Feeding
Your Bichon Frise
 If
you bought your Bichon from a responsible breeder, you were given written
instructions on the care and feeding of the puppy. This article does not
intend to override those instructions. However, many pups are sent home with
minimal instructions and we are often asked for feeding advice. This
information is provided to assist you in getting your pup off to a good start
and to guide you in providing healthy food.
What foods should I feed my
Bichon?
The first instruction is to
provide premium dog food and to avoid generic brands. It used to be that
premium foods could not be found at the grocery store but that has changed in
recent years. There are some brands of foods that are better for your pet than
others. We do not offer specific brand names but you can sometimes use low
price as a guide in that cheaper food may be an indication of poorer quality
of ingredients. Ask your local pet supply store for a list of premium
foods and choose from among those. Up to about one year of age, this will also
mean a Puppy formula as opposed to adult foods.
These premium foods are
based on serious research and that research tells us that a dry (kibble) diet is
better for the dog’s health. Dry food is better in terms of dental health (see
The Importance of Good Dental Care in a Bichon)
and the kibble diet is balanced in regard to vitamins, minerals and the ratio of
fat to protein to carbohydrates. There is no reason to add other foods and
this includes canned dog food. In fact, adding other foods can alter the
important balance of minerals and vitamins and will likely make the dog too fat
over time. An occasional treat will be discussed later.
Does the food I feed my
puppy now affect his future health?
What a dog is fed can affect
him as far as future problems with allergy, weight and general health so
starting him with quality foods can have a life long effect. Some the
ingredients you will want to see in his commercial dog food are meat, not meat byproducts, cereals such as barley, brown rice
and oatmeal, natural additives and vitamins, probiotics/ lactobacillus,
vegetables (not just corn and beets), natural preservatives instead of
chemicals. The dietary ingredients will sound much like a human diet and will
be balanced. If you buy from a pet food supplier, you should be able to talk to
an employee knowledgable about quality dog foods. A grocery clerk will not have
that kind of knowledge and most grocers do not carry premium foods, though some
do. Premium foods cost more but the extra cost is well balanced against the
veterinary costs that will be encountered later in life by feeding low quality
brands of foods.
What about the treats I feed
him?
Treats can be used in
training your puppy and you can find articles on this web site that will
instruct you about using treats for training. If you feel you must also use
treats occasionally just to say “I love you”, use a piece of the daily allotted
amount of kibble or rarely offer a tiny bit of lean chicken. His kibble
is the best treat for training, as well. Deduct the treats from the total
amount fed daily. Remember that what you feed today may affect your puppy later
in life! This includes over feeding. Obesity adds stress to hips and knees and
may set the dog up for pancreatitis, diabetes and other metabolic problems.
What kind of schedule should my
puppy be on?
We hope you have not purchased a puppy
as young as 6 weeks old because he is just being weaned and is NOT ready to
leave the litter. Most responsible breeders will not place pups earlier than
10-13 weeks of age. However we know that pups are shipped from mass breeding
kennels as early as 8 weeks and we take that into consideration in providing
this schedule. Remember that the total amount of food in a 24 hour
period for a normal sized Bichon is about 1 cup of dry kibble. The following
schedule is based on that total amount. Remove any uneaten food after 10
minutes.
A schedule for feeding:
Pups just weaned will eat 4
meals a day. These meals should be about 4-5 hours apart. Divide the cup of
food into 4 portions and give him the first ¼ cup when he wakes up in the
morning after he has been walked. The next ¼ cup will be about midday,
followed by a third ¼ cup in the late afternoon, say between 5-6 PM. A final
feeding will be given in the evening. Read
Crate Training Your Puppy to understand how this works into the house
training schedule.
Starting at 10 weeks, watch
the puppy for signs that he may be about ready to cut the number of meals to 3
times a day. When he starts to leave some of his food at his second meal, try
him at 3 meals a day. Adjust the following schedule to suit your family:
6-8 AM Feed 1/3 cup of dry
kibble; midday feed 1/3 cup of dry kibble and about 6 PM feed 1/3 cup of dry
kibble. You may want to set aside just a few pieces of kibble for bedtime but a
full meal at bedtime will probably cause him to need to go outside during the
night. Review Crate Training Your Puppy
for more information on training him to be clean in the house.
Suppose he won’t eat the
food dry?
