Развој штенета од рођења до зрелости

Puppies should be around 1 - 5% of their expected adult weight at birth. Thanks to the nutrition provided by their mother, they will quickly begin to put on weight. How much weight the puppy gains in their first few days is determined by the breed size. Puppies should normally gain around 2 - 4g a day for each kilogram of an adult dog of the same breed.

The major challenge of birth for puppies is to became autonomous for breath, heat and feeding to survive to this very critical moment. To support them, it’s important to appropriately prepare the whelping box. Bowls of water or a humidifier should be used to keep the space at 65-70% humidity and foster correct breath, and a radiation or infrared lamp to heat the space.

Almost immediately after birth, a breeder will weigh the puppies to give an outline of their condition and identify any puppies under the expected birth weight. Birth weight and growth rate during the first 48 hours are key parameters for breeders to give an outline of a litter's condition and identify any puppies at risk of neonatal mortality.

The majority of a puppy’s life in this first stage of growth is spent feeding or sleeping. This is vital to healthy development, and care should be taken to avoid disturbing the litter or the mother.

While puppies will spend all their time within crawling distance of their whelping pen or mother during this period, regular and gentle handling by humans will help puppies cope with stress and human contact more effectively later in life.

After birth, puppies will continue to rely on their mother for the important proteins they need to synthesise. As they grow older, they may start to show interest in their mother's food. With the introduction of solids, the weaning process begins.

Their eyes and ears are now working to some degree and puppies begin to react to light and sound.

Puppies should now have begun to pass urine and faeces without their mother's help. If this development doesn’t happen by the end of this stage, a trip to the vet is advised.

This is the stage where structure, activity and boundary reaffirmation are vital. Puppies have a natural capacity for learning at this age, so it's important that lessons learned during this time need to be adhered to, and training and wider socialisation needs to be maintained. This will help your puppy develop into a confident, well-behaved adult dog.

Ensuring that your puppy has their own set places for eating and sleeping, as well as a range of toys to play with, will help with understanding of basic house rules. Exploring a range of outdoor environments and being exposed to new experiences will stimulate learning, breed self-confidence and generate a stronger bond between puppy and owner.

This is a key stage in the physical development of puppies, so ensuring they are eating food designed to meet the needs of this specific developmental stage is vital. See our puppy nutrition guide for more information, or take a look at our puppy products.

As a puppy transitions into adulthood, their nutritional needs change with them. At this point, it's time to gradually transition them onto an adult food that supports the nutritional requirements of their size, breed and lifestyle.

Наше формуле за одрасле псе обезбеђују исхрану прилагођену здравственим потребама вашег пса, без обзира на његову величину, расу, старост или начин живота.