dog. While choosing a puppy food, you must look for meal options that are highly digestive and nutrient dense. The food should be packed with vitamins, proteins, fat, and carbohydrates for your puppy’s healthy growth. Some benefits of selecting the right puppy food are:
While home food can be nutritious, it can sometimes not be sufficient for a puppy’s growing body. Hence, pet parents need to depend on formulated puppy food that is packed with the goodness of protein and other essential nutrients to support their fur baby’s growth and development stage. However, how to choose the right puppy food brand amongst so many available options? Read the following to know more.
Moreover, you must also consider your puppy’s breed, size, and weight when confused about how to choose food for the puppy. Smaller breeds of dogs mature faster than larger breeds, this means your puppy’s breed decides how much nutrients it will need for how long. While most puppies can start consuming solid food once they turn 4-weeks old, their transition from puppy food to adult dog food varies depending on their breed, size, and weight. Please consult a vegetarian doctor if you are unsure about your pet’s breed and the amount of nutrients required for its adequate growth.
Different breeds of dogs require a different amount of nutrition for their proper growth and development. Feeding the puppy as per its breed’s requirement ensures that it gets the right amount of nutrients for its physical and psychological growth. Hence, to help you choose the best for your fur baby, we have curated some insights on how much nutrition is required for which breed size.
The physical growth and development of a puppy are at stake during its initial years. Therefore, choosing a diet that meets all its nutritional requirements and provides appropriate nourishment is essential. Caregivers should be mindful of their puppy’s allergies, breed size, and age before selecting a puppy food brand. IAMS offers a wide range of puppy food varieties for different breed sizes based on their nutritional requirements. However, you should consult a vet if you are unsure about your puppy’s nutritional needs and breed.
At IAMS™, we focus on preparing highest-quality food for dogs of all ages and breeds. Our puppy food – IAMS™ Proactive Health™ Starter Mother and Baby Dog – is the ideal pick for your little pooch’s optimal growth and development. Along with being loaded with proteins, vitamins, and minerals, it also contains DHA and colostrum. While DHA ensures healthy cognition for better trainability, colostrum provides essential nutrients that’s only found in the mother dog’s milk. Enriched with best-quality proteins, fiber, and FOS natural prebiotics, IAMS™ Proactive Health™ Starter Mother and Baby Dog ensures healthy muscles as well as digestive system.
Puppies ideally prefer animal-based meals. You can select the best food formula by choosing a puppy food brand that caters to your puppy’s breed size as different breed sizes require a different amount of nutrients for overall development and healthy growth.
Yes, puppies need more energy compared to adult dogs. Hence, they do require special food that can offer twice the amount of nutrients in smaller quantities. Besides, puppies also need to be fed more frequently to support the nutritional requirements for growth and development.
This is subjective to the puppy’s nutritional requirements and allergies. Most puppies rely on animal-based food for their nutritional needs. Nutrient-packed formulas offered by puppy food brands like IAMS are also suggested for providing a well-balanced and nourishing food to your puppy.
Author: Dr. Diah Pawitri
When visiting the store, dog owners can get overwhelmed by the array of dog food options available, from dry kibble to canned wet food and more. These processed foods may not be appealing to humans, but they contain all the nutrients that dogs need to stay healthy. Like humans, dogs also need a variety of nutrients from their food, not just from meat as their main diet, but also from grains, vegetables, and fruits. This kind of balance is usually weighed by pet food labels in kibbles or wet food in grams for different types of dogs.
For optimum health, dogs need food that is tailored and customized to their life stages, starting from when they are puppies and all the way into adulthood. Puppies have completely different nutrient needs compared to adult dogs as they are still in their early stages of life. They need enough nutrients to fuel a speedy growth, especially after transitioning away from their mother's milk. Puppies require complete and balanced nutrition with protein to help build their tissues, fats or healthy skin, hair, brain, and vision, carbohydrates for energy, vitamins, minerals, and water.
The need for balanced nutrients in puppies starts with the mother during pregnancy, followed by lactation and growth. Sufficient nourishment for the mother is pivotal in enhancing the puppies’ growth inside the womb and preparing them for life after birth. Both mother and puppy should receive well-proportioned antioxidants, DHA, and prebiotics to support their health and growth as provided by the IAMS product line, which contains DHA that is essential for puppies' brain development while also supporting the mother's pregnancy and quality of milk produced.
While puppies need the primary nutrients for growth, adult dog food has a different level of complexity. Adult dog food requires the same make-up of nutrients as puppies do but tailored to their specific needs. Recent research indicates that an adult dog requires at least 10% of its daily calories from protein and at least 5.5% from fat. Adult dogs need quality protein for firm muscles and a healthy immune system. Additionally, an adult diet can contain up to 50% carbohydrates, with fiber ranging from 2.5 to 4.5%. There is no specific prescribed amount of fibre for adult dog consumption daily, however, it is still one of the most important components in dog food to address constipation and support a healthy weight.
Adult dogs in their prime also require a balance in antioxidants to reduce systemic inflammation and restore active muscles. They should receive Vitamin E and C to support their immune system, joint health, and prevent inflammation. As they grow older, they may be exposed to different diseases from diabetes to cancers, which can be prevented by polyphenols. Parents to adult dogs must acknowledge the most suitable food for their loved one that is comprised of the right amount of nutrients and can look to the IAMS line as they are formulated to support healthy bones and joint health, scientifically proven for healthy digestion with a good fibre and prebiotic blend, as well as antioxidants for a strong immune system.
Besides life stage, balanced nutrition should be adjusted to their breed, which give insight to different factors like weight, mouth size, and energy level. This will then determine the type of kibble and food given. Smaller breeds tend to be more active, requiring the same essential nutrients and prebiotics for a healthy body as well as smaller-sized kibble designed specifically for their smaller mouths. As smaller dogs relatively have a high metabolism, higher levels of protein, fat, and essential fatty acids like omega 3 and omega 6 are some of the important nutrients that should be available in their food. On the other hand, larger breeds require foods that are lower in fat and calories, contain slightly lower levels of calcium and phosphorus, and have a specific balance of calcium-to-phosphorus ratio to support stronger bones and muscles. Owners can look to products like the small breed line from IAMS, containing 7 essential nutrients to build strong muscles, support their tiny immune system while protecting their healthy skin and coat, and the product line for adults for large breeds.
Dog parents must acknowledge and understand the unique needs, life stage and characteristics in their dog to choose the right dog food so their furry ones can grow into their healthiest selves. Make sure to visit your vet regularly to check these components as well!
