Proper feeding of a spaniel. Diet of puppies who have switched to self-feeding Spaniel puppy 4 months

To properly feed a Cocker Spaniel puppy, you need to study the characteristics of the breed. Next, you need to decide what to feed your Cocker Spaniel puppy, that is, choose between ready-made food, natural and mixed diet. Next step– drawing up a sample menu by age. Don't forget about vitamins and supplements, the role of water in your cocker spaniel's diet, and the dangers of prohibited foods.

The Cocker Spaniel is a fairly ancient breed of dog bred for gun work. There are about 20 types of spaniels in the world, but only two of them are “cockers”:

  • American Cocker Spaniel.
  • English cocker spaniel.

What are the characteristics of the breeds, similarities and differences? Cocker spaniels are medium-sized dogs, weighing between 10 and 14 kg. Adult animals develop dense, water-repellent fur. Both cockers readily fetch, are active and curious even into old age.

  • Dogs differ in temperament, American spaniels are more sofa-like. They have longer and softer fur.
  • English spaniels are stronger, stockier, more resilient, and physically stronger.

Choosing a place and dishes for feeding a Cocker Spaniel puppy

Before moving the puppy to new house, need to take care of key points, which will reduce stress and increase the comfort of the new pet. If the dog is not acquired spontaneously, take care of:

  • Equipment for rest areas.
  • Purchasing toys.
  • Choosing and purchasing care accessories.
  • Choosing a place and utensils for eating.

To maintain cleanliness in the eating area, it is recommended to use a special rubberized mat. The accessory helps protect the puppy from falling, even if the floor is wet. The mat is easy to wash and disinfect. Instead of special mats, you can use a structural, dense film.

Important! In order for a Cocker Spaniel puppy to properly develop its bone structure, it must be taught to eat from a stand. Special stands are height adjustable. Bowls need to be narrowed so that the dog’s ears do not get dirty while eating.

What to feed a Cocker Spaniel puppy - choosing the type of diet

When choosing what to feed your Cocker Spaniel puppy, you need to decide key direction– type of diet:

  • Natural.
  • Industrial.
  • Mixed.

All three types have advantages and disadvantages. Let's look a little more closely.

Natural diet

The more natural diet for a Cocker Spaniel puppy has always been and remains natural products. A natural diet for a Cocker Spaniel puppy includes:

  • Feeding raw and cooked foods.
  • Feeding meat porridge.
  • Feeding exclusively raw foods– raw food diet.

Advantages natural diet for a cocker spaniel puppy:

  • High-quality natural products can be given to the puppy from the very beginning. early age.
  • A natural diet is cheaper than high-quality industrial feed.
  • You can always control the quality and freshness of products.
  • The natural diet can be adjusted at any time.
  • Taste variety.

Disadvantages of a natural diet for a Cocker Spaniel puppy:

  • You need to spend time preparing food for your dog.
  • Porridge and other natural products should not be left in a bowl for the dog to eat during the day.
  • The puppy may develop an allergy, although cocker spaniels are not prone to this disease.

A Cocker Spaniel puppy can be switched to natural products with one month old . If the puppy is orphaned, it can be fed with special formulas based on milk, glucose, eggs (and other options) or homemade goat milk.

Ready-made feed

Ready-made food for a Cocker Spaniel puppy is an excellent and sometimes the only alternative for working owners. Having opted for an industrial diet, you need to understand the nuances. Ready-made food for Cocker Spaniel puppy is divided into types:

  • Dry (granules).
  • Semi-moist (pieces with gravy).
  • Moist (pate or paste).
  • Treats.

Naturally, the main indicator that you need to focus on when choosing food is quality. Industrial food for Cocker Spaniel puppy is divided into classes:

  • Economy
  • Premium
  • Super premium.
  • Holistic.

If your dog has individual characteristics, you need to choose specialized food lines.

According to their intended purpose, ready-made feeds are divided into:

  • Everyday.
  • Supportive.
  • Preventive.
  • Medicinal.
  • For exhausted animals.
  • Hygienic (usually treats).

Advantages of ready-made feeds:

  • No need to cook.
  • They are stored for a long time.
  • Easy to dose.
  • High-quality feed contains enough proteins, vitamins and minerals.

Disadvantages of ready-made feeds:

  • Good food is more expensive than natural feeding.
  • Holistic class food is almost never sold in retail.
  • Expensive food is often counterfeited.
  • A Cocker Spaniel puppy should not be switched to dry food until its teeth change.
  • The dog should not be fed only dry or only wet food.

