Malamute puppy diet with natural food

Natural food

If you have time for preparation, it is recommended to feed your pet normal food. This does not mean that leftovers from the hosts’ table end up in his bowl. This approach to the question of what to feed Malamutes is absolutely impossible. It is very easy to harm your pet's health by giving it waste from human food.

When the owner decides on a natural diet, he thoroughly studies the lists of permitted products:

• The Malamute's diet includes lean meat: beef, veal, turkey. You can’t give him chicken regularly, it is an allergenic product.
• Twice a week, boiled sea fish, removed from the bones, is given.
• Dairy products that are allowed are kefir, cottage cheese, and fermented baked milk. The fat content is 1.8.
• Hard-boiled chicken eggs are given to the dog once a week.
• The diet of an adult Malamute includes cereals. Rice, buckwheat and oatmeal are boiled and mixed with meat or fish.
• Allowed vegetables include carrots, zucchini, pumpkin, and occasionally potatoes. They are boiled, cooled to room temperature, meat is added and given to the pet.
• Malamutes are given mild cheese as a treat.

Natural nutrition

To keep your dog healthy, you should pay attention to feeding your Malamute with fresh and high-quality food. The diet should be based on meat and fish. They are fed both boiled and raw. Vegetables and cereals serve as a side dish. Lean meat can be given: beef, turkey, rabbit, horse meat. Before giving it to your dog, the product must be defrosted and heat treated. It is scalded with boiling water or boiled. Boiled meat contains fewer nutrients than raw meat.

The Malamute should receive meat daily, with the exception of “fish days”.

Sea fish is boiled and the meat is separated from the bones. The skin, bones, head and tail are not suitable for dog food. Give boiled fish with rice or vegetables, no more than three times a week.

Vegetables for feeding your pet: carrots, cabbage, zucchini, beets, tomatoes and turnips. They are boiled without salt and spices. They are fed both whole and as a puree. Can be mixed with boiled meat. The amount required by the animal is 25% of the daily food intake.

The main grains in the Malamute's diet are rice and buckwheat. Boil them without adding salt. Twice a week add a tablespoon of vegetable oil. Served warm as an addition to meat or fish.

The egg is fed boiled. If it is chicken, then they give one piece per feeding. If quail, then two eggs are given at a time. You shouldn’t pamper your dog with them often, twice a week is enough.

For dairy products, kefir with a fat content of 2.5% is suitable. It is offered to the Malamute once every seven days. The same applies to cottage cheese. The maximum fat percentage is 1.7. Products from the Dmitrov Dairy Plant are good for Malamute.

Sugar-free dry biscuits are a pet treat that is given two to three times a week.

Benefits of natural nutrition

A person who wants to have a representative of this breed asks the question: what to feed a Malamute at home? Possible options are described above. This subsection is dedicated to the benefits of natural food:

1. The owner selects quality products.
2. He knows what is included in this or that dish.
3. The risk of dog poisoning is minimized.
4. The cost of natural food is slightly less than high-quality dry food.

Organizing proper nutrition for the Alaskan Malamute

Looking at the impressive size of the representatives of this breed, you might think that this dog is very difficult to feed. However, this impression is wrong; Malamutes eat less than dogs of other breeds of the same size, and when calculating food portions, this nuance must be taken into account. The amount of food consumed is affected by the pet's age, size and activity level.

It is highly not recommended to feed Malamutes with food from your table; it may be too fatty, with an increased amount of salt and spices, which will negatively affect the functioning of the pet’s digestive tract. Often dogs of this type, which are large in size and have a deep sternum, suffer from volvulus, and this also needs to be taken into account when choosing a diet.

Owners of this breed should know that the animal’s body requires monotonous food, since a quick and frequent change of dishes can cause serious gastrointestinal upset. In addition, the pet must consume enough water suitable for drinking.

It is imperative to keep the pet's feeding area clean. What is left uneaten should be removed in a timely manner; it is recommended to wash the bowl after each feeding.

Flaws

If the future owner of the Malamute is a livestock specialist, he can skip this subsection. Livestock specialists are taught to formulate animal feed, so that the future owner will be able to balance his dog’s diet. We recommend that others carefully read the information provided below:

• The most significant disadvantage of natural feeding is its imbalance. The products may be expensive and of high quality, but the dog does not receive the necessary vitamins.
• The cooking process takes time. With the modern pace of life, most people do not have enough time to cook their dog’s food themselves.
• The breed is prone to overeating. What to feed Malamutes to keep their weight normal? It is worth giving preference to dry food.

How not to overfeed your dog

According to the FCI standard, the Alaskan Malamute must be muscular. Normally, the animal's ribs should be easily palpable. To find out if the dog is overfed, you need to feel his ribs. If, instead of ribs, there is a layer of fat under the owner’s fingers, then the pet needs an urgent diet.

