Puppies make it hard for their owners to resist giving them delicious treats when they plead with their doe-eyes. While it feels wholesome watching them enjoy their favorite food, there are some diet rules to follow for them to thrive and stay healthy. If you have a puppy that is three months old, you will already be aware of its increasing energy and frolicking. Once a puppy turns three months old, it will become more active and playful. With an increase in energy, it will need quality food coupled with adequate rest to stay happy and healthy.
It is crucial to take good care of what a puppy eats once it becomes 3 months or older. Make sure you feed them only designed puppy food that is specifically designed to meet the requirements of puppies.
Also, during the first year of a puppy’s life, the development of the brain takes place. This is a stage where your puppy’s mental and physical growth and development are determined.
If you are wondering what to feed a 3-month-old puppy, here are the three basic things you should know first.
Puppy Nutrition
A puppy thrives on puppy-designated food. So, you should not feed them adult dog food as it will be incompatible with their delicate system. Puppies have increased metabolism, so they need high-energy and nutrient-rich formula food to meet their demands.
Puppy food nourishes puppies and provides them a complete and balanced diet to grow and develop into healthy and robust grown dogs. A lot of pet food brands offer quality puppy food. The best puppy food choice should contain a high amount of protein, DHA, calcium, and carbohydrate. These elements ensure an all-around healthy growth in puppies.
Puppy Breed
Getting a pack of puppy food for your pup is not the only thing to do when it comes to raising a healthy dog. Every pup is different in several ways, such as breed, size, preference, and others. So it is recommended to find puppy food that is formulated for specific breed sizes so that they get proper nutrition with the size-specific recipes.
For large breed puppies, look for puppy foods that have large breed puppy formula. Large breed dogs are prone to developing arthritis and joint problems because of their bigger bones and build. Therefore, the diet of large breed puppies should contain precise levels of nutrients for them to thrive and develop into healthy dogs. Likewise, small breed puppy recipes will be beneficial to small puppy breeds. Smaller kibbles are recommended for small breed puppies for easy eating and chewing while providing them the necessary nutrients.
You should continue to give puppy food for the first couple of years for puppies belonging to large breeds before switching to adult food. For medium to small breeds, you can start feeding them adult dog food after the first year. But no matter what you choose for your puppy, always settle for one that contains the balanced and complete formula to ensure healthy growth.
Puppy Food Type
There are two types of puppy food – wet and dry puppy food. It can be hard to choose from the two or decide which one would be a better fit for a 3-month-old puppy. But make sure you go through the labels to see if the puppy food contains a complete and balanced diet for puppies. The decision might come down to your puppy’s preference. You can even combine a portion of each type as long as you make sure the formula contains specifically balanced calories needed for daily energy. Don’t forget that your puppy is gradually growing, so keep a watch over its growth and feed them accordingly so that they are neither overfed nor underfed.
What To Feed A 3-Month-Old Puppy?
If you are not sure how much, how often, or what to feed your puppy, you can always talk to a vet to find a complete and balanced diet for it. If you don’t have enough time to schedule an appointment with the vet, you can check out different pet company websites to find specific feeding plans for various breeds. Many pet food companies offer good puppy foods for different breeds. So it is mandatory to dig a little deeper into the company and the food they offer to find if it would suit your puppy’s needs.
Ollie Petfood is a reliable pet food company that offers good quality nutritional food made from 100% real ingredients without fillers and by-products. The company is specially curated to meet the different requirements of various puppy breeds.
The best feeding schedule for a 3-month-old puppy is to feed them quality puppy food three times a day. We can’t stress enough how important it is to feed your puppy with complete and balanced puppy food. The puppy foods from Ollie Petfood are made with 100% real food with balanced nutrients, which makes it an excellent choice for a 3-month-old puppy. The company specializes in four recipes – beef, chicken, turkey, and lamb.
When choosing a puppy food for your puppy, it pays a lot to go through the ingredients. Meat should be the main ingredient, and it should constitute the biggest portion of the food. Other beneficial ingredients should include fruits, plant-based protein, and green leaves, and root vegetables. Ollie Petfood specializes in meat-first formula with high-quality, real protein that comes from farms in Australia, New Zealand, and the US.
Fruits like cranberries and blueberries are also added to the puppy food for necessary antioxidants and vitamins. The presence of plant-based protein like peas, lentils, and chickpeas offer your puppy a complete and balanced diet. The company also embraces green leaves and root vegetables such as sweet potatoes and kale, among others, into their ingredients as they are rich in dietary fiber. Rich-fiber food improves the health of the digestive system.
A convenient feature about the company is that they curate a unique and specific diet for your puppy breed. All you need to do is to talk to them about your puppy in the form of a quiz. This helps the company to assess your puppy’s breed, age, weight, allergies, and energy level to chalk out the perfect customized feeding plan for your diet.
When you order from the website, you will receive a starter box that contains two week’s worth of freshly cooked food packs that can be stored in the freezer, a food storage container for organized and fresh food packs, and a food scoop for easy and precise scooping of the puppy food. The starter box also comes with a feeding guide that contains unique and customized instructions on how to feed your puppy breed for the easy undertaking.
Another beneficial factor is hassle-free delivery. When you order puppy food from Ollie Petfood, you don’t have to worry about the problems of delivery. Once you finish the starter box, you will be regularly receiving fresh packs of puppy food that are delivered right to your doorstep. You can always pause the delivery or change the timings any time you want.