A Cocker Spaniel puppy can be adopted from 1–1.5 months of age. A substitute is used to feed puppies from birth. bitch's milk – ready meals in powder form, which can be diluted with water.

Mixed diet

A mixed diet is the simultaneous feeding of ready-made and natural products. Within the framework of mixed feeding there are:

  • Mixing food - dry or soaked dry food and natural products.
  • Separate feeding - for example, dry food in the morning, porridge in the evening.

Benefits of a mixed diet:

  • Owner convenience.
  • Quick satiation of the pet.

Flaws:

  • The threat of vitamin deficiency when using low-grade feed.
  • The threat of excess vitamins and proteins when using high-quality feed.
  • Dysbacteriosis, indigestion.

Important! A Cocker Spaniel puppy can be switched to mixed feeding no earlier than 4–5 months of age. However, veterinarians and feed manufacturers do not recommend a mixed diet.

Sample menu by age for a Cocker Spaniel puppy

In theory, everything looks a little more complicated than in practice. Composing for a Cocker Spaniel puppy sample menu by age, you can soberly assess your capabilities and benefits for your pet.

Menu for a Cocker Spaniel puppy up to a month old

Until the age of one month, a Cocker Spaniel puppy feeds only on its mother's milk. If, for some reason, the puppy is left without a mother, he is fed artificially:

  • Natural menu for a Cocker Spaniel puppy under one month of age – homemade milk diluted with water; special milk mixtures.
  • Industrial menu for a Cocker Spaniel puppy up to a month old - bitch's milk substitute, infant formula without additives.

The serving size for a Cocker Spaniel puppy under one month of age depends on the size and individual characteristics. Number of feedings for a Cocker Spaniel puppy under one month of age:

  • From birth to 2 weeks, Cocker Spaniel puppies eat every 2 hours.
  • From 2 to 4 weeks of age, Cocker Spaniel puppies eat every 2–3 hours, with a nighttime break lasting 4–6 hours.

Serving size and number of meals may vary depending on fat content and nutritional content mother's milk. Naturally, the more puppies in the litter, the more often they eat.

At 1 month of age

Spaniels are ready for complementary feeding. As soon as the babies open their eyes and begin to leave the nest, they are offered natural or industrial complementary foods.

Natural menu for a 1 month old Cocker Spaniel puppy:

  • Mother's milk.
  • Whole goat or cow's milk.
  • Low-fat broth.
  • Boiled minced meat mixed with broth.

Industrial menu for a 1 month old Cocker Spaniel puppy:

  • Bitch milk substitute.
  • In case of growth retardation - pate for emaciated puppies.

Serving size depends on growth rate. Usually, per day, puppies eat as many grams of food as they weigh.

The number of feedings (complementary feeding) is 5–6 times a day, excluding mother’s milk.

At 2 months

The Cocker Spaniel actively eats complementary foods because it has a full row of baby teeth. The more nutritious and high-quality complementary foods, the less mother’s milk babies eat.

Natural menu for a 2 month old Cocker Spaniel puppy:

  • Mother's milk.
  • Whole cow's or goat's milk.
  • Calcined cottage cheese.
  • Dairy products.
  • Bouillon.
  • Boiled minced meat.
  • Ground, raw, boiled meat.

Industrial menu:

  • Bitch milk substitute.

Serving size directly depends on body weight.

The number of feedings varies from 4 to 6 times a day, excluding mother's milk consumed.

At 3 months

The Cocker Spaniel is actively expanding. Immediately after the move, the type and schedule of feeding do not change for 10–14 days, after which the diet is expanded according to the usual scheme.

Natural menu for a 3 month old Cocker Spaniel puppy:

  • Mother's milk (if the puppy is still with its mother).
  • Whole milk, fermented milk products, cottage cheese.
  • Boiled minced meat, raw, chopped meat.
  • Broth, vegetable soup with meat broth.
  • Raw quail eggs. Chicken eggs: yolk only, boiled or in the form of an omelet.
  • Rice, buckwheat.

Industrial menu:

  • Bitch milk substitute.
  • Canned food for medium breed puppies.

The portion size at 3 months of age is constantly increasing.

Number of feedings: 4–5 times a day.

At 4–6 months

At 4–6 months of age, Cocker Spaniel puppies are very active and therefore require a calorie-rich diet. In addition, during this period, baby teeth begin to change to molars, so vitamin supplements are introduced into the diet, if this has not been done previously.

