Premium Pet Care Understanding the Importance of True Meals Puppy Nutrition
SPRINGDALE, Ark., June 21, 2021 After a long day of playtime filled with mischief and adventure, your furry friend deserves a meal that is sure to leave them satisfied. Introducing new True Meals Dog Food, a premium dry dog food developed alongside pet nutritionists and culinary experts that delivers the nutrition your dog needs in a texture theyll love, and with a taste they rightfully deserve.
When pet parents are selecting a new food for their dog, its important that they choose an offering that is able to satisfy them through taste, flavor and nutrition, said Monica Bobak, senior brand manager, True Meals Dog Food. True Meals Dog Food features a unique texture that is made from real protein, vegetables and vitamins for a signature taste.
The Nutrition & Taste Your Dog Desires All in One Bag!Dogs are members of the family and they merit a meal that is as robust as those their pet parents consume on a daily basis. True Meals Dog Food features a baked recipe of USA-sourced protein and vegetables, resulting in a signature texture comprised of crunchy and chewy bits that excite dogs tastebuds. Formulated with added vitamins, minerals and amino acids for an optimal balance of nutrients, True Meals Dog Food is a nutritious option for dogs everywhere.
True Meals Dog Food is available in two varieties with specially formulated recipes for puppy, adult, and small dogs:
- Multi Protein (Available for Puppy, Small Dog, Adult Dog): Made with USA-sourced chicken, fish and beef, coupled with a delicious vegetable medley, including sweet potatoes and green beans.
- Chicken Recipe (Available for Adult Dog): Made with USA-sourced chicken and expertly blended with tasty vegetables, such as sweet potatoes and green beans.
True Meals Dog Food can be found at Petco pet care centers nationwide and on Petco.com. For more information on True Meals Dog Food, visit https://www.truechews.com/dog-food/.
###
About True Meals BrandThe True Meals Brand offers a line of premium quality dry dog food that delivers the nutrition your dog needs in a texture theyll love and with a taste they deserve. Made with USA-sourced protein and vegetables with added vitamins, minerals and amino acids for an optimal balance of flavor and nutrients. True Meals Dog Food is produced by Tyson Pet Products, Inc.
CATEGORY: Newsroom
Photos and Captions | |
|---|---|
 Multi-Protein (Puppy, Small Dog, Adult Dog) |  Chicken Recipe (Adult Dog) |
| True Meals Dog Food Multi-Protein is made with real, USA-sourced chicken, fish and beef with a vegetable blend of sweet potatoes and green beans. Available now for Puppy, Small Dog and Adult Dog size varieties at Petco pet care centers nationwide. | True Meals Dog Food Chicken Recipe is made with real, USA-sourced chicken and a vegetable blend of sweet potatoes and green beans. Available now for Adult Dogs at Petco pet care centers nationwide. |
Puppy Nutrition
Puppy Nutrition
Get all the essential information on puppy nutrition from UK Pet Food to ensure you get your puppy's diet right from the start. Set your pup up for a happy, healthy life!
Puppies have a lot of growing up to do in a relatively short space of time. They have to develop their muscles, bones, skin and fur, teeth and internal organs very rapidly, as well as learn the important skills of socialisation. Getting the diet right from this early stage will set them in great stead for this amazing growth period.
Puppy's Nutritional Needs
Weaning is the process of gradually moving on from a diet of just milk to solid food. Our nutrition experts highlight that in the first 6 months or so, puppies' nutritional needs are changing very quickly, leaving very little margin for error. This often happens at the same time as neutering, which means theyll need fewer calories. It is important that the nutrients and calories he needs from his food are all present and correctly balanced for optimal development, as well as being both highly digestible and palatable.
By feeding specially designed puppy food, owners can have complete confidence theyre addressing all their puppys nutritional needs.
Do all puppies have the same nutritional requirements?
Depending on physical size and breed, puppies mature at different rates and have different nutritional needs.
Rapid growth occurs during the first few months in all breeds, but in larger breeds such asGreat Danes, Labrador Retrievers, and Doberman Pinschers, this period is longer. Whilst most dog breeds mature at around 12 months, in large breeds it may take up to two years to reach their full adult dog size.
In addition to general puppy foods, there are diets tailored for small, medium or large breed dogs, along with a range of breed-specific foods.
