With a species-appropriate puppy diet, you lay the foundation for your dog for a long life full of vitality. Whether you feed BARF, partial BARF, wet or dry food. In the sensitive development phase of the puppy, it is important to ensure healthy organ development, muscles and joint formation, appropriate bone growth and a harmonious interaction of hormones. You can do this through careful nutrition with a balanced diet. The most valuable thing you can give your young dog on their journey through life is natural, species-appropriate puppy nutrition for holistic well-being.
No matter what feeding concept your breeder has fed, you are welcome to expand or change it. With us you will find a natural and species-appropriate solution for every feeding concept.
Here you can find out more about the nutritional needs of puppies, as well as feeding recommendations for puppies and other tips on how to change their food.
Puppy Nutrition - What can I feed my puppy?
Regardless of whether you want to feed your puppy cold pressed dry food, wet food, partial BARF or BARF, you should always make sure that it is a puppy-friendly food so that the puppy gets all the important nutrients it needs for healthy growth. That's why we offer natural puppy food that is specially tailored to the needs of puppies and adolescent young dogs - in both our dry and wet food. The fact that we offer cold pressed dry food for puppies and young dogs also gives you the opportunity to combine the different types of food in puppy nutrition. For example, it is possible to feed our cold pressed dry food for puppies in one meal and our gently cooked wet puppy food in another meal. The natural puppy diet can therefore be individually adapted to the needs of your puppy and, of course, to your preferences.
Puppy nutrition using our cold pressed dry food for puppies and young dogs
We offer our cold pressed dry food for puppies and young dogs in two flavours. Our classic Canis Plus® Puppies & Young Dogs Poultry and our Canis Plus® Puppies & Young Dogs Salmon, which is especially suitable for dogs with sensitive stomachs or allergies. Both varieties are distinguished by their special composition, which naturally provides puppies and young dogs with all the nutrients they need for healthy growth.
The advantages of our cold pressed Canis Plus® puppies and young dogs at a glance
- Gently cold-pressed, doesn’t swell in the digestive tract
- Over 65% fresh meat or fresh fish content before drying
- Containing natural vitamins and minerals
- Feed at least until 12 months of age Moderate energy content for slow and steady growth
- Contains a single source protein, either poultry or salmon as an animal protein source
- Containing salmon oil – for healthy joint development, shiny coat, and healthy skin
- Free from fillers or inferior by-products such as feather, meal or claws
- Without the addition of colourants, flavourings, preservatives and synthetic vitamins
- Gluten-free recipe
- Can be combined with Canis Plus Puppy Meals, Canis Plus® Pure Meat Pots or Rolls with garnish or BARF
If you would like to learn more about our cold pressed dry food for puppies and young dogs, please take a look here or contact our team of experts for a personal consultation and food samples.
Puppy nutrition using our wet food - our gently cooked puppy meals
Our gently cooked Canis Plus® Puppy Meals are available in different flavours, such as chicken, lamb, or beef. They contain plenty of meat from only one animal protein source and offer various healthy vegetables and fruits as well as high-quality herbs and oils. So, there is plenty of variety in terms of taste and in addition, all varieties of our puppy menus are grain-free.
The advantages of our Canis Plus® Puppy Meals at a glance
- Gently cooked to retain the nutrients contained in the best possible way
- High meat content of more than 70%
- They contain a single animal protein source and are therefore very suitable for allergy sufferers
- Contains natural vitamins and minerals
- Open declaration - you will know exactly what you are feeding your dog
- Grain-free recipes
- Quick & practical feeding. The essential supplements are already included, so you can feed species-appropriate that is close to BARF.
If you would like to learn more about our Canis Plus® Puppy Meals, feel free to stop by here or contact our team of experts for advice.
Puppy nutrition with our Canis Plus® Pure Meat Pots
If you want to make the meal for your young dog even more personalised, for example the dog has an allergy or intolerance, you will find what you are looking for in our Canis Plus® Pure Meat Pots and Meat Rolls. Even if the puppy does not tolerate raw meat and you still want to keep the feeding close to BARF, our Canis Plus® Pure Meat varieties are very suitable because the meat they contain is already gently cooked and you can simply replace them with the raw meat.