Natural menu:

  • Whole milk, fermented milk products, cottage cheese - in large quantities.
  • Boiled and raw meat without fat and bones - beef, veal, rabbit, turkey, quail.
  • Beef by-products, boiled, chopped. You can use peeled, washed tripe in its raw form.
  • Chicken and quail eggs – raw, boiled, omelet.
  • Vegetables – boiled with porridge, raw with meat or cottage cheese.

Industrial menu:

  • Pates for medium breed puppies.
  • Semi-moist food for medium breed puppies.
  • Soaked dry food for medium breed dogs.

Size depends on individual characteristics and taste preferences dogs. Number of feedings: 3-4 full meals and 2-3 snacks.

From 6 months to 1 year

At the age of 6 months to 1 year, the diet of a Cocker Spaniel puppy expands as much as possible. You will notice that your dog now has favorite foods; they need to be included in the diet.

Natural menu:

  • Meat – beef, poultry, rabbit.
  • Meat by-products – beef, poultry.
  • Milk (unless lactose intolerant).
  • Fermented milk products - any, preferably homemade.
  • Fish – low-fat, oceanic, peeled, boiled.
  • Fish and meat broths.
  • Chicken and quail eggs.
  • Cereals – buckwheat, rice, barley, wheat and barley.
  • Vegetables except boiled potatoes and raw cabbage.
  • Fruits, except juicy and very sweet.
  • Greens, grass, bran.

Industrial menu:

  • Until the complete change of teeth (7–8 months) – wet and semi-moist food for medium breed puppies, soaked dry food.
  • After a complete change of teeth - 75% dry and 25% wet or semi-moist food for medium breed dogs.

The serving size gradually increases, then, from the age of 8–9 months, it decreases. The number of feedings is gradually reduced to 2–3 times.

Important! The final serving size for a Cocker Spaniel puppy is determined individually, depending on the dog’s metabolic rate and lifestyle.

Vitamins and supplements in the diet of a Cocker Spaniel puppy

From a very early age, vitamins and supplements are introduced into the Cocker Spaniel puppy's diet. This measure is not relevant if the dog regularly eats high-quality, industrial feed. If your pet’s diet is natural, no matter how high-quality it is, additional sources are needed useful substances.

Natural vitamin supplements for Cocker Spaniel puppy:

  • Clean, dried, crushed egg shells.
  • Bran.
  • Fish, chicken, beef liver.
  • Greens, vegetables, fruits.
  • Sunflower oil, olive oil.
  • Brewer's yeast.

Pharmacy vitamin supplements for a Cocker Spaniel puppy can and should be used as complex sources of nutrients:

  • Fish fat.
  • Feed tricalcium phosphate.
  • Omega-3, Omega-6.
  • B vitamins.
  • Undevit and analogues.

When feeding natural food Veterinarians recommend giving your Cocker Spaniel puppy special, industrial vitamin complexes. Complexes need to be changed and alternated according to needs.

Water in a puppy's diet

Water plays an extremely important role in the diet of a Cocker Spaniel puppy. important role. If your puppy receives wet food, he may be reluctant to drink water. However, if you plan to transition your pet to drying, he must have constant access to a drinking bowl with fresh water.

Prohibited Products

It is important to exclude prohibited foods from your Cocker Spaniel puppy’s diet:

  • Bones, pure fat, skin, especially poultry.
  • Palm oil.
  • Grapes, raisins.
  • Mushrooms.
  • Corn and semolina.
  • Raw freshwater fish.
  • Dry, salted fish.
  • Products containing sugar or sugar substitutes.
  • Products containing xylitol (chewing gum, some sweets).
  • Products containing flour or yeast.
  • Products containing caffeine, cocoa, any stimulants (sweets, tea, coffee, chocolate).
  • Products containing marinades, salt, spices.
  • Smoked products, including sausages, balyki, fish.
  • Expired products.
  • Leftovers from the table.

Controversial foods in a puppy's diet are:

  • Lean raw pork.
  • Raw ocean fish.
  • Whole milk.
  • Chicken eggs.
  • Raw and boiled chicken liver in large quantities.

Controversial products can and should be given to a Cocker Spaniel puppy if an allergic or other acute reaction does not occur after taking them.

Of course, the baby should eat a balanced meal. However, feeding not only usefully, but also without problems for owners in modern employment is very important.


General feeding rules

Of course, constant access to water is required. It is best to have one bowl for your puppy. I ate, poured water, and set it down. Before feeding, the water was poured out and food was added. This way the water will always be fresh and the bowl clean.

It is better to buy a bowl with a stand. The volume of the bowl is approximately 700 g. Set the height of the upper edge of the bowl at the level of the baby’s withers and raise it as the dog grows. If food gets on your ears, secure them behind your head with a soft rubber band. There is no need to wash after feeding.

