How to soak dry food for puppies?

Transferring dogs to dry food has advantages for both owners and pets. You do not need to spend time on cooking, you can quickly feed your pet, while he gets all the vitamins and trace elements necessary for his body. But it should be noted that the transfer to dry food should be gradual, and if we are talking about puppies, then this issue should be approached more scrupulously. The first time for kids to soak the food. It is important for dog breeders to know how to do it correctly.

From birth, puppies eat mother's milk, but as they grow older they become interested in other foods. First of all, they get acquainted with what their mother eats, and even taste the food. But if she eats specialized dry food for dogs, then puppies are unlikely to be able to bite through this delicacy, because the teeth of babies are not strong enough.

Lure begin to enter the second month of life puppies. Some breeders prefer to feed their pets with natural food, so they use meat broth, boiled minced meat, fermented milk products and milk as complementary foods.

Industrial feed is divided into several classes:

• holistic
• economy;
• premium;
• super premium.

The last option would be a good choice for pets. Its rich composition replaces a complete diet, therefore, eating such food, animals grow and develop according to the norms. As a rule, puppies are produced in the form of pies, pastas and canned foods consisting of small pieces of soft delicacy with sauce or jelly.

There are also dry food for babies, but it is recommended to give them only after 4 months. The appearance of such food is different from treats for adult dogs in size and density of granules. The feed also has a shiny surface due to its high fat and calorie content.

Despite the recommendations of the manufacturers, breeders say that you need to soak dry food for puppies, and for several reasons:

• hard granules can damage the baby's tender gums;
• milk teeth are not so strong as to crush so hard food;
• in the stomach of a small pet there are no necessary enzymes for digesting dry granules, which can cause disruption of the gastrointestinal tract;
• consumption of dry food at the stage of teething can lead to their curvature.

Among dog owners, there is a perception that crushing dry food helps strengthen and clean teeth, but this is a delusion. To remove plaque, it is necessary to resort to ordinary tooth brushing with a brush, and to strengthen it is recommended to give the puppy special toys. It should also be borne in mind that as a result of damage to the gums with hard granules, the baby will experience discomfort at each meal, because of which it will not be able to eat the correct portion or will refuse to eat at all.

Soaked food can be given to puppies older than 1 month. It can be either a separate dish or an addition to soup, porridge and other food. It is recommended to feed the dogs with soaked granules until their milk teeth are replaced. Each breed of this period lasts differently, as a rule, accounting for no more than six months.Consequently, on the 7th month of life, dry granules can be added to pet food, but their amount should not exceed 25% of the serving.

There are several ways to soak the feed, which use different liquids. The main condition is that the liquid must be warm or at least at room temperature. Quite often use boiled water with a temperature of 40-50 degrees, which allows you to quickly steam feed. This increases its smell, becoming more attractive to a puppy.

It is recommended to use a metal bowl for soaking the feed, since the temperature is better kept in it. The granules filled with warm liquid are covered with a lid or a plate, and left for about 20-30 minutes. After the feed increases in volume and becomes soft, you need to drain the excess liquid and knead with a fork, turning it into a mush. But you can also feed the baby with softened food without additional grinding.

In this case, you can not remove the remnants of the liquid after softening the granules, the puppy will enjoy it with pleasure. It is important to remember that the broth should be non-greasy, because the crumbs of the stomach can not assimilate it, because of which there will be indigestion. To soften dry dog ​​food, milk is often used, but it is important to note that it must be non-cow milk. Breeders recommend the following options:

• dry milk - especially if your puppy has a bad appetite;
• industrial milk substitutes, whose composition is as close to natural as possible;
• diluted goat milk in a 1: 1 ratio.

It takes more time to soften dry granules in milk. The prepared amount of food should be enough for one reception, since it is impossible to keep food soaked in milk, each time you need to prepare a new batch. In rare cases, kefir is used to soak the food, since it is not suitable for all dogs. When choosing this option, it is important to consider some features of cooking for a baby:

• You can use only natural kefir with a low percentage of fat;
• The temperature of kefir should not exceed 38 degrees, therefore it is better to heat it in a water bath;
• to completely soften the granules will take at least 20 minutes;
• cooked delicacy is not to be stored.

Soaking dry food in kefir is well suited for kids with dysbiosis. As a rule, this indigestion is observed in puppies who lived on the street or in rural areas. But it should be remembered that dysbiosis can begin as a result of stress associated with the change of residence.

In order not to harm the growing body of a puppy, you must adhere to several recommendations.

1. Starting to introduce dog food in the diet, the first time for soaking you need to use only water. After 1-2 months, you can try to soften the food in a low-fat broth and milk, but if the baby has indigestion, then this idea should be abandoned.
2. You can use only warm water, the temperature of which does not exceed 40 degrees. When steaming dry granules in boiling water, some useful substances are simply destroyed, therefore, the feed will be less useful and nutritious.
3. After feeding the puppy, food remains should be placed in the refrigerator, but they can be stored for no more than 12 hours. Before the next feeding the food should be slightly warmed up. It should be noted that such manipulations can only be carried out with food soaked in water, and in other cases, residues must be thrown away.
4. For steaming food, it is imperative to use purified water, and it is also important not to forget to wash the bowl before cooking and after that.

Dog owners should remember that water should always be freely available for the pet, since the digestive process of a pet can be disrupted due to lack of fluid.

On how to soak the food, see below.