How and what to feed an adult Russian spaniel and a puppy

Menu for Russian Spaniel

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Feeding is an important part of daily pet care. What a dog eats affects its growth, development and health. Let's find out what is recommended to feed a Russian spaniel as an adult and as a puppy.

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Features of feeding a Russian Spaniel puppy Approximate diet

Feeding an adult dog

Dry food

Natural food

Features of a natural diet

The advantages of natural nutrition are confidence in the freshness of products. The owner can control the temperature, consistency of the dish, and learn about the pet’s food preferences.

In a dog's daily diet, protein food should be 25-27%. The puppy can be fed boiled poultry, rabbit, calf, and river fish. Products must be cut into strips, not salted, and not mixed with cereals. It is forbidden to give minced meat, fatty, salty dishes with tubular bones.

Cereal porridge is a source of vitamins, carbohydrates, and fiber. Therefore, feeding a Russian Hunting Spaniel puppy should include oatmeal, rice, and buckwheat.

Season your dishes with cold-pressed vegetable oil, fermented milk drinks, and fish oil. Prohibited grains include pearl barley, millet, and unpeeled oats.

Vegetables and fruits are no less useful. Boiled pumpkin, zucchini, and broccoli, seasoned with vegetable oil, can satiate the dog until the next feeding. Pieces of apple, carrot, and peach can be used as rewards after completing commands. Do not give: potatoes in any form, legumes, citrus fruits.

What is forbidden to give

It is strictly forbidden to give your dog tubular bones.
Adults and puppies are strictly prohibited from feeding the following categories of products:

tubular bones (chicken and rabbit)
pasta and baked goods
pork
smoked meats
fried, spicy, pickled food
River fish
onions, garlic (large quantities)
millet cereal
mushrooms
unheated white cabbage.

In addition to the products described above, dogs are strictly prohibited from eating avocados and raw fish.

In this article we looked at feeding options for a spaniel. When choosing a feeding diet, you need to take into account many factors that influence the daily energy expenditure of a puppy and an adult dog. Proper and balanced nutrition is the key to a healthy, active and cheerful pet.

Menu of natural products

For the first 30-40 days, babies are breastfed. Next, the breeder begins to feed the one-month-old spaniel puppy the first complementary foods - fermented milk drinks, grated vegetables, and a boiled egg.

A two-month-old baby can already go to the house of a new owner. At this age he eats six times a day:

6.00 – milk;

10.00 – boiled egg;

13.00 – steamed zucchini with butter;

16.00 – boiled turkey meat;

19.00 – buckwheat porridge with kefir;

23.00 – cottage cheese.

You can feed your spaniel puppy this way for another 1 month. Next, reduce the number of meals and increase the size of portions. Add one teaspoon of each new product, and then monitor your baby’s well-being for 12 hours. By the sixteenth week, switch your pet to four meals a day.

Choosing a place and dishes for feeding a Cocker Spaniel puppy

Before moving your puppy to a new home, there are key things you need to take care of that will reduce stress and increase the comfort of your new pet. If the dog is not acquired spontaneously, take care of:

Equipment for rest areas.
Purchasing toys.
Choosing and purchasing care accessories.
Choosing a place and utensils for eating.

To maintain cleanliness in the eating area, it is recommended to use a special rubberized mat. The accessory helps protect the puppy from falling, even if the floor is wet. The mat is easy to wash and disinfect. Instead of special mats, you can use a structural, dense film.

Important! In order for a Cocker Spaniel puppy to properly develop its bone structure, it must be taught to eat from a stand. Special stands are height adjustable. Bowls need to be narrowed so that the dog’s ears do not get dirty while eating.

Features of nutrition with industrial feed

Commercial food for spaniel puppies comes in different consistencies. Dry granules of various sizes and compositions are sold in boxes and bags. For their production, products are crushed and pressed while preserving useful substances. Switching to such a diet makes caring for your pet easier. After all, crispy pillows are easy to store, transport, and easy to measure their dosage.

