When it comes to giving your new dog the best start on a happy and healthy life, nothing is more important than proper nutrition. Here are tips on picking the proper foods for your dog.

CHOOSING A DOG FOOD

Inexpensive pet foods may appear to be a bargain until you realize that they don’t provide the high premium-quality nutrition your new dog needs. Both Iams® and Eukanuba® Dog Foods provide high-quality ingredients for the complete and balanced nutrition your canine friend needs. You can depend on the same world-class quality, nutrition and taste in every bag and can.
When your dog feels as good on the inside as he looks on the outside, it shows every day. It’s in his happy steps and the sparkle of his lustrous coat. Here are some signs that your dog is benefiting from the nutrition of
premium food:

• Exceptional muscle tone
• A shiny, luxurious coat
• Healthy bones and teeth
• Clear, bright eyes
• Small, firm stools
• A happy, healthy, playful attitude

Both Iams® and Eukanuba® Puppy and Dog Foods offer formulations for specific breed sizes and life stages. For example, to promote healthy skeletal development in large-breed puppies, it’s important to moderate calorie and calcium levels.

READING LABELS

It takes less than a minute to scan the five sections of a dog-food label, but what you learn can be crucial to your purchase decision.

• The name of the food gives clues about how much of an ingredient is actually present. For example, foods that include a protein source in the product name (“Beef Formula”) must contain at least 25 percent of the named ingredient; the words “with” or “flavor” (“with beef”, “beef flavor”) could mean there’s as little as
  3 percent of this ingredient.
• The ingredient panel lists all food sources in the product in descending order by precooked weight. For dry food, make sure the first ingredient is a source of high-quality protein, such as chicken or lamb.
• The guaranteed analysis gives the percentage breakdown of the basic nutrients in the formula—protein, fiber and moisture content, for example.
• The nutritional adequacy statement should say that the company conducted “animal feeding tests using AAFCO procedures,” which indicate that the food was actually fed to dogs and found to be adequate.
• The manufacturer phone number should be included. The words “packed for” or “distributed by” in this area, however, may indicate that the food was processed by a third-party manufacturer.

The label also recommends how much to feed your dog each day. Use these recommendations as a starting point to determine feeding amounts.

SWITCHING FORMULAS

When your dog’s growth in height slows (anywhere from 12 to 24 months old, depending on his breed size), begin switching to a premium adult formula.
A gradual switch over a period of four days will minimize intestinal upsets. (This same gradual switching of formulas should be done any time you change your dog’s type of food.)

• Day 1 Feed a mixture of 75 percent puppy food and 25 percent adult formula.
• Day 2 Mix equal amounts of the old and new foods.
• Day 3 Feed a mixture of 75 percent adult formula and 25 percent puppy food.
• Day 4 Begin feeding only the adult formula.

CONTROLLING BEGGING

If you allow begging at the table to start, soon every meal may be accompanied by whining and pawing. To help stop begging, eliminate all feeding from the table and follow these tips:

• Exercise your dog before mealtime, and feed him at the same time the family eats.
• Give him toys to play with while you’re eating.
• Totally ignore the dog if the begging persists—don’t even make eye contact.
• Confine him to his crate during family meals as a last resort.

Use the feeding guidelines on the package label as a starting point for the correct amount to feed your new puppy, like this Bichon Frise.

Scrap the Scraps

Those soulful, pleading eyes may melt your heart, but it’s best not to feed your dog human food. It can lead to canine obesity, intestinal upsets and nutritional imbalances. Unlike people, dogs are content eating a similar diet every day, especially if it offers the wide range of flavors and textures in Iams® and Eukanuba® Dog Foods.
Another reason to avoid inappropriate feeding of human food is that some foods can be harmful or fatal to dogs, such as:

• Chocolate
• Onions
• Bones
• Tomatoes
• Raw eggs
• Raw meat or Poultry

Feeding premium quality nutrition, such as Iams® or Eukanuba® Puppy or Dog Foods, will help your new dog, like this adult Bichon Frise, stay healthy and happy.