Feeding Puppies At 8 Weeks

Puppies are largely carnivores but will also eat some plant based foods.

Feeding puppies at 8 weeks. A few short weeks ago it felt like you had all the time in the world with your new litter but now it s nearly time for your puppies to go home with their forever families. Puppies that are feeding primarily dry food may need their kibble softened up with warm water at first until their teeth and chewing ability catch up to their hunger. A labrador retriever will weigh more at maturity than a russell terrier for example. Large breeds should be fed unmoistened dry food by 9 or 10.

Start by feeding the amount recommended on the packaging for your dog s weight. Adopting a younger puppy can cause health problems for your new pup. The amount of food your puppy needs depends on how much he ll weigh at maturity. Feeding adult food will rob your puppy of important nutrients.

To begin with you can feed your 8 week old puppy 4 or 5 small meals a day. Puppies naturally wean off their mother s milk at around 8 12 weeks of age. This will be the perfect opportunity to increase the portion size but reduce the number of meals per day until your adult dog is happily eating just 1 or 2 meals a day. Puppies shouldn t get taken away from their mothers until they re 8 weeks old.

This regularity in mealtime helps prevent blood sugar drops especially in very small breeds. In some states you can t even legally adopt a puppy until they re eight weeks old. But even in their first two months puppy diets change a lot. First night options for an 8 week old puppy a puppy safe sleeping area a puppy crate a sturdy box or crate next to your bed.

Most puppies between 8 to 12 weeks of age should eat three times a day spaced out somewhat evenly. As your puppy grows they will be able to eat more food in one sitting. 8 weeks of age is the time where puppies have weaned from their mothers and are eating solid food for the first time. Because puppies grow at such fast rates they need to start eating a complete and balanced puppy food as soon as they re weaned usually between six and eight weeks.

Puppies need to wait to go to their forever homes until they re at least eight weeks old because that s when they can live apart from their mom. Four feedings a day are usually adequate to meet nutritional demands. In the wild when young dogs are old enough around 7 8 weeks old they start to eat on their own whilst simultaneously decreasing the amount of milk they suckle from their mother. Their food source can be either dry or wet food or a combination of both.

Arranging their feeding schedule.