Just how much should you feed your puppy and
when should you feed them? You might be wondering which bowls or feeders
to use too? Michele here with how to train a dream dog,
in today’s video we are going to talk about dog feeding tips for your new puppy Before I dive in be sure to hit that subscribe
button to get notified when the next helpful training video goes live This video is aimed at puppy owners who have
a puppy that is at least 8 weeks and older puppies that are younger than this should
still be with their littermates and mother They likely will be weaned off milk around
the 4-5 week mark and transition to eating mush which may be a combo of kibble that has
been soaked in water and possibly a milk replacement Typically puppies past the 5-week mark are
on either soaked mushy kibble or straight dry kibble for puppies Most often the difference between puppy kibble
and adult kibble is actually the size of the kibble pieces puppy kibble is much smaller in size and easier
for younger puppies to eat When you bring your puppy home at 8 weeks
or older you will give your puppy the same kibble they were on at the breeder’s home
until you transition them to a new kibble you may prefer to give them Whatever food you transition a puppy to a
new food make sure to go slow you may end up transitioning them over a few
weeks. This means we may mix in a little of the old
to a little of the new just a little bit at a time we never want to transition a puppy to new
food instantly as they can have a severe upset tummy and diarrhea Be aware that your new puppy is going through
a pretty big change when they transition into your home they might be overwhelmed by all the new people
and things in your home this means that they may not eat their meals
consistently they may not take treats from you either They may eat sporadically, this is normal
for a new puppy we always want to keep our expectations low
and our patients High when working with brand new puppies for more information on surviving the first
24 hours with a new puppy check out this video here most puppies need at least three meals a day
until they're about 6 months of age when they get to about 6 months of age we
can decrease this to about two meals a day the reason that we want to feed puppies younger
than 6 months at least three meals a day is that puppies that have an empty tummy for too long
will likely spit up yellow bile due to an upset and empty tummy They aren’t quite ready to go for longer
durations of time in between meals just yet As your puppy grows and matures the stomach
can handle going longer periods of time in between meals It's always best to feed your puppy at regularly
scheduled meal times instead of free feeding. there are a couple of main reasons why we
schedule our puppy’s mealtimes #1 when you stick to scheduled meals you can
better predict when your puppy needs to go out to go potty this is going to be very important during
the beginning potty training stage for more information on puppy potty training
be sure to check out our free resource called the new puppy starter kit the link to this resource is below this video
as with any resource or product I recommend they will always be found in the description
below our videos We typically take a new puppy out to go potty
a few minutes after they have eaten their meal for some puppies, this may be only a few moments
While others it may be closer to 15 to 20 minutes after eating be sure to use that potty training chart inside
the new puppy starter kit to keep track of what happens and when, it can really help
you see a pattern in your pup’s bathroom habits it's a free printable resource that's available
for you and your puppy to use Ok reason #2, We want to make sure that our
puppy is getting just the right amount of a balanced diet free feeding or letting your puppy eat whenever
they want can lead to overeating it's very easy to overfeed a puppy this way over 54% of American dogs are already overweight
and we don't want to add to the statistic Besides an overweight puppy means we will
have to deal with health issues down the road Reason #3 feeding on a set schedule and at
a set time helps you stay more focused on what's in your dog's dish and if they ate
all their food or not a break in their consistent eating habits
can be a warning sign of illness and you might not notice this if your dog always has food
down all the time #4 Feeding at meal times also helps create
a little bit more value with their food since it isn’t always available, this can be especially
important for training. When food left down is always available isn’t
as valuable When food has more value as in it’s only
available at certain times of the day, it can be used as a reinforcer for skills you
are trying to teach your puppy because it has more value On a side note, if you put your pup’s food
down and they didn’t eat it up within about 10-15 min. Don’t leave it down Instead, pick it up and either toss it out
, if it’s mushy or save it for the next meal, Just don’t overfeed at the next meal, make
sure the amount that is in the dish is the same serving size at each meal. This means you may only need to add a little
bit more if your pup didn’t eat much at the last meal. Now you might be wondering just how much to
feed your puppy... How much to feed your dog will depend on many
factors, including size, weight, age, breed, and activity level. The label on the dog food bag should be one
of your guides, as each food has a different caloric makeup, and manufacturers can suggest
the proper amount based on the weight of your dog. Keep in mind that some manufacturers want
you to buy more of their product so their recommended levels may be on the high end
of the scale. Be sure to read that label closely some dog
food bags recommend an amount that is good for a pup at their current age well others recommend you feed based on what
their potential weight might be as an adult personally, I follow the guidelines on the
bag based on what their current weight is. It will also be important to speak to your
