Feeding puppies

Puppies. Cute, cuddly and a bit of a handful. You’ve brought them home, you’ve survived the journey and now it’s time for dinner. But how do you feed a puppy? How much to feed a puppy? It can be a bit of a minefield, so hopefully these tips help.

How to feed a puppy: slowly does it! 

They’re probably used to sharing food with their brothers and sisters, so having a whole bowl to themselves is going to be a brand new experience. No Battle Royale meal times here! Our top tip – find a nice quiet spot for them to eat without any distractions. They probably won’t finish the bowl (that’s okay!) so just take it away when they’re done. 

You might even find they don’t touch the food at all – that’s also fine! Going to a new home can be scary. Take the food away and try again later.

Weaning puppies: transitioning to their new food

At this point, you might be thinking about what to feed your new puppy. It’s good to stick to the food they’ve been having since weaning. Let them get used to their new home before adding another change into the mix – think of it like having your favourite comfort food after a long day. 

After a few days, you can start introducing a new food. It’s important to do this gradually as puppy tummies can be really sensitive, and trust us when we say you don’t want to clear up after a funny tummy! A good rule of thumb is to start with 10% of the new food mixed in with their current food, and build it up from there. We’d recommend doing it over 5-7 days, but you can take a little longer if you need to. 

How much to feed a puppy 

Puppies will also need to eat little and often for the first few months – usually 4 meals a day until 4 months, 3 meals until 6 months and then down to 2 meals a day. Again, it really depends on the dog so have a chat with your vet if you’re not sure.

tails.com – your very own puppy feeding guide

You’ve sorted mealtimes, you’ve started transitioning their food, but one thing that might trip you up is portion size. That’s where we come in! We might not be able to help with the logistics, but we can make sure your puppy is getting the right nutrition as they grow. Our algorithm not only works out how much food they need right now, but it can also predict their adult weight and use that to keep them on track. Clever, right?

All we ask is that you keep us updated if anything changes. Every dog is unique, so use your handy online account to update their weight, body condition and activity level as they grow. We’ll do the rest, leaving you more time to nail ‘sit’! Here’s a helpful guide to getting it right from the start.

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