DO YOU HAVE A PUPPY RANGE?
All our ZIWI® Peak air-dried and canned recipes are complete and balanced for ALL life stages – that means puppies, too! In the wild, puppies graduate from drinking their mother’s milk to eating whole prey – which includes organs and bone as well as muscle meat. That’s why we’ve followed these natural principles to develop our high nutrition ZIWI® Peak recipes, with up to 96% meat, organs, seafood and bone.
WHAT AGE CAN MY PUPPY START EATING ZIWI® PEAK?
ZIWI® Peak is safe to be introduced to puppies from weaning, or 6 weeks of age. It’s an excellent first food after mother’s milk, as it’s highly digestible and contains all the nutrients a growing carnivore needs. Our recipes mirror your puppy’s need for a high-meat, protein-rich diet, and are free from artificial binders or fillers. It’s great to know ZIWI® Peak is carefully crafted to meet the needs of senior dogs, too – so you’ve discovered premium nutrition that you can feed them for life.
HOW DO I KNOW ZIWI® IS SAFE FOR PUPPIES?
All our ZIWI® Peak air-dried and canned recipes are tested regularly for safety, to ensure you’re giving your puppy the very best start in life. Our recipes meet or exceed the AAFCO nutrient profiles for all life stages, and all breeds - including the growth of large breed puppies. Larger breeds in particular need a good intake of calcium and phosphorous to keep their bones strong as they grow, so ZIWI® Peak is an excellent choice for ensuring your puppy is getting all the nutrients they need. If you’d like to see the exact breakdowns of vitamins and minerals in our recipes, you can download our Typical Analysis documents on our recipe pages in the ‘Typical Analysis’ or ‘Guaranteed Analysis’ tabs. This details the key nutrients on an ‘As Received and ‘Dry Matter’ basis. Dry Matter’ is the nutrient levels with 0% moisture, whereas ‘As Received’ or ‘As Fed’ shows the volumes of each nutrient with the naturally-occurring moisture in the product taken into account as well
CAN I SWITCH STRAIGHT TO ZIWI® FROM ANOTHER BRAND?
Yes! But take it slowly. If your puppy has been eating a different brand of pet food up until now, it’s a good idea to make the transition gently. If you’re changing from a more processed food that contains fillers, keep in mind that ZIWI® Peak is a lot more concentrated and nutrient dense than many other pet foods. Start by adding just a small amount of ZIWI® Peak to each meal, and gradually adjust the ratios over next 7 – 10 days, until you are feeding 100% ZIWI®. This slow and gentle transition will give their developing digestive system time to adjust to the change, and reduce any risk of diarrhoea and vomiting. If your little one does experience any diarrhoea while transitioning, we recommend reverting back to the previous step of the transition, and continuing to feed at that amount until their digestive system settles down. Adding a bit of mashed or canned pumpkin can also help to firm up those stools if needed
HOW MANY TIMES A DAY SHOULD I FEED MY PUPPY?
If your puppy is only six or seven weeks old (aww!), you’ll need to feed them three or four times per day. Feeding them ‘little and often’ makes it easier for their tiny tummies to digest and helps keep their energy levels consistent. In our experience, once they reach 8 weeks of age, puppies can be fed three times a day, and then they can gradually shift to twice-a-day feedings once they reach around 4 – 6 months of age
HOW MUCH FOOD DOES MY PUPPY NEED?
Your puppy’s daily calorie requirements will change throughout their first year of life, so we recommend you use our online feeding calculator as a starting point to ensure you are feeding the appropriate amount as your puppy grows. This online tool allows you to enter in your pup’s weight and life stage, along with the recipe you plan to feed, to see a daily feeding recommendation that’s tailored to your little buddy. Of course, keep an eye on their body condition as well, and adjust your feeding amount accordingly
WHICH RECIPES WOULD YOU RECOMMEND FOR PUPPIES?
When your puppy is still new to ZIWI® Peak, we recommend starting with 
our most popular recipes – Free-Range Chicken, Beef, or Lamb. These feature the highest fat levels amongst our dog recipes, so they’re perfect to support active young puppies and their daily calorie needs. If your puppy is a fussy eater or has food sensitivities, our Tripe & Lamb recipe contains over 35% nourishing and highly palatable cold washed green tripe, a naturally delicious option for fussy pups. We recommend you settle on a single recipe choice for the first month, before trying another ZIWI® Peak recipe. It’s a good idea to introduce each new recipe over 7 days initially, to encourage a successful start to rotational feeding and help reduce the potential for stomach upsets. If there have been no issues trying the different recipes, you can feel free to shorten the transition between your puppy’s favourite recipes to keep their tastebuds tantalised! Like humans, pets are all different, so we would recommend erring on the side of caution and transitioning to new recipes gradually over 2-4 days to minimize any digestive upsets