Please note, however, that our Canis Plus® Pure Meat Pots are supplementary feeds. They can be fed pure from time to time, as a delicious reward, or permanently fed combined with our air-dried flake mixes Canis Extra Vit/Min-Variety Flakes or Canis Extra Top-Fit-Mix flakes, together with a source of calcium and oil. Which should be permanently supplemented to the main food. Home-prepared side dishes of vegetables, fruit and herbs can also be added to our variety of pure meat pots.
The advantages of our Canis Plus® Pure Meat Pots at a glance
- Single source protein - contains 100% meat from a single animal protein source
- Suitable for allergy sufferers -many different varieties provide a wide range of choices
- Open declaration with precise information of the composition
- An alternative for puppies who cannot tolerate raw meat
- Versatile - you can choose the side dishes and additions freely and according to your dog’s needs
- Suitable as part of an exclusion diet
If you would like to learn more about our Canis Plus® Pure Meat Pots and the supplements to be added, please take a look here or contact our team of experts for a personal consultation.
When is the best time to change a puppy’s diet?
For your puppy, moving to a new home will turn their life upside down. They arrive at a new home, usually a completely unknown environment, their mother and siblings are no longer close by, the smells are new, and there is a new "pack" to fit into and they need to get to know the new environment.
In addition, puppies are usually dewormed and vaccinated before they arrive. All this means enormous stress for the little one's body and therefore also for their immune system, whose headquarters are located in the intestine.
It often happens that puppies are more susceptible to infections or parasites such as Giardia, worms or ticks during this phase. A well-intentioned but hasty change in food can then overwhelm the puppy. The best thing you can do in the first few days is to keep to the previous feeding regime and to support your puppy's immune system, for example with Canis Extra Petflora, and make the acclimatisation as easy as possible. Often the breeder will give you some food or explain to you where you can get the food and also when and what quantities you should feed so that the puppy is well cared for during the first few days in their new home.
When some peace has returned and the puppy feels more comfortable and safer in their new home, then this is the time to change the feeding.
Change of food - How can I change the puppies’ diet?
The change in feed is uncomplicated - it is important to consider which feeding type the puppy has learned so far.
Switching from extruded to cold-pressed dry food
If the puppy has previously received a conventional extruded food and you now want to switch to a cold-pressed complete food, it is advisable to offer Canis Plus® puppies and young dogs by hand on the first day.
The following day onwards the meals can be completely replaced by Canis Plus® dry food and the previous food can be completely discontinued. It is important to note that the old food should not be mixed with the new food in a bowl, but the meal is completely replaced by Canis Plus® Puppies & Young Dogs dry food.
Naturavetal® Info
Change of puppy diet for fussy dogs
Unfortunately, many of the commercially available dog foods are altered by flavour enhancers, colourant or flavouring additives to make them tastier, more appealing and to improve their acceptance. For example, the addition of sugar has no health benefits for the dog - nevertheless, it can be found as molasses or dried beet pulp in many commercially available dry foods.
All our Canis Plus® dry food varieties do not contain artificial additives - the dog is not artificially enticed. As a result puppies who have not yet experienced natural food in their lives and have our Canis Plus® Puppies & Young Dogs dry food for the first time can be a bit skeptical at the beginning of feeding and refuse the food, wanting their old food back.
Mixing in something special, such as our Canis Plus® Puppy Meals, yoghurt, etc. into the food to make it more naturally palatable may show them that they can influence and improve their meal by refusing to eat. If they have linked this experience, which can happen very quickly, they will show this behavior more and more often. It is very easy to raise a dog that is fussy without realising it. So if the dog refuses its meal, it should be removed after 15 minutes and simply offered again at the next meal time. Following a short changeover or weaning period, these dogs will soon become very enthusiastic eaters.
Conversion from BARF to partial BARF
If the puppy has been BARF fed and you would like to partial BARF, you can calculate how much dry food you need as a supplement and create a high-quality daily menu.
Example:
Puppy, 13 weeks old, current body weight (KGW) = 13kg, expected final weight = 40kg
Total amount of dry food: 540g per day (see table)
With 3 meals à 180g per meal
Total amount of wet food per day (BARF/puppy meal/pure meat + vegetables/fruit and supplements) - 5% of 13 kg bodyweight = 650g
With 3 meals à 216g per meal
Assuming you want to feed the puppy 2 wet meals and one dry food meal per day, they would get 216g of wet food in the morning and noon and 180g of dry food in the evening.