Excess weight leads to health problems. In addition to the fact that a fat representative of the breed looks ugly, he develops hip dysplasia. In some cases, interruptions in the functioning of the heart occur.

Choosing dry food

As soon as a novice owner enters a pet store, he becomes lost. There is a huge variety of food on the shelves, ranging from economy class to super-premium. What food is best for a Malamute, what to look for when choosing it:

• We recommend super premium products. On the Russian market it is presented as holistic food. This is a misconception, because among the expensive foods, holistic and human grunge are distinguished.
• The first category includes products half consisting of meat or fish.
• Feeds labeled “human grunge” contain natural products approved for human consumption.

Flaws

We found out what to feed the Malamute. Natural food or dry food is at the discretion of the owner. Some owners are embarrassed by the cost of super-premium products, they decide to make do with simpler food and purchase an economy option.

Cheap food is contraindicated for Malamute; there is nothing useful in it except dyes and flavor enhancers. Representatives of the breed are distinguished by a weak gastrointestinal tract and a tendency to allergic reactions. Treatment will cost much more than quality food.

Malamute puppies require careful selection of their diet. Little ones, like adult dogs, are prone to allergies. Having noticed reddening of the ears, constant scratching and biting of itself, the owner should change the puppy’s food.

Feeding the Alaskan Malamute with a ready-made diet

As is the case with other breeds, Alaskan Malamute owners have a choice - to organize the dog’s nutrition using ready-made food, or to create a diet from natural products. Mixed food is also allowed, but most experienced breeders of Alaskan Malamutes do not recommend using it, due to the peculiarity of the dog’s stomach, it takes a long time to rearrange foods when changing the diet.

If the owner has given preference to dry food, then it should be at least premium class. The best food is considered to be from the super-premium category. When choosing a brand, you can rely on more well-known and proven brands. You can also get advice from breeders of this breed.

How many times should you feed your puppy?

They often write on the Internet that three meals a day is enough for a baby. From the age of 4 months, he can be switched to morning and evening feedings.

Puppies need high-quality nutrition; their growing bodies require calcium, phosphorus, fiber and proteins. We will be happy to tell you how many times a day to feed a Malamute until it reaches nine months of age:

• From two to three months, the puppy is fed five times a day.
• From three to five months – four feedings.
• From five to nine months - three meals a day.
• From nine months of age, Malamute puppies are fed two meals a day.

Natural feeding of an Alaskan Malamute puppy

If the owner decides to feed the pet natural products, then meat should occupy the majority of the diet. Puppies can be given both boiled and raw veal, beef, cut into small pieces, but it is better to avoid minced meat. The size of the pieces of meat increases as the pet grows.

It is useful to give puppies porridge - rice, buckwheat, oatmeal. It is imperative to include fish in your diet; a couple of times a week is enough. It is better to give preference to low-fat sea fish; before serving, it must be boiled and deboned.

To form a strong bone skeleton, puppies should include cottage cheese in their menu, which is the best natural source of calcium. An egg can also be given to your baby, but only boiled; one egg per week will be enough.

You can include almost all vegetables in your Malamute puppy's menu, raw or cooked, with the exception of potatoes. Since it is difficult to balance the diet on your own, you can give your pet vitamins, but only after consulting a veterinarian.

How to feed an adult dog?

From the age of nine months, the Alaskan Malamute receives food twice a day - in the morning and in the evening. Sick, elderly dogs and pregnant bitches are fed more often, depending on the recommendations of the veterinarian.

The table shows the approximate diet of a dog on natural food.

The menu is adjusted according to the dog's preferences and the financial capabilities of its owner.

The table mentions kefir and cottage cheese - they are allowed, but can a malamute be given milk? No, an adult dog is unable to digest it. Milk is given to puppies up to 3 months, then it is removed from the diet.

What should you not give to your Malamute?

New owners, wanting to treat their pet, offer him a chicken or beef bone, a piece of sausage or sausage, candy and other products that they themselves love. Please remember: a dog is not a person, it cannot be given what you and I eat. Sweets are contraindicated for Malamutes; sausages and frankfurters may cause allergies, and a chicken bone will pierce the esophagus. In the latter case, the owners will not have time to bring the dog to the veterinary hospital, and the animal will die in agony. This is not a “scare” for beginners, but the harsh truth.

The following products are strictly prohibited:

• smoked meats;
• pickled cucumbers and tomatoes;
• fatty foods;
• salty food;
• all types of sweets;
• baked goods;
• bakery products (with the exception of homemade wheat crackers without salt and spices, they are dried in the oven and given to the dog as a treat);
• carbonated drinks, juices, alcohol.

