Key steps to building a healthy future for your puppy
Benefits of getting your puppy off to a good start
Key steps to building a healthy future for your puppy
We know that your puppy's health is your priority. Giving your puppy the right care and attention early on will help to ensure they live a long and healthy life. The first few months play a crucial role in your puppy’s long-term growth, development and health.
Aside from the basics (vaccinations, worming, and tick-treatment) which your vet can provide professional assistance on, there are three key areas of puppy health that can make all the difference:
- Digestive health
- Brain and eye development
- Natural immunity.
Focusing on these three key areas, we’ve put the following guide together to help you understand how nutrition can support your puppy’s health and development.
Digestive health
Promoting healthy digestion and growth
Nurturing healthy digestion is crucial. Your puppy is growing very quickly, and their digestive system is constantly developing so mustn’t be overloaded with large volumes of food. Feed little and often by dividing the daily amount of food into 3 or 4 portions given at regular intervals as guided on the pack. Their internal body clock will get the digestive juices flowing at dinnertime every day, so do your best to stick to a routine.
A puppy’s strong and healthy digestive system will ensure that they get all the nutrition they need out of their food, meaning they can grow and develop as well as possible.
Don’t be distressed if your pup suffers from an upset stomach as it’s quite common. This can be caused by overeating, the stress of moving to a new environment, or simply bugs that they’ve picked up from their surroundings. If there is a prolonged bout of illness or you are worried, always visit your vet to rule out more serious issues. It’s worth noting that when it comes to toilet time, a healthy digestive system can make clearing up after your puppy much easier too.
You can help your puppy’s digestive system by supporting the good bacteria in their gut. The good bacteria plays an important role, keeping bad bacteria at bay, and producing nutrients that support your puppy’s health. One of the most visible benefits of having a healthy gut flora is that your puppy’s stools will be firmer, (rather than the soft or loose stools associated with digestive problems).
There is a special type of prebiotic called an Oligosaccharide, which helps to feed the good bacteria in your puppy’s gut. Oligosaccharides help to encourage good bacteria, promoting healthy digestion. They are also thought to help the special nutrient-absorbing structures in your puppy’s gut to develop properly, which increases their ability to absorb critical nutrients needed for healthy growth.
Brain and Eye Development
Helping puppies to learn and train better
One of the key areas that affects your puppy's ability to be trained, learn new tasks and cope with the exciting world around them is their eye and brain development
Omega Oils play a vital role in the proper development of your puppies brain and eye tissues. Puppies develop 70% of their brains by six weeks and 90% by 12 weeks, so keeping this rapid growth well fed is very important . Supplementing or sourcing diets with Omega Oils has shown to improve puppies eyesight and their ability to learn new tasks.In one study puppies receiving higher levels of Omega Oils outperformed those with significantly less in their diet. Other benefits were better socila skills with other dogs and family members and the ability to grasp training and obedience challenges more quickly.
Natural immunity
Supporting your puppy’s immune system
The immune system is a network of specialised organs, tissues, cells, and chemicals. Dogs have various complex mechanisms to protect against pathogens, which range from physical barriers to specific immune defences.When your puppy is born, they emerge from a safe, protected environment into the big wide world of pathogens and bugs. Puppies are born with what is called innate immunity, which consists of physical barriers such as mucous membranes to protect against entry of pathogens. However, if those physical barriers are overcome, an effective immune system is required to clear the infection.
At this ‘immature’ stage, their immune system is not fully functional, so they are more susceptible to infection. They often need assistance to thrive. In their first few weeks, this assistance comes from their mother, who transfers immune cells and immune components through her milk. In this way, looking after a puppy is much like looking after a child.
A puppy’s immune system can take up to five months to mature to its fully functional capacity. Whilst one of the riskiest stages is immediately after birth, some puppies also struggle immediately after weaning. This can be due to the puppy’s immature immune system being unable to cope with disease. Encouraging a stronger immune system as early as possible can help your puppy develop into a healthy adult dog.
Therefore, it is very important to ensure that your dog receives all their puppy vaccinations at the right time. Vaccination helps to ensure that your puppy is protected against some of the most dangerous diseases that could otherwise kill them.
Much of your puppy’s immune system is localised around their gut. The gut is one of the main areas of entry for pathogens into your puppy’s body, so it makes sense to have a lot of the defense systems built in there. The good news is that it is easy to include components in your puppy’s diet that can help to support the development of this immune system.
Beta-glucans are thought to interact directly with the immune system in your puppy’s gut, helping to develop a natural immune response. Beta-glucans work by ‘mopping up’ bad bacteria such as E. coli, helping your puppy to get rid of these pathogens easily and quickly.
Now that you understand what benefits there are in feeding your puppy please look at some of the amazing options you have to feed you puppy well.
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