Moisten the food for a few
days until you are sure he is eating well and then gradually reduce the amount
of water added until he is eating dry kibble. You may want to try giving him
the food dry from the start and only add water if he won’t eat it dry. Do not
add any other food to the dry kibble. He may need a couple of days to adapt to
his new food. You can always alternate between wet and dry for a short time but
it is to his advantage and to yours for him to eat it dry.
When does he start eating only one or two meals a day?
At some point he will not want all his
food at midday, probably at about 6 months. At this time, change the amount
given to 1/2 cup of dry kibble and feed him twice a day. Suggested meal times
would be 7-8 AM and 6-8 PM. Most Bichons do well on two meals a day the rest of
their lives. Switch to adult formula at about one year of age. Senior formula
works after age seven or so.
Did you know that feeding your
puppy in his crate is a good thing to do? Puppies who are fed in their crates
tend to accept being in the crate very readily. Also it means that each pet, in
multipet households, eats only his own food, very important in controlling
weight gain. In fact, for the new pup just being introduced to a crate
for the first time, a good way to get him to like being there is to throw a
piece of his kibble into the crate as a treat as you place him in it.
Will he never need meat or vegetables added to his diet?
As we have explained, a
balanced premium dry food is prepared to provide your Bichon with all the
nutrients he needs for a healthy life. If you decide to occasionally
give him a tidbit of lean meat, cooked egg, yogurt or a treat of raw
apple or carrot, you will not greatly upset his nutritional balance. But these
treats must be in relation to his size. A 12-14 pound dog does not need a Great
Dane sized portion so we are talking about a teaspoon or less of
supplemental food. There is another issue here - dogs with calcium bladder
stones or with metabolic or other diseases can actually be harmed when you add
the wrong food to his diet. So make sure you do not get carried away with the
extras. We would again remind you that obesity in dogs is rampart these days
and can greatly increase his chances of patellar luxation, diabetes,
pancreatitis and other conditions.
So instead of extra meat, should I give him vitamins?
The
answer to that question is NO!
Remember that we said he was
getting a balanced diet from his premium dog food. When you add vitamins and
minerals to that diet, you are again throwing off the balance that research has
proved to be good for a growing puppy (or for a healthy adult). A sick dog may
need some sort of prescribed supplement but a healthy dog does not and your
veterinarian will tell you if he ever needs something special added to his daily
diet. Of course, we hope he stays healthy and does not ever have to have
prescribed medications or vitamin supplements.
Suppose I did not feed my Bichon this
way from the start and now he wants his food mixed with meat. What do you
suggest?
Finicky eaters are created and, with
patience, they can be trained out of their bad habits. Gradually cut down the
amount of meat you add to his dry food until there is none added. If he won’t
eat the food after 10 or 15 minutes, pick it up and offer no more food until the
next scheduled feeding time. Do this at each meal for a few days and he will
eat – so long as you do not give him treats in between. Of course he will need
water and his water bowl should be available at all times.
The breeder of my puppy gave me
instructions for a diet based on raw foods. Is this a good diet?
There are diets available that include
raw foods and some dedicated pet owners follow those diets. There is absolutely
nothing wrong with the diets but they take a lot of time to prepare, usually in
quantity with the pet owner freezing portions that can be used as needed. For
the person who will devote the needed time, who has access to the products
needed and who will be consistent in following this diet plan, these diets are
very healthy for the dog. However this is not a dietary plan that is served at
the convenience of the human who must prepare the foods. It takes dedication,
research, study, shopping for quality ingredients, a home freezer for storage -
the picture should be clear. If you work full time, have a family who need your
time and attention, tend to be a bit disorganized, we cannot recommend that you
start this kind of diet plan. For that reason, we do suggest PREMIUM prepared
dog foods as the answer to feeding your Bichon.
However if your dog is your family and
you want to provide quality human grade food, this is the route for you to
take. Just be certain you will continue to do justice to providing the quality
ingredients in consistent fashion. Our recommendation for those who undertake a
home prepared diet is to study the diets and follow them accurately. There are
a number of publications available to help you.
We urge you to always
provide fresh water that is readily available to the puppy or adult.
Fresh available water is essential to good health!
FOODS YOU SHOULD NEVER FEED
YOUR DOG
Alcohol
Apple cores (seeds are poisonous)
Bones that are cooked (they splinter)
Caffeine
Chocolate
Raw dough
Garlic
Grapes
Moldy foods, including aged cheeses
Mushrooms
Onions
Raisins
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