veterinarian about your dog's diet, they may have better recommendations than what’s
on the side of the bag If you’re trying to find out which food
might be the best food for your pup we have a video all ready for you on that topic too,
you can check it out here Or you can click the link below this video
after you’re done watching this one. What about the bowls vs puzzle feeders vs
enrichment activities for feeding. If your pup is eating too fast you can use
various slow bowl feeders, puzzle toys, and enrichment activities to slow down the eating
process. While these things may slow the consumption
rate you will need to work on your pup’s excitement level around food. This will take time and training. Pickles my Cavalier loves eating his meal
from a snuffle mat or even a busy box My busy boxes are filled with all sorts of
things Sometimes they are filled with old clothes
that we were going to donate Other times they are filled with shredded
paper like the ones that come in a delivery box I’ve filled boxes with ball pit balls and
even empty water bottles He loves digging for and sniffing out his
kibble But my Great Dane on the other hand just loves
food so much she would chow it down way too fast so we use a slow bowl feeder with her
at mealtimes The bowl helps her slow her eating way down
so she doesn’t choke, throw it back up or cause too much gas in her system If your dog is eating too fast, be sure to
watch this video here all about the different ways to slow your dog’s eating down Now there are some reasons why your dog might
not eat out of their bowls Sometimes we have to do a little detective
work before we jump to the conclusion that your dog is refusing to eat because they don’t
like the food On a side note… resist the urge to doctor
your dog’s food up with other tasty things like gravies and cheeses or even table scraps You can actually create a picky eater that
holds out for the extra tasty stuff if you keep doctoring their food up Instead of you find that your dog is not eating
their food First check to see that their collar or tags
aren’t hitting the side of the dish, this can startle a pup, and it creates a negative
association with eating Next, check the dish itself, some pups dislike
the reflections from a metal bowl while others may find the size of the bowl too narrow My dog Pickles hates eating out of bowls where
his whiskers touch the sides, he gets freaked out by that so we have to
make sure both his water bowl and food dishes are wider than the length of his whiskers. Some dogs really love the foraging activity
and need a puzzle toy to work through to get their food. I have a few puzzle toy links in the description
below this video One of my favorites is a Bob-A-Lot, Pickles
loves batting his around to make the food pop-out Now I am also a big fan of using a portion
of your dog’s meal as training opportunities. In the Pro-Level of my online puppy training
program, we teach the students about our #50kibblechallenge This means we take 50 pieces of kibble from
our dog’s meal and set them aside to use throughout the day as reinforcement for all
the things we want to see more of We can also use it during our structured training
lessons as well. When we take the kibble out of their meal
we know we aren’t over-feeding them. The link to that course can also be found
in the description below this video Take a look and see if it’s something you
might be interested in joining. It’s a great way for you and your pup to
play and train together, and learn which order you should teach your
pup all the new skills they need to know to stay safe and follow cues when you ask Now, If you’re wondering about treats…
first just know that less than 10% of your dog’s daily diet should be treats This includes things like Pupford Freeze-dried
beef livers, Wellness soft training treats, or even buffalo bits This video here all about training treats
can point you in the right direction of a variety of treats to try with your pup. Before I share my last tip with you, if you’ve
found value in this video go ahead and give me a thumbs up and subscribe to the channel
for more lessons like this one Last but not least, a really popular question
we get pretty often is “can we feed our dog people food” The answer is yes and no… let me explain The bad news…. There are some foods that are actually toxic
to dogs so we're going to want to make sure we avoid those ones for example, we want to make sure our dog
never has chocolate, caffeine, onions, garlic, Appleseeds, and anything with Xylitol in it if you want the full list you can always check
out our post inside the puppy training with Michele Lennon Facebook group you can find
a link to that group in the description below this video Now for the good news, there are several foods
that you can give your dog that can actually be considered high value treats, this means
your dog may be more eager to work for them And would love to receive them as training
treats or they make carry more value in the training
process keep in mind that your dog actually has preferences
and determines which foods are more valuable than others while we may think hot dog is high-value some
dogs don't love hot dogs but typically if a food is stinky smelly slimy
it's a good bet that your dog is going to think it's high value we tend to use the higher value treats with
the tougher tasks that we’re working on we want to make sure that we're reinforcing
with higher value treats when a puppy is working harder to learn a new skill like recall or
the come cue That one can be really tough if your pup is
distracted by something outside while off leash This is definitely covered in great detail
inside our 30 days to puppy perfection program Ok back to higher value treats... so maybe
your dog DOES like hot dogs or boiled chicken or cheese or even peanut butter for many dogs these are considered higher
value just make sure that peanut butter doesn't
contain Xylitol an all-natural peanut butter with limited
ingredients is your best bet Now, in the comments below tell me which kind
of dish or puzzle toy your dog prefers to eat out of.
