Usually puppy food is richer in protein and enhanced with vitamins, minerals and fats - all of this is necessary for growth. But ingredients across the different brands can differ very much. There are several standards that commercial puppy food has to meet, and there are several companies that go above and beyond those standards. They do additional testing in order to make sure that they support the development of puppies.

These companies are not required to do this, and usually you just get what you are paying for. The cheaper dog food brands generally have ingredients of a lower quality in their dog food. Ensure that you always buy puppy food for your puppy, and not adult dog food. Puppy food has many extra nutrients, and your puppy will require this until they are fully grown. You can also buy regular food if it has been labeled for all stages of life too.

Puppy formulas for larger-breeds will assist puppies to grow at a rate slow enough so that they have time do develop strong joints and bones. The formulas for the smaller breeds supply nutrition in small pellets that will meet the needs of a smaller puppy's metabolic needs that is fairly high. The formulas for medium breed puppies are somewhere in between these two. If you cannot find food that is formulated for a specific breed, it is not the end of the world. Just make sure that you buy good quality food for you puppy.

Puppies need to eat a lot of food, but at the same time not too much. You should be able to feel their ribs, but not see it. Your puppy's waist should also be noticeable when you look down at them. This is accurate for puppies of whichever breed, regardless of their size. Usually you should just follow the instructions on the back of your bag of dog food. Just amend it according to your puppy's desire for food and their body condition.

At the age of around 12 weeks, your puppy should be eating around three to four times a day. But they do not have to eat so many times during the day. If it works for you to only feed them twice daily, just adjust the amount of food so that you can give it in two portions rather than four.

When your puppy reaches the age of about six months, you can decrease the number of meals you feed them. You can begin by reducing the amount of food they get, and follow the guidelines that is given by the food manufacturers. If you are feeding your puppy too much food, your puppy will let you know by probably leaving something behind in their bowl.