There are many ways to create the best diet for your dog. In general it is better not to give your dog any variety, which could cause havoc with its digestion, and not to leave food down (so throw away any uneaten food after 20 minutes). However, make sure that water is always available to your dog, so never take its water bowl away.
There are many different feeding regimes to choose from: dry complete diets, semi-moist or tinned dog food with or without biscuit mixer, and home-made food. Within this, there are many different qualities.
The most suitable diet should be easily digested and produce dark brown, firm, formed stools.
We fed our dogs and recommend Raw Food Diet or Royal Canin as a well-balanced diet for Russian Toys.
If your dog produces soft or light stools or has wind or diarrhoea, then the diet may not suit your dog or it might have some kind of digestive problem, so consult your vet for advice.
Please remember that stability in the diet will help maintain good digestion. Any change in diet should be made very gradually over at least a week to avoid upset and you should try a new diet for at least 10 days before making any further changes.
Puppies grow 20 times faster than adult dogs and so require a special diet to aid their physical development. A specially formulated growth food is recommended which needs to be fed at evenly spaced intervals to avoid over stretching their small stomachs.
Feed your puppy four meals a day up until the age of four months, and then reduce its feed to three meals a day until it is five -six months old, when you can change to two meals a day, and keep it on this regime for the rest of its life.
Real chocolate is poisonous to dogs and can cause liver damage and even be fatal, so never give your dog any chocolate, or leave any lying around for it to find and eat, especially at Christmas time.
Avoid giving your dog any sweet biscuits or sugary treats which are bad for its teeth as well as its waistline and can cause sugar ‘highs’ and ‘lows’. Stick to prepared treats and desiccated liver tablets.
It is better to stick to one variety of good quality dog food and do not add any supplements (unless instructed by your vet), as over supplementing can be harmful to your dog.
If your dog does not eat all of its meal in one go, you may be offering it too much. Not all dogs eat the amount recommended by the food manufacturers. The right amount should produce firm, dark brown, crinkly stools. If the stools are firm, but get softer towards the end, this is a classic sign of overfeeding.
Never change your dog’s diet abruptly (unless under the direction of your vet). If you want to change its diet, do it gradually over a period of a few days to a week.
Do not feed your dog before travelling in the car as this can encourage car-sickness, or an hour before or after exercise as this could contribute to a stomach dilation and torsion (also known as bloat) which is a life threatening condition requiring immediate veterinary intervention.
Leave your dog in peace while it is eating from its bowl. Taking the bowl away while it is eating causes anxiety, which can lead to food aggression? If you want to be sure that your dog is comfortable with you approaching it during mealtimes, add a little food to the bowl while it is eating, so it sees you as an asset, rather than a threat.
Never feed your dog from the table or your plate, as this encourages drooling and attention seeking behaviours such as begging and barking.
All our puppies has been reared on Raw Food combined with a Royal Canin Puppy Mini. Royal Canin for dogs is available from most good pet shops like Pets at Home, Pampurred Pets etc., But if you decide to feed your puppy raw food diet, I will be happy to advise, see websites below for Raw food Diet:
https://www.naturaw.co.uk/product/puppy-500g
https://www.naturalinstinct.com/natural-raw-puppy-food
https://benyfitnatural.co.uk/products/perfect-puppy-turkey-complete
https://honeysrealdogfood.com/
Vitamins and minerals very important we use Barfer’s Best / Canina/ as it’s contains only natural vitamins and minerals, including calcium, which a dog fed with raw feed needs every day to fulfill its daily needs and to stay powerful, also oil in each meal 1-2 ml
For variety you may substitute the raw mince with scrambled egg, ricotta, cottage cheese, vegetables. Increase amounts with appetite and activity.