Essential dog supply: dog food
Dog food is an essential dog supply. Because
your dog needs dog food every day, it is important to know a little about
dog food. Our tips may be of help to you.
Tips on dog food
Your dog knows that what’s on your plate is infinitely better than what he’s eating at the moment - and you may be tempted to prove it by giving him some. Before you do, remember that good nutrition and a balanced diet are essential elements for good health in a dog. And that means watching your canine’s caloric intake carefully. Your dog needs plenty of fresh water and should be fed good quality dog food in amounts just right to meet his energy requirements. Inadequate or excess intake of nutrients can be equally harmful. Most dry dog food is soybean, corn or rice based. Some of the better brands have meat or fish meal as the first listed ingredient. Although higher priced, they are worth looking into. Dogs eat less of the higher quality products, thus reducing the cost. Dry dog food also has greater "caloric density" which means simply, there is less water in a cup of dry dog food as compared to a canned dog food diet. This is not a big issue for our smaller canine friends, but large dogs may have difficulty eating enough volume of canned food to fulfill their caloric needs (because they also get a lot of water in that food). Overall, the choice of "dry" vs. "canned" vs. "semi-moist" is an individual one, but larger dogs (such as those greater than 30 pounds) should be fed a dry or semi-moist dog food in most circumstances.| links to shopping for dog food |
Feeding puppies
The ASPCA has good advice on growing puppies. It is very important that you don't overfeed puppies. If puppies are allowed to over-eat, they may consume too many calories and too much calcium, grow too rapidly and develop bone growth problems! Click here to read more.
Feeding in the reproduction stage
The gestation period in dogs is about nine weeks - 63 days. The important point to remember is that dogs in any life stage or with any lifestyle should be fed to condition. Keep them looking healthy and avoid laying down excess fat. You can read more at the ASPCA site by clicking here.
Feeding older dogs
Dogs begin to show visible age-related changes when they are seven to twelve years old. Nutritional adjustment should begin early, but the exact age for dogs depends upon the dogs size. Click here to read more