PUPPIES, FOR NEW OWNERS
Part 2
What about heartworms?
Heartworms are important parasites to prevent in dogs. Heartworms live in a dog's Chambers of the heart, pulmonary arteries and the bloodstream. These worms do major damage to the heart and lungs they really mess up the endothelial lining of the blood vessels. They were named heartworm prior to the understanding they decrease lung and pulmonary function. Heartworms are transmitted by the bite of mosquitoes. There are multiple species that transmit heart worms. Fortunately there are drugs that will protect your dog from heartworms. These drugs are very safe and effective if given regularly. Thirty days is the interval for oral medications and topical heartworm preparations. There is a heartworm preventative injectable with a 6 month interval available. Puppies need to be 6 months of age and need some test to qualify for this medication. Heartworm preventatives are dosed according to a dog's weight. As the weight increases, the dosage needs to increase. Please follow dosing instructions for each individual product. Not following the instructions has a lethal consequence for your dog.
Puppies should be started preventative approximate 8 weeks and minimum of 2 pounds body weight. We wish to talk prevention, not cure of heartworm. Cure has risk (up to and including death of the dog) is worrisome and expensive.
What should I feed my puppy?
Diet is extremely important during the growing months of a dog's life. I recommend a diet made by a national dog food company (not a generic or local brand) and a diet designed for PUPPIES. A puppy diet is fed until your puppy is about twelve to eighteen months of age, depending on its breed and size. You need to match the right puppy food with the expected size as an adult dog. Small toy breeds need a more concentrated food than a Lab or Great Dane. This is based on stomach size. Toys do not have the same storage capacity as a giant breed. Another reason to size match food is the period of long bone growth in the bones femur, tibia, radius, ulna, and humerus bones. This period is approximately 1 year in all but the giant breeds. The calcium and phosphorus requirements are different in adolescents. Rickets and bone growth anomalies may happen if you give an adult dog diet to growing dogs. Large breed puppies (anywhere from boxer's size on up) need to be fed a form of "LARGE BREED PUPPY FOOD".
You should buy a food certified by an independent organization as complete and balanced. Look for a food certified by AAFCO, an independent organization that oversees the entire pet food industry. It will not endorse any particular food, but it will certify the food meets the minimum requirements for nutrition for any or all life stages.
Feeding a dry or canned form of dog food is acceptable. A formulation is acceptable if the label states the food is intended for growth (or is a puppy food), and is "complete and balanced". This means the food is nutritionally complete and meets the needs for growth and development. Each type of food has advantages and disadvantages. Dry food is definitely the most economical on a kilocalorie basis. It can be left in the dog's bowl without drying and should be consumed before becoming stale, crumbly or moldy.
Semi-moist foods may be acceptable, depending on their quality. These remind me of a "plastic food" the texture may be appealing to some dogs, and they often have a stronger odor and flavor. Semi-moist foods are often high in sugar. Relate this to a sugared pop and ice cream diet some children seem to crave and you understand why balanced is better.
Canned foods are a good choice to feed a puppy, but more expensive than other forms of food. Canned foods contain a high percentage of water, and their texture, odor, and taste are very appealing and palatable. Canned food dries out or spoils if left out for prolonged periods of time. It is more suited for meal feeding rather than free choice feeding.
Table foods are just not recommended. Because they are very tasty, dogs will begin to hold out for these and not eat a well-balanced dog food. If you choose to give your puppy table food, be sure that at least 95% of its diet is good a quality commercial puppy food. The house rule; no desert if you don't eat dinner needs to be enforced.
People enjoy a variety in our diet. Most dogs prefer not to change from one food to another unless they are trained to do so by the way you feed them. Do not feel guilty if your dog is happy eating the same food day after day, week after week. Monitor body shape to an athletic adolescent shape.
Commercials and advertisements for dog food can be very misleading. When you observe carefully you notice that ads often promote a dog food on the basis of TASTE. Nutrition is rarely mentioned. Primarily "gourmet" foods are marketed to appeal to owners who wish the best for their dogs. They do not offer any nutritional advantage over a good quality dry dog food and they are more expensive. When you read the labels of many of the gourmet foods, you notice they do not claim to be "complete and balanced". If your dog eats a gourmet food very long, it will not be happy with other foods. If it needs a special diet due to a health problem later in life, it is very unlikely to accept it.
How often and how much should I feed my puppy?
There are different "right" ways to feed puppies. The most used method is called "meal feeding". This means a puppy is fed at specific times of the day. A measured volume of food is offered four times per day for five to twelve week old pups. The amount not eaten within twenty to thirty minutes is picked up. This may be offered at next feeding if being fed dry kibble. If the food is eaten (inhaled) within three to four minutes, the quantity is probably not sufficient and a larger volume should be offered. When fed in this way puppies begin to cut back on one of middle meals by three to four months of age. If a certain feeding is ignored for several days, it should be discontinued.
"Free choice feeding," means food is available at all times. This works better with dry foods and with some dogs. Some dogs overeat and become obese. If there is weight gain after the optimal size is reached, this method of feeding should be discontinued. There is a group of dogs that have a double dose of the "hungry gene". One caution about easy access to calories is it "trains" the pup on the amount of food needed to be full. These little "double stuffed" ones become couch potatoes and are too fat to run, jump, build muscle and bone structure. Not running and jumping does not make the hip socket deep enough and results in hip dysplasia being more prevalent in some breeds. There is a correlation with lack of exercise with obesity problems.
Adult dogs should have a minimum of 2 meals per day. If you think about it they should be no more than 12 hours from the next meal. This allows a stable level for blood glucose. It prevents deep chested dogs from inhaling and overloading with food and lessens chances for GDV or bloat of the stomach.
For more information about puppy issues, consult your veterinarian.