Natural Pet Health

Giving your puppy good food, healthy treats, and the necessary supplements will not only help him grow strong and healthy, but it will also affect his behavior and his ability to be trained to learn new things.

Every dog is different, and there are certain factors to consider when determining the diet program that will fit the needs of his growing body. However, there are also general rules that owners must follow to ensure that their pets are getting the balanced food and supplementation that their bodies require.

You May Want To Avoid Giving Your Dog Human Food

Dog Food & Supplements: An In Depth Look At Nutrition For Your Pet (3)

Labeling in the pet food industry is carefully controlled by state and federal regulations. Words such as complete and/or balanced cannot arbitrarily appear on a label. Before any labeling claims that a product is complete and/or balanced, manufacturers must prove it to the satisfaction of the American Association of Feed Control Officials (AAFCO).

The AAFCO is made up of representatives from each state, and representatives from the Federal Trade Commission and the Food and Drug Administration. The AAFCO is closely affiliated with the individual state departments of agriculture. Manufacturers must prove that the product actually meets or exceeds the acceptable guidelines as set forth by the National Research Council.

Dog Food & Supplements: An In Depth Look At Nutrition For Your Pet (6)

Pet food manufacturers have made it quite easy for the average dog owner to feed their pets without having to be an expert nutritionist. All of the work has been done by the modern manufacturer.

Since it isn’t possible for manufacturers to list all of the nutrients and their required percentages as published by the NRC (National Research Council) on their labels, the terms complete diet, nutritionally complete, balanced, and balanced diet are used.

This tells the consumer that the product inside the can, bag or box, contains all the essential vitamins, minerals, proteins, carbohydrates and fats the average dog needs to satisfy his daily requirements.

For those that feed the raw diet to your pets and claim that they do not need vegetables and fruits in their diets, I beg to differ. Let’s examine the actual “diet” of the wild canines and felines.

They do, indeed, hunt their meat “on the hoof,” as it were, but they do not, I suspect, empty the stomach contents of their prey, nor the bowels of their prey, before consuming it. At least, not entirely.

That is one of their sources of vegetable matter. You think they don’t need it? Have your dogs ever eaten the feces of other animals? Why do you suppose that might be? Because they crave the vegetable matter, perhaps?

To meet the continual nutritional demand of your puppy’s growing body, he must have food available to him all day long. There are 3 common techniques to feed your new puppy. These are: Meal feeding, portion-control feeding, and free feeding.

Meal Feeding: This method of feeding is usually done with mixing solid food and canned food and is ideal for puppies that are being trained to housebreak. With this technique, your puppy gets his meals at different times during the day. Many owners prefer the three meal a day program while others are more comfortable with giving their puppies four meals a day.

Whether you’re feeding your puppy three or four meals per day, the important thing to remember is to divide the meals equally within a 24-hour period and without having to get up at night.

Nutrition For Active Dogs – Proper Nutrition For Your Working Dog

Dogs that lead a very active lifestyle demand a more comprehensive diet than average dogs require. Examples of these hard-working dogs are those that participate in agility competitions as well as those that team up with law enforcement on a search-and-rescue mission.

These dogs require nutritional needs that are different from an average household pet. Most of these sporting and working dogs participate in intermediate activities as well. These are activities that require low to moderate duration and intensity. Examples include: Competition or agility, service, search and rescue, tracking or hunting, police or guarding, detection, and even managing livestock.

Essential Nutrients For Your Busy Canine Athlete

An important nutrient that all dogs need and one that is responsible for furnishing energy in their body are fats. Fats supply energy for the body to use. It also has a small role in building strong cells and promoting the absorption of nutrients. However, similar to the essential amino acids, a dog’s body isn’t able to produce these essential fatty acids, and therefore has to come from an outside source, from the food they eat.

Dogs do not usually develop a deficiency in fatty acids because their basic diet normally provides them with sufficient amount of energy from fat. In fact, a small amount of extra fats benefit their body in several ways. It protects them from the cold; it provides cushion to their body; and it serves as a protective layer of covering around different organs in their body. Actually, dogs are very efficient in using their stored fats because their bodies have the ability to easily turn these fats into energy when needed.

Below are the top 5 steps to effectively change your dog’s diet without throwing him into shock.

Step one: If a dog is switching owners or moving to a new location with the family, or just going through an emotional strain, it is best to not change it’s diet. You should wait until the dog has adjusted to the new location or owner before changing his diet. Once your dog has taken up with the new owner or location, the dietary change should be set immediately.

Step two: You should always start out slowly changing the dog’s food, I suggest starting at about 25% change from the old food to the new food. A dog will hardly notice the difference if the two foods are mixed well. Most dogs should eat this new mixture just as well as it did its old diet.

Commercial Dog Food Do You Know The Truth About Dog Food Yet?

As a kid growing up in a family full of dogs, I remember the old days when mom and pop used to feed our dogs any type of table scraps that we had from our meals. And sometimes, the dogs would all have their meals prepared ahead of time. We ate all types of food and back in those days so did our animals, except for one major difference of today’s house pets they didn’t eat a bite of commercial dog food.

Special Diets For Dogs: Your Veterinarian Has Something Very Important To Tell You

Special diets for dogs are not only prescribed by veterinarians for the obese animal, but also for various health reasons.

For example, if your dog suffers from congestive heart failure, due to heartworm or other heart diseases, your veterinarian may want to put him on a low-sodium diet, along with the proper medications, which combined, may literally save your pet’s life. There used to be an old saying: You are what you eat, but your dog has no choice, He is what you feed him and his welfare is always in your hands.