Looking After A Puppy

Puppies are cute and adorable and make fabulous pets. Looking after a puppy is no joke though, puppies take a lot of time and effort and of course, they grow up fast, which is why, when buying or adopting a puppy, you have to be absolutely sure about it.

If you are a first time puppy owner, you may not necessarily know how to go about taking care of your pup in the best possible way. There are three important things to consider. You need to look at feeding, training and toilet manners.

The ideal behind healthy feeding is simple; a healthy diet gives you the best chance of a healthy dog. Because puppies grow so fast, they need the right amount and balance of nutrients to sustain such growth. Three –five meals a day is ideal when they are very young. After about 12 weeks, you can decrease the amount of meals steadily until you reach two per day. A puppy’s meal needs to contain enough proteins, vitamins and minerals to sustain growth and give them the right amount of energy. The puppy will also need to have access to fresh drinking water all of the time.

A nutritional program like the ones provided here at Hill's Pet Nutrition can also give your puppy the nutritional advantage that they require. We have packs specifically designed for puppies which can be replaced by the range for adult dogs as these puppies grow older.

Potty training your puppy

As the puppy matures into a dog, he should steadily acquire the skill of bladder control. This takes time and training to perfect. A young pup will need to go outside every hour or so when awake, after every meal and each time they wake after a nap. Lots of praise when they ‘go’ outside and not reacting (positively or negatively) when they make a mistake indoors, is a great way to get your pup into the right habits early on – but every dog is different and some take a while longer to get the hang of it.