When you are deciding on what and how much to feed your dog, remember that it’s important to consult with your veterinarian on what’s appropriate. However, there are a few tips that you can follow that will help you decide on what exactly you should put in your pup’s food dish.
How To Choose The Right Dog Food
What To Look For In A Dog Food
Choose a diet that uses whole-food ingredients that are real and recognizable. If the food is mostly full of unfamiliar ingredients, look for a different type of food. Also, look for a low-calorie diet for neutered, adult, indoor, and spayed dogs that will have low-energy food requirements.
Each cup of your dog’s food should only contain a small amount of calories, preferably under 350 calories. If you have food that has 500 calories in each cup, and your dog only weighs 20 pounds, you should only feed your dog a very small, and unsatisfying, amount. And if you do feed your dog this high-calorie food, even just a little bit of it will cause your dog to gain weight.
How Often Should You Feed Your Dog?
Dogs have special gastrointestinal and digestive adaptation thanks to the biological evolution of a dog as a hunter that allows him to ingest large meals followed by several days of not eating at all. But a typical dog will need to bed one to two times a day while many dogs will actually benefit from eating meals two to three times a day that are equally divided.
No matter what feeding schedule you end up choosing, make sure to avoid letting your dog do any vigorous exercises after he eats a very large meal. This is especially important if he eats his food rather quickly. Not only will this help to reduce problems with bloating, but it will also prevent serious digestive disorders like intestinal obstructions. It is also important that your dog has access to clean, freshwater all the time.
Is Dry or Canned Food Better For Your Dog?
As far as digestibility and nutrition, there really isn’t any difference between canned and dry dog food. Instead, make your decision on which to feed your dog based on your budget, lifestyle, and preferences. If you have a dog that needs to have more water in its diet or has specific dietary needs, canned dog food may be a good choice, otherwise, most other dogs will do just fine eating dry food.
Some dry dog food also has special formulas sold as dental diets that can also help to remove plaque from their teeth, which may also benefit certain dogs.
Are There Differences Among Breeds In Nutritional Requirements?
Yes, there are certain breeds that have different nutrient and metabolism requirements than others. Some water breeds and dogs that grew up in specific areas, like the Arctic Circle breeds, may require a specialized diet that is common to the area where they originated. Genetic differences and inbreeding between dogs in each species may also require an individual pet diet to optimize their health.
Besides considering the breed of your dog, you also need to think about your pup’s lifestyle. A working dog like a field trial, herding, or hunting dog will need a different ratio of fats and proteins in their dog food than a lap dog or a sedentary house dog.
Life Stage Feeding
Puppies
Early in a dog’s life, a dog should eat a lot and often. Requiring a fairly large quantity of food due to their rapid growth and the limited space in their small stomachs. Between six and eight weeks of age, a puppy needs to be fed between four and six meals each day. because they are growing rapidly and have limited space in their tiny stomachs. By the time a puppy is six months, he will need his food to be decreased since he will now be about ¾ of his adult size and should only be fed between two and three meals each day.
When you feed your dog good-quality puppy food, you will have the advantage of a specially formulated diet that will meet a growing puppy’s demanding nutritional needs. For instance, puppy food contains the right amount of calcium that a dog needs, and, due to their quick growth, any mistake that is made with a dog’s nutrition at this point in their life can make create lifelong, severe, and irreversible consequences. Since growth is pretty much complete between eight and 10 months of age, you can switch a typical puppy to an adult dog food when he is one year old.
Giant or large breed puppies that will end up weight more than 50 pounds full-grown, or is at risk for growth abnormalities, hip dysplasia, or elbow dysplasia should be fed a puppy food that has a special formula for a large-breed puppy. This type of diet is created to contain the right ratio of calcium and proteins to control rapid bone growth, which can lead to disorder with their joints. Your vet can also recommend transitional adolescent diets during your dog’s teen years.
Once a puppy is weaned, most puppies will lose their ability to digest lactose. So remember that while a puppy may be able to tolerate a small amount of milk, feeding a dog milk regularly may cause him to have diarrhea or intestinal upset since a dog isn’t able to digest it properly.
Older dogs
An older dog, particularly a dog over seven years old, can benefit from a diet created just for their needs. A senior dog diet will tend to have fewer carbohydrates, lower sodium, higher protein, and lower calories. While many dog foods can contain probiotics or prebiotics to help him maintain healthy microbial populations in his intestines with increased antioxidants like omega-3 fatty acids to fight inflammation along with glucosamine that promotes joint health. Ask your vet about the best dog food for a senior dog, plus some of these senior dog foods can include medium-chain triglycerides that will help slow down the changes in your dog’s brain that may lead to issues with senility.
If you follow the basic guidelines for every stage of your dog’s life, and consider your pup’s lifestyle, you shouldn’t have a hard time finding a good-quality dog food for your pup. Make sure your consult your vet before making any dog food changes to ensure it is the appropriate type of food for your particular dog.
Watch this space for updates in the Hacks category on Running Wolf’s Rant.
