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A Guide on Dog Food
A dog needs a stable diet plan to ensure proper growth and prevent any cognitive impairment or diseases. A dog diet plan should be according to the breed’s nutritional status and the animal’s physical health condition. A universal and comprehensive solution does not apply to all dogs, and thus certain factors will decide the diet for your pet dog. This guide will enlighten some of these factors. Many animal nutritionists will support these facts.
Know the Factors:
- The age of your dog will undoubtedly affect its diet plan. The dogs which are younger require more proteins for their bone development and muscle growth. Along with these proteins, supplements should also be a part of their diet, including Docosahexaenoic acid, commonly abbreviated as DHA. These supplements will help proper brain development. Think of selecting a diet for puppies as you are choosing one for younger children.
- Dogs that have reached adulthood in their lifespan need more carbohydrates to support their increased demands of body metabolism. Hence these dogs will require more calories in their diet. So the diet plan available for such dogs over the counter should consist of a high-calorie diet in physiological limits.
- Dogs that are more aged should have less diet intake than they used to have in their adulthood. These senior dogs should have more supplements in their diet to keep them going through this period of their life.
- Apart from the age, the dog’s health condition and allergies specific to a particular dog breed are also crucial in deciding the final diet plan for your dog. It would be best to choose a diet that is very specific to your dog if it has some health conditions. Consult a certified animal doctor for further analysis of the situation and guidance on a diet plan.
- Another critical factor is the condition in which your dog is going through the period of pregnancy. Such critical periods require a specialized diet plan to ensure proper health for your dog and the developing embryo. You should avoid toxic foods as they will harm the development and get routine checkups for your dog. Supplements become a necessity during this period, so you should choose proper accessories.
- Dogs tend to behave like humans concerning their skeletons. Many conditions can affect the joint health of the dog. So proper supplements containing adequate calcium and phosphorus levels should always be a part of a dog’s diet. If your dog has pain while walking or your dog has stopped walking, then it might be a symbol of joint pain. Consult a certified veterinarian for a close checkup of your dog.
- Apart from these factors, the size of the dog also matters. If your dog breed is smaller in size, then go for food that has smaller bits so that your dog might chew them easily. On the contrary, if your dog has a large extent, you should try a proper diet and additional supplements to make digestion easier.
- A canned dog diet may prove beneficial for dogs with urinary conditions or dogs who do not drink a lot of water.
- Processed diets are good in the sense that these will ensure the quality of food for your dog. If you are giving your dog processed food, do not switch to raw food without proper consultation from your vet. Natural foods increase the risk of more pathogens in the diet.
Conclusion:
The pro tip here is that you need to be very specific for a proper diet plan for your dogs. As there are many variations in the human diet daily, similar is the case with diets for your dog. It would be best if you get a variety in your dog’s diet plan to maintain a proper digestive system for your pet.