Here's how you can combine our cold pressed dry food for puppies.
Our cold pressed Canis Plus dry food for puppies can be combined with the Canis Plus Puppy Meals, Canis Plus® Pure Meat Pots with the addition of our air-dried flakes or self-prepared vegetables and fruits as well as a natural source of calcium and oil or with BARF.
For dogs that have sensitive stomachs or are fussy, we recommend feeding different types of food, i.e. dry or wet food, in separate meals. For the stomach-sensitive dog, this is easier to digest and for the fussy dog, it avoids the message that dry food is only eaten mixed with wet food, because on vacation you may want to switch to pure dry feeding. However, this can be difficult if the dog refuses pure dry food because it is used to always getting some wet food mixed with their dry food. Our team of experts therefore advise you not to start mixing dry and wet food in the first place, but to feed the different types of food only in separate meals.
If you would like to learn more about changing your dog's diet, please have a look here.
Amount of food in the puppy diet - How much food does my puppy need?
It’s not only a species-appropriate, natural diet that has a great influence on the development of the puppy, but also the amount of food plays a major role. If the puppy is given too little or too much food, this can negatively affect its growth.
Amount of food for puppies - How much Canis Plus® cold-pressed puppy food does my puppy need?
To determine the daily dry food ration, use the expected final weight of the adult dog and its current age as a basis. Then check the recommended daily amount of food in the chart. It is best to feed the daily ration in several small meals. Of course, the need can vary individually – please do not hesitate to contact us if you are unsure.
Feeding recommendation – Canis Plus® cold pressed puppy food
| * Final weight of the adult dog | Age of the puppy in months | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2-3 | 4-6 | 7-12 | 13-20 | |
| 5 kg | 80-100 g | 100-120 g | 120-130 g | |
| 10 kg | 120-150 g | 150-180 g | 180-210 g | |
| 15 kg | 150-180 g | 180-210 g | 210-240 g | |
| 20 kg | 200-240 g | 240-270 g | 270-300 g | |
| 25 kg | 240-300 g | 300-330 g | 330-360 g | 360-400 g |
| 30 kg | 300-350 g | 350-380 g | 380-420 g | 420-480 g |
| 35 kg | 350-450 g | 450 -480 g | 480-500 g | 500-540 g |
| 40 kg | 450-540 g | 540-580 g | 580-600 g | 600-640 g |
| 50 kg | 540-600 g | 600-640 g | 640-670 g | 670-700 g |
| 60 kg | 600-700 g | 700-740 g | 740-780 g | 780-800 g |
| more than 65 kg | 700-750 g | 750-780 g | 780-800 g | 800-900 g |
* All weights refer to the expected weight of the adult dog.
Amount of food to feed for puppies - How much Canis Plus® Puppy Meal does my puppy need?
When calculating the daily wet food ration, use the current body weight as a basis and multiply it by 3-8%, depending on age and individual activity level (see table). It is best to feed the calculated daily ration in several small meals per day. Of course, the need can still vary from dog to dog– please feel free to contact us here.
Amount of food for puppies
Canis Plus® Puppy Meal
Feeding recommendation - daily amount
Based on the dog's current body weight (bw):
- Dogs up to 7 months of age: approx. 5-8% of the body weight
- From 7-12 months of age: approx. 3-5% of the dog's body weight
- From 13 months of age, our Canis Plus® Complete Meals can be fed.
Amount of food for puppies: How much Canis Plus® Pure Meat Pot or Meat Roll does my puppy need?
Canis Plus® pure meat varieties as a main meal for healthy young dogs who should receive 5% of their body weight per day in food:
| Current body weight of the dog | Canis Plus® Beef Meat Pot | Canis Extra flakes* (dry) per day |
|---|---|---|
| 5 kg | 175 g | 25 g |
| 10 kg | 350 g | 50 g |
| 15 kg | 252 g | 75 g |
| 20 kg | 700 g | 100 g |
| 25 kg | 875 g | 125 g |
| 30 kg | 1050 g | 150 g |
| 35 kg | 1225 g | 175 g |
| 40 kg | 1400 g | 200 g |
| 45 kg | 1575 g | 225 g |
| 50 kg | 1750 g | 250 g |
| 60 kg | 2100 g | 300 g |
| 70 kg | 2450 g | 350 g |
Please add a calcium source and an oil source daily.
