As a member of the toy breeds group, the Miniature Pinscher is a small, spirited dog with high energy levels. While the breed can essentially eat anything, some foods are more suitable than others. Choose kibble available in mini-bites to fit the mouth of the little Miniature Pinscher, and avoid feeding anything hard that is larger than one-half inch in diameter because the dog may swallow it whole, and it could become lodged in the esophagus.
Food Types
Miniature Pinschers can thrive on wet or dry commercial food, raw food diets, or home-cooked meals. Puppies and young adults that get plenty of exercise benefit from a performance diet rich in protein, while older or less active dogs may need a diet with sufficient fiber and reduced fat to prevent them from gaining weight. Some owners prefer to feed raw food diets, which consist of human-quality raw meat protein mixed with fruit, vegetables, and bone meal. Check with your veterinarian before feeding your dog raw meat. Wash your hands, kitchen utensils and surfaces thoroughly after handling raw meat to avoid bacterial contamination. Miniature Pinschers love dog treats, and dried, baked calves' liver is not only delicious but rich in nutrients and iron content.
Quantities
When feeding commercial dog food, select the appropriate product for the weight and age of your Miniature Pinscher. The correct quantity to feed varies, depending on the dog's activity level. Active, growing puppies require less than 1 ounce of dry dog food per pound of body weight each day, spread across three to four meals. Adult Miniature Pinschers, however, only require around half an ounce per pound, and you can feed them all the food in one or two daily meals.
Home-Cooked Food
If you prepare home-cooked food, use approximately 50 percent meat, poultry or fish protein, such as skinless chicken or turkey, lean muscle meat, or fish with a high oil content such as salmon. Include complex carbohydrates such as sweet potato, brown rice, barley, or quinoa to make up 30 percent of the recipe. The remaining 20 percent can be fruit and vegetables such as green beans, carrots, pumpkin, apples, pears and bananas. Cook all the ingredients in a large pot with just enough water to process the rice. Debone the meat or chicken, mix the cooked food together and freeze it until you need it.
Never feed your Miniature Pinschers chocolate, grapes, raisins, macadamia nuts, avocados, or milk. Chocolate, coffee, and caffeine all contain methylxanthine substances, which are found in the cacao seeds used to make coffee and other products. These can cause vomiting, seizures, and even the death of your dog. Onions, garlic and chives, although harmless to humans, cause irritation of the dog’s gastrointestinal tract, and large quantities or regular ingestion could cause damage to the dog’s red blood cells. Avoid giving your dog table scraps, because these can contain more salt and fat than the dog’s system can handle, and long-term exposure could lead to pancreatitis and weight gain.
