ASK DR.CLAIRE
My Irish Wolfhound puppy eats so much food and cries for more! She is wormed, otherwise normal & happy. Is this normal?
Congratulations on your Irish Wolfhound! They are such beautiful, gentle dogs.
And yes, Irish Wolfhound puppies certainly do eat a lot of food. She is growing rapidly and needs a lot of energy to grow, but you also need to be very careful not to overfeed her.
We want to make sure that she is fed enough to grow and play, but not over fed in a way that could put undue stress on her growing bones and joints.
At this stage, it’s best to feed her a few times daily. By dividing the food into regular feeds it’s easier for her digestion. I also prefer to feed adults twice a day as opposed to one. Irish Wolfhounds are a breed that can suffer from the life- threatening bloat.
She needs a good quality, highly digestible food that has been well tested that it is balanced, and suitable for her life stage. A unbalanced diet is ok for a week, but much longer than that risks serious vitamin and mineral deficiencies. The signs might not show up for months to years but the damage will have been done.
Monitor her body condition. Not just by watching a number on the scales. The ideal body condition varies slightly with all breeds of dogs but in essence means the pup has a waist and a tummy tuck, with ribs that you can feel easily but not see too easily.
Check that her worming is up to date, and that she’s getting the right amount for her weight as well. Puppies from 2 weeks of age need gastrointestinal worming 2 weekly till 12 weeks, then 4 weeks till 6 months and beyond (depending on what is used it may be every 3 months after that).
Keep checking her motions too, they’re a great sign of her internal health (you should be able to easily pick them up for disposal).
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Chat soon,
Dr Claire