HYPOGLYCEMIA (LOW BLOOD SUGAR)
This is critical information. Puppies, as all newborns, eat on demand. When they begin to eat solid food and go through the weaning process they may not get enough nourishment/calories to keep their blood sugar stable. If this happens and the puppy shows signs of hypoglycemia it is critical that you are able to recognize it and also know what to do to treat it. Your puppy can die if you are not conscientious and informed.
Signs of hypoglycemia: lethargy, acting weak, excessively sleepy, seeming disoriented, walking as if drunk, glassy/unfocused eyes, twitching/shaking/trembling or shivering, tilted head, seizures, unconsciousness and death.
Keep nutri-cal on hand. You can get this at most pet stores or on Chewy. Also keep flavorless Pedialyte on hand. When my puppies are very young I mix water and Pedialyte half and half. You can continue to do this until your puppy is 3 or 4 pounds. Don’t give the nutri-cal unless the puppy is refusing all other nutrient options. Nutri-cal is essentially a simple sugar that does what candy does for a diabetic…tides them over until the real problem can be addressed.
Feeding schedules help to ensure your dog keeps a steady blood sugar level. Feed in the morning and in the evening around the same time and approximately 10 hours apart. The younger the puppy the more frequent the meals. By the time they go home puppies should be able to go through the night without a meal and should only be fed 3 times daily. You can cut down to 2 times daily by 6 months and to one meal a day by 12-18 months.
RAW FEEDING
There are a variety of companies that offer Raw pet food. I personally use Darwinspet.com and MyPetCarnivore.com
There are also a variety of opinions about raw diets for pets. Some Veterinarians tolerate it, some promote it, and many disapprove of it.
I feed raw based and strongly held belief that “nature knows best.” Wolves and primitive “wild dogs” eat raw diets. Kibbles are highly processed and also are much higher in carbs than traditional diets. Cooking meat changes the protein structures and can cause health problems. This is true even in humans and it is why balanced vegetarian diets have the best health outcomes. That’s my background and why I feed raw in a nutshell. I also want to add that my dogs used to be fed half kibble and half raw and that at the 2 year health check for my male he showed elevated liver enzymes. I immediately took him off kibble and within 6 months his numbers are down and his energy is WAY up!
SOOOO…HOW?
It’s a little complicated but it doesn’t have to be too bad. Kibble is easier, but so is fast food for us. Choices make outcomes. Sometimes harder choices have better outcomes. Here’s how I feed my dogs-I follow the 80/10/5/5 guideline. 80% meat, 10% organ, 5% bone, and 5% fruit or vegetable. I feed my adult dogs 3.5% of their body weight per day, and they get fed once per day. Puppies require 8-10% of their body weight per day and this should be spread out into 2-3 meals.
Math for one DOG is like this: 7 pounds=112 ouncesà3.92 ounces per day. Round up to 4 to make it easier. (112 * 0.035 = 3.92 ounces, based on dog eating 3.5% of his body weight daily)
NOW 3.2 ounces should be meat, 0.4 ounces should be organ meat, 0.2 ounces should be bone and 0.2 ounces should be fruit or vegetable. The meat should be varied and should include fatty fish such as herring, sardines, or salmon about 2 times a week. The other days we give beef, goat, chicken, turkey, beaver, lamb, ect. We mix it up quite a bit. The Organ meats should also be varied and should include liver, heart, kidneys and other orifice such as stomach (green tripe, tongue , spleen, ect).
Math for one PUPPY is like this: 2 pounds = 32 ouncesà3.2 ounces per day. Round down for math purposes. (32 * .10 = 3.2 ounces, based on puppy eating 10% of his body weight at this age) The percentages are different for puppies due to increased calcium and iron (among other) needs for growing bodies. 60% meat (alternate regularly as above with dogs and include fatty fish such as herring, salmon or sardine twice weekly), 20% bone (these should be preground or small raw bones such as from a Cornish hen or chunks of chicken or turkey neck), 15% organ (half liver and half spleen everytime during puppyhood) and 5% fruits/veggies.
NOW 1.8 ounces should be meat, 0.23 ounces should be liver (your choice of animal), 0.23 ounces should be spleen from beef due to high iron content, 0.6 ounces should be bone and 0.2 ounces of fruits and veggies.
NOTE ON BONES: Beef bones are NOT recommended for dogs or puppies whether cooked or raw. The bones are too large and too hard and wear down the teeth of the dog leading to dental problems. Bones should be small and soft.
Puppies should be fed the most when they are young and as they grow they should eat less. So a 2 month old Pomeranian that is 2 pounds should be fed as suggested and a 4 month old Pomeranian who is 3 pounds should have the same ratios of food but the percentage of body weight fed should be maybe 9% instead of 10% and then at 6 months bump the percentage down to 8% and so on so that by the time the puppy is a year old they are eating only about 5% of their body weight daily divided into two meals daily. They can continue to eat this amount until they are 18-24 months old. When they reach full maturity they can be cut back to 3.5% of their body weight daily and can also go onto a once daily meal plan if you wish.
You can read more at perfectlyrawsome.com. This is where I obtained my own guidelines. They have even further breakdown, explanation, ratios based on activity and life stage (whelping females) as well as optional membership that provides access to individualized recipes. I have tried to keep it simple. I do utilize this website though for my own dogs and supplement based on their guidelines. We give chia seeds, nutritional yeast, flax seeds, cod liver oil, oysters, kelp, turmeric, probiotics among others. I also use Dr. Mercola’s multivitamin blend for dogs twice a week.
Both Darwinspet.com and Mypetcarivore.com sell foods for dogs. My pet carnivore offers whole ground animals that represent a balanced mix of bones, organs and meat fit for a dog. They also offer a variety of organ meats that I use when making my own blends using pure chicken or beef or when feeding whole ground animals to puppies. I buy one Cornish hen each week and use the bones to ensure that puppies get enough edible bone content. They also love the meat from the hen.
FEEDING CHART
| Weight/ounces meat | Meat | Bone | Organ | Fruits/Veggies |
| 2 (10%) / 3.2 | 1.9 | 0.6 | 0.24 liver and 0.24 spleen | 0.1 |
| 3 (9%) / 4.3 | 2.6 | .9 | 0.3 liver and 0.3 spleen | 0.2 |
| 4 (8%) / 5.1 | 3.1 | 1.0 | 0.4 liver and 0.4 spleen | 0.3 |
| 5 (7%) / 5.6 | 3.4 | 1.1 | 0.4 liver and 0.4 spleen | 0.3 |
| 6 (6%) / 5.8 | 3.5 | 1.2 | 0.4 liver and 0.4 spleen | 0.3 |
| 7 (5%) / 5.6 | 3.4 | 1.1 | 0.4 liver and 0.4 spleen | 0.3 |
| 7 lb adult (3.5%) / 3.92 | 3.1 | 0.2 | 0.4 any organ ensuring they get a good variety | 0.2 |