When you want to make sure that your Maltipoo is healthy, one of the first things that you need to think about is what you are feeding it.
It is remarkably easy to overfeed small dogs, and you need to consider what your dog needs, not simply what the label on the bag says.
It is worth speaking with your veterinarian when you go in to get your puppy its shots.
Maltipoos can take after their poodle ancestry or their Maltese ancestry, and as a result, you will find that there may be some particularities your veterinarian wants you to look out for.
Feeding Your Maltipoo
The first thing you must remember is that your Maltipoo will need different amounts of food at various stages of its life. Before you implement any feeding regimen, it will still be best to consult your veterinarian.
The puppy might be more similar to either the Poodle ancestry or the Maltese ancestry, and the veterinarian might be able to identify some issues that come with this.
However, the rule of thumb when feeding Maltipoos is that a Maltipoo puppy will require more food as it grows from being a puppy into an adult. And, adults will require less food than a growing puppy.
Give the puppy an ounce of daily food for every pound that dog weighs. Let’s say you have a Maltipoo puppy that weighs five lbs., you should give it five ounces of food per day.
When it reaches six lbs., add another ounce to its daily diet, and so on. After your Maltipoo has reached adulthood, that is one year old, you can now cut down to giving it half an ounce of food per day, for every pound it weighs.
Another thing you need to remember is that Maltipoos are tiny dogs. As a result, it is easy to overfeed them. While this may not have any immediate negative impact, it will be detrimental to the Maltipoo’s health when they become overweight. This can lead to other complications like diabetes and heart failure.
What to Feed Your Maltipoo
Your Maltipoo puppy must get the following as a growing animal:
- Carbohydrates – To provide energy.
- Protein – To build muscles and body tissue.
- Fats and fatty acids – To maintain healthy skin and promote cell growth.
- Vitamins and Minerals – To boost the dog’s immune system, balance its body’s chemicals, and strengthen its muscles and bones. Check the labels of dog foods for those ingredients. On the other hand, there are things that you should avoid giving your dog. If you see any of these ingredients in dog food, avoid them.
- Meat byproducts – This can be any part of any animal. Sometimes animals considered too sick for human consumption are ground up and made into these, so you must be careful here. However, there are exceptions. If a product label specifies the meat byproduct is made from human-grade organ meats like liver, heart, and kidney, it should be safe for your dog.
- BHA or BHT – Butyrate Hydroxyanisole and Butyrate Hydroxytoluene are both harmful preservatives.
- Corn or corn syrup – The former can develop fungus or mold and make your dog sick. The latter can cause a condition in your dog similar to diabetes in humans.
- Soy – This is good for female humans but bad for dogs because of the damage they cause to their endocrine system. Some people prefer to feed their dog human food or scraps from the table. However, this isn’t ideal because it will only teach the dog how to beg and may result in their overeating. Feeding them your scraps isn’t guaranteed to get the nutrients they need.
Homemade Maltipoo Food
There is also the option to make your homemade dog food. The recipe many owners recommend is a mix of protein (50%), cooked vegetables (25%), and starch (25%). You can source protein from meat products like pork, chicken, beef, lamb, and fish.
It would also help to throw in organ meats like liver, heart, or kidney. Make sure you finely chop vegetables. Dogs’ teeth are designed to tear up meat, not grind up plants. Doing this will help them process it more efficiently.
Another thing you have to ensure is that the vegetables are well cooked; dog’s stomachs are not designed to break down plants or herbivore stomachs. As for the starch, you can get it from brown or white rice.
If your dog is observed to be intolerant to gluten, you can substitute it with gluten-free pasta. Both commercial dog food and homemade dog food have their advantages and disadvantages.
Commercial dog food doesn’t need any preparation, aside from serving it to your dog. It can also save you the time required to prepare the food.
You can also be sure many of the nutrients good for your dog are already there. On the flip side, commercial dog food has many ingredients you can’t separate
from the food. You can also not be sure they have quality meat byproducts. Some- times not all dog food put all the ingredients on their nutrition label.
On the other hand, with homemade dog food, you can be sure of your ingredients. You can also be sure you aren’t putting in anything your dog might be adverse or allergic to.
It may also be cheaper in the long run than commercial dog food. As for its cons, homemade dog food can take time to make. It also has a limited shelf life. You can also never be sure of the amount of nutrients your dog gets with homemade dog food.
A Good Balance
While homemade dog food can be used when commercial dog food isn’t available; it’s not meant to replace it entirely.
The best practice is to supplement your homemade dog food with a portion of high-quality commercial dog food. It is also advisable to switch between commercial dog food and homemade dog food every once in a while.
Believe it or not, dogs also experience the boredom that humans go through when eating the same thing every day. If you plan to wean your Maltipoo off one or the other, do so in stages. If you are using commercial dog food and plan to have it, your dog gets used to homemade dog food.
Start by putting a little of it in your dog’s meals daily. After they have got- ten used to it, you can gradually increase the amount over time, add more and more, and use commercial dog food less until you stop using it altogether.
If you want to wean your Maltipoo off homemade dog food, you can use the same process; gradually add increasing portions of commercial dog food into their meals.
How Often Should You Feed Your Maltipoo
It is ideal for puppies to have several small meals a day. Remember how much they must eat and give food according to the puppy’s weight. Divide the daily amount it should get by the number of meals.
If a puppy is five lbs. you should give it five small meals, at one ounce of food each. After the dog has reached nine months old, you can feed it four times a day, still according to its weight.
When the dog reaches adulthood, you can now limit the feedings to twice a day, and it weighs at the recommended amount of half an ounce of food for every pound.
The ideal time to feed the dog is in the morning and at night. Preferably it should be after you have breakfast and dinner; that way, you can set a schedule that you and the dog can get used to.
It’s essential to develop a scheduled eating time and not just feed the dog when you remember to or feed it if it asks for food. Having more control over its feeding habits means you will have more control over its food intake and health.