*The dried flakes should be soaked in water for at least 15 minutes and then mixed into the meat.
The optimal amount of food depends on various factors such as activity level, age, season, physical and mental health and much more and should be assessed individually.
Canis Plus® Pure Meat Pots/Rolls as a main meal for healthy young dogs who should receive 6% of their body weight per day in food:
| Current body weight of the dog | Canis Plus® Beef Meat Pot | Canis Extra flakes* (dry) per day |
|---|---|---|
| 5 kg | 210 g | 30 g |
| 10 kg | 420 g | 60 g |
| 15 kg | 630 g | 90 g |
| 20 kg | 840 g | 120 g |
| 25 kg | 1050 g | 150 g |
| 30 kg | 1260 g | 180 g |
| 35 kg | 1470 g | 210 g |
| 40 kg | 1680 g | 240 g |
| 45 kg | 1890g | 270 g |
| 50 kg | 2100 g | 300 g |
| 60 kg | 2520 g | 360 g |
| 70 kg | 2940 g | 420 g |
Please add a calcium source and an oil source daily.
*The dried flakes should be soaked in water for at least 15 minutes and then mixed into the meat.
The optimal amount of food depends on various factors such as activity level, age, season, physical and mental health and much more and should be assessed individually.
Canis Plus® Pure Meat Pot/Rolls as a main meal for healthy young dogs who should receive 7% of their body weight per day in food:
| Current body weight of the dog | Canis Plus® Beef Meat Pot | Canis Extra flakes* (dry) per day |
|---|---|---|
| 5 kg | 245 g | 35 g |
| 10 kg | 490 g | 70 g |
| 15 kg | 735 g | 105 g |
| 20 kg | 980 g | 140 g |
| 25 kg | 1225 g | 175 g |
| 30 kg | 1470 g | 210 g |
| 35 kg | 1715 g | 245 g |
| 40 kg | 1960 g | 280 g |
| 45 kg | 2205g | 315 g |
| 50 kg | 2450 g | 350 g |
| 60 kg | 2940 g | 420 g |
| 70 kg | 3430 g | 490 g |
Please add a calcium source and an oil source daily.
*The dried flakes should be soaked in water for at least 15 minutes and then mixed into the meat.
The optimal amount of food depends on various factors such as activity level, age, season, physical and mental health and much more and should be assessed individually.
Canis Plus® Pure Meat Pots/Rolls as a main meal for healthy young dogs who should receive 8% of their body weight per day in food:
| Current body weight of the dog | Canis Plus® Beef Meat Pot | Canis Extra flakes* (dry) per day |
|---|---|---|
| 5 kg | 280 g | 40 g |
| 10 kg | 560 g | 80 g |
| 15 kg | 840 g | 120 g |
| 20 kg | 1120 g | 160 g |
| 25 kg | 1400 g | 200 g |
| 30 kg | 1680 g | 240 g |
| 35 kg | 1960 g | 280 g |
| 40 kg | 2240 g | 320 g |
| 45 kg | 2520g | 360 g |
| 50 kg | 2800 g | 400 g |
| 60 kg | 3360 g | 480 g |
| 70 kg | 3920 g | 560 g |
Please add a calcium source and an oil source daily.
*The dried flakes should be soaked in water for at least 15 minutes and then mixed into the meat.
The optimal amount of food depends on various factors such as activity level, age, season, physical and mental health and much more and should be assessed individually.
Naturavetal® Info
If you want to supplement your own side dishes to get a balanced meal, we recommend sticking to the ratio of 70% meat to 30% vegetables, fruits, herbs for healthy dogs. This may differ in certain circumstances, such as illness. Our team of experts will be happy to help you with individual advice. Our tables show you the proportion of our air-dried flakes to be supplement – the amount of fresh vegetables/fruit you should add is not shown here. In our guide article "First steps to BARF" we show you how you can calculate the proportion of fresh vegetables/fruit to be supplemented yourself.
Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact us by phone. We are here to help you with comprehensive advice. You can reach us Monday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. by phone at 0208 - 531 7804 or mail info@naturavetal.co.uk.
