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<\/figure>\n\n\n\n5 Do’s and Don’ts for feeding your new puppy: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Don\u2019t: Buy too much food at once. Most expiration dates on dry dog food bags will tell you that the food will stay good for up to a year in the future. This is a little deceiving: It refers to how long the food will last if the bag stays unopened. Once you break that seal, it will only stay fresh for about 4\u20136 weeks. To avoid having puppy food going bad, only buy as much food as you think your puppy will go through in a month, and seal the bag shut when it\u2019s not feeding time.<\/li>
- Don\u2019t: Give your puppy human food. As tempting as it might be, it\u2019s never a good idea to give your puppy people food. For one, normalizing human food increases the likelihood that they\u2019ll get their paws on something toxic at some point in their lives. It also teaches them to that they might get a treat when the human plates come out, so they\u2019ll learn to beg any time someone in the house is eating.<\/li>
- Do: Set a regular schedule. Puppies love a good routine. Knowing what to expect will help them transition to their new home, and nothing is more important to this than reliable meals. Try to feed them at the same time every day in the same amounts, and don\u2019t leave food out for more than 10\u201320 minutes. This will set up good eating habits that will last their whole lives \u2014 and help immensely with potty training.<\/li>
- Do: Transition foods gradually. <\/li>
- Because puppies eat the same diet day after day, it can be a real shock to their systems when their diet is changed without warning. If you want to switch over to a new flavor (or if your pup\u2019s ready to make the jump to adult dog food), do it as gradually as possible. Start by mixing the new food in with the old over the course of a week. If your dog shows adverse reactions like loss of appetite or diarrhea, decrease the ratio of new to old food until they adapt to it.<\/li>
- Do: Switch to adult food around one year. When your puppy reaches 90% of their expected adult weight, it\u2019s time to switch to an adult diet. For most breeds, this happens right around their first birthday, although small breeds can hit this mark around 9 months, while it can take as much as two years for \u201cgiant\u201d breeds like Saint Bernard’s.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n