Best Dachshund Puppy Food

When it comes to feeding your dachshund puppy, you must select only the best food – but one of high quality. Furthermore, this food will need to be a specialist puppy food tailored to meet the demands of your dachshund’s delicate little tummy!

By getting the right food first time, you ensure the best possible start for this wonderful little dog breed! Introducing the very best diet will take your puppy well into adulthood.

This article is a useful and complete guide to help you navigate your way through the first crucial stages! We will assist you in selecting the best choice of puppy food to suit your dachshund.

Ways of Feeding Your Dachshund Puppy

As soon as you welcome your dachshund puppy into your home and begin the feeding, routine and consistency should be your top priorities. At this initial stage, you can start off on the best footing and implement correct feeding techniques and rules straight away. Thus, you can prevent any potential problems arising later on.

There are several methods you can incorporate from the moment you lay down your puppy’s first bowl of food in your home, including:

• Designating a feeding area for your dachshund, whereby this is the only place they eat their meals
• Keeping their feeding area clean, making sure it is hygienic and sanitized and ultimate clear each time you feed your dog here
• Ensure no children or other pets are allowed in your dachshund puppy’s designated feeding area, therefore allowing your dog to concentrate on the food
• Offer plenty of fresh water in this same area
• Leave your dachshund puppy alone to eat in peace, initially watching it to ensure it remains safe – but from a distance

Once you’ve chosen your puppy’s food, stick to it. Do not be tempted to try out various brands or other types if your dachshund puppy is eating well and seems healthy.

Should your puppy not want its meal in one go, and you notice this happens regularly, consider reducing the portion sizes.

Work to proportion when feeding your dachshund puppy as per type and size, rather than free feeding. Remember that free feeding can lead to significant weight problems later on.

Choosing the Right Way to Feed Your Puppy

If you’re collecting your dachshund puppy from a breeder, it’s good practice to enquire what they have been feeding your dog. Most reputable breeders will be aware of the better choice of food for their puppies, and thus already feeding your dachshund puppy on that diet.

If this is the case, you can then continue to feed your puppy the same diet when back home. This practice will encourage continuity, assuring that your puppy is getting the best food type. As well as that, you won’t have to change its dietary habits and face any issues by introducing something new.

Changing food for a puppy from a shelter

If you’ve got your puppy from a shelter, they too may also be feeding your dog on a particular diet. However, when it comes to shelters, the food there is usually determined by budget alone. For this reason, it may not be the best choice for a dachshund puppy.

If this is the case, once again find out what brand they’re currently using and buy a small amount of this. But, alongside this, select the better choice and one recommended for a dachshund puppy. Then, offer a little bit of new food mixed in with their shelter food, gradually increasing the newly introduced food each day.

The idea here is to completely phase out the shelter food and bring in a healthier choice. However, this needs to be done gradually to ensure their delicate digestive system accepts the new diet without any problems arising in between.

Ultimately, you may simply want to change the food that your dachshund puppy is on when you take ownership of it. For instance, you might do your homework and find the best choice of food for your puppy’s continuing health and development. However, make sure to gradually introduce the new food, phasing out the previous choice.

Whatever way you choose to feed your puppy, remember that a dachshund digestive system is very temperamental, especially in the early puppy stages. For this reason, any sudden changes you make to their diet may well result in an upset stomach.

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Feeding Your Puppy on Kibble

A more popular choice among dog owners, many veterinarians, and canine experts recommend using kibble for both puppy and adult dogs. There are several reasons for kibble being more advantageous for dachshund puppy food, including:

• Kibble for puppies is smaller, so it’s easier to chew and to swallow it
• Premium kibble varieties contain a higher level of protein
• Kibble comes in a variety of sizes, shapes, and flavours
• It is easily accessible and therefore a more convenient type of dog food
• Finally, kibble can be bought to suit any specific diets, dog types, ages and activity requirements

Provided that the kibble you use is puppy friendly, this can be the healthiest option for your dachshund puppy. Some brands will even cater to the dachshund dog breed alone! All you need to do is ensure that the kibble you offer your dachshund puppy is appropriate for its age and weight.

When selecting kibble for your puppy, it’s highly recommended that you spend as much as you can and opt for the best quality. It’s also a good idea to check the exact ingredients and ensure that the first one listed is meat.

This precaution will ensure a healthier and increased protein kibble type as opposed to those containing fillers instead. Fillers in kibble include those ingredients such as grains and cereals – that is wheat, soy, and corn, for example. Brands using these as their main ingredients should be avoided.

What About Feeding Dachshund Puppy on Raw Food?

