Preparing for the arrival of a new pet is an exciting time! When getting ready for your new dachshund puppy to come home it’s important to do your research on the best diet to make sure your puppy grows to be healthy and happy.
A dachshund puppy needs a fully complete diet that provides them with 22-32% protein. This can be fed in dry food, wet food, a raw food diet, or a combination of these diets. This is vital to ensure growth and development.
There are pros and cons to each of these diet choices. Let’s go over them together in this article so that you can provide your dachshund puppy with the very best care.
Dachshund Puppy Dry Food Diet
| Pros | Cons |
| Economical – especially in bulk | Lack of variety |
| Stays fresh a long time | Often contains lots of “filler” ingredients |
| The texture is great for dogs teeth | No water content for hydration |
Dry food, or “kibble”, is the most popular feed for puppies and adult dogs alike. It has a lot of benefits that make it an attractive choice for pet food.
Dry food is formulated to be a balanced diet that will meet all the nutritional needs of your pet. For your dachshund puppy, you can feed it special puppy dry food that will have the correct balance of vitamins and nutrients that a growing puppy needs.
Dry foods’ crunchy texture is excellent at controlling tartar on canine teeth. Meaning, less expensive visits to the vet and less gross puppy breath blowing in your face.
Commercial pet foods like these are regulated by the FDA so you can be assured that all ingredients are safe for your puppy.
It’s best to avoid dry food that contains filler ingredients such as grains and soy. These are used to bulk up the amount of food but provide little nutritional value.
It is also common that excess grain can cause skin irritation and allergic reactions in more sensitive pups.
Dry food contains no added water to help your pup with hydration as wet food does. If your puppy is not drinking enough water and eating only dry food you may be running the risk of it becoming dehydrated.
Dachshund Puppy Wet Food Diet
| Pros | Cons |
| Tasty – loved by puppies! | Needs to be refrigerated |
| Quick & easy | Messy |
| Contains high water content | More expensive than dry food |
Wet food is another kind of commercially produced pet food available for you to feed your growing dachshund puppy.
It will also contain regulated and balanced ingredients just like dry food but developed to have a different taste and texture that is highly appealing to your puppy. The food is usually smothered in a delicious gravy that makes it too tasty to resist, making a great choice for the more picky puppy.
Wet food can last a long time unopened, but once opened requires to be refrigerated and used within a certain time frame. For a smaller dog like a dachshund puppy, it may take longer to get through a can or packet of regular-sized wet food, potentially causing some food waste.
Owners often report excess wet food causes loose stools in their dogs. For a puppy who is still learning its toilet training manners, this may cause a problem in the home! In such a case, limiting wet food would be ideal.
Dachshund Puppy Raw Food Diet
| Pros | Cons |
| No preservatives or additives | Expensive |
| Total control over the nutrient balance | Lots of research involved |
| Peace of mind | More planning and preparation involved |
The BARF diet for puppies is increasing in popularity. Don’t be put off by the unfortunate name, it merely stands for “biologically appropriate raw food”.
This diet focuses on providing a diet closest to the natural diet of canines ancestors. Unprocessed and unpackaged, it can be attractive to owners who want to know exactly what their beloved puppy is ingesting.
For your dachshund puppy, this will mean a lot more research and planning on your behalf, ensuring you are creating the optimal balance of nutrients for your little one to grow and thrive. It also tends to cost a lot more than commercial feeds!
While owners who use the BARF diet rave about their pooch’s healthy teeth and shiny coats, it doesn’t come without risks.
Harmful bacteria can grow quickly in raw meat if not handled, stored, and prepared correctly. This can be harmful to both your dachshund puppy and you and your family.
There are some commercially developed raw diets emerging into the pet food scene including dehydrated diets that will help keep you and your pet safe. These diets will also provide the benefits of a raw food diet while still being convenient.
Keep In Mind:
- There is no right or wrong – every dog is different and reacts to each diet differently. It is okay if one diet that works for your dachshund is not what your neighbour uses! As long as you are providing all vital nutrients, your puppy will thank you.
- Mix it up – you do not have to choose just one diet. A mix of diets may be best for you and your dachshund puppy will enjoy the variety.
- Things will change – puppies grow and change rapidly. Their needs will change just as they do! Keep monitoring your puppy and weigh it regularly. Dachshunds are a smaller breed so their growth period is shorter than larger breed. At 12 months, you can move your puppy from a puppy diet and to an adult diet.
- Treaties! – you can add variety to your dachshund’s feeding schedule by the addition of tasty treats. When you find a treat your pup goes crazy for, you can use it as a training treat to get the best results from your training sessions.
Change is hard – if you need to change the brand of food you are feeding you should do it over a few days where you gradually reduce the old brand and introduce the new brand. This will ensure your puppy does not get an upset stomach from the drastic change.