The number of feedings per day is 6 times up to 3 months, 5 times up to 5 months, 4 times up to 6 months, 3 times up to 10 months, then twice a day. From the age of one year you can switch to one meal a day. Convenient to feed in the evening. In the morning, the dog will take a walk, go to the toilet, and will not have to endure waiting for its owners all day.
If little puppy If you feed only two or three times a day, the stomach will stretch, the ribs in the area of ​​the stomach will diverge, and we will get barrel-shaped ribs in an adult dog. And this is a drawback of the exterior. At correct mode feeding rib cage it will be oval, deep, down to the elbows. The lungs will develop correctly, and when hunting, the dog will be able to run for a long time and actively without getting tired.
If you spend a lot of time at work, then your baby’s food can be distributed. Feed several times in the morning and several times in the evening. Or buy an automatic feeder. It will allow you to feed your baby hourly even in your absence.


Food options

There are two options. This natural nutrition and dry food.

Do not try to feed your spaniel a mixture of natural food and food. I’ll say right away that this is harmful even for an adult dog, and even more so for a puppy. For food and live food, the dog produces different flora in the intestines. Mixing confuses this flora and metabolic processes. Most often it leads to otitis, cystitis, hair loss, and other demotic manifestations. And sometimes, outwardly, you may not notice any signs of a dog’s ill health. But excessive activity and mood swings are guaranteed for the baby. The puppy would be happy to calm down, but he can’t - the extra energy from mixed nutrition"is in full swing." You cannot give your puppy treats from the table. This is harmful both for digestion and for the education of the growing child. four-legged friend. The best option just don't give anything from the table. If you have already trained it, then it is not difficult to wean it off this Russian hunting spaniel. In response to a pleading look, give the puppy a piece of orange or lemon peel, for example. Or a piece of bread spread with mustard. ROS is very smart and will understand that asking is useless if you get something nasty in return.


Dry food

Dry food is easy to use. They are completely ready to eat. Choose large food so that the puppy chews every granule. This cleans your teeth and helps correct shift milk teeth. Russian hunting spaniels are kept in apartment conditions, so do not choose food with high content protein, i.e. food for puppies. Pay attention immediately to food for an adult dog. The brand doesn't really matter. It is important to correctly determine daily amount stern. Find the weight chart on the packaging and daily dose. Weigh the puppy. Calculate mathematically how much to give your puppy per day using the data in the table. Weigh your puppy periodically and increase the portion. If you give too much, the puppy will overeat and refuse the next meal. Also, excess food overloads the liver. Therefore, it is better to give less than a little more. To avoid weighing and measuring food before each feeding, take a measuring cup or just any transparent container from the pet store. Draw a line with a pen. The measure is ready. Don't worry if you feel like the amount of food you feed per day is too small. Dry food contains a minimum of moisture, natural food its about 80%. So if you “squeeze” the liquid out of natural water, very little will remain.

What to do with treats when eating food? How to reward for following commands? Firstly, one of the feedings can be done with training. We take a portion of food and practice the commands. Pour what's left into a bowl. You can also take a few pieces of cheese, or meat, or beef tripe, and put them in a bag. Put food there too. Shake. Let the food be saturated with a tempting smell. These will be “goodies” for training with your dog.

To understand whether your spaniel needs vitamins, take a blood test for chemical composition. Only then can it be determined together with veterinarian necessity additional drugs or food replacement.


Natural nutrition

For centuries, spaniels have been fed natural foods. And they raised wonderful dogs. Nothing complicated about natural feeding also no.
I can give you several ready-made recipes.

In a three-liter saucepan, cook the vegetables along with the porridge. Turn it off. Put the cut into pieces raw beef. Mix. Ready. Cooking time 20 min.
Three carrots or apples. Mix with a pack of 5-9% cottage cheese. Ready. Cooking time 2 min.

Cook the chicken. Pour out the broth. Cooking porridge. Crumble chicken into porridge. Mix. Add any finely chopped vegetables to the cooled porridge. Cooking time 1 hour.
If you are very busy and are afraid of not having time to prepare food for the puppy, then you can freeze ready food in portions. Defrost before feeding. You shouldn't use this all the time, but it will come in handy just in case.

We give cottage cheese and milk (except milk) for breakfast. During the day - porridge with vegetables and with meat, fish, chicken, turkey, and very rarely with tripe.
Mono-nutrition is recommended for dogs in general and puppies in particular. Those. the more monotonous, the better. There is no need to waste time on frills. Cook quickly and easily.
The volume of a single serving is equal to the volume of the puppy's head without the muzzle. This is the volume of the dog's stomach.

