Questions About Feeding Dogs

Whether it is a new puppy, or a dog that has been around the block, there are questions that arise about feeding. What kind of dishes to use and where to feed the dog all need to be considered. Stainless steel bowls are a good choice because of ease of clean up. Putting the dishes in an area where the dog can find it easily, but will not be knocked over by people usually works well.

Stainless Steel Dog Bowls

One of the first questions is what to feed the dog. The veterinarian may have a food to recommend from the clinic, or maybe from the pet store or mail order. It is best to use a food that is rich in protein and healthy oils and fats, not full of grain fillers and cheap by products.

How much is dog food? This question is best answered with research. There is a wide range of prices depending on the quality of the food, as well as size of bag and manufacturer. Choose what works for your dog and your budget. Prices on the same food can vary from store to store.

How much to feed the dog is important. Most dog food bags will have a chart on the back that gives a breakdown of how much to feed each size of dog. Choose an amount of food that is age and size appropriate. If asking if you can over feed a dog, yes. Check with the vet to verify the amount to feed your dog.

How often to feed a dog is usually asked, especially as the dog reaches a new milestone of growth or age. Again, the feed bag should offer some suggestions, but typically a puppy is fed three times a day until six months, and is then cut down to twice a day. As far as when to feed the dog, it is best to space out the feedings as evenly as possible.

Some owners wonder about using treats. Often times it is best when using a larger number of treats for training to reduce the amount of dog food given at meal time. As to what kind of treats to use, it is suggested to introduce one new type of treat at a time to watch for reactions. The same goes with dog food. If you are wondering how to change to a new food, mix some of the new food in with the old food and feed a mixture for a few days to get them used to the new food.

There are many more questions that can come up, but as long as the dog is getting nourishment from a healthy food, is not showing reactions and is growing that is what matters. If there are signs of GI reactions or skin or hair issues, then a food switch may be in order. Checking with a vet or an informed pet store manager may be wise.

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