Canned food and gravy are made using a different technology. The meat is cut into small pieces and heated over low heat until the starch turns into jelly. Next, the jars are sealed and sterilized.

This food is convenient for puppies, since the volume of the container corresponds to the serving size.

Canned food for adult dogs is divided into:

gourmet;
medicinal;
ordinary.

But feeding them to a spaniel puppy at 2, 3, 4 months is prohibited. To feed babies, you need to choose super-premium cans and soft packaging, which indicate the age and breed of the puppy. Normally, such food is given 2-3 times a week.

The exact calorie content of the product is indicated on packs of dry food and cans of canned food. Therefore, it is easy for the owner to calculate the daily amount of food and divide it into portions. However, it is forbidden to feed your pet homemade food. Pieces of vegetables and fruits can only be given as rewards.

What to look for when choosing a diet

Some manufacturers produce special food for cocker spaniels.
Keeping and caring for a cocker spaniel dog is a lot of work.

The choice of diet and type of food must be taken responsibly. There are currently two options for feeding dogs:

natural food;
prepared dry and canned food.

There are two advantages to feeding your pet with ready-made dry and canned food:

high-quality industrial feed is fully balanced in terms of nutrients, vital micro- and macroelements, as well as vitamins;
Significant time savings on preparing food for your pet.

There is nothing wrong with feeding your dog prepared food. Currently, there is a large number of high-quality premium foods (Royal Canin, Hill's, Pro Plan) and super premium foods (Eukanuba, Advance, 1st choice). Among them you can choose hypoallergenic food.

Consumption rates for dry food by age are indicated on the packaging. There is no need to carry out any additional calculations.

The second type of natural food feeding requires time spent preparing fresh portions of food daily. Also, the owner needs to supplement the natural diet with special mineral and vitamin complexes.

Also, a caring owner should ensure that the pet does not have an allergic reaction to a certain product.

Of course, most owners try to feed their pets natural food.

Reviews

Nikolay, Ekaterinburg

“When I bought a cocker spaniel, I asked the breeders what kind of food the puppy’s parents eat. They said Royal Canin. I also started feeding my baby these super premium granules. The dog grew up strong and beautiful. Then I switched him to adult dog food.”

Nadezhda, Pervouralsk

“I wanted to feed my spaniel natural products. But this is very expensive and troublesome. At about seven months I switched the baby to ProPlan food and was not mistaken. And the puppy felt good, and I had more free time. Now I can take him on long walks.”

Types of food for spaniels

Before you understand the basic principles and rules of dog nutrition, you should understand the types of food:

Dry food.
Natural food.
Mixed feed.

Absolutely any type of food listed is suitable for the Cocker Spaniel breed. What food should I feed my spaniel? Only the owner himself decides what food to choose for his pet.

Natural food, of course, is more balanced and beneficial for the dog, but industrial food costs owners much less, and besides, it’s also convenient; you don’t have to rack your brain every time about what to prepare for your pet.

There is also a mixed method of feeding dogs. It consists of adding natural products to dry food.

In all cases, it is necessary to remember that food must be of high quality and fresh, and not all foods that are healthy for humans are suitable for feeding a dog.

The nutrition of the English and American cocker should depend on the following parameters:

Dog size. When setting the size of the food portion, you should take into account the height and weight of the pet. An English Cocker that eats too much will soon become fat and clumsy. A small portion of food will cause a constant feeling of hunger, which is very unhealthy for the puppy’s growing body.
Age. When preparing a diet, the age of the cocker is very important. It is recommended to feed your Cocker Spaniel puppy a balanced diet. Up to a year, internal organs and bone apparatus are actively developing. The food must contain a sufficient amount of proteins as well as nutrients. Feeding frequency – 5-6 times a day. Adult cockers eat less often - 1-2 times a day.
Physical activity. Active, mobile dogs that walk a lot and participate in competitions need high-calorie food that will replenish all energy costs. Older dogs with reduced physical activity should eat dietary food.
Health status. Any illness, rehabilitation period, pregnancy, require adjustments to the diet. Depending on the pathology, one or another diet is prescribed. During pregnancy, enhanced nutrition is offered. During the recovery period, vitamin preparations are added to the main diet. The introduction of a new type of food begins with testing it, identifying the risk of developing an allergic reaction.