How to determine the proportions of ingredients? If the puppy neither gets fat nor loses weight, then everything is correct. Too plump - reduce the amount of protein, increase the volume of vegetables and fruits. Too thin - increase the amount of protein and reduce the amount of vegetables and porridge. On average, 20 g of raw or 40 g of cooked meat (or chicken, or turkey, or fish) per 1 kg of puppy weight per day. The rest is vegetables and porridge.

Meat and pieces of dry bread can be used as treats for a natural-fed ROS puppy. And a special treat, of course, is beef tripe. Now it is quite difficult to buy it. Need raw, unpeeled. No need to wash. It doesn't smell very good, but it is useful for dogs in regulating intestinal flora. And the puppies just love it. Don't give too much, but sometimes it's good.
To clean and change your teeth, sip on oils once every two weeks. The best bone from the broth is a whole one, but not chopped. So that the baby does not get hurt on sharp edges and does not swallow splinters. White “sugar” beef cartilage will also work.

Don't get carried away with the bones. Raw benefits They won’t bring it, but your teeth will wear down quickly. Boiled ones are prohibited because they clog the stomach or swell in the intestines. And this is a problem with the toilet.
If you want to understand whether your puppy has enough natural nutrition, it’s simple. Place food in a bowl. On top is a calcium gluconate tablet. If he starts eating from it, sell it for a couple of weeks. This is for strong bones. Same thing with fish oil capsules. These are vitamins. And with dried sea cabbage. This is iodine.
I love it new food administer to the baby, starting with a teaspoon per day. This will relieve intestinal upset.
Conclusion

Having experience working with more than 100 dogs annually, I can conclude that approximately 50% of dogs eat natural and 50% dry food. Decide for yourself which type of food to choose. Do not change for up to a year so as not to cause stress to the growing body.

The cost of feed and the cost of natural food are approximately the same.
And further. If you want to pamper your puppy, pamper him with the CORRECT FOOD.

For an English Cocker Spaniel puppy, the basic feeding principles apply as for all other dogs. It is generally accepted that empty porridges and stews do not provide required quantity vitamins and microelements for the dog.

What to feed the puppy?

The basis of the diet for any dog ​​should be protein food:
meat, offal, liver, fish, eggs
Dairy products:
Low-fat cottage cheese, kefir, fermented baked milk or yogurt (without sugar and fruit).

The meat consumed by dogs should not be fatty - beef, turkey, kangaroo, horse meat, rabbit.
From suitable for fish- flounder, halibut, haddock, cod, hake. White fish, like meat, contains protein that is not inferior in quality to meat. True, a dog will prefer meat to any fish, but no one will ask it.
You can give meat to your dog either raw or scalded with boiling water, or you can cook it for a few minutes, but heat treat offal, liver and fish.

Feeding an English Cocker Spaniel puppy:
Approximate diet nutrition

Approximate norms for feeding a puppy up to 1 year old are 50 grams of meat or meat products per kilogram of animal weight (food volume is 80-120 g). In an adult dog, these norms are reduced to 60 grams of meat per kg of weight. It is not recommended to give bones (chicken bones are generally prohibited), with the exception of soft cartilage and chicken necks. A cocker puppy's diet should also include vegetables. If your puppy does not really like to eat vegetables separately, then they need to be chopped and mixed with meat.

The total volume of food for all feedings of the puppy per day is calculated using the formula: up to 6 months. 6-7% and older than 6 months. 3-3.5% of the animal’s body weight.
You can (page will open in a new window) and quantity nutrients and microelements according to this table.

Among dairy products, you need to pay attention to cottage cheese, enriched with calcium. It is especially useful for puppies. Give eggs (preferably quail) raw or boiled soft-boiled. You shouldn’t overuse eggs; just 2-3 eggs a week is enough. Don't neglect cereals, which are also healthy.

Suitable for Cocker:

Hercules
rice
buckwheat

Contraindicated millet, it can cause volvulus.

All cereals, except rolled oats (rolled oats can be simply steamed), need to be boiled, preferably in milk, and added vegetables, carrots, pumpkin, beets (after beets, the puppy’s urine may turn red - don’t be alarmed, this is normal), bell pepper , cauliflower, abandoned. An adult dog should be regularly given bran in small quantities or crackers from rye bread(homemade).
Contraindicated: garlic, chocolate, sugar.

English Cocker Spaniel puppies should not be fed before a walk.