Puppy Diets
Puppies have a lot of growing up to do in a relatively short amount of time. They have to develop their muscles, bones, skin and fur, teeth and internal organs very rapidly, as well as learn the important skills of socialisation. Getting the diet right from this early stage will set them in great stead for this amazing period of growth.
Puppy Diets for Large Breeds
Generally speaking, larger breed puppies need fewer calories per unit of body weight and mature slower than smaller breed puppies. Taking on too many calories can lead to an accelerated growth rate and excessive weight gain. Both accelerated growth rate and excessive puppy weight put increased stress on the skeletal system of growing large breed puppies.
Large-breed puppy foods are designed for gradual, healthy growth and are often lower in calcium and phosphorus than other puppy foods to help avoid skeletal problems developing in them. Some large-breed puppy foods may contain special ingredients to help control appetite, which can help reduce the risk of developmental skeletal problems occurring due to accelerated growth. Large breed puppies might be self-restricting but their food intake and weight need to be monitored.
Puppy Diets for Small Breeds
By comparison, small breed puppies have a very fast growth rate and need up to double the amount of energy per unit of body weight compared to an adult dog.
Specific small breed puppy foods usually includeincreased levels of protein, fat and vitamin B to help them with these elevated energy levels
Feeding Guidelines for Puppies
Puppies need to be fed little and often, taking small portions from their daily food ration, which has been weighed out. This can be given at regular intervals throughout the day.
Feed your puppy four meals a day up until the age of four months, and then reduce the feed to three meals a day until he is six months old. From six months, you can change to two meals a day, and keep to this regime for the rest of his life.
Any uneaten wet food should be taken and thrown away after about half an hour. The dish should be washed before being used at another mealtime.
Dry food can be left in the dish for longer but remember the food will become less palatable the longer it is left out.
Make sure a constant supply of fresh, clean water is always available for your puppy.
Do puppies need supplements?
There is no need to supplement a complete and balanced commercial puppy diet. The term Complete, which you will see on the pet food packet, is a legal definition. This means that the product must, by law, contain all the nutrients a pet needs for healthy bodily function.
Supplementation of a complete diet can be risky and lead to growth abnormalities, especially in large and giant breed dogs. Always follow the manufacturers guidelines.
There are many different types of puppy foods on the market. The most important factor in choosing a diet is that the product is clearly labelled as 'complete' for the 'puppy' or 'growth' stage of life.
When should you switch puppies to adult dog food?
Once puppies have reached 90% of their expected adult weight, they should switch from a growth diet to one thats suitable for maintenance (an adult diet). Whilst most breeds mature around 12 months, small breeds may finish growing by nine to 12 months and for large/giant breeds it may take up to 2 years.
Avoid any sudden change of diet. A change from one food to another should be done gradually (over 7-10 days), with the new food increased day by day until that is the only food fed. The same goes for a switch from one brand to another any sudden change may upset the dogs digestive system.
Puppy Weight Management
Follow the feeding guidelines on the pet food packet when deciding how much to feed. Remember guidelines are a starting point. You may need to adjust the amount fed dependent on the needs of the individual dog. Factors such as age, weight and levels of activity will all affect how much you need to feed your puppy.
Its a good idea to weigh out the food at the start of the day. This can then be apportioned throughout the day, dependent on your routine and the feeding recommendations.
Healthy treats should only be given occasionally to avoid excess calories. When treats are given regularly for training reasons, they should form no more than 10% of the total energy intake (meaning 90% energy from complete food and up to 10% from treats).
Its useful to monitor your dogs weight on an ongoing basis as their habits change frequently. You can keep an eye on your puppy's size by using our Dog Size-O-Meter.
Puppy nutrition
Puppies grow rapidly. At times during their rapid growth and development from weaning until approximately 4 to 6 months of age, puppies, depending on the breed size, require approximately three times more calories, proteins, vitamins and minerals per kilogram of body weight as adult dogs of the same breed size and a higher nutrient intake to support their growing bodies.
The first food a breeder introduces to puppies should provide complete and balanced nutrition to meet the nutrient requirements of growing puppies. With proper nutrition, puppies are more likely to develop properly and have strong bones and teeth, healthy vision, a thick lustrous coat and strong muscles.
