Dog Care / Just For Puppies - A Guide To The First Year
There's a lot going on inside your growing puppy - muscles are strengthening, bones are forming, and social skills are developing. Take a closer look at the stages of growth your puppy experiences during his first year. |
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A Growing Machine (6 - 12 Weeks)One of your puppy's main jobs: eating.
Your puppy is a muscle, bone, hair and teeth-making machine. One of his main jobs in life (besides playing) is eating. He has to consume good quality nutrients if he's going to grow from infancy to adulthood in just 12 months (remember a large breed puppy may take as many as 24 months to reach full development). Naturally, the better his quality of nutrition, the better the foundation you'll be laying for his future, especially his geriatric years.
Mother's milk is the ideal first food. Although he won't be ready for weaning until six to eight weeks, he will start to nibble solid foods at three to four weeks. When feeding puppies under 8 weeks, it is important to soak the food in warm water and mash it up so it is easy for them to eat.
Unlike adult dog food, it will provide extra calories and nutrients your puppy needs for energy and growth. |
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The Social Animal (6 - 12 Weeks)Your puppy is relishing human contact and craving your approval.
By this time, your puppy is turning into a real social animal. He's rolling and tumbling, relishing human contact and yearning to earn your praise and approval. Use playtime to start teaching basic commands, lovingly, of course.
5-12 weeks is steepest part of your puppys learning curve and you should introduce him to as many new things as possible, try to include new surroundings, new toys, people, animals and sounds to his experiences. At this age he will be more accepting of new experiences and it will be made easier if you can make the more fun and positive by offering rewards for his braveness.
After weaning at six to eight weeks of age, he'll typically eat dry or moistened food. Feed PURINA ONE Growth & Development Formula in 3 smaller portions per day rather than one or two bigger meals.
In fact, it's a good idea to start with a good puppy food and stick with it. Consistency is important to a puppy's delicate digestive tract. Switching foods can create a finicky eater and cause tummy upsets and diarrhoea (a real stumbling block during toilet training).
Toilet training should have started even before you get your new addition home. If it hasn't, start from the moment you get home by creating a routine and establishing consistent meal times which will contribute to your success. Take your puppy to his designated elimination area first thing every morning, last thing every night, after any little naps and immediately after mealtimes. Make it part of his new routine.
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Expanding Horizons (12 - 14 Weeks)
This is an exciting period of exploration and curiosity
This is an exciting time of exploration and curiosity for your puppy. Now is the time to expand his horizons a bit, showing him as much of the outside world as possible. He's should be out of his timid stage and will enjoy exploring more of the outdoors with you now that he has had at least 2 of his vaccinations. In other words, he's growing up. But he's still a puppy.
Your puppy can now be fed two meals a day of PURINA ONE Growth & Development Formula and he won’t need you to soak it of mash it up because he is getting his adult teeth. |
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Still Growing Strong (6 - 12 Months)
Your puppy may look full-grown but looks can be deceiving.
Although he may look grown-up on the outside, your puppy is still developing on the inside. His bones are becoming stronger and his body is filling out. At this point, you'll be strongly tempted to switch to an adult food, but you need to resist the temptation. He needs the extra nutrients found in PURINA ONE Growth & Development Formula now as much as ever, so keep it coming. |
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Running With The Big Dogs (1 Year Old)
Time to make the transition to a high-quality adult food.
Congratulations, your puppy is officially an adult. Your tender loving care and PURINA ONE Growth & Development Formula have turned him into a strong, healthy dog. He no longer needs the extra calories and nutrients he required during his growing stages, so it's time to make the transition to a high-quality adult food like PURINA ONE Total Nutrition Chicken & Rice Formula.
Start by mixing the new food with the previous food, and gradually increase the proportion of the new food. The complete switch should take 7 to 10 days.
Note about large breed puppies. If you have a large breed puppy (over 23kgs at maturity), he no doubt looks full-grown at 12 months. But the truth is, he may not be fully developed on the inside until 18 or even 24 months. So don't jump the gun and switch to an adult food prematurely. Do right by your puppy and keep him on PURINA ONE Growth & Development Formula until your veterinarian assures you he is a full-grown adult.
When your puppy becomes an adult
Your puppy may seem a long way from adulthood, but those first several months pass before you know it. Get a preview of what you can expect as your dog ages, and learn how you can meet his changing nutritional needs.
Dogs up to 7 years old
The diet for a healthy, adult dog aged one to seven years old (5 years for giant breed dogs) is called a maintenance diet. Unless your dog is pregnant or nursing, a high-quality, complete and balanced maintenance diet is just what the veterinarian ordered to maintain and ideal body condition (link to Six Signs of a Healthy Dog)
An ideal body condition is one in which the animal is well proportioned, with an observable waist behind the ribcage and ribs that can be felt with a slight fat covering over them.
Of course, the quality of ingredients and the digestibility of the food will determine how much nutrition actually stays with your dog and how much simply passes through as waste. So your best option is to choose a nutrient-dense, highly digestible formula like PURINA ONE Total Nutrition Chicken & Rice, or Lamb & Rice. Each formula contains real meat or poultry as the number one ingredient.
Dogs 7 and older
At age 7 (age 5 for some giant breeds), a dog's nutritional needs start to change. He may need fewer calories to compensate for a slower metabolism. At the same time, protein may become more crucial than ever, to help maintain lean muscle mass.
Fortunately, PURINA ONE Senior Protection Formula addresses the nutritional needs of the older adult dog. It provides optimal protein levels to help senior dogs maintain lean body mass for better muscle mobility. Antioxidants Vitamins E and C and selenium help fight the stresses of aging in older dogs and help support joint health.
No supplements necessary as all PURINA ONE diets are formulated to provide complete and balanced nutrition. Additional vitamins, minerals or other supplements are not required unless specified by a veterinarian.
Pregnant and nursing dogs
Like puppies, pregnant and nursing dogs are virtual muscle, bone, hair and teeth-building machines. So PURINA ONE Growth & Development Formula turns out to be an ideal food for them, too. It has the extra calories and nutrients they need at a time when their bodies are under additional physical stress.
Keep in mind, food consumption may vary during pregnancy, so feed the amount needed to maintain good body condition. Unless your dog has a tendency to put on too much weight during pregnancy, she can be given all the food she wants.
Milk production is another one of the most nutritionally demanding tasks in a female's life. Food intake may double or even quadruple during lactation. Remember, a generous, ever-present supply of fresh, clean water is essential for milk production.
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