Feeding Your Great Pyrenees Puppy
“What do I feed my puppy?” is one of the most commonly asked questions we receive. Up North Pyrenees has a solid routine of what, when and why for our puppy nutrition program. Feeding your Great Pyrenees puppy correctly is extremely important to their long-term health. As a new puppy owner it’s nice for you to know our what, when and why.
- What do I feed my puppy? We recommend Life’s Abundance Large Breed Pupppy. This is the freshest dog food that we’ve found. It is made in the USA in small batches and sent directly to your house and not stored and sold in stores. Because it is so fresh it has never had a recall like almost every other dog food. We also recommend Nutrisource Large Breed puppy. This is an excellent company located in Perham, MN. I have personally met with their sales representatives. We are impressed with this product and the price point. Our puppies look and do great with it. You can slowly transition to another large puppy food by mixing it 50/50 for 1-2 weeks. Transition to large breed adult food when they are full size which is usually at 12-18 months old. Checkout www.dogfoodadvisor.com to ensure you are getting a suitable quality dog food prior to switching. This is an objective organization that rates hundreds of dogs foods in a very systematic and understandable way.
- When do I feed my puppy? Your puppy will be leaving Up North Pyrenees on a 3x/day feeding schedule. Feed your puppy first thing in the morning after bringing your puppy out to go poddy. Spread the other two feedings throughout your day. There are clear feeding instructions for amounts on the bag. We recommend that you adjust up or down based upon what they can eat in 15 minutes when they are not distracted. Remove the food after 15 minutes to avoid over eating. Free choice feeding promotes excessive eating and weight gain. However, always have water available or keep your toilet eat up. Transition to 2x/day feedings at around 6 months old and 1x/day at about one-year old. Scheduled feeding promotes predictable bowel movements. Feeding one time per day promotes overall health. Click here to see my blog post on intermittent fasting.
- Why do I feed my puppy this food this way? NutriSource is one of many nutrient dense dog foods which makes smaller poops as it is more indigestible. Large breed food is specially formulated with lower calcium. This slows skeletal grow in large breeds and reduces hip and joint issues due to early weight gain. Also, scheduled feeding allow you the opportunity to begin behavior training. This means that you can take food away to teach them manners or ruffle them up to get them accustomed to having their feeding interrupted. This is a helpful training technique especially if you have children that get too playful while your “hangry” puppy is eating.
Up North Pyrenees want the best for you and your new puppy for years to come. Please share us with a friend and call or message us any time with questions. Reserve your puppy today from our spring litters.