Feeding the puppies

An English and American cocker puppy begins to feed at the age of 4-6 weeks. Weaning from the mother's breast occurs no earlier than the baby learns to eat adult food.

To begin with, give soaked dry food. One serving is 3-4 tablespoons. Gradually the amount of solid food in the feed should increase.

A one-month-old puppy is introduced to meat, fish, vegetables, and cottage cheese. At 1 month he is fed 5-6 times a day, at two months - 4 times.

The number of feedings should decrease with age. At 8 months, a Cocker Spaniel puppy is given food 2 times a day, and when it reaches a year, it is transferred to a single meal.

An older puppy should be fed based on its weight. The formula for calculating the size of one portion of food is simple. Before six months, 6-7 percent of body weight, and after six months – 3-4 percent.

A Cocker Spaniel puppy must be given specialized food for young animals for up to one year. It is recommended to follow the feeding conditions, which can be read on the packaging.

You should feed your cocker spaniel at the same time, avoiding intermediate snacks and treats with “sweets” from the table.

If you feed your English Cocker puppy after a walk, he will happily rush home, knowing that he will receive a delicious lunch.

What to feed an English Cocker Spaniel after he is one year old is up to the owner himself. At this age, the pet is transferred to two or one meal a day. The daily portion of an adult dog can be 1.5-2 liters. The dog must always have access to water, regardless of the type of food.

The health of a pet depends on whether its food contains enough nutrients, vitamins and microelements. When choosing a diet for an adult cocker spaniel, you should be guided by the following rules:

The volume of protein food should decrease slightly and amount to 20-30 g per kilogram of weight, since the active growth of the body has already completed.
The average volume of food eaten should be approximately 50 grams per kilogram of body weight. A dog leading an active lifestyle needs more food.
Milk and dairy products are not beneficial for an adult dog. You can replace them with low-fat kefir and cottage cheese.
If the dog is overweight, then the size of the food portion should be reduced to eliminate the risk of developing obesity.

Before you feed your American Cocker Spaniel, you need to organize a place for food. The dog should eat in a specially designated, clean area. For natural food, two bowls are useful - for liquid and solid food. For dry food, one is enough. There should always be drinking water here. You must strictly follow your diet.

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During the feeding period, it is better to fasten the hanging ears of a spaniel from behind with an elastic band so that they do not get into the food. The bowl should be on a raised surface. As the puppy grows, the stand should also become higher so that the dish is always at the level of the dog's chest. Before serving, food should be heated to a temperature of 36-40°C.

The owner will be perplexed as to what to feed his cocker spaniel if he has not been taught the correct diet since childhood. The dog will refuse healthy food. An adult dog willingly eats only the food to which it has become accustomed since infancy.

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It is important to decide what is more convenient for you and better for your dog: dry food or natural food. Each type of feeding has its pros and cons.

High quality dry food (premium and super premium) is already balanced, and you don’t need to think about creating a diet. It is convenient to store and take on the go. When choosing dry food, you need to take into account the dog's age, activity level and body condition.

However, dogs often eat natural food more readily. But at the same time, you need to spend time preparing food and creating a diet so that it is balanced and complete, and this is not easy.

One thing you should definitely not do is feed your English Cocker Spaniel food from your table. The digestive systems of humans and dogs function differently, and the needs for quality, quantity and types of food are very different.

English Cocker Spaniels are prone to allergies, so each new ingredient is introduced gradually, and you need to carefully monitor for signs of allergies: itching, redness of the skin, watery eyes, hair loss, etc. If you notice any of the above, contact your veterinarian as soon as possible.

English Cocker Spaniels have an enviable appetite and love to beg. You will need incredible strength to resist the pleading gaze of an eternally hungry pet - and yet you will have to show it. Otherwise, the dog will quickly gain extra pounds, and this is harmful to health.

