How to Choose the Best Dog Food for Lhasa Apso Puppies
The adorable Lhasa Apso puppy is up for any adventure its family has in mind. Yet owners should not be deceived by their sweet good looks and elegant flowing tresses, this breed is highly independent and has ideas of its own as to how to spend its time. A breed originally intended to serve as a guard dog for members of the royal family, the Lhasa Apso can be fierce but should never be aggressive.
Loyal to its core, the Lhasa Apso is devoted and affectionate with its beloved family but has no time for strangers. Lhasa Apso puppies are not tremendously tolerant of childish behavior, and thus, are not necessarily the best choice for families with young children.
Lhasa Apso puppies are very intelligent and require moderate amounts of daily exercise. However, in spite of its innate smarts, the Lhasa Apso puppy is largely uninterested in learning new things. A savvy owner can employ creative training techniques to help this pooch adopt new skills.
A typical toy breed, the Lhasa Apso puppy can easily become overweight if not properly exercised and/or overfed. For this reason, the Lhasa Apso should never be free fed. A healthy body weight is critical to preventing health problems associated with excess weight on a toy dog’s frame.
The best dog foods for Lhasa Apso puppies contain a minimum of 22 percent protein and 8 percent fat. In addition to this, it is of great importance that the proper proportions of calcium to phosphorus are included as this will impact the puppy’s growth rate. Experts agree that appropriate puppy foods should include 1.2 parts of calcium for each included unit of phosphorus.
The Lhasa Apso puppy enjoys a long puppyhood, often not maturing until the dog is three years of age. With this in mind, the Lhasa Apso pup should be fed a small breed puppy formulation until the dog reaches age one year. After this time, the dog can move to an appropriate adult dog food.
Choosing the Correct Calorie Count for Lhasa Apso Puppies
Trying to determine how much of the best dog food for Lhasa Apso puppies to feed a dog can be a difficult task. Experts agree that consulting the suggested serving sizes on the bag is a great place to start. Owners can use this measurement, increasing or decreasing as necessary until the correct portion is found.
Because the Lhasa Apso pup can be predisposed to becoming overweight, this breed should never be free fed. All food should be carefully measured and intake monitored to ensure a healthy body weight is achieved and maintained. This is a vital first line defence to preventing injury or illness related to excess weight.
Dietary Requirements for Lhasa Apso Puppy Foods
Lhasa Apso puppies require a diet that is properly balanced and formulated with their unique nutritional needs in mind. The best dog food for Lhasa Apso puppies include a lean meat as the basis for their diet. Whole meats or meat meals are the best options.
By-products and the plant-based proteins soy, corn, and wheat are not of sufficient nutritional quality to benefit the Lhasa Apso pup. In addition to this, these types of ingredients can trigger allergic reactions in dogs and are difficult for many to digest properly. Other ingredients that experts recommend avoiding include chemicals, additives, preservatives, fillers, and artificial flavors and colors.
Carbohydrates help the Lhasa Apso puppy to enjoy good digestion and a healthy immune system. These can be in the form of whole grains, fruits, or vegetables. The main emphasis of any carbohydrate included in a diet for the Lhasa Apso puppy is its high concentration of dietary fiber and antioxidants.
From healthy fats the Lhasa Apso puppy gains support for a strong immune system, fuel for healthy reserves of energy, and assistance with coat and skin health. These fats are best found in animal-based ingredients such as chicken fat and oily fish. However, the plant-based oils canola, safflower, and coconut are also rich in the fats puppies need to enjoy optimal health and wellness.
All foods can benefit from the addition of beneficial supplements. The ideal ingredients to look for in a supplement for the Lhasa Apso puppy are glucosamine, chondroitin, prebiotics, and probiotics.
Things to Look for in the Best Food for Lhasa Apso Puppies
Here is a basic list of the most important things to look for in a food for a Lhasa Apso puppy:
-
Lean meat-based proteins listed at the beginning of the ingredients list
The Lhasa Apso requires a diet based on a lean meat to achieve and maintain optimal health and wellness. To this end, the best dog foods for Lhasa Apso puppies base their foundation on a whole meat or meat meal.
Though by-products and plant-based proteins such as corn, wheat, and soy are commonly included in many commercial dog foods, they are difficult to digest and can trigger allergic reactions in some dogs. For this reason, foods containing these ingredients are undesirable for the Lhasa Apso puppy.
-
Prepared without the addition of chemicals, flavorings, fillers, or mystery ingredients
Chemicals, fillers, artificial flavorings and colorings, and mystery ingredients provide no nutritional benefit to a growing Lhasa Apso puppy. Diets which include any of these items should be left on the shelf.
-
Enriched with probiotics and helpful supplements
Supplements are a great addition to any food, helping to provide additional health benefits for Lhasa Apso puppies. The ideal supplements to look for in a food include prebiotics, probiotics, glucosamine, and chondroitin.
-
Meets AAFCO nutritional requirements for a complete and balanced food
All foods appropriate for the Lhasa Apso puppy should bear the AAFCO seal of approval, indicating it meets the standards for a complete and balanced food.