My advice is that you at least try and order the first pack that you can now get for 50% off, and see for yourself how your 3-month-old puppy might react when he’s served the delicious food from Ollie.
What Not To Feed A 3-Month-Old Puppy?
Do not feed calcium supplements to your puppy. Calcium supplements may cause skeletal diseases leading to abnormal growth and development of bones.
Do not feed cow’s milk to puppies. Cow’s milk can cause diarrhea as dogs are lactose-intolerant. If for some reason, your puppy requires milk, you can find adequate milk supplements online or in a market near you.
Do not feed your puppy with treats except for training treats. Do not turn your puppy’s diet into something fancy and exotic by adding gravy or feed toppers to encourage it to eat better. This would encourage a picky puppy whose cravings will become hard to satisfy.
Do not feed your puppy with raw food as it may not be safe. Avoid giving them anything raw. It is best to stick with a specific puppy food from Ollie Petfood to ensure that your puppy grows into a healthy and hearty dog.
Do not feed cereals to your pup. Some wet food cereals provide no nutritional value for puppies. It would be better to feed them with a complete and balanced diet.
Do not alter your puppy’s food now and then. You might want to jump from different puppy food brands to give your puppy a chance to taste various flavors. But avoid this. Puppies have a sensitive GI tract, and excessive changes in diet can upset the stomach and cause diarrhea.
Can You Give Treats to a 3-Month-Old Puppy?
Treats are highly effective while training a puppy, and it is always a treat to give your puppy some delicious treats and to see them gobble or nibble on them. While it can be tempting to spoil a pup with treats, you should make sure that you feed them only a balanced portion.
Whether you are giving treats to pamper or reward your puppy during training, the general rule of thumb is to treat your puppy with the 90/10 rule. This rule implies that the number of treats you can give to your puppy should sum up to 10% of their overall diet. The rest of 90% should be nutritiously complete and balanced puppy food. You should keep this rule in mind to maintain a good balance so that your pup does not become overweight. It also reduces the chance of developing health issues when it gets older.
Can You Give Human Food to a 3-Month-Old Puppy?
A puppy’s soulful eyes make it hard not to give it a tidbit while you have food. But you should keep in mind that a strict rule goes a long way in the making of a healthy adult dog. It is best not to feed a puppy with human food. Some may be toxic to them. Also, when you feed a puppy with human food, you are inviting unwanted behavior, and once your pup matures, it will be harder for them to change and adapt to new behaviors.
It is advisable to stick to puppy food for the growth of a healthy puppy. You can always feed your puppy some treats to reward them when they do something right or to pamper and spoil them with affection and treats. Make sure you follow the 90/10 rule when you feed a 3-month-old puppy for the best results.
Additional Tips For Raising A 3-Month-Old Puppy
In addition to good quality puppy food, a 3-month-old puppy needs several other things to thrive and live a healthy and robust life.
Comfortable Crate
A puppy needs a nice and comfortable crate to nap and sleep. A well-fitting crate furnished with soft towels or puppy blankets will go a long way in making your puppy relaxed and comfortable.
Chew Toys
Puppies are restless and sometimes mischievous creatures. It won’t be a surprise to find them ripping off a cushion, furniture, or a shoe. To avoid this unwanted scenario, buy them decent chew toys so that they can sink their teeth into them and gnaw them to satisfy their gnawing desire.
Vaccination
While it can be heartbreaking seeing and hearing your puppy in pain during vaccination, it is mandatory so that they can live a healthy life. There are a series of vaccinations to prevent puppies from various health issues like rabies, hepatitis, and parvovirus, among others. Talk to a vet to discuss the vaccination plan for your puppy.
Playtime
Playtime with puppies is essential to keep your puppy happy and active. Spending time with your puppy also strengthens the bond between the two. Play with the puppy and teach it to listen and obey commands and do tricks.
Training
Training is one of the most fun yet stressful parts of raising a puppy. Potty-train them with consistency and vigilance so that they will know where to go when nature calls. Also, teach your puppy how to socialize with other dogs and people so that they don’t develop a hostile temperament when they see strangers or other dogs.
Some of My Favorite Products For Dog Owners
I hope this article has helped you just a bit in everyday life as a dog owner. Being a dog owner for more than 25 years, I’ve tried many different products with varying success, but these products below are some that I can highly recommend to every dog and their owner without hesitation!
These links are affiliate links, so if you do end up using the links, I will earn a commission. But it’s products that I use daily myself, and I have the utmost praise for.
Dog Food: Every dog needs to eat correctly, and finding the best food for your dog can be challenging, as the market is absolutely flooded with products. But since 2015 when the company was founded, I’ve been using Ollie Petfood. With their product being tailor-made to suit every dog’s specific needs, and as my dogs love the product, I’m pretty sure I’ve found a product I will continue to use for many years more. If you use my link you can get 50% off your first order.
Dog Training: If you’ve ever owned a puppy, you know that it requires a lot of training to grow into a well-behaved adult. Brain Training for Dogs has helped me immensely with the mental training part of raising a dog, and it’s something I strongly recommend you consider.
Grooming: If you have a dog in your home, you’re going to need a brush, and for this, I recommend a Hertzko Self-Cleaning Slicker Brush. For that price, you simply can’t beat this brush for everyday grooming.
If you’re looking for the most up-to-date recommendations, check out my recommended products section that I’ve created to help every dog owner!