If there are children in the house, explain to them that you cannot treat your dog with chocolate or chips, as this can have serious consequences for its health.

Why can’t you combine natural food and dry food?

Attentive readers will remember what is written in the subsection about breeders’ recommendations regarding the nutrition of Malamutes. For those who have managed to forget, we remind you: natural food, dry food or combined nutrition. Regarding the latter, we say: never feed your dog dry food and regular food at the same time. Those who recommend such a diet are greatly mistaken and know nothing about the physiology of the breed.

Malamutes have problems with the gastrointestinal tract, this is stated above. Even the healthiest dog of a different breed is not able to digest food and “natural food” at the same time due to the lack of necessary enzymes. The latter are distinguished in order to cope with regular food or dry food, they differ from each other. There is no joint excretion, which is why the animal is not able to digest both products.

What to feed your Alaskan Malamute

There is a stereotype: big dogs need to be fed more food, but it is not true. The Alaskan Malamute requires significantly less food than representatives of other large breeds.

In addition, these dogs are distinguished by their inability to get enough in time: the Malamute will eat exactly as much food as you give it, even if there is a whole cart of food.

The food of the Alaskan Malamute can be of two types:

1. High quality dry food
2. Natural food

The diet of an Alaskan Malamute when fed natural products includes several points:

1. An adult dog can be fed with almost any meat and offal. Beef, chicken, and fish are especially good. It is not advisable to use pig meat, as it contains a lot of fat.
2. Meat and offal can be mixed with porridges in a ratio of 2 to 1. For porridges, it is best to use oatmeal, buckwheat and rice, and it is advisable to cook them in water rather than broth, since the resulting food will be too fatty.
3. Offal products include beef stomach, heart (beef, chicken), and tongue. You can also add a lung, ears, and so on. It is not recommended to feed dogs udders: they contain hormones).
4. Never give your dog bones! Contrary to stereotypes, they are not absorbed by the body and cause constipation and volvulus.
5. 10% of an Alaskan Malamute's diet should consist of vegetables.

Feeding the Alaskan Malamute with dry food:

It is very convenient to feed dogs dry food. You don’t have to worry about preparing and purchasing all the necessary products - high-quality dry food contains all the necessary substances for your pet. In addition, today there are food lines created specifically for a specific breed.

Feed your Malamute only super premium food. It is best to continue using the same food that his breeder bought him.

It is not recommended to mix dry food with natural food. Thus, you can easily cause an imbalance in your pet's body.

Choose food that contains different types of protein (lamb, chicken, beef). Also make sure the food includes fish, otherwise just give your Malamute fish oil capsules twice a week.

What to feed an Alaskan Malamute puppy?

Malamute puppies are fed mother's milk or, in case of its deficiency, milk without sugar and lactose until 1 month of life. Afterwards, you can gradually introduce meat, cereals, and boiled eggs into your diet. Dry food must be “steamed” with boiling water.

Once the puppies reach two months of age, it is better to remove milk from the diet and begin to include vegetables in the puppy’s diet, but preferably not red or orange (except for carrots and pumpkin).

An adult Alaskan Malamute is fed twice a day, puppies under four months of age - three times. Remember that the packaging of dry food indicates the daily value, not the size of one serving. Always use a measuring cup for this. Otherwise, it will definitely affect your dog’s condition. Always ensure there is drinking water in your home!

Basic feeding tips

Readers now know what to feed a Malamute and how often. Remembering the recommendations is quite simple.

The tips given in this section will help new owners learn how to feed a Malamute:

• Puppies up to three months old are fed every three hours.
• The older the pet, the longer the intervals between feedings. The amount of food offered at one time increases.
• If the animal eats natural food, it is heated before giving it to the dog.
• Dry food is soaked in a small amount of warm water, allowed to swell and offered to the pet.
• Always follow the daily amount indicated on the food packaging. It, as we found out, tends to swell, which happens both in the bowl and in the dog’s stomach under the influence of liquid. If you give more than expected, the food will cause severe discomfort by swelling in the stomach.
• Be sure to ensure that your pet always has access to clean water.

How often to feed your dog

At home, a representative of the Alaskan Malamute breed is fed twice a day. Large breed dogs are prone to volvulus. To avoid this, you should not give your pet more food than required.

In the case when the dog eats food, the norm indicated on the packaging is divided into two equal parts. Feed morning and evening. Pre-dry food is soaked in warm water. It is allowed to brew and swell a little.

A new feeding system has become popular among Malamute owners. Dogs leading a sedentary lifestyle are fed once a day. The gastrointestinal tract cannot cope with large volumes. If a single feeding exceeds the permissible norm, the dog experiences intestinal volvulus.

This breed does not like cold water. This must be taken into account when owners add it to food. The water should be slightly warmed or at room temperature.