What is The Best Dog Food for Poodles? We Look At The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
What is the best dog food for poodles? When selecting the best dog food for your poodle, you need to focus on the correct balance of carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins and minerals. Whether your poodle is still a puppy or already in its senior years, you need to make sure you continue selecting a high quality dog food throughout its life.
One way of making sure that you select the correct type of dog food, is to check the Guaranteed Analysis info. All pet food labels have to show this nutrient content analysis. It will give you an indication of the crude protein and fat content percentage, as well as the crude fiber and moisture content.
Why Should You Find the Best Dog Food for Poodles?
By feeding your dog the best dog food for poodles, you will be assisting its immune system to be as strong as possible. Other benefits of a good diet include good eye sight, a healthy coat and it can even affect your dog’s personality.
An important aspect to keep in mind, is that your poodle has specific nutritional needs at various life stages. Your dog’s general health, age, size and activity level can influences the choice of dog food as well.
Have You Considered BARF?
The Bones and Raw Food diet (BARF) is a new trend that has recently become very popular. It’s a great alternative to commercial dog food. All the ingredients you will need for this diet, can be bought at your local supermarket.
Add the following: fruits and vegetables; eggs; raw chicken, backs and necks plus other raw meats and bones. You can add all these ingredients together in your blender to create natural dog food. But when considering this diet for your poodle, there are a few things to keep in mind.
Firstly, it can be a very messy meal. So you might have to clean your poodle more regularly. You also need to take the strength of your poodle’s jaw into consideration. There are a few rules to follow when it comes to feeding your dog bones. Read our post Can Dogs Eat Rib Bones? to be aware of all the health risks involved in feeding your dog bones.
Please note: check with your vet before switching to the BARF diet.
Best Dog Food for Poodles: Pick A Brand and Stick To It
When deciding upon the best dog food for poodles, it’s best to find a brand that you trust and continue to feed it to your dog throughout its life. Most dog food brands have a specific nutritional mix for puppies, adults and senior dogs.
It’s crucial to switch between dog food stages at the correct times during your dog’s lifetime. At each life stage your dog requires a very specific combinations of nutrients. By finding a high-quality dog food brand, you can rest assured that all your dog’s dietary needs are fulfilled.
Unless your dog is reacting very strange to a specific brand or experiencing odd health issues after eating it, you shouldn’t be jumping around between different types of dog food brands. Your dog’s body needs to become accustomed to the specific dietary combination of a dog food brand.
What Should You Feed Your Poodle
Don’t simply pick the cheapest dog food brand because you want to save money. You might save money now, but selecting a low-quality dog food brand, can end up costing you more in vet bills later on. If you’ve bought your puppy from a reputable breeder, rather stick with the dog food brand they’ve selected to feed your little poodle.
If you do want to switch to a brand you are more familiar with, you need to create a diet transition period so that your puppy can become accustomed to the new food. Mix the new food slowly with the old food, starting with a high ratio of the old food and only a little bit of the new.
A good indication of a high-quality dog food brand, is the protein content. Check the ingredient list and see how much beef, chicken or fish it contains. Steer clear from brands with high quantities of cornmeal and flour. Also, preservatives are important to extend product life, but too many can be harmful. Read this article about bad preservatives in dog food.
Just like humans, dogs can become bored with their diets. So make sure you don’t buy the same type of dog food from your preferred brand every time. You might also notice that your dog likes one type more than the other, for instance chicken flavor instead of turkey. Use canned food as an occasional treat, not the main source of your dog’s diet. They are usually made up of 70% water, so they don’t have very high nutritional value, but can spice up a boring meal a little bit.
Best Dog Food for Poodle Puppies
If you do decide to stick with the dog food that your poodle breeder was using, make sure that they did not opt for a low-quality brand because they want to save money when buying in bulk. When this is the case, rather switch to the best dog food for poodles recommended by your vet. Remember to change over to a new brand slowly, a fast change may cause tummy upset or digestive problems.
How Much Should You Feed a Poodle Puppy
A poodle puppy grows really quickly, so it needs to consume a lot of calories, especially in the first five months. During this time, you will need to feed your puppy twice as many calories per pound as an adult poodle. Your dog food brand will have a calorie intake indication on the bag that you can use. Once you have this information, use this handy dog food calculator to determine how much you must feed your poodle puppy.
How Often Should You Feed a Poodle Puppy
For the first four to six months it’s best to feed your puppy three times a day. Once your puppy turns six months old, you can switch to feeding it twice a day.
Tip: switch to adult dog food when your puppy reaches 90% of its expected adult weight.
Best Dog Food for Poodle Adults
A small poodle weighing 20 pounds or less can switch to adult food between 9 to 12 months. A medium sized poodle between 20 and 50 pounds should switch between 12 to 14 months.
How Much Should You Feed an Adult Poodle
Stick to the feeding instruction of your dog food brand. Or if you want to make double-sure that you are not over or under feeding your poodle, make use of the dog food calculator mentioned about. It’s all about getting the balance right, taking into consideration how much your dog weighs and its activity level.
How Often Should You Feed an Adult Poodle
Poodles are high energy dogs, so it is best to help them maintain a constant energy level by feeding them twice a day. This is especially import for small poodles, standard poodles can function on one feeding, but two feedings are more beneficial
Best Dog Food for Older Poodles
Some people debate that you should only switch to senior dog food if your dog has health issues. But as your dog grows older, its nutritional needs change. Dog food brands create special formulas to compensate for this.
How Much Should You Feed a Senior Poodle
Once your dog hits its senior years, when it’s between 10 to 12 years old, your dog’s metabolism will start to slow down and it will need less calories per day. The amount of food you feed it, will depend on whether you are sticking with adult food or switching to senior.
How Often Should You Feed a Senior Poodle
As your dog gets older, its bowl movements will also change. You can consider switching to feeding it only once a day, or you can give it less food at night to avoid any unwanted mishaps in the house if your dog sleeps inside.
Conclusion: Best Dog Food for Poodles
Because poodles are high energy dogs, it’s crucial to invest adequate time when you are searching for the best dog food for poodles. By finding a high-quality dog food brand, you can enrich your dog’s life quality, as well as save on unwanted vet bills.
Have you discovered a specific dog food brand that works best for your poodle? Or did you successfully switch to the BARF diet?