How Do You Prepare A Puppy Porridge?
Dogs have different nutritional needs at different stages of life. The puppy porridge is perfect for the first solid food intake. The small balls of wool can develop well and prepare for other food.
Weaning period: what is it and how long does it last?
During the weaning period, the puppy gets used to solid food intake. The animal experiences physical changes and gets used to breast milk. During this time, the puppies also need to prepare to get along without their parents.
The pups need to learn about the outside world in order to develop their survival skills and instincts. It is important that they develop security and confidence in order to grow up healthy. Three weeks after their birth, the puppies enter a new phase of physical and emotional growth.
All of this marks the beginning of the weaning period, which ends between the eighth or ninth week of life. The dog’s stomach begins to enlarge and become more resilient, allowing larger and better food intake and digestion. In addition, the little animals get their first milk teeth; this can make them hungrier and more alive.
Through their curiosity, the pups observe certain habits and behaviors of their mother that they mimic. It is common for them to smell and taste the food in the mother’s bowl, but the puppies still do not have the ability to chew and digest solid food.
Healthy breastfeeding
A healthy bitch breastfeeds her puppies until they are six or seven weeks old. The most intense phase occurs between the second and third week when the pups are being prepared for subsequent weaning. In order to guarantee the quantity and quality of the milk produced, it is important to provide the mother with suitable nutrition.
The aim is to meet their nutritional and energy needs and thus to maintain their health. To do this, you have to give her a balanced diet with the appropriate proteins. The bitch can start this diet a few days before giving birth and must continue to eat it until the end of breastfeeding.
It is important to respect the weaning age
Unfortunately, for profit reasons, many breeders do not respect the weaning period. Often the puppies are separated from their mother before the first 30 days. This is a radical change that is harmful to the animal. It cannot naturally prepare for separation from its mother and suffers as a result.
This can have serious consequences for the physical and emotional balance of the animal!
Physically , the puppy will lose essential nutrients that are present in breast milk. This means that they cannot develop enough antibodies, which leads to a weakened immune system and greater susceptibility to disease.
It should also be borne in mind that the sudden separation from the mother creates feelings of fear and insecurity!
Prepare a puppy porridge
It is important to get the puppy used to it gradually to prevent digestive and immune system disruptions. It is also important to use high quality and balanced ingredients for the porridge.
You can use the same food that the mother eats while breastfeeding. Food that is specially made for the first 12 to 18 months of life is better, however. Initially, the puppy mash should contain 70% breast milk and 30% solid food.
The puppy can try this porridge from the third or fourth week of life when its baby teeth come out. The porridge should only replace one of the daily servings of breast milk; under no circumstances can it be all, because it is important to ensure a balanced diet.
When he reaches his seventh week of life, the porridge must contain 100% solid food. To prepare it, simply pour hot water onto the right amount of food and let the mixture sit for 30 minutes. Once the porridge has reached room temperature, you can stir it evenly and feed it to the puppy.
As early as the ninth week, the puppies will be able to eat and digest solid food.
In the case of adoption, the puppy porridge should be prepared with special milk powder for puppies. This food can be found in pet stores and veterinary clinics.