Firstly:

Your puppy will instantly learn that after a walk and beyond. water procedures he will be fed, and at the command “home” he will fly headlong towards the entrance (you will not need to run and catch him to drive him home)

Secondly:

When walking a well-fed puppy, his back may sag due to a full and heavy belly, and you will subsequently have a “bent” dog. Do you need it?

Here is a menu option for feeding a puppy

Age 1 – 2 months, puppy weight 2 – 4 kg

Total food volume 0.2 – 0.4 l

Feed 6 times a day at intervals of approximately 3 hours.

1. (7 hours) - Calcined cottage cheese (kefir, fermented baked milk - no added sugar)

2. (10 hours) - Finely chopped raw meat with boiled carrots and vegetable oil

3. (13 hours) - A glass of milk with raw egg

4. (16 hours) - Finely chopped boiled meat (fish) with porridge

5. (19 hours) - Calcined cottage cheese (cheese)

6. (22 hours) - Finely chopped raw meat with boiled carrots and vegetable oil

Age 3 – 4 months, puppy weight – 5 – 8 kg

Total food volume 0.5 – 0.7 l

Option #1

1. Morning (8 hours) – cottage cheese (kefir, fermented baked milk)

2. Day (11 hours) – raw meat cut into pieces with boiled carrots and vegetable oil

3. Lunch (14 hours) – a glass of milk with a raw egg

4. Evening (18 o’clock) – boiled meat with porridge

5. Before bedtime (22 hours) – raw chopped meat with boiled carrots and vegetable oil

Option No. 2

1. Morning (8 hours) – porridge, kefir (yogurt)

2. Day (11 hours) – kefir (yogurt), cottage cheese, greens

3. Lunch (14 hours) – rolled oats, meat (fish)

4. Evening (18 hours) – cottage cheese, kefir, vegetables

5. Before bedtime (22 hours) – rolled oats, meat (fish)

Age 5 – 8 months, puppy weight 8 – 12 kg

Total food volume 0.7 – 1l

Option #1

1. Morning (8 hours) – cottage cheese (kefir, fermented baked milk) with boiled (raw) egg or just cottage cheese (without egg)

2. Day (13 hours) – raw (boiled) meat with porridge (vegetables with vegetable oil)

3. Evening (5 p.m.) – cottage cheese (meat) with porridge

4. Before bedtime (22 hours) – raw (boiled) meat with vegetables (porridge)

Option No. 2

1. Morning (8 hours) – porridge, kefir (yogurt), greens

2. Day (13 hours) – porridge, meat (fish)

3. Evening (5 p.m.) – cottage cheese (kefir), vegetables

4. Before bedtime (22 hours) – porridge, meat (fish)

Age 9 – 10 months, puppy weight 12 – 15 kg

Total food volume 1.5 l

Option #1

1. Morning (8 o’clock) – porridge (kefir, yogurt), greens.

2. Day (15 hours) – rolled oats, meat (fish).

3. Before bed (22 hours) - cottage cheese, vegetables.

Option No. 2

1. Morning (8 hours) – cottage cheese with boiled or raw egg

2. Day (15 hours) – raw or boiled meat with vegetables or porridge

First, a short one historical reference. Cocker spaniels come in two varieties - English and American. The English Cocker Spaniel was bred in Great Britain in the early nineteenth century. Breeders set themselves the task of breeding the ideal hunting dog. English cocker spaniels meek and gentle, full of energy, not afraid of difficult places, and have an unstable psyche. American Cocker Spaniels more calm and friendly, have a balanced psyche.

Now, directly, about feeding cocker spaniels.
Do not forget that the dog is special and a diet intended for other dog breeds will not always suit it, so be conscientious about feeding your cocker, and then your pet will grow up healthy and delight its owners and others.

Dry food or natural food? It is difficult to find a decent answer to this question. Institutes and veterinarians talk about the benefits of dry food, some dog breeders feed their pets only natural food and the dogs grow healthy and live for many years. So the choice of food is a personal choice of each owner.

Let's consider the position from the dry food side. Pros: easy to find in stores, no need to waste time on cooking, large selection of manufacturers and prices. Cons: the dog quickly gets used to dry food, and subsequently hardly eats natural food.

Diet. A puppy up to two months is fed six times a day, from two to four months - five times a day, from four to six months - four times, from six to ten months - three times, from ten months - fed like an adult dog - twice a day. day. Don't forget that when feeding dry food, your dog must have clean, fresh water in his bowl!

