It is common practice for puppy owners to soak their puppy food and it is usually recommended that any dry food that is fed to a puppy until the agest of twelve weeks be soaked.
There are a number of situations that may require you to soak your puppies food for longer than the initial twelve week period though so we often see people reaching out and asking when to stop soaking puppy food and move to regular dry food.
Although the twelve week recommendation is a great general ballpark timeframe, we wanted to publish a dedicated article going over the topic in more detail.
Our hope is that we will be able to help as many of our readers as possible better understand what they should be factored in when they think of feeding their puppy regular food over soaked dry food.
On top of that, there are also different ways that you are able to soak food with water, milk, and chicken broth usually being the three most common methods.
Each liquid used to soak poppy food is also usually used for a different reason and usually has a different recommended timeframe for it when looking to move your puppy onto normal dry food.
Why Do People Soak Puppy Food?
The main reason that people soak their puppy food is to help soften the kibble to make sure that it won’t cause problems with your puppies teeth that are still growing in.
Some people may add milk or broth to their puppies food too but this is usually to boost the calorie intake for your puppy rather than to protect its teeth.
We have seen some people soaking their puppy food to try and prevent bloat forming in their puppy too. This can work if you have purchased a puppy kibble that contains excess air and soaking the kibble in water is often able to reduce the chance of bloat forming.
If you are only soaking your puppy kibble due to it causing bloat in your puppy then we would highly recommend that you switch over to a high-quality puppy kibble as soon as your current puppy food runs out.
This will should contain less air and ingredients that can cause bloat in your puppy and remove the need for you to soak your puppies food.
Switching over to a tailor made puppy food is also another excellent path to choose for your puppy with it also being able to improve the general health of your puppy in addition to reducing bloat too.
When To Stop Soaking Puppy Food In Water!
You should usually stop soaking your puppy food in water at around the twelve weeks of age mark.
By twelve weeks, a healthy puppy will have had their teeth grow in fully and the need to soften their kibble to prevent damage to the newly growing teeth is drastically reduced.
As we mentioned above though, if you are soaking your puppy food with water to prevent bloat in your puppy then you should be looking at switching over to a high-quality puppy kibble as soon as your current puppy food runs out.
As soon as you have switched to a better kibble product for your puppy, you may find that there is no need to soak your puppy food anymore and that you are able to just feed your puppy dry food without issue.
If you are soaking your puppy food in water due to it having problems with its jaw, teeth or digestion then you should stick to the specific advice given to you by your vet.
If you have not taken advice from a vet then booking a short video call with a veterinarian to have them go over your puppies condition and offer their recommendation can be a quick, easy, and cheap way to get a definitive answer.
When To Stop Soaking Puppy Food In Milk!
Most people who soak their puppy food in milk are doing it as a quick, easy, and cheap way to get additional calories, vitamins, and minerals into their puppy for a specific condition, usually being underweight.
You should keep soaking your puppy food in milk until your puppy has reached its target weight and then can be switched to normal puppy kibble or have its food soaked in water instead.
It is common for some puppy owners to keep soaking their puppy kibble in milk once their puppy has reached their target weight but this will usually result in an overweight puppy and add the associated health risks that come with it.
If your puppy is under the twelve weeks of age point or still needs its food to be soaked due to another reason once it reaches its target weight, you should switch to using water to soak your puppies kibble instead of milk.
Some puppies will have allergies to milk and other dairy products too. If you do notice diarrhoea or any other symptoms of allergies to dairy in your puppy then switch to soaking their food with broth if possible.
It will remove the dairy element to soaking your puppy kibble but still add additional calories while also keeping the kibble as soft as possible too.
Should You Transition Your Puppies Food When You Stop Soaking It?
Some people will instantly switch their puppy from a soaked kibble to a regular kibble where as others will transition their puppy over.
If you do want to transition your puppy the adding less and less liquid to your puppies kibble each day with a steady drop off is usually the best way to go about it.
If you have been soaking your puppies kibble with milk or broth as a way to get additional calories into your pet, it can be a good idea to gradually transition your puppy off to allow its body to adjust to the lower daily calorie intake.
There should be no serious problems if you do instantly transition your puppy off their soaked kibble onto a dry kibble though, it can just cause your puppy to act hungry as its body adjusts to the calorie reduction.
If you are only soaking your puppies kibble with water as a way to protect its teeth while they grow in then you should be able to easily switch directly from a soaked kibble to a dry kibble without issue.
Some people will still choose to use a transitional period though to allow their puppy to get used to the texture of its food changing as this can help to prevent some rare issues with the puppy not eating.
Conclusion
That brings our article going over when to stop soaking puppy food to an end. We hope that we have been able to help you and as we have covered above, there are actually a number of different reasons that you may want to change how long you keep soaking your puppies food for. The majority of people will just be soaking the dry kibble while their puppies teeth grow in though so you are usually able to stop the soaking process after your puppy is around twelve weeks old.