Although rapid growth in many breeds begins to plateau by 6 months of age, puppies continue to grow and develop for several months longer depending on the breed size of dog, with smaller breeds reaching physical maturity at a younger age compared to large and giant breed dogs. During this period, their nutrient requirements per kilogram of body weight are still greater than they will be as adults, and thus, they should continue to be fed a food specially formulated for growth.
Large and giant breeds, such as Great Dane, St. Bernard and Newfoundland, may not mature physically until nearly 2 years old. These breeds, as well as any puppy with an anticipated adult weight of 30kg or greater, should be fed a growth diet specifically formulated for large breed puppies for their entire growth period.
Nutrient balance is important
The nutritional health of puppies, just like adult dogs, depends on receiving the correct amounts and proportions of six essential nutrients:
- carbohydrates
- protein
- fat
- vitamin
- mineral
- water
To be considered complete, a puppy food should contain all essential nutrients, except water, which should always be accessible. These nutrients must also be present in the proper proportion to ensure a puppy food is balanced. The description on the pet food label will state if a product provides complete and balanced nutrition for growing puppies. Though fat, protein and calcium tend to get the greater emphasis in puppy foods, every single essential nutrient is key, especially during the period of rapid growth. Deficiencies in any essential nutrient can compromise short- or long-term health.
Feeding a complete and balanced puppy food is important for numerous reasons. Here are a few examples of problems that can happen if nutrients are not balanced:
- A zinc deficiency can contribute to compromised immune function and skin abnormalities
- Too little protein can cause disturbed growth as well as immune compromise and increased susceptibility to various stressor and infectious agents
- Calcium balanced with phosphorus is particularly critical for large breed dogs, as too little or too much can lead to skeletal problems
The best lifetime dog insurance
Keeping puppies fit
Along with providing complete and balanced nutrition, puppies of all breed sizes need an appropriate amount of calories during growth. This is defined as the amount that supports normal growth and maintains the puppy at an optimal, lean body condition.
Maximal growth is not optimal growth. Overfeeding and excessive weight gain in large dogs is a risk factor for developmental orthopaedic conditions such as hip dysplasia. When feeding a large breed puppy, research shows that avoiding overfeeding benefits skeletal development. A breeder or owner should monitor a puppys weight and body condition score, adjusting food intake as necessary to maintain ideal body condition.
Just as in adult dogs, ideal body condition means that the ribs are easily palpable with minimal fat covering and that the waist is easily noted when viewed from above. A puppy in ideal body condition has an obvious abdominal tuck when viewed from the side. Even puppies not predisposed to skeletal problems should be maintained at a lean body condition, since overweight pups often become overweight or obese dogs, with increased risks for various health problems.
Some breeds and some individual puppies may have higher or lower energy needs compared to average. Puppies should be fed a measured amount, or a weighed amount for more precision, of a complete and balanced puppy food at each meal.
The pet food label provides general guidelines to serve as a starting point, but the amount of food should be adjusted as needed to maintain a lean body condition for that specic puppy. Keep in mind that all additional foods including training treats contain calories. Treats should not exceed 10% of the puppys daily caloric intake in order to prevent excessive weight gain and unbalancing the puppys nutrient intake.
Matching caloric density of the food to a puppys energy needs is important. If a puppy eats everything offered and then seems excessively hungry after or between meals, a diet with a lower energy density that has fewer kilocalories per gram may help with satiety, since the puppy can be offered a large volume of the lower calorie food.
Conversely, if a puppy is unable to eat sufficient volume of a food to maintain weight or if the volume appears excessive such that the dog looks bloated after meals, a puppy food that is more calorie dense may be beneficial, because a smaller volume can be fed to meet energy and nutrient needs.
One thing to keep in mind is frequently switching foods is likely to create a pattern of pickiness and/or obesity in a puppy. Beyond that, the key is to select a complete and balanced puppy food that matches the energy needs of the puppy.
Feeding puppies wisely
- Puppies should be fed a food specially formulated for growth and development until they reach physical maturity
- DHA is an essential nutrient to support brain and vision development
- Large and giant breeds do not mature until they are nearly 2 years old. Therefore, until they reach maturity, they should be fed a diet specifically formulated for large breed puppies in an amount that maintains lean body condition to prevent excessive weight
- Small breed and toy breed puppies should be given food with nutrient dense, bite-sized kibble. The smaller kibble size makes it easier for small mouths to chew
