Basic food and accessories for dogs

Food, water, a bed, blankets and toys are indispensable items in the daily life of any dog.

Maintaining a high-quality diet

It is important to provide a quality diet that is suitable for the age, size and lifestyle of the puppy, dividing the daily portion into several meals (3 - 4) ​​which will improve digestion and absorption while preventing acute gastrointestinal diseases. Mealtime also has a social value. Retracting the bowl, putting your hands in the bowl or asking to sit before placing it on the ground can favor the worsening of a relational problem based on competition and possession of a resource. The puppy can eat before or during family meals. Feeding it at these times can prevent the puppy from begging from the table, getting bored and persistently seeking interaction during our meal. It is important not to leave food (even the empty bowl) around. This habit is incorrect not only from a physical point of view (the daily ration is not consumed and nutritional imbalances can be encountered) but also behavioral (greater control over the resource is stimulated and the puppy might refrain from visiting this area). It is, therefore, better to offer meals at specific times and to remove the bowl when the puppy has finished eating or to withdraw it after about twenty minutes if the puppy does not finish the food. The food can then be brought out again with an additional meal. It is possible to give the puppy a portion of the food through perforated toys (with a double-hole) that roll and release food. This way the puppy will have a solitary activity to carry out during times when we cannot be present or we are unable to interact. When a resource is handed out as food, it will be important to leave it at the puppy’s disposal (bones of different consistencies that can be consumed completely at different times) possibly in another area or by proposing an exchange with a toy or food prize.  

Is Your Puppy Drinking Enough Water?

It is important that the puppy always has plenty of water available, both inside the home environment and when it is away from home (during walks or while traveling).  

Bowls of food and water for dog

The bowls of food and water must be placed in quiet, decentralized places away from noisy areas. With a central placement or in the control area of the bed, cushions and bowls could indicate to the puppy that it is required to control the environment; this could gradually lead the puppy to rest little and badly, to bark at all those who pass by or, with growth, to not allow people to enter or leave the house. To avoid these issues, it is important to place these objects in places of the house from which the puppy cannot control the entrances or in decentralized, protected and sheltered areas. These places, if well structured, can make a difference whenever there are small or large changes in the house, helping the puppy (and then the dog) to find a cool-down zone away from any distractions.