Many dog owners are beginning to look into raw food as a substitution for their dachshund puppy. While there’s still a considerable amount of discussion concerning BARF, that is Biologically Appropriate Raw Food; some veterinarians are still undecided on this approach.

When used correctly in a puppy diet, raw feeding can help the digestive system. It can also help to look after the teeth and improve the puppy’s coat. Though, it will mean a lot of pre-planning and effort beforehand to organise such an intricate diet.

However, the puppy stage is the most crucial in a dog’s life and is vital in preparing the body for the next stages of adulthood. Therefore, when you decide to offer your dachshund a raw diet, you will have to work hard to ensure you do it correctly. That is to say; all their nutritional requirements have to be met with every meal.

It includes two factors: the amount and indeed, the ratios of food. If the balance isn’t correct, there’s an increased possibility of growth defects in your puppy. This is why some dachshund owners prefer to stick to kibble, especially in those crucial puppy stages. Ultimately, it gives them confidence that their puppy is getting everything it needs from its food.

High-Quality Brands of Puppy Food

With several brands available on the market, choosing the right puppy food for your dachshund can seem daunting!

Many manufacturers claim something unique in each food type, and there’s so much information on the packing themselves. However, some brands are well respected, well known, and specially formulated to offer your puppy the best start.

Those currently highly recommended as suitable for a dachshund puppy include:

• Royal Canin
• Eukanuba
• Iams
• Harringtons
• Hill’s Science Plan
• James Wellbeloved
• Lily’s Kitchen
• Pro Plan
• Pedigree
• Wainwrights

How Often Should You Feed Your Dachshund Puppy?

A dachshund puppy will need to be fed several times a day. It can be as much as up to four times in the space of 24 hours!

From the early stages of weaning right up until around the three-month stage, because of their smaller stomachs, dachshund puppies will eat little but often.

At this point, they can’t go for long periods without having something to eat. Ideally, these four meals should be spread out and averaged over the day.

When your puppy hits the three-month mark, you may well notice it doesn’t require four meals a day. Therefore, at this stage and up until the six-month stage, your puppy should be fed three meals a day.

Then by the time it reaches the six to the 12-month stage, you can look at getting to two meals a day, which will then take your dachshund puppy through into adulthood.

Adding Variety to Your Dachshund Puppy Diet

Though a dachshund puppy will gain all the nutrients and proteins that he or she needs from their specially designed kibble puppy food, some owners want to add a bit of variety.

It’s not recommended by veterinarians to offer a puppy or a dog any human food. It is because human products can cause tummy upsets and other allergies. They can also lead to Obesity in dogs.

However, if you are keen to implement some variation, you could look at wet puppy food. A tasty alternative for many dogs, you can offer this as an occasional treat for your dachshund puppy or mix a little with their kibble on the odd occasion.

Once again, any wet food selection should be aimed solely at puppies. Also, it should ideally be from the same brand as your kibble choice. This way, you can ensure that it won’t upset your puppy’s tummy.

Wet food is known for having a higher water content, and it can, in some dachshunds, be a common cause of upset stools. That’s why great care is recommended if you introduce it into your dachshund puppy’s diet.

Ultimately, it’s not recommended to feed your dog on just wet food alone. The best practice is to select the right type of kibble for your dachshund puppy’s needs and personal requirements. Consequently, it will have all it needs from this one primary food choice.

Changing from Puppy to Adult Food

Dachshunds will enter their final growth spurt and develop fully between six to nine months of age. However, they will not become fully mature mentally from a puppy into an adult until 12 months and over!

Adult dog food does not have the same increased protein level needed for that of puppy food. It also has fewer calories. So, you must allow your dachshund puppy the time to get all their nutritional requirements from the puppy food, to offer them that essential protein for their growth and overall functioning.

When it comes to changing your dachshund diet and moving from puppy to adult food, just follow few easy steps. Firstly, it’s a good idea to begin introducing food formulated for adults dogs after your puppy’s first birthday. However, this process should be done in small steps and stages.

Never be tempted to place your dachshund puppy onto adult food straight after puppy food. They will need a little time to readjust to the differences.

You can make the task easier by adding a small amount of adult food in with the puppy food and gradually increasing this amount while decreasing the puppy food. Then, by the time your dog is eating a full bowl of adult food, they will have had ample time to readjust.

At this stage of their lives, dachshunds should be fed twice daily. Yet, you will still need to remain vigilant when it comes to ensuring the balance of food amount and type of food for your doxie.

It should fit well with your dachshund’s activity levels and overall current weight. Over your dachshund life, you will need to adjust these factors accordingly so it remains happy and in good health.