Balanced food is the be-all and end-all for your dog. What do important ingredients, food for young, old, large or small dogs, diet feeding and differences in dry and wet food look like? This article will give you tips and information on how to eat healthily for your dog.
The Right Feed
Not all dogs are created equal. Not only in terms of appearance, but also in terms of what is being fed. In order for a dog, regardless of whether it is sensitive or robust, to be able to live happily, it needs a needs-based diet.
Diet can also help with many diseases, but sometimes a special diet is necessary. Performance and sport dogs must also receive more food than an older dog.
Nutrition of Young Dogs (Puppies)
Ideally, you should first take over the feeding habits and also the feed that the breeder is used to so far, so that the four-legged addition to the family does not have to change their diet.
The new living environment with all the challenges that a change in the living environment as well as the caregivers bring with it are excitement enough for a puppy.
You can gradually adapt the food to your ideas and the dog’s needs. In the beginning, provide your puppy with four easily digestible meals a day in the amount of food that is appropriate for the dog.
You should pay attention to this when choosing puppy food
High quality puppy food has a high meat content and is characterized by an easily digestible and high quality protein source. The proteins contained in puppy food are important building blocks, because in the phase of rapid growth and the associated weight gain, puppies need a lot of energy.
Fats and / or fatty acids ensure that the menu is easy to digest and enable the absorption of vitamins with which a good puppy food is specifically enriched.
Carbohydrates are another source of energy. Sugar, preservatives, and flavor enhancers don’t belong in good puppy food.
Because of the right puppy food, you should therefore inform yourself sufficiently. Most of the time, the breeders also give a lot of tips and recommend a brand to you.
Usually you get some puppy food from the breeder at the beginning. If you want to switch permanently, make sure to do this step by step. Mix the new food with the previous puppy food for a few days so that your puppy’s stomach can get used to it gently.
What is the right amount of puppy food?
A puppy’s stomach is small in size. Therefore, young dogs should be fed small portions several times a day. Four to five meals should be served in the first two to three months.
From the third month onwards, the dog food can be served less frequently. About three to four times a day, but the portions should be a little more generous.
At six months old, you can feed your puppy about two to three times a day. Since dogs are creatures of habit, they should be fed at set times.
Grain-Free Dog Food
The grain-free food is particularly suitable for food-sensitive dogs. If your dog has noticeable itching, diarrhea or reddened ears, grain-free dog food can be the solution. It is one of the digestible dog foods with a low allergy potential.
Basically, grain is a healthy product. It contains valuable proteins, vitamins and minerals. However, if an intolerance has been found, grain-free or gluten-free dog food must be used for the well-being of the dog.
Benefits of grain-free dog food
- low allergy potential
- mostly higher quality by avoiding grain
- also suitable for dogs without allergies
- Close to nature
Dog food with a high meat content
The dog needs a lot of meat in its diet. A dog food with a high meat content therefore corresponds to the original diet of the four-legged friend, in which high-quality muscle meat meets the need for important nutrients such as protein and fat. In addition, the allergy potential is significantly lower with dog food with a high meat content.
However, the amount of meat alone does not determine the quality of the dog food. Only a look at the declaration of the feed provides information about the quality of the raw materials used.
The decisive factor is not the declared meat content, but the nutrient content.
Benefits of high-meat dog foods
- Species-appropriate, natural nutrition
- Less allergy potential
- Smaller feeding amount with qualitative raw materials
- Prevents illness
- Supports the development of bones and joints
- Reduces tartar formation
Premium Dog Food
Only ingredients of above-average quality are used in premium dog food. You get top quality dog food for your four-legged friend.
Only ingredients of above-average quality are used in premium dog food. You get top quality dog food for your four-legged friend.
In addition, thanks to the excellent ingredients in premium dry or wet feed, the amount fed is reduced so that the animal’s digestive tract is less stressed.
A significantly lower allergen potential also speaks in favor of feeding premium dog food. In order to keep the risk of nutritional intolerance as low as possible, many premium dog foods do without the addition of gluten-containing grains, soy, colorings and preservatives.
When it comes to the composition of a premium dog food, it is important that it contains a high proportion of meat as the main source of protein and a main source of carbohydrates from good carbohydrates such as rice or potatoes.
High-quality proteins are used, among other things, for cell and tissue formation, muscle building and blood and hair formation.
What should the premium dog food not contain?
