Feeding Your Swissy

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Your puppy is a large breed with special feeding requirements. To minimize the risk of Bloat, feed a high quality, soy free, low protein (less than 26%) ADULT FORMULA FOOD. We use Purina Pro Plan Chicken and Rice Adult. There are several other excellent foods available, but we have had the best results using the Pro Plan. DO NOT FEED PUPPIES PUPPY FOOD! With few exception, puppy foods tend to be very high in protein and promote growth at a rate dangerous for Swissies. It is best to feed ADULT formula right from the start.

When to Feed. Most people can feed three times a day— when they get up, when they get home, and before they go to bed however, such a regimen may result in behavior problems, focusing the human-animal bond too much on food. By highlighting departures and arrivals, it could even encourage separation anxiety. A set schedule is helpful, especially as it relates to housetraining, but one less connected to comings and goings may be better. So that your pup’s bond with you is not so directly tied to food, try not to regularly feed him the minute you get home—take time for a petting or play session first.

How to feed. We have to be very careful with large breed dogs that are predisposed to developmental orthopedic diseases. Those 8 to 12 weeks are a sensitive period of rapid growth for larger breeds, and people should be doing portion feeding.

Do not supplement your dogs food with calcium or vitamins. Quality dog foods have been laboratory formulated to provide sufficient balanced nutrition for your dog. Over supplementation by adding calcium and extra protein can lead to the dog developing problems such as OCD.

Table scraps, especially vegetables are great for dogs. However, don’t give them foods with rich sauces, vegetables like broccoli which cause gas, or sweets which cause tooth decay. To prevent incessant begging and finicky eating, avoid feeding the dog(s) from the table. Scraps are best added to the dog's regular meal. If you wish to give your dog a real bone occasionally for a treat, give ONLY large beef  leg bones. Pork, chicken, and other bones splinter and can cause injury to the dog's digestive tract.

Do not feed your dog immediately following strenuous exercise! If your dog has had a lot of water during exercise, wait at least an hour before feeding him. It is recommended that your dog rests at least an hour before and after eating and that water be withheld during this time. Water given with the meal dilutes digestive fluids and interferes with efficient digestion. If you wait at least an hour after feeding to give water to your dog, it will encourage efficient digestion and reduce the chances of gas, thus bloating. Have water available during the day and at intervals during exercise. To prevent your dog from gulping large amounts of water at once, fill the water bowl or bucket with ice cubes. This will force him to drink water slowly as you do not want him drinking too fast, especially when he is overexerted. (Swissies are known for Consuming large quantities of water.)

As your puppy gets older and at various times during his life, he will need more or less food. DO NOT LET YOUR PUPPY GET FAT!! It is better for a large breed dog to be slightly underweight than at all overweight. Too much weight can cause or aggravate joint related developmental problems

1 cup slightly dampened or dry, morning - noon - evening.

By the beginning of this period, puppies are losing their potbellies and babyish look, shooting upward and assuming a more adult profile—or at least they should be. “If they’re still kind of roly-poly by the time they’re 12 weeks, then you want to feed the same amount for a while,”. “Let them grow into the body condition you want before you feed them any greater amount.”

Why worry about a little extra weight with puppy so young? Because evidence has accumulated to demonstrate that overeating when a dog is young is one major risk factor for developmental orthopedic disease (the other two being genetics and trauma).

2 cups slightly dampened or dry, morning - noon- evening.

2 to 2 1/2 cups three times a day.

2 cups three times a day.   You can feed your dog 2 to 3 cups twice a day , but we recommend feeding smaller amount three time a day to help keep the dogs stomach smaller which may reduce the chance of your dog getting bloat.

Start learning early how to do body-condition scoring, from 1 to 5. Your veterinarian can show you a helpful chart, but what you’re looking for is a definite waist just forward of the hips and a tuck-up when you view the dog from the side. We recommend a lean body condition “so that you can not only feel the ribs, but if it is a smooth-coated animal, you’ll be able to just see them too—like you would on an athlete.”

It’s important to consider the pup’s body condition. “Watch the dog, don’t watch the bowl,”.

Obviously, how much you feed to arrive at the correct body condition will vary greatly depending on the individual pup’s size and metabolism. These feeding guidelines are just that—guidelines.

People must take responsibility for adjusting their puppy’s food intake. “They should step back and look at their animals at least once a week, taking an objective look and saying, ‘Hey, has he put on a little weight?’ If people do that, they’ll keep their pets from getting significantly overweight and recognize illness earlier.”

It should be obvious that a puppy which is growing well but not growing fat, with good healthy skin and coat, and an energy level that has you ready to collapse, is doing well. Don't worry about it- your doing fine.