By the time your Shih Tzu puppy is 4 months old, you can expect your Shih Tzu puppy to weigh just over a pound, but he also might weigh as much as 3. The amount that your Shih Tzu puppy grows each week depends on the size of your Shih Tzu puppy. Some of the smaller Shih Tzu puppies will only gain around an ounce a week, but the larger Shih Tzu puppies can gain as much as 3 or even 4 ounces every week.
The larger Shih Tzu puppies will grow bigger faster than the smaller dogs will and the smaller dogs will reach their final adult size at a younger age than larger dogs will. When your puppy is about 9 months to a year old, it will be time to switch your Shih Tzu puppy from puppy food to adult food. When you do this, you will want to do it very gradually over the course of a week. Start by adding in a tablespoon or so of adult food and removing the same amount of puppy food.
Do this slowly until there is only adult food by reducing the puppy amount and increasing the adult amount a day. There are a few different explanations for it, however. If you have, your puppy might not be quite used to it yet or appreciate the new flavor. You can mix a little bit of wet food with his kibble to help with the taste. When your Shih Tzu puppy is less than 3 months old, freefeeding is a good idea.
This is where you just have fresh food available at all times for your puppy. While you should not do this with large breeds, with toy breeds, the dogs are more prone to drops in blood sugar and should have access to food so that they can eat when they need to. When your Shih Tzu puppy is over 3 months old, it is time to stop freefeeding and opt to feed your puppy 3 meals a day up until he reaches his first birthday.
All of us naturally want the best for our pups, so it can be really tempting to give your puppy nutritional supplements. This is not the case in actuality. If you give them to an otherwise healthy puppy, you risk overdosing your dog and making him sick.
If you truly believe your puppy needs supplements, you must discuss the matter with your vet first. Toy dog breeds should have about 8 ounces of water per 5 pounds of water a day. That means that if your Shih Tzu puppy weighs around 2. That said, unlike with feeding, your puppy should always have access to water if he needs it. You can remove it at night time if you are working on housebreaking, but otherwise, make sure there is water available to drink.
Puppies are still growing animals, so too much exercise for them can be a really bad thing. Their bones and joints have not finished growing and overexertion can cause injury. But they still need some exercise.
Before his first birthday, it would not be a good idea to take your dog out for longer than 20 minutes at a time. You should aim to take him out for a walk twice a day, but for brief intervals that have more to do with going to the bathroom than the exercise. Adriana has been around dogs since she was a little kid.
Her dream job has always been becoming a veterinarian. She has been taking care of animals all of her life and she wants to share her experience with other dog lovers. Written by Adriana. Thanks again. I would keep checking with your vet every couple of weeks on how much to feed him through to reaching adulthood at around ten months. HI, This is the first time in my life that I have a dog, my kids are so happy but we have no experience at all.
Thanks a lot. I appreciate the difficulty you have taking your dog out. I take my two boys out early in the morning just after sunrise and again, if I have the opportunity, around sunset. If I can only take them out once, there is an area in the bathroom where they can attend to their business.
I guess that you must have a similar arrangement. To get back to your point, as you are not exercising your girl very much but you say she is active, I would feed her around the middle of the range suggested in my Puppy Feeding Chart. That is, 50g 1. This total includes treats, so I would recommend dividing this allowance into three and giving one third as a morning meal, one third as an evening meal and the remaining third as treats during the day.
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My Shih Tzu Wilson, is How often should he eat and he is 9. Usually he eats 1 good meal a day. Is this normal and latley he just wants to eat yogurt and cheerios mixed in. My Bruno is nearly Sometimes he will go as much as a day and a half without eating. Click here to see the Adult Food Chart.
What does worry me is the Cheerios. Is there any way that you can persuade Wilson to eat a good quality kibble with his yoghurt in place of the Cheerios? My apologies for taking so long to reply to your query. The size and amount of portions that I have laid out in the Adult Food Chart on this page are to be taken merely as a guide. As you well know and are currently experiencing, each individual shih tzu has its own feeding needs and preferences. You need to experiment, as you are, until you find the right formula that works for both you and your dog.
For example, after months of experimenting my two boys have settled on a quality wet food in the morning, some home cooked food in the afternoon and an always available bowl of quality kibble to graze on during the day. With regards to your rescue dog waking you up for food at in the morning, I think this is probably something he has learned either with his previous owner or at the rescue center.
I think you will be able to train him out of this. When he barks to wake you up, tell him to be quiet, put him back in his bed and tell him to go to sleep or go bye-byes as I tell my Charlie!
Then go back to bed yourself and ignore any further barking. Wear ear plugs if you have to. When you have stayed in bed until you want to, get up and feed your dog. Okay, it means a few more restless mornings, but eventually your shih tzu should get used to his new, later feeding time. My shitzu only weighs 1. Whether this is true or not, how much to feed her and how many times a day is dependent upon certain factors such as age, weight, and level of activity.
A raw diet has been proven to expose both your dog and your family to pathogens such as salmonella. The American Veterinary Medical Association discourages raw food diets for this reason. But without care and supplements of other food sources, such as vegetables, your Shih Tzu can quickly become nutritionally deficient.
Consider whether you have the time to ensure that you will be able to fulfill this diet correctly. Now you can take on all responsibility to ensure your Shih Tzu receives all the nutrients she needs to grow and develop correctly. Now that you hopefully have a better idea of what to feed your Shih Tzu puppy, how much should you actually give her? For example, Shih Tzus can vary quite significantly in size, especially when you bring teacup Shih Tzus into the mix.
For a general guideline, check out this Shih Tzu puppy-feeding chart here. As for how to space out meals, we recommend splitting their daily food intake over three to four meals a day. However, Shih Tzus in particular have problems with hypoglycemia, so it is incredibly important that they are eating enough. If you are struggling to get your Shih Tzu to stand still on them, hold your dog up and stand on the scale yourself.
If you find that your Shih Tzu puppy wolfs down any food you give her regardless of portions, there may be a problem. In this case, we recommend attempting to transition your puppy if possible to higher-quality food. The better food will be nutritionally valuable, meaning the Shih Tzu should not need to eat as much of it.
If your Shih Tzu is very playful and active throughout the day, she expends more energy and is hungrier for it. In this case, you could top food a little more. However, like all other breeds, stress can be a key factor that can cause dogs to lose their appetites.
If you have just taken your new puppy home for the first time, her anxiety should be expected while she takes in her new surroundings. To help her eat on the first day, try to create a quiet and calm enclosed space within the home for the puppy to relax.
Keep trying until she begins to take the food. Once she is used to that, introduce her to the food bowl. Other reasons why your Shih Tzu may not be eating could be linked to illness. We recommend they get checked out at the vet. From here, you can move off a puppy diet and onto an adult one. We have a guide to feed an adult Shih Tzu here. We hope this guide has provided you with all the information you need in deciding what is best for your Shih Tzu puppy.
Do you have any dietary suggestions when it comes to this breed?
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