This breed does not have any special feeding requirements. Having considered all the pros and cons, you can find the most acceptable one for a particular owner and depending on the situation. The main thing is that it should be:

useful for four animals;
did not greatly burden the owner;
did not cross the line of common sense.

Granules from a bag are becoming more and more common, and this is understandable. The manufacturer is trying in every possible way to “persuade” the owner that the food has the highest performance, and his puppy will not grow up without granules. Meanwhile, independent laboratory testing constantly proves that the feed does not have the properties and composition specified in the recipe and annotation.

The puppy eats the granules with pleasure. However, the number of flavors and flavoring additives is so great that it cannot be otherwise.

Ready-made food is easy to use. By purchasing a large bag with a long shelf life, you can feed your puppy without any problems. There is no need to even wash dishes. Only the question of the dog's health remains open.

Ready-made foods are derivatives with the addition of artificial protein. High temperatures in the extruder kill all biologically active substances and vitamins. When feeding ready-made food, you need to be careful about the puppy’s water balance. The manufacturer warns on the package that there must be water in the drinking bowl at all times, since the feed causes thirst.

Advantages

The food has a number of advantages:

with its help you can feed the puppy quickly;
clean dishes will remain after the meal;
feed is easy to buy and store.

Flaws

When feeding with prepared foods:

inability to control the composition independently;
in a coma there may be allergens that are difficult to identify;
non-compliance of the formulation with the results of laboratory tests (even for expensive samples) casts doubt on its usefulness.

If these arguments are not arguments, then when choosing food you should at least ask:

labeling (manufacturer, address, telephone);
date of manufacture;
deadline for implementation;
read the manufacturer's recommendations.

Mixed diet

This is the type of feeding that many owners prefer. Feeding with natural food is constant, and in times of need they are fed with ready-made food. Ready-made food is used for:

travel;
inability to purchase food;
Difficulties with preparing food.

Whatever diet the owner chooses, it is necessary to monitor the state of the gastrointestinal tract. At the slightest “failures,” you should reconsider the feeding program and seek help from a specialist.

Photo of what to feed a spaniel

It is better to buy Russian spaniel puppies from kennels, through kennel clubs. Our specialists have experience caring for babies from the first days of life.

When purchasing there, a veterinary passport is issued indicating the date of the first vaccinations. In addition, the owners issue a document of origin. It indicates the date of birth, the name of the parents, the brand number, and the address of the breeders. Without these certificates it is impossible to issue a hunting dog book and go to the hunting grounds.

It is worth choosing a puppy when it is 10-12 days old. Unlike newborns, babies during this period already show character traits: active, calm, lazy or intimidated. The next visit must be made after 20 days. At one month of age, you can evaluate teeth, bite, coat, and the absence of congenital diseases. It is better to take the dog home after two months.

Dog breeders explain that both boys and girls spaniels have many positive qualities. In male dogs, thoroughbredness is clearly expressed, which is important at exhibitions and tournaments. They can withstand great physical stress and can hunt any day of the year.

Bitches are more affectionate, obedient, and devoted to their owner. Except for the period of estrus, they are absolutely indifferent to the opposite sex.

A Russian hunting spaniel puppy in Russia is not expensive. A purebred dog with an ideal pedigree can be bought for 10-20 thousand rubles. A healthy dog without documents often costs 3-5 thousand rubles. But, even when purchasing online, you should check for vaccinations and anthelmintic procedures.

To determine the weight, you should put your pet on a regular scale and record the result. To determine the height, you will need to learn how to correctly measure a cocker spaniel.

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Recommendations and main measures:

neck circumference - measurement is taken at the widest part, where the collar is usually located;
the length of the dorsal part is from the beginning of the neck to the base of the tail;
Chest circumference - measured at the widest point, usually behind the forelegs.

To ensure correct measurements, you will need to position your pet exactly. The back must be measured in a standing position along the spine. The dog should not stand or lie down.