As some of you know, we have a spunky little pup named Oliver. He was born on February 3rd (same as me!) which makes him 10 months old! Just like any normal 10 month old he eats... a lot. I could feed him a big bowl of food and two minutes later he's looking at me while I cook my meal waiting for me to drop something. He's a normal husky though because they just don't know when to stop eating. We have a few key rules though when it comes to what we feed Oliver in order to keep him healthy.The first thing is that we feed him grain-free dry dog food. We don't mind spending money on quality and healthy food for him. Our favorite brand is Blue Buffalo Wilderness. We also give him the treats from that brand. This particular brand has a lot of vitamins and minerals to keep your dog in shape. It only has healthy grains such as brown rice and oats. There is no corn, wheat or soy. The vegetables include carrots and sweet potatoes. All of these are healthy choices for your pup. There's no added corn starch, sugar, or bad grains. Research what kind of food is best for your dog and your wallet and find that happy medium!
The next part is portion control. Some dog breeds, like humans, will stop eating when they get full. However, other breeds can't process that they are full and will continue to eat whatever is in front of them. Huskies fall into that category so, in that case, we don't leave food out for Oliver to eat "whenever" he is hungry, because he is hungry all the time. We feed him two cups (and yes, exactly two cups) of dry dog food for breakfast and dinner. We also break treats in half. He is a puppy so we are training him by giving him treats. If we were giving him full sized treats every time he did something we would go through a full bag a day! That's crazy and that's too many treats in one day. So we break them up. This definitely helped when we were teaching him tricks because we would give him a treat everytime he sat down. By breaking the treat up we were able to get more from him without filling him up on treats. That doesn't mean we don't spoil him from time to time (see picture above). Oliver loves a puppichino from Starbucks or a piece of cheese, but it's all about how often and how much you give them.
This next tip is sort of gross, but pay attention to their poop. I warned you it was gross. If you have been feeding your dog a certain type of food or treat and it's just not agreeing with their tummy then stop giving it to them and change the brand of food you're giving them. Being consistent is key too. Don't give your dog three different types of brand foods in a span of a week. It will usually make them sick and give them diarrhea.
Knowing what dogs can and can't eat is a big thing! Research what will make dogs sick if they eat. Things like chocolate, garlic, and things with seeds. Dogs don't know that they can't have this and they will try to eat it. Save yourself a night of worry and an expensive vet bill and keep certain foods out of reach.
Even though your puppy might be eating healthy, exercise is still the most important part of their diet. Keep them active and make sure they get plenty of walks throughout the day! What food & treats do you recommend? Leave me a comment below.
xoxo, Michele
