Canine Cuisine for your Puppy

  Your new puppy, Ralfie, will eat almost anything, and that, unfortunately, includes your leather sofa.  The good news is that there are more nutritious, less expensive, and less destructive ways for him to satisfy his puppy hunger.
  Today both canned and dry puppy foods are formulated to supply complete and balanced nutrition for growing dogs.  But how do you know which type of food is best for Ralfie?  It depends more on your lifestyle than on Ralfie's desires.
  Dry food is the better choice if you're unable to be at home to feed Ralfie the three times a day recommended for puppies.  This way, you can leave him with a day's supply of food.  That's because dry food - unlike opened, un-refrigerated, canned food - won't spoil.  However, such free-choice feeding can lead to overeating and obesity.
  Puppy food is higher in crude protein and fat than foods formulated for adult dogs.   If it is making him overweight or if he seems to be growing too fast, try mixing maintenance food with the puppy food starting when the puppy is six months old.
  A temptation you might try to resist is feeding Ralfie table scraps because you think his puppy food is too bland.  Animals don't seem to mind when every bite of food is identical to the one taken before.  Although your puppy's nutritional intake won't suffer if the amount of such tidbits is less than five percent of his daily diet, the truth is that he can grow to healthy, well-adjusted maturity eating the same formulated dog food every day of his life.