There are many nuances when feeding natural food. Firstly: you don’t need to feed the dog from the owner’s table, be sure to cook for it separately. Secondly: accustom him to the diet from puppyhood. An adult dog will only eat the foods it was fed as a child. So, to the specifics:
Meat. A product that you should never forget about. For puppies, give 50 grams per kilogram of weight; for adult dogs, 200-300 grams per day is enough. Give meat only in boiled form. It's better not to give bones. You can sometimes give offal after boiling it well first.

Dairy products. Give milk only as food. It happens that dogs become weak from milk. Kefir, cottage cheese, cheese are very useful for dogs, they have a good effect on digestion, and should not be abandoned under any circumstances.

Eggs. It is best served as an omelet, or boiled soft-boiled.

Bread and cereals. These products are not the main food for a cocker spaniel; they can only be used to diversify the diet. For cereals, rolled oats are preferable. Rice and buckwheat porridges are also good. It is better to cook it in milk, with a small addition of vegetables.

Vegetables and fruits. Pumpkin, zucchini, and carrots are best given finely chopped, with the addition of butter or sour cream, so the product is better absorbed. As for greens, try to add greens to your dog’s diet. good source vitamins and microelements.

Other products. Pamper your dog with crackers, cheese, dried fruits, and raisins. This is a good addition to the diet, and a tasty reward for training. Garlic should be given once a week as a remedy against worms. At the age of three to seven months (the period when a puppy changes teeth), calcium gluconate tablets or simple chalk should be given, mixing them into the food (in a crushed state).

You shouldn’t change your dog’s diet often; it’s better to feed foods that your pet is already accustomed to; you just need to add variety occasionally.

The puppy needs to eat properly. This is due to its active growth and development and the possibilities of its digestive system. After weaning from its mother, when teeth appear, the puppy will switch to more solid food. After 1.5-2 months, the puppy should already be able to eat food with a fairly thick consistency on its own.

In order to grow healthy dog, there is no need to overfeed the puppy or sharply limit his food intake. By regularly underfeeding your puppy, you will deprive his body of essential nutrients, and his development may not go well.

It is erroneous to use infant formula and baby food, because their composition is not suitable for the dog.

How many times a day should you feed your puppy? It depends on age. The puppy needs to be fed often, but in small portions, so that his belly does not swell from what he eats, and the baby himself retains mobility and a tendency to play. From the moment of weaning from the mother to 3 months, 6 feedings a day are sufficient. From 3 to 5 months – 5 meals a day. From 5 to 9 months the puppy should eat 4 times a day, from 9 to 11 months - 3 times a day. From 11 months and older – 2 times.

If you decide to prepare your pet’s food yourself, then you should know what products are needed in his diet. Sources of protein are dairy products, meat, fish and eggs. From fermented milk products The dog can be given low-fat cottage cheese (up to 5 - 7%), kefir, yogurt or fermented baked milk (without added sugar or fruit). It is better to heat treat meat and fish to avoid many problems. For meat you can use turkey, white meat chicken, beef, lamb, horse meat, rabbit, and for fish - cod, haddock, European flounder, hake and halibut. White fish contains at least quality protein than meat. However, fish food is inferior in taste to meat food. At the age of 8-10 months, the puppy is actively growing, so he needs more protein than adult dog, in an amount of approximately 30 - 50 g per 1 kg of weight per day. You can initially give the puppy some chicken yolk or half quail egg, and no more than 2 times a week. Monitor your reaction to rule out an allergy. Meat feeding a dog can include not only meat, but also by-products (kidneys, heart, udder, by-products of chickens, turkeys, etc.).

Sources of carbohydrates for the puppy are boiled cereals - rice, buckwheat, rolled oats. Plant foods: greens (parsley, dill, celery, lettuce, as well as steamed young nettle leaves) and vegetables (carrots, White cabbage, bell peppers, pumpkin, zucchini, beets, cucumbers) should be given raw, finely chopped or grated on a regular coarse grater. It is a source of fiber and vitamins. Added to plant and meat feeds different types oils (1 tsp): olive, unrefined sunflower, pumpkin, flaxseed, etc. Very useful fish fat. It should be given, starting with a few drops and gradually increasing to 1 teaspoon per day. During stomach upset, fish oil is excluded from the diet. You can give any fruits that the puppy likes, just make sure that there are no allergies.

Sample menu for a puppy

Age 1 – 2 months, puppy weight 2 – 6 kg

Total food volume 0.2 – 0.4 l

Feed 6 times a day at intervals of approximately 3 hours.

1. (7 hours) - Calcined cottage cheese (kefir, fermented baked milk)

2. (10 hours) - Finely chopped raw meat with boiled carrots and vegetable oil

3. (13 hours) - A glass of milk with a raw egg

4. (16 hours) - Finely chopped boiled meat (fish) with porridge

5. (19 hours) - Calcined cottage cheese (cheese)

6. (22 hours) - Finely chopped raw meat with boiled carrots and vegetable oil

Age 3 – 4 months, puppy weight – 6 – 10 kg

Total food volume 0.5 – 0.7 l

Option #1

1. Morning (8 hours) – cottage cheese (kefir, fermented baked milk)

2. Day (11 hours) – raw meat cut into pieces with boiled carrots and vegetable oil

3. Lunch (14 hours) – a glass of milk with a raw egg

4. Evening (18 o’clock) – boiled meat with porridge

5. Before bedtime (22 hours) – raw chopped meat with boiled carrots and vegetable oil

Option No. 2

1. Morning (8 hours) – porridge, kefir (yogurt)

2. Day (11 hours) – kefir (yogurt), cottage cheese, greens

3. Lunch (14 hours) – rolled oats, meat (fish)

4. Evening (18 hours) – cottage cheese, kefir, vegetables

5. Before bedtime (22 hours) – rolled oats, meat (fish)

Age 5 – 8 months, puppy weight 10 – 15 kg

Total food volume 0.7 – 1l

Option #1

1. Morning (8 hours) – cottage cheese (kefir, fermented baked milk) with boiled (raw) egg or just cottage cheese (without egg)

2. Day (13 hours) – raw (boiled) meat with porridge (vegetables with vegetable oil)

3. Evening (5 p.m.) – cottage cheese (meat) with porridge

4. Before bedtime (22 hours) – raw (boiled) meat with vegetables (porridge)

Option No. 2

1. Morning (8 hours) – porridge, kefir (yogurt), greens

2. Day (13 hours) – porridge, meat (fish)

3. Evening (5 p.m.) – cottage cheese (kefir), vegetables

4. Before bedtime (22 hours) – porridge, meat (fish)

Age 9 – 10 months, puppy weight 14 – 17 kg

Total food volume 1.5 l

Option #1

1. Morning (8 o’clock) – porridge (kefir, yogurt), greens.

2. Day (15 hours) – rolled oats, meat (fish).

3. Before bed (22 hours) - cottage cheese, vegetables.

Option No. 2

1. Morning (8 hours) – cottage cheese with boiled or raw egg

2. Day (15 hours) – raw or boiled meat with vegetables or porridge

3. Before bedtime (22 hours) - raw or boiled meat with vegetables or porridge

To keep your dog full at night, he needs more high-calorie food in the evening.

The total amount of food for a puppy is 80-120 g per kg of weight. As they grow older, the amount of food decreases and by one year the dog may well receive 60 g per kg of its weight. The main sign of sufficient food is that the puppy licks the bowl with pleasure. If the puppy does not even finish the meat, it means that you are overfeeding him, and the amount of food needs to be reduced.

Meat – while the puppy is small, it is better to buy high-quality chilled meat. As they grow, you can switch to frozen meat; at 5-6 months you can start giving offal. Lung, udder, liver, kidneys - boiled, tripe - scalded with boiling water. Frequent feeding of liver or lungs may cause diarrhea. Among meat products, preference should be given to beef. You can sometimes give chicken or turkey; it is better to boil these products. Meat products should make up 2/3 of a dog's diet.

If a puppy picks up stones on the street or chews plaster, then there is not enough calcium in its diet. The puppy has a constant need for vitamins and minerals, which are indispensable for the growth and strengthening of the skeleton. If you feed the dog homemade food, then for growth and development, as well as for the prevention of rickets, she needs vitamin and mineral supplements. It should be easy to use, well absorbed, and not cause allergic reactions. For the first week, it is better to give vitamin and mineral supplements in half the required dose, and if no reaction occurs, then you can increase the dose to the required one. The food you choose should be appropriate for the age and size of the puppy.

If the puppy gets ready-made food, you should not introduce additional vitamins and minerals into the diet: in industrial feed the amount of nutrients is strictly calculated, and excess calcium deforms bones and inhibits growth.

When a puppy refuses a good quality food, it should not be replaced with another or anything added to the bowl. Puppies quickly learn that they can get something tastier, and begin to refuse even regular food to the detriment of their health. The owners complain about their lack of appetite.

The puppy should not be angry near the bowl. The puppy should eat calmly and, at the first request of the owner, give him a bowl, even with very tasty food.