Do you remember your mother saying, “Make sure you chew your food,” or, “You are eating too fast! Slow down?” This motherly advice was designed to foster healthy digestion, so you had plenty of energy to fuel all of the activities that are a natural part of growing up. She was also trying to foster a way of living that would lead to a strong way of life as an adult.
As a pet parent, you are concerned about creating a way of life for your new puppy that will foster healthy digestion, giving your new puppy a good start in life. Digestive problems are a common reason that pets are presented for examination to veterinarians. I believe that at least some of these problems could be avoided if pet parents established patterns of healthy digestion for their puppies.
Healthy Digestion Starts with Portion Size
To encourage healthy digestion, start by ensuring you’re feeding your puppy the correct amount of food. Be aware of how much your puppy eats and measure out its food each day. For new puppy parents, the feeding guidelines on the back of a bag of quality food provide a useful starting point. Be aware, however, that most dog food companies overestimate how much food your puppy will need. Using common sense is important in determining feeding amounts. This is another area in which your family veterinarian can be great source of information. Make sure that you seek a vet’s advice on portion size at each of your puppy’s examinations.
I suggest feeding smaller amounts of food frequently throughout the day. Small breed dogs benefit from this feeding protocol because they are prone to suffering from hypoglycemia. Feeding small amounts frequently throughout the day will help to stabilize your small puppy’s blood glucose levels.
Large breed puppies also benefit from eating smaller meals more often, but for different reasons. Large breed puppies, especially Labrador retrievers and Great Danes, tend to eat greedily. If they are offered a large amount of food at one time, their vigorous appetite drives them to gulp their food and may predispose them to “bloat,” which may have life-threatening consequences.
Regulate Your Puppy’s Diet Strictly
Lastly, I suggest strictly regulating what your puppy eats. Many cases of vomiting and diarrhea I see in practice stem from dogs getting into or being fed human food. So many dogs are indiscriminately fed human food that they recognize it as a legitimate food source and will beg for it. Very few of us have the will power to turn down “puppy eyes.”
Start now! I suggest talking with every family member about the importance of good feeding habits. I have seen patients die from eating human food items such as pizza and ham bones. These types of deaths are senseless and can be avoided if every family member is committed to the digestive health of your canine family members. Expert advice for the digestion is available right here with the professionals at online sites. If there is any issue in digestion, then proper precaution and treatment will be provided to the dogs.