- Unspecified oils and fats
- Poultry meal: beaks, claws, feathers
- large amounts of fillers: cereals and corn
- artificial colors, flavors and preservatives
- vegetable by-products and dairy products
- Sugar – promotes obesity and is bad for your teeth
Oven-baked dry dog food
Dog owners can use food baked in the oven, which is composed of raw materials specially tailored to the dog, conveniently portioned and can also be kept for a longer period of time
Due to the gluten- and grain-free recipes, it is very well tolerated.
Benefits of oven-baked dry food
- it does not swell in the stomach
- When high temperatures are briefly reached, a crust is formed that encloses the nutrients
- it is easy to digest and easily digestible
- the hardness of the pieces strengthens the dog’s chewing muscles
Frozen food for dogs
Frozen meat for dogs is the healthy alternative to fresh meat. It has a longer shelf life, is conveniently portioned and available in many different varieties.
Frozen frozen dog food should always be thawed slowly in the refrigerator. The juices that are created during thawing contain many healthy minerals and can be added to the feed mix.
Horse meat is a specialty under frozen food for dogs. The muscle meat of horses is low in calories and suitable for sensitive dogs with allergies and intolerances.
Ostrich meat also impresses with its digestibility. The cholesterol-free and particularly low-fat source of protein can also be served if your dog does not tolerate the meat of chicken, turkey and turkey.
Cold-pressed dog food
Cold-pressed dog food is produced using the cold-pressing process, i.e. without the additional use of heat.
Benefits of cold-pressed dog food
- the lower the temperatures used, the more “original” the raw materials used in the feed are
- Dry food “close to nature”
- rich in vitamins
- does not have to be added separately
Diet food for dogs
Diet food for dogs can help to get weight problems under control and thus prevent diseases resulting from being overweight.
Diet feed is a special feed, primarily reduced in fat and with a reduced number of calories. In order to put protein and protein in a “healthy” ratio, the protein content is often also reduced.
Vitamins and minerals are retained as needed. Some diet foods have a higher proportion of raw fiber, this ensures a longer lasting feeling of satiety without stressing the body.
Diet food must also meet the individual requirements of a dog. Important factors include the age, size and activity of the animal.
BARfen
BARfen in dogs promotes healthy and active life. In addition, a healthy and balanced diet is of crucial importance. This principle applies to dogs as well as to humans.
Many dog owners therefore decide after an intensive preoccupation with the subject of feeding for BARFing, the biologically appropriate raw feeding.
BARFing means more than just replacing canned food with raw meat. A balanced dog meal also includes plant-based food components, even if their percentage is significantly lower than that of meat. Fiber and carbohydrates from plant-based ingredients are essential for a healthy metabolic process.
For this reason, it is extremely important to know and follow the basic guidelines of BARFING.
Under certain circumstances, switching to BARF can also mean that you have to reintegrate feeding into your daily schedule. In the case of biologically appropriate raw feeding, a can is not simply opened and the contents are placed in the food bowl.
The preparation of the meal is usually connected with various activities that can mean a small expenditure of time of around 10 minutes a day.
What is poisonous to the dog?
Your four-legged friend should or may not eat everything. Chocolate, for example, poses a serious health hazard for dogs. The blame is the theobromine contained in cocoa beans, a substance that is closely related to caffeine and can hardly be processed by the dog’s body. The necessary enzymes are missing.
The chemical substance not only leads to an increase in blood pressure and pulse rate in four-legged friends. In addition to nausea, diarrhea and vomiting, symptoms of poisoning also include fever and cramps. In the very worst case, the four-legged friend could even pay for the forbidden enjoyment with his life.
The first symptoms of theobromine poisoning can be restlessness, tremors, seizures, overheating and cardiac arrhythmias. These can occur even when consuming small amounts of chocolate, depending on the individual sensitivity of the four-legged friend and the amount of prohibited delicacies eaten. Other indicators can be vomiting, diarrhea and increased thirst.
This is the right way to reward your dog
Praise, pats and treats are balm for the dog’s soul. Used correctly, rewards increase the motivation of your four-legged friend, lift their spirits and improve every human-dog relationship. In addition, it is easier to learn with a reward.
Rewards show your dog, “You did everything right, keep it up!”. Recognition motivates the animal to repeat what it has learned or to implement it permanently.
Treats for your four-legged friend can be a very convincing argument to follow the owner’s or mistress’ instructions. However, since every dog personality has their own preferences, there is no one universal “perfect reward”.
