--- title: "How To Encourage Healthy Feeding Habits in Your Pup" id: "202843" type: "post" slug: "how-to-encourage-healthy-feeding-habits-in-your-pup" published_at: "2021-10-07T14:00:00+00:00" modified_at: "2021-10-07T14:00:00+00:00" url: "https://www.petlandsanantonio.com/2021/10/07/how-to-encourage-healthy-feeding-habits-in-your-pup/" markdown_url: "https://www.petlandsanantonio.com/2021/10/07/how-to-encourage-healthy-feeding-habits-in-your-pup.md" excerpt: "Feeding your pet with a healthy diet has many benefits in the short run as well as the distant future. A great diet keeps your pet in top shape and protects them from a range of chronic ailments. Your pet’s..." taxonomy_category: - "Community" --- [Home](https://www.petlandsanantonio.com/) / [Blog](https://www.petlandsanantonio.com/blog/) / [Community](https://www.petlandsanantonio.com/category/petland/) / **How To Encourage Healthy Feeding Habits in Your Pup** [Community](https://www.petlandsanantonio.com/category/petland/) # How To Encourage Healthy Feeding Habits in Your Pup October 7, 2021 · 3 min read · [Carley Kuehner](https://www.petlandsanantonio.com/author/cosmick/) [Stay connected via Google News Follow us for the latest pet updates and guides.](https://www.google.com/preferences/source?q=petlandsanantonio.com) Feeding your pet with a healthy diet has many benefits in the short run as well as the distant future. A great diet keeps your pet in top shape and protects them from a range of chronic ailments. Your pet’s diet extends beyond what you give them at mealtimes. It is a sum total of all the treats, table scraps, random food tosses, and of course, the main meals too. Proper feeding is essential to ensuring that your pet lives a long, healthy life. This is why encouraging healthy feeding habits is essential. And here are 4 tips to do just this: 1. **Establish a Routine** Pups love routine, it gives them something to look forward to. Creating a routine for their meals especially gives them the pleasure of anticipating something that they love. It also helps you accurately anticipate bowel movements. On average, dogs do best with two meals daily: one in the morning and the other in the evening. Maintaining a routine could also help you detect if your pet falls ill, such as when they skip a meal. Enjoying this read? You'll love our puppies. Adorable, vet-checked pups looking for their forever homes — available now. [Meet our puppies](https://www.petlandsanantonio.com/puppies-for-sale/) Similarly, snacks in between meals aren’t the best idea, this might encourage obesity. 1. **Measure Out Food** Since you see your pet every single day, it’s easy to not observe that they are gaining excess weight. Typically, your pup’s feed would come with recommendations from the maker. Since you’re feeding twice a day, divide up the daily recommended amount into two and use a measuring cup to confirm accuracy. Ideally, you should be feeding your pooch roughly the same amount of food both times during the day. Measuring out food helps control the calories that they consume as well. If your pup is very active, you can increase calorie intake based on your vet’s guidance, same goes for if you have a laid-back pup. 1. **Avoid Table Feeding** Sometimes it is hard to resist those big brown eyes looking up at you while you eat. You might be tempted to give them a piece of your food or feed your pup scraps from the table. However, this doesn’t do your pup any good. Rather, it encourages overeating, and shortly after, your pup might begin to add weight excessively. If you absolutely cannot fight the temptation to feed table scraps, ensure that you’re feeding them healthy foods. Rice cakes or raw carrots are ideal. Still reading? Our puppies are waiting. Healthy, happy pups ready to meet their families — see who's available today. [Meet our puppies](https://www.petlandsanantonio.com/puppies-for-sale/) Another practical tip is to feed your pup before eating your food so that he is content and less tempted to beg. 1. **Slow Down Eating by Making Mealtimes Interactive** Some pups practically wolf down their meals. This act in itself might not seem all that much of a terrible act, but it might negatively impact your pup’s health in the long run. Fast eating implies less chewing and swallowing lots of air. This would lead to a regularly bloated belly and over time, the stomach walls would start to thin out and could even tear. Some mechanisms that may help reduce speed rating include: - Using a slow feeder bowl — just ensure that your pup can reach the food easily. - Snuffle mats — this also boosts mental stimulation and helps them tap into their natural foraging instinct since they have to search for their kibble. - Reducing meal size and increasing frequency. You can use an auto feeder for this. Encouraging healthy eating habits should begin as early as possible. [Stay connected via Google News Follow us for the latest pet updates and guides.](https://www.google.com/preferences/source?q=petlandsanantonio.com) Available Now## If you loved this, you'll *love our puppies* Meet the happy, healthy pups ready to join your family today — browse the whole litter below. 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My dad got my Malti-poo from this store 6yrs ago when I was a teen. We bought him at 3mo old! He was a happy puppy. My family requested to play with him in the little cubicles and we were delighted. He was a little pricey, but he had his papers, proper shots/vaccines, and had an underbite that made him adorable. He’s doing well even today! Never gotten injured or sick. He’s expected to live the normal expectancy of a malti-poo. I don’t remember much about the store or any changes since then, but I remember that the lady helping us was nice! Here is Marshmallow! Posted on Google Charles B Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Lots of dogs for adoption, well taken care of. Also have some birds, rabbits and a few sleepy ferrits. I stopped in for some feeder fish. Very nice staff. Posted on Google Joshua B Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Loved the exotic birds Posted on Google Melinda R Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. This was my 2nd time back. My daughter has been wanting another set of guinea pigs. I saw the most beautiful lionhead rabbit 🐇 about 7 weeks. LORENZO educated me on their demeanor, foods etc... I was there a good while, he showed no signs of rushing me, or pushing a sale. Answered all my questions and even educated me on ferrets as i asked lol he loves his job & wish all associates were like this everywhere! I was very pleased 😀 didn't grab the rabbit as my daughter took forever to answer me, but we're leaving for vacation and would not be cool to leave him alone . We will be back! And I will only ask for him! Thank